She squeezed my hand, then turned and walked to the end of the bridge, where Devon, Felix, Mo, Oscar, Deah, Seleste, and all the other Sinclairs were waiting.
Victor murmured something to Blake that I couldn’t hear, and Blake nodded and looked past me. I glanced over my shoulder and realized that he was staring at Deah and Seleste. I wondered what Victor was telling Blake about his own sister and stepmother, if he wanted Blake to try to capture them—or worse—if he lost the duel. Part of me didn’t want to know. It would only remind me of how cruel Victor was.
And how he was most likely going to kill me.
Blake nodded at whatever Victor told him. He smirked at me a final time, then stalked to the opposite end of the bridge so that he was standing with the rest of the Draconi guards.
Victor turned around and strode forward until he was right in the center of the bridge. I let out a tense breath, then stepped up to meet him, leaving about five feet of space in between us.
“I’m going to enjoy this, Lila,” he purred, his voice showing the first hint of warmth I’d ever heard. “Just as I did with your mother.”
He was trying to make me angry, get me to fly into a rage and do something stupid, like recklessly charge at him. But I forced myself to ignore his horrible words and take slow, deep, steady breaths. He wasn’t going to rile me up that easily. He wasn’t going to win that easily.
He wasn’t going to kill me that easily.
“Good,” I said. “I hope you do enjoy this.”
He arched a golden eyebrow. “Really? Why is that?”
“Because it’s going to be the last thing you ever enjoy.”
Instead of being concerned, his face creased into a wide smile, and he let out a low, deep belly laugh. The sound reminded me of the copper crushers slowly slithering toward me, their rattles shaking and their scales scraping against the concrete floor of the warehouse. But I stood my ground, not letting Victor see my fear and disgust.
“You certainly are confident,” he said. “Just like your mother was. And I’m going to kill you, just like I killed her.”
His golden eyes glimmered with a sinister light. My gaze locked with his and my soulsight kicked in, showing me just how much he meant every cruel word—and just how cold, dark, and empty his heart truly was.
In that moment, I almost felt sorry for him. Victor Draconi would never know true love or happiness or anything else. All he cared about was magic and the power it gave him over others. Even if he beat me here tonight, even if he killed me and took control of the Sinclair Family, it wouldn’t be enough for him. Nothing would ever be enough for him, just as I’d told Blake.
My hand tightened around my sword. But he wasn’t going to win.
“This ends tonight,” I said, raising my sword into an attack position.
Victor gave me a thin smile. “The only thing that’s ending tonight is you, Lila. I’ll see to that.”
“Then let’s get on with it,” I snarled.
He shrugged. “As you wish. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Instead of reaching for his magic right away, Victor just stared at me, his golden eyes glowing in his face as he studied everything about me, from my face to the cuff on my wrist to the way I slowly twirled my black blade around and around in my hand.
“That sword isn’t going to save you,” he said. “I don’t even need a weapon to kill you.”
“We’ll see.”
He looked at me another second, then turned around as though he were going to walk away. I knew it was a trap, but he was giving me an open shot at his back and it was too good a chance to pass up. So I raised my sword high, ready to bring it down on top of his head.
But I hadn’t taken three steps toward him before he whipped back around and reached for his magic. A ball of lightning popped into his hand, and I barely managed to duck out of the way as he sent it streaking through the air toward me. The lightning hit one of the streetlamps at the end of the bridge, making white sparks shoot up into the night sky.
Claudia, Devon, Mo, and all my other friends ducked out of the way as well, along with the Sinclair guards, and several hoarse shouts rose up in surprise. The sparks had barely winked out before the wind started to pick up, and more and more lightning flashed in the sky. A low rumble of thunder sounded, and a few raindrops spattered against my cheeks. The storm was almost here.
But it was nothing compared to the power that Victor was calling up.