After a while, all the names, faces, and Talents ran together, and I couldn’t remember who did what. And still, Felix kept right on talking. Sometimes, I thought that he must have speed magic to talk as much and as fast as he did.

“Hey, guys,” a voice called out, interrupting Felix. “What’s up?”

We turned to find a slim, petite girl standing behind us. She was wearing a purple T-shirt patterned with a cluster of purple wisteria flowers and matching shorts, along with a silver cuff stamped with the same design. The number twenty-one was pinned to her shirt, and her black hair was pulled back into a pretty braid.

“Poppy!” I said, reaching out and hugging the other girl. “It’s so good to see you.”

Poppy Ito laughed and returned my hug. “You too, Lila.”

She hugged Felix and Devon as well, then drew back, grinning at us. “You guys ready to rock ’n’ roll?”

Felix jerked his thumb at Devon and me. “They are. I’m just a spectator, as usual.”

“Well, I’ll be hanging out with you soon enough,” Poppy said. “Probably by round three or four.”

“I’m sure you’ll do great,” Devon said.

She waved her hand. “Don’t sugarcoat it. I’m quick, but my fighting skills aren’t the best. But it’s always fun to compete.”

Poppy was the daughter of Hiroshi Ito, the head of the Ito Family, and was training to take over as the Family broker. She was as powerful and well respected in her Family as Devon was with the Sinclairs.

She grinned again, her dark eyes gleaming with mischief, then balled her hands into fists and threw a couple of mock punches. “Besides, this is the only chance I get during the year to bust out all the cool moves I see in the movies. Right, Lila?”

I laughed. “Don’t you know it.”

Poppy loved action movies just like I did; a couple of weeks ago, we’d had a girls’ night in where we’d stayed up late, eaten way too much junk food, and watched a whole bunch of superhero and other movies we both loved.

Felix slung his arm around her shoulder. “Well, no matter where you finish, you’re still my girl.”

Poppy huffed at his flirty tone and smacked his arm away. “I’m not your girl, remember? That would be Katia. I’m surprised you’re not glued to her side, like you were last year.”

Felix winced. “Is every single person going to bring up Katia and me? It was just a summer fling.”

“Not from the looks she’s giving you right now,” Poppy said.

Katia was standing about twenty feet away, staring at Felix and frowning at how close he was standing to the other girl. But Poppy, being Poppy, waved at Katia and went over to talk to her. Soon, the two of them were smiling and laughing.

Devon drifted off to talk to some of the Sinclair guards, but I stayed with Felix.

“You need to talk to Katia,” I said. “It’s obvious that she still likes you. You need to tell her there’s someone else. It’s not fair to keep avoiding her and letting her think the two of you are going to hook up again.”

Felix sighed. “I know. I’ll tell her . . . after the tournament today.”

I eyed him.

“What?” he said in a defensive tone. “The tournament’s going to start in a few minutes. I wouldn’t want to wreck her concentration.”

“Someone has a rather high opinion of himself.”

“I am rather handsome. And charming. And an exceptionally good kisser.” Felix waggled his eyebrows. “Or so I’ve been told.”

I snorted. “Well, you’d better tell her soon, or she’s likely to punch you right in your good kisser. And don’t worry about upsetting Katia’s mojo for the tournament. You might even help her.”

“How do you figure that?”

I shrugged. “Because there’s nothing more vicious than a girl who’s just had her heart broken.”

The workers put a few finishing touches on the obstacle course, and the officials strolled out into the middle of the stadium and lined up in front of the cold spring. There were five of them, one from each Family, dressed in white cloaks and cavalier hats, which was supposed to be a sign of their neutrality. Heh. We’d see about that.

I looked around the stadium, scanning the crowd. Claudia, Reginald, and Mo were sitting up in the Sinclair box, with Oscar buzzing back and forth from one side of the glass windows to the other, a stick of cherry cotton candy clutched in his hand. The pixie noticed me staring and whipped his cotton candy back and forth like a flag, almost knocking Mo’s hat off. Mo grabbed for the cotton candy, but Oscar was too quick and darted out of his reach. I grinned and waved back at them.

I swung my gaze to the opposite side of the stadium and the Draconi box. To my surprise, the box was empty except for a single woman. She was wearing a large white hat with a black ribbon around the floppy brim, so I couldn’t see her face, just the long, blond hair trailing down her shoulders. I wondered who she was, but it didn’t matter. If she was sitting in the Family box, then she was a Draconi and an enemy.

Three men carrying trumpets strode out into the middle of the stadium and blasted out several loud, cheery notes. The crowd hushed, and a low drumbeat rang out, getting louder and faster with every second. Everyone on the bleachers leaned forward, while the competitors did the same around the chain-link fence.

“And now, the event you’ve all been waiting for, the Tournament of Blades!” a voice called out through the sound system.

Everyone inside the stadium went wild, including me. I didn’t know why, but I was yelling, cheering, and clapping as loudly as everyone else. The noise went on for more than a minute before the officials waved their hands, calling for quiet.

“And now, to get things started, let’s welcome last year’s returning champion, Deah Draconi!” the announcer boomed.

Hearty cheers filled the air as Deah left the fence behind and strode over to the start of the obstacle course. As the reigning champion, she had the honor of being introduced first. A smile split her face, and she bowed to one side of the stadium, then the other.

Beside me, Felix clapped and clapped his hands before letting out a loud, ear-splitting whistle. I looked at him, and he grinned and shrugged his shoulders. He couldn’t help himself. Not where Deah was concerned. I didn’t know if that was sweet or stupid.