I sidled up to and peered in through the glass doors that fronted the Draconi greenlab. Just as in the Sinclair greenlab, tables covered with beakers, burners, and other scientific equipment took up the front part of the lab, surrounded by all sorts of plants, bushes, and even a few small, potted trees. The lights were turned down low, and I didn’t see any guards patrolling inside or pixies flying over the tables. Good. Cutting through here would get me to Victor’s office more quickly and would be marginally safer than continuing to skulk down the hallways. The castle might be mostly deserted, but sooner or later, I was bound to round a corner and run face-first into a pixie, who would be sure to yell and sound the alarm that I was here.

I tried one of the doors, surprised that it was already open. I would have thought that Victor would have the greenlab locked up tight, given all the stitch-sting and other important, expensive supplies inside, but I wasn’t about to overlook this bit of good luck. So I slipped inside and shut the door behind me.

I looked over the front part of the greenlab, but science had never been my thing, so nothing stood out to me. Still, I pulled my phone out of my coat pocket and snapped photos of the equipment and the lab setup to show Felix and Angelo later. I also took several shots of an area off to the left side of the lab—one that was filled with shelves full of bottled liquid stitch-sting.

Just like at the Sinclair mansion, heavy metal grates covered the shelves, locking away the healing liquid, but there was more of it here than I’d ever seen in one place before. Hundreds upon hundreds of bottles lined the shelves from top to bottom. It made sense, though. If Victor was thinking about attacking the other Families, he’d need a lot of stitch-sting to patch up the Draconi guards.

I put my phone away, moved through the lab area, and stepped into the greenhouse section. Herbs and vegetables stretched out in all directions, along with row after row of stitch-sting bushes. The dark, evergreen bushes weren’t quite monsters, not like tree trolls and copper crushers, but they would still poke out their sharp needles and try to scratch you if you got too close to them without paying their toll. But I hadn’t felt like carrying around ajar of honey tonight to drizzle on their roots, so I made sure to stay clear of the bushes.

And just like in the rest of the castle, everywhere I looked, I spotted something else emblazoned with that snarling dragon crest, including each and every one of the white flagstones that curled across the floor. The crest looked so fierce, so lifelike, that I thought the dragons might rise up and bite me on the ankles for stepping on their snouts.

Finally, I reached the center of the greenlab, a round, open space with paths snaking off in all directions. One enormous dragon made out of red and gold stained glass was set into the middle of the floor here, with matching flames streaming out of its mouth and wrapping around the dragon’s body, as though the creature were continuously breathing fire and about to incinerate everything around it, including itself.

Just like Victor killed anyone who displeased him in the slightest way.

Maybe it was stupid, but I skirted around the stained glass crest, not wanting to step on any part of it, especially since the dragon’s red eyes seemed to follow every move I made. I crossed to the far side of the open space and ducked behind another stitch-sting bush, ready to cut through the rest of the greenlab and find Victor’s office—

“What do you think you’re doing?” a voice hissed.

CHAPTER TWELVE

I froze, my breath caught in my throat, my heart hammering in my chest, my fingers curling around the hilt of my sword. I thought I’d been so careful, so quiet, sneaking around and keeping to the shadows like the perfect thief, but someone had spotted me. Now, all I could do was hope that I could fight my way out of the greenlab, make a mad dash for the woods, and disappear into the trees and the mist—

“I wanted to see you,” another, deeper voice murmured.

Wait a second.

I knew that voice and the first one too. I sighed. Seriously? They were meeting here? Did they not know how stupid and dangerous this was?

I hunkered down, crept forward, and peered around a white marble dragon planter full of sprigs of stitch-sting. Sure enough, Deah and Felix were standing in the middle of the open space, right in the center of the stained glass dragon. The glimmering bits of red and gold glass made it look like fire was licking at their feet and that the snarling creature was about to erupt out of the ground and gobble them up. Well, that’s certainly what Victor and Blake would do if they ever found out what was going on. Felix and Deah were taking their whole Romeo-and-Juliet romance to new extremes.

Felix grinned and held out a single red rose. Deah slid her phone into her pocket, then crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. So Felix was the one who’d been blowing up her phone at dinner. I should have known. I wondered how she’d managed to get herself excused from the meal to come here.

“And why would you want to see me now that Katia’s back in town?” she snarked.

He winced. “Um, I don’t know what you mean?”

“I just bet you don’t,” she snapped back. “Funny thing, though. I remember you and Katia being all over each other during the tournament last summer, especially at the after-party at the lake. Don’t you remember? Oh, wait. You probably don’t, since the two of you were sucking face the whole time.”

Felix opened his mouth, but Deah cut him off and kept right on going.

“And from the looks of things today, Katia is ready for round two.” A note of bitterness crept into Deah’s voice. “She kissed you. Yesterday, when we all met on the Midway—she kissed you right in front of Blake, Devon, and Lila, and I had to keep my mouth shut, stand there like an idiot, and watch her flirt with you. Just like I had to do at the tournament again today.”

Felix winced again, but his face turned serious. “Listen, Katia is cool, but you’re the one I want to be with, Deah. Not her. You know how I feel about you. How I’ve felt about you for months now.”

He held out the rose to her again. Deah stared at the flower, and I shifted to one side so that I could look into her dark blue eyes. Her emotions slammed into me a second later.

Lingering, numbing boredom from dinner. Pinching hurt from her father’s harsh words and high expectations. Rock-hard confidence that she was going to beat Katia and win the Tournament of Blades again. Sharp worry that someone was going to catch Felix in the greenlab. But most of all, I felt how much she cared about Felix. The hot spark of her feelings for him was like a firecracker exploding in my heart over and over again.