“No. Really?”

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to. That would be Poppy.”

Deah stared across the room, where Poppy was standing with Hiroshi, Felix, Devon, and Claudia.

“I tried,” she admitted. “I’ve been trying ever since that day. But she won’t speak to me or even answer my texts.”

I blinked, surprised she would make the effort. No one else in her miserable Family would—

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the little girl from the arcade,” a snide voice cut in.

Blake loomed up in front of me, looking particularly sinister in his black suit and red shirt. His blond hair gleamed like dirty gold underneath the lights, making his face seem that much darker. Blake looked me up and down, giving me the same lecherous gaze he had Poppy at the arcade.

“You’re lucky that all of the Families are here tonight,” he sneered. “Or I’d take you out back and make you show me what you’re wearing underneath that cute little suit.”

I smiled sweetly at him. “And I’d shove my knee into your balls. That’s what you’ll get if you touch me, Poppy, or any other girl ever again.”

His hands curled into fists, and his brown eyes locked with mine. His anger was like a red-hot knife slamming into my stomach. Blake wouldn’t just make me strip—he’d do a whole lot worse. My eyes narrowed. Let him try. I’d enjoy showing him that he wasn’t the only one here who could be cruel and ruthless.

Blake grinned, but his expression was as cold as a monster’s about to strike its prey. “You want to go out back and see what’s what? I might have to follow the rules in here, but out there? My Family runs this town. And it won’t be too much longer before we own Cloudburst Falls and everyone and everything in it.”

I would have brushed off his words as just a wiseguy mouthing off, but the cold certainty blazing in his eyes made my own stomach twist with worry. Were the Draconis planning a move against the other Families? If so, what? And when?

Or maybe . . . maybe they’d already made their move by killing Lawrence Sinclair. Maybe they were behind the attacks on Devon, too. Maybe the mystery man worked for them.

“Deah! There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you—”

Felix rushed over to us, but he pulled up short and choked back his words at the sight of Blake glaring at me.

Blake turned to face him, his hands still clenched into fists. “And why, exactly, would you be looking for my sister? Huh, punk?”

For once, words failed Felix. “Um . . . I . . . uh . . .”

Every stammer only made Blake’s eyes narrow that much more. He started flexing his fingers, as though he were warming up for a fight.

“Felix was probably coming over here to save me from having to listen to your sister brag about how rich and powerful your daddy is.” I rolled my eyes. “You’d think he was a king or something the way she kept going on and on about him.”

Deah’s lips fell open the faintest bit in surprise, but she quickly recovered. “I wanted to put her in her place. For what she did to you at the arcade.”

Blake nodded his head in approval. “C’mon. You were right before. These losers aren’t worth our time. Let’s go see what Dad’s up to.”

He jerked his head, and Deah followed him. Felix reached out to her as she passed, but she ignored him. A minute later, she and Blake were standing next to their father, laughing at some stupid joke he’d made.

Felix stared longingly at Deah. “Thanks for the save.”

“No problem.”

He barked out a harsh laugh. “But it is a problem. It was stupid of me, coming over to her like that. Sometimes . . . I wish I could just forget all about her. Pretend I never met her. Pretend I don’t feel anything for her.”

My gaze zoomed across the room to Devon. “Yeah. I know exactly what you mean.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

A bell chimed, signaling that the cocktail hour was over and dinner was about to start. The heads of the Families took their seats at the center table, with everyone else stationed more or less behind the leader of their Family. I sat in between Felix and Reginald.

Pixies fluttered into the room, carrying trays of steaming food. Mounds of pasta smothered with spicy marinara sauce and meatballs that were as big as my fist, crunchy breadsticks slathered with garlic butter, Caesar salads dusted with snowy mountains of Parmesan cheese.

Everything looked and smelled amazing, but I couldn’t eat a single bite. Not tonight. Not while I was in the same room with Victor and Blake.

So I moved my meatballs from one side of my plate to the other and tuned out most of the conversations around me, which had to do with all sorts of boring things. Trade agreements, a tree troll infestation in one of the squares, and gossip—lots and lots of gossip. Everything from who was getting married to who was getting divorced and how the makeups and breakups would affect the balance of magic, money, and power among the Families. Then again, Family members considered such things important. I did not. All that really mattered was having a roof over your head, a warm, dry place to sleep, and enough food to fill your stomach on a daily basis. Life really was that simple. Everything else was just static.

“. . . ruby necklace that he was giving to his mistress . . .”

My ears perked up at that snippet of conversation, although I kept pushing my food around my plate.

“Yeah, I heard that he bought the necklace for his mistress. When the wife found out, she naturally arranged to have it stolen right out from under his nose.”