I turn around to meet Lucius’s bored stare. He waves at me in a carry on motion.

I’m already holding my coins, clenched so tightly in my fist that when I open it, George Washington’s face is indented on my palm. I don’t even remember reaching for them, but all I have to do is show a little bit of potential, and I can do coin tricks in my sleep.

I start with a classic four-coin flourish, transferring them to my other hand and then back into my pocket, pulling out just the two I need for my favorite trick—passing the coin through the hand. As I slam one quarter into the back of my hand, I let my hidden quarter drop from the other side. I even step it up a notch and catch it, so I don’t lose it into the abyss.

Nobody claps or cheers.

Disappointment flashes across Lucius’s face. He waves at his henchmen, and they stride in our direction.

Xander’s on his feet in an instant, holding his palms out in a stop motion. “Wait. Wait.” He turns to Lucius as he shifts to stand behind Aristelle’s chair. “You know she can do more than that.”

I’m confused. How would he know that? People have been talking about me, but why would they know what I’m capable of?

“Not from what we just saw,” Lucius says. He looks downright bored until he smiles at Xander, and his face turns instantly cruel. “Looks like you bet wrong.”

My heart pounds too hard, and I feel dizzy. This all seems too intense. Wrong.

Xander climbs on the table and grabs my arm. “Try again. You have to use your magic. You must still have some from performing with me. It’s in you.”

I shake my head. “I don’t know how. Why didn’t you tell me I’d need to do that?”

“I saw you,” Xander practically shouts. “I saw you use magic to move your coin to your pocket.”

Outside the club that first night. I played it off like I knew what I had done. My stomach sinks. “I did that on accident.”

Fear so intense crosses his face that I jerk back from it, and only his hand on my arm keeps me from slipping.

“You have to try. We can’t be split up.”

His fear seemed like too much for the situation, but when he says those words, I get it. They’re a family, and one of them is going to be ripped away from the others. She might still be alive, but it’s going to hurt almost as much as a death.