Chapter 19 Tamsin #2
“In a couple of months, the promoters at the New York Magicians’ Arena will want to see me duel again.” I shrug. “They need proof, you see, that what I did to Lysander Rook wasn’t just dumb luck. And for that matter, so do I.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I roll my eyes. “Come on, Sammy, you’re one of the best seconds in the country.
You know all about building a brand and marketing a good magician for the dueling circuit.
You of all people should know why I’d need to prove myself.
” I tap my chest. “When I beat your boy, I was still Mateus Blackwood’s product.
Still my father’s daughter. I’ve never won a duel where I wasn’t.
So the next time I step into that arena, I’m going to be my own person.
And I’m going to win. Not as Mateus’s daughter but as Tamsin Blackwood, one of the best damn magicians in the country.
I’m not just going to destroy Dad’s legacy, Sam.
I’m going to eclipse it. And that’s where you come into play. ”
Sam stops leaning against the squat rack. Understanding dawns on her face. “You want a rematch with Lysander. You’re going to challenge him again.”
I shake my head. “You still don’t get it.” I chuckle. “No, Sam. I don’t want to challenge the boy I literally just beat. I don’t want a duel with your plaything.”
I look her dead in the eyes when I finally tell her what I’ve wanted from that first moment I saw her cast magic.
“I want to duel you. I’m going to challenge you to face me in the middle of the New York Magicians’ Arena three months from now, in front of another sold-out crowd.
And when you say yes—because let’s face it, we both know you’re eventually going to say yes—I’m going to destroy you. ”
“I see.” Sam’s eyes narrow at me. Even now, I can see the calculations spinning to life behind them. I can’t help but admire her for that, however grudgingly. The girl seriously doesn’t give up. “And what makes you so very sure I’m going to say yes?”
“Because I’m going to do you a solid.” I smile at the surprise on Sam’s face. Even before I found out about what she really wanted to do to me, Samantha Chan has always given off this vibe of being one step ahead of me. It’s addictive, feeling like I finally have the upper hand for once.
“Oh yeah?” Sam folds her arms. A defensive posture. “How do you figure?”
“I can do a whole lot more besides firing Dad,” I tell her. “I can give you the revenge you’ve always wanted against him.” My smile widens at the sudden hunger in her eyes. So she still wants it, even now. That works for me. It means she’s likelier to give me what I want, too.
“Once I cut ties with Dad, I’ll have no reason to continue protecting his secrets,” I explain.
“The prize money from beating Rook in that duel leaves me financially independent. No more blood money keeping a roof over my head. No more complicity in my father’s dirty little business deals.
Which means I can finally expose him for what he is. ”
Sam exhales sharply. “You’re going to turn him in to the authorities?”
I shake my head. “Even with everything I’ve got on him—everything I’ve seen over the years—I doubt I could make an actual felony stick. My father’s too clever and too slippery for that. He won’t do prison time. But I can do the next-best thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“I can destroy him myself.” I watch with satisfaction as Sam’s eyes widen.
“I’ll tell the world what he’s done over the years—to me, to you, to your brother.
Every respectable arcane master, dueling magician, and magic show promoter will be forced to see the great Master Mateus Blackwood in his true form: an abuser, a criminal, and a petty old man long over the hill who’s willing to harm anyone he has to just to cling to a shred of relevance.
I promise you by the time I’m through, no respectable arcane venue will ever work with my father again.
He’ll be an outcast from all places magical.
Shunned by everyone who worships him now.
Persona non grata, in the only world that’s ever mattered to him. ”
Sam’s mouth has parted slightly. “You’d do all that for me? After everything I did to you?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not doing this for you.
” I lean in close and make sure to speak carefully and clearly so I’m certain that Sam understands this part.
“I’m doing this for me. Do you know what it’s like to live under Mateus Blackwood’s roof for eighteen years?
Being treated like I’m just an extension of my father—not just by him but by everyone around him?
” I scoff before she can answer. “You don’t.
How could you? You’re just like the rest of them, as it turns out.
Just one more person who treats me like an object he owns.
A prize that can be taken away from him, or used, or broken.
Never mind what it does to me, right? It only matters what it does to him. He’s the important one.”
I take a deep breath. I need to stay in control here.
“That ends now. I’m setting myself free.
From now on, I’m no longer going to be Master Mateus Blackwood’s daughter.
I’m going to be Tamsin Blackwood, the girl who exposed her crook of a father for what he really is.
The girl who gave justice to all the people he hurt. ”
I smile coldly at Sam as I wrap up my speech. “So what do you say? I’ll avenge your brother—truly avenge him, just the way you always dreamed. And in exchange, you’ll face me in the arena, where, of course, I’ll wipe the floor with you and send you home with your tail between your legs.”
Sam laughs darkly. “You’re that sure you can beat me, are you?”
I laugh, too. “You’re right, I guess. It’s a risk. A duel is always a risk—a miscalculation you made, by the way, by pitting Rook against me. So yes, I’m giving you a chance to tear me apart yourself—if you can.”
I lean in close, delighting in the hitch of her breath.
“But here’s the thing: if you really want to take me out, for once in your life you’re going to have to get your own hands bloody.
” I meet her gaze and hold it so she can see that I’m serious.
She’s got no one and nothing to hide behind now.
“No Lysander Rook to do your dirty work. No puppet to use against me. Just you and me: two magicians with unfinished business to settle.”
I offer Sam a hand to shake. “What do you say, Chan? My grudge against yours, in ninety days’ time?”
Samantha Chan gives me a long, appraising look. Maybe I’m kidding myself when I think I see a flash of vulnerability in her expression. But her hand is firm when her fingers close around mine. And still, as ever, she gives nothing away.
“You have yourself a deal,” she tells me.