At last, I lit up the purple flowers I was looking for and I crouched down, turning off the light on my Atlas and stuffing bunches of them into my pockets. I ate some of them too, chewing through the flowers and stems, loving the taste of what should have been a deadly poisonous plant as it recharged my well of magic.
Then when I’d gathered as much of it as I could, I stood up and started making my way back to the path.
The crash of some large beast sounded somewhere behind me and a tremor ran through me at the power of the Fae in this place. It thrilled me and equally terrified me, because I knew all of them would turn on me, rip me to pieces if they discovered what I was.
As I made it back to the edge of the path, I spotted a girl walking along it in the dark. Alone.
She had blue tipped hair and my pulse increased as I thought of the task I’d been given here. I could creep up behind her, shift into my Nymph form and overpower her. Maybe no one would see. Maybe I could subdue her long enough to get her off campus and call my uncle and my mother to come for her.
I chewed the inside of my cheek anxiously as I followed her, staying in the trees just off the path and trying to force myself to focus. I could do it.
I thought of the Fae I’d killed in Alejandro’s shed, her hands cut off and terror filling her gaze. It made my stomach churn and it wasn’t the last Fae I’d seen like that despite how much I wished it could have been. Alejandro liked to play with the ones he caught and he’d made me watch enough times to break something in me. But I’d never spoken to those Fae, never seen them before their bloody ends. This was different. I’d sat beside Darcy in class. She’d been nice to me. She even seemed to like me a little.
My hands shook and I tugged on the corner of my hat as I drew on the strength of my abuela, though she’d likely hate me now for what I was becoming.
I followed Darcy, debating what I was going to do, thinking of the bloody death that awaited me instead if I didn’t capture her and her sister. But I hadn’t been here for hardly any time at all, there was still so much of the Fae world I wanted to see. And getting hold of the Vegas wasn’t my only task anyway, I was supposed to feed information back to my family about what I learned in classes on how to wield my magic. So…why act tonight?
A twig cracked under my foot and I swallowed a curse, ducking behind a tree as Darcy swung around to look in my direction. Mierda.
When she started moving again, I scurried across the path, trying to keep quiet as I ran into the trees on the other side of it. I slipped deeper into the shadows, deciding to go back to Aer Tower and deal with this another day. It was too soon anyway. Far too soon.
The memory changed fast and I found myself in Andromeda’s Place in Tucana the first time we’d visited the bar with Diego and Sofia.
“Washer is a total perve,” Sofia whispered then giggled and the sound made a grin pull at my mouth. She was something else, this chica. She shone when she was happy, and even whinnied sometimes. I was fascinated with her and her Order and sometimes I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her.
“Is that why we have to wear bathing suits that barely cover our asses in his class?” Darcy asked and I looked at her.
“I’d bet on it, chica,” I laughed, nudging her in the ribs, the sound all too genuine.
I was facing a real big problem with my plan now that I’d successfully gotten closer to the Vegas twins. I was not only starting to like them more than I wanted to admit, but I was also liking this life way too much. I was so free. I could do anything I wanted. I had my own room, my own space, and yeah sometimes the teachers could be hijo de putas – especially the one who was currently sitting at the bar looking like a smarmy pendejo – but despite that, it was still the best place I’d ever been in my life. And maybe it wasn’t a coincidence that I hadn’t made any moves against the Vegas yet, but that ended today. And as much as my smiles were real for every moment I’d spent with them tonight so far, dread was creeping up on me like a plague. Because Alejandro and my mamá were getting impatient, and they wanted me to make a move against them.
We ate our way through our meal and I checked my Atlas subtly under the table while the others chatted, my gut knotting with dread at the message there from my uncle.
Alejandro:
I’m growing impatient. How much longer?
I tapped out a reply, trying to keep my breaths calm and steady.
Diego:
Maybe tonight isn’t the right night.
Alejandro:
It’s the perfect night. Do not fail me, or you will regret it.