Reina wondered if Celeste could see the spell keeping her heart pumping at this very moment.
“I hope the guarapo and pastelitos worked?”
“The gua… ra… po…” Reina said slowly and beamed as she realized Celeste was the mysterious benefactor of her favorite snacks while she’d recovered. “You left those for me? Thank you. They kept me motivated to get better, so I could have more,” she said. She slowed behind Celeste, unsure of the etiquette. How was she supposed to thank the caudillo’s daughter for such a kindness? No one had forbidden her from addressing Celeste, but from experience it would only be a matter of time before they did. She felt so ugly, and inadequate, and nozariel beside Celeste’s natural-born radiance.
“Is everything all right?”
Reina’s transplant heart thrummed out of sync. “You’ve helped me so much. I owe you my life,” she said, referencing the agonized moment when she’d almost perished on the mountain.
Celeste leaned against the arched doorframe to the dining hall and laughed. She carried a deep confidence in that sound. Reina loved hearing it.
“There’s no need to thank me,” Celeste said. “Your life wouldn’t need saving if we didn’t have the iridio mines. Wicked things are attracted to the iridio.”
Reina gripped the jacket covering her chest. “So they’ll be attracted to me.”
Celeste’s eyes fell on Reina’s chest with purpose, confirming what she could see. “Yes.”
Reina swallowed thickly. That made her a fool for entering the woods alone.
The soft melody of a four-stringed guitar flitted from the dining room, as did Javier’s jeering voice. The reproach of a boy-man. It sobered Reina. “I came here looking for my grandmother—and I’ve found her,” she said.
Celeste waited patiently.
“I didn’t expect things would turn out this way—I mean, who can? But from what I’ve seen so far, I would like to stay.”
The words came from her heart. The mountains were a whole new world, but it had Do?a Laurel and Celeste. Reina could find purpose here and, if she dared, even friendship and companionship. She could be a granddaughter to her grandmother. Thus, she needed to learn why Do?a Ursulina had summoned her in the first place. “I don’t know how my father could have this life and leave it.”
Celeste nodded and smiled. “The manor is always in need of more help. I’m sure we can find you a job here with the servers.”
Reina pressed her lips into a line, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. If this truly was to become a great new beginning, she wanted to strive for something more. She had already lived a life in the shadows in Segolita, scrubbing floors and accepting the abuse of capricious masters. But she could be patient, if that was what it took.
“Where do I find Do?a Ursulina?”
“The east wing is Do?a Ursulina’s domain. She has a townhome in Sadul Fuerte, but it’s mostly empty, I think. She spends all her time here.”
Celeste beckoned her to another corridor away from the dining hall. Reina followed her as the floors changed from tiles to flagstones, through wallpapered hallways decorated with maps, banners, and the occasional framed paintings. They stopped before a studded door of rotting wood. Celeste pushed it open, revealing a descending staircase shrouded in shadows.
“She has an underground laboratory where she studies iridio. I’m not too fond of going down there—and I have to go wash up to break my fast. But that is where she healed you and where you’ll likely find her.”
Reina took issue with referring to her transplant as healing, but she bit the objection down. She just nodded in thanks.
“I believe it’s the first door to the left.”
Reina descended the stone steps alone, guided by the dim light pooling from the first landing, and emerged onto a corridor lit by wrought iron sconces. Down here the air was stale, the reek reminiscent of dead frogs, with the slightest hint of incense. Humidity clung to the walls, and grime. The corridor turned into darkness ahead, but the first door to the left, as Celeste had said, was slightly ajar.
Voices flitted out of the room.
“Tonight I have the Virgin’s favor.” The first was instantly recognizable, kind but commanding: the Benevolent Lady’s. “And Enrique will return from his journey by moonrise.”
“Your tonic is ready. I know it is time for your cycle. I will always have it ready for when it comes.” The second voice was lower, older. Reina’s grandmother. “Do not feel like it is your fault. Do not question your womanhood. Valcos and humans are inherently different species—”
“Celeste must have a brother.”
Reina clenched her fists. She had stepped into a world where she hadn’t been invited.
Do?a Ursulina’s voice carried on. “The gods didn’t intend for this mixing and interbreeding.”
Heeled shoes approached the open door. Reina panicked. Where could she hide in this bared corridor? And if she did, unsuccessfully, she would be all the more guilty for attempting it.
“Accept Celeste as the miracle that she is. Should any misfortune befall her, the succession is secured with Javier,” said Do?a Ursulina.
Reina could almost hear Do?a Laurel’s outrage in her pause.
“That won’t be necessary,” Do?a Laurel said, “because Celeste will have a brother.”
The door swung open with Do?a Laurel’s exit. She nearly ran into Reina. Instead of withering at Reina’s obvious eavesdropping, Do?a Laurel’s expression warmed. “Reina? Coming to see your grandmother?”
Reina nodded quickly, avoiding glancing at the vial clutched close to Do?a Laurel’s chest.
“Let me get out of your way, then,” the woman said, graciously making an exit.
Reina nodded to herself, squared up, and walked into Do?a Ursulina’s underground lab.
A smoky incense crawled up Reina’s nostrils, the burning scents bordering on sweet. Glittering light from a plethora of candles bounced off crystals and trinkets hanging like chandeliers from the ceiling and the tall bookshelves. There were tables and bookstacks propping up gilded artifacts, which spun and ticked like metronomes, surely alive from the touch of geomancia. Two walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling bookcases, the wood framed by intricate curls and leaves, the details painted in gold. Colors burst from the assortment of bottles and vials on Do?a Ursulina’s shelves. A large square table served as the center desk, cluttered with more books and maps.
Do?a Ursulina stood by her bookcases, contemplating a book. She turned and raised a brow upon seeing Reina, then thrust the book back onto its shelf. “You’re finally out and about, I see. Did the head matron kick you out of the room already?”
“No—no, I was just feeling better.”
“And you decided to come strolling down to my laboratory?”
“I was looking for you, and Celeste pointed me down here.”
A derisive smile split Do?a Ursulina’s face, but she waited for Reina’s cue.
Reina took a deep breath. She gestured with open palms. “I’m feeling much better now, and I wanted to thank you for saving me. I want to offer myself—to you. You called for me, and I came. I left everything I had.” The part about her not having much to leave behind in the first place, she omitted.