“Oh,” Celeste whispered, her cheeks turning pink. “That’s the Liberator.”
Javier chuckled and said, “Indeed it is.”
Perhaps it was the way he carried himself, capturing the attention of everything and everyone. Or his charming confidence, setting trusting eyes on the group like he’d been born to inspire them. Reina’s pulse went jittery, her own gaze struggling to hold his when it landed on her.
Don Samón was tall, with sturdy antlers and handsome angles. He was all tanned skin and sun-bleached ash hair, his red valco eyes shining with a warmth Reina had never seen in Don Enrique or Javier before. Eyebrows thick like his ash beard. He wore his long hair in a low ponytail, golden-ash strands lazily framing his face and quite complementing the casual look of his cream linen shirt and dark trousers.
After a polite nod, he said, “Do?a Celeste, Don Javier, I see you both traveled here together.”
“We found each other halfway through the journey,” Celeste explained.
“Of course. Family should always stick close,” he said. “And these are your companions?”
Javier gestured to Eva, saying, “Don Samón, meet Eva Kesaré de Galeno.”
The sunshine left Don Samón’s eyes.
“Who’s now Eva Kesaré de ?guila, my lawfully wedded wife.” Javier took Eva’s hand away from Maior.
Eva didn’t look too happy about it, but she stepped forward all the same, smiling a bit awkwardly.
“You’ve wed her,” Don Samón said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Don Libertador,” Eva said, reminding Reina of the highborn ladies who’d visited Do?a Laurel in ?guila Manor. She came from that world—she’d been trained in it. “I never imagined I would get to meet you. I’ve heard many great tales about you.”
“Yes, Do?a Eva…” he said thoughtfully. “And you have met my daughter, Ludivina?”
Eva exchanged a smile with Ludivina. “She’s been a great hostess so far.”
“Indeed—now, dearest Do?a Eva, Don Javier informed me you’re a valco?”
Eva nodded and in their pause realized he wanted to see her antlers. A ruddy red touched her cheeks as she pushed back her ringlets of light brown to reveal them. The sight left Don Samón in awe.
“Daughter of Do?a Dulce Serrano of Galeno?” Don Samón prodded.
Eva frowned.
The expression seemed to have been enough for Don Samón, for he quickly said, “It’s wonderful to see there are still some of us left alive. Well, my guests, please be welcomed to my residence. I shall have the servants show you to the guest quarters. Anything you find there shall be yours to use and take.” He nodded at the nozariel girls, who quickly darted into the manse to ready their things. He gestured for the group to follow him through the two giant doors of the main building. Tall doorways for his sturdy antlers.
Celeste walked beside him, saying, “Don Samón, we came here in haste because I’m in need of asylum. My father has lost his mind. And his witch has, too.”
Reina worried the inside of her lower lip, again conflicted at the way Celeste referred to Do?a Ursulina after growing up with her under the same roof. What would she call Reina after Reina told her the truth?
They stepped into a vast antechamber of veined marble floors and tiled mosaics on the walls. It was stuffy inside, despite the small windows near the ceiling that were designed to give a reprieve to the heat with a flow of breeze.
“And I’m glad you sought me out, Celeste,” he said, his voice bouncing off walls decorated in intricate tile work. The antechamber opened to a bright hall with richly pigmented mosaics of sea cows, dolphins, and jellyfish. Across the hall, a floor-to-ceiling stained-glass window flanked a dais, a design of sea turtles surrounded by hibiscuses refracting rainbows over two chairs. The doorway to the right was open, allowing a view into the open corridor hugging another courtyard that brimmed with the lush, vivid colors of tropical flowers and caged birds.
“As I said in my message, here you shall be safe for as long as you need it.” He turned with a little flourish, and it wasn’t dramatic—more like everything about his regular mannerisms was grand, a magnet for the eyes. “The people you see out there?” He gestured slender fingers to the courtyard behind them. “They are my most trusted officers. The retired and those who are still active in Fedrian politics. I invited them here since the arrival of the claw to help me guard Rahmagut’s tomb. Your father is a great man, but he does not intimidate me.”
“Rahmagut’s tomb?” Celeste said slowly, and Reina’s heart jolted.
Don Samón stepped onto the dais, entering the shower of rainbows. “Yes, Rahmagut’s Claw ends its journey through our skies in one week, and we will safeguard the tomb until the threat has passed. Afterward, we shall be safe again from Rahmagut’s influence for another forty-two years. Since I likely won’t be alive for the next one, I believe I’ve fulfilled my purpose.”
He offered them a handsome, carefree smile. Reina didn’t share any of his mirth. In fact, the idea of standing in opposition to the Liberator made her want to be sick.
“As for tonight, allow me to welcome you with a dinner party of sorts. It’s not every day we get someone from the Páramo in these parts.”
“You promised it would be grand,” Ludivina piped up.
“Yes, but don’t spook the guests, Ludivina. They are tired.”
“Who’s invited?” Javier asked.
“Be reassured in knowing that my home is a place of neutrality, where I forbid violence. I cannot interfere with cross-border matters that could hurt the delicate balance between Venazia and Fedria. But since you are kin—valcos—I shall make the exception of letting you stay however long you desire. I cannot antagonize Don Enrique, but he cannot arrive uninvited.” His words told them very little, but there was an uncontestable finality to them.
He spread out his arms, his smile toothy. “Dearest guests, make yourselves at home. See you tonight, and come looking your best.” He took the guitar resting on one of the chairs and extended his other hand to Ludivina. To his daughter he said, “Let us give them a chance to recuperate. The Páramo is a long way from here.”
“Sí, papi,” Ludivina replied, and the two left the hall.
The yaps of a faraway parrot shattered the silence of his departure. Reina looked to Celeste, who looked to Javier; so on and so forth.
Maior was the one who spoke first. “I’ve… never felt so welcomed anywhere before.”
Reina understood the apprehension, even if she was no stranger to the attention and hospitality often afforded to the ?guilas for the mere virtue of their name.
“He’s so nice,” Eva said, “but… why did he seem so familiar with me?”
To this, Javier seemed ignorant.
Celeste told Reina, “Something’s not right. What does he mean about protecting against Rahmagut’s influence? And the whole thing about diplomacy? Does that mean Do?a Ursulina will be here?”
Reina’s throat closed. Now was not the time to give the whole truth, especially not in the presence of Eva and Javier.