“I suggest you carry that flask with you,” Sofia said. “You will feel the same power from when you cast the spell. If you come across that power, open the flask and spill the ingredients to the ground. Repeat the spell, and you will return home.”
I stared at the flask. “So . . . anything powerful will work?”
“Well, no,” said Sofia. “Powerful magic comes in many forms. Ascension, millennia, banishments, and sometimes even death. It depends on the circumstances and who is involved. But the most important thing is who is controlling this power. Solstices and millennia, for example, are available for all. They are a swelling of neutral magic, unowned by one person or being. But the power of an Ascension belongs to the one Ascending. And unless they cast the spell for you, that power won’t work.”
My head spun, and I closed my eyes, my brows pinching. I tried focusing on my breaths, but my legs felt restless. I wanted to stretch, or dance, or escape. “So you’re saying I have to Ascend? Or banish a demon? A powerful demon?”
Sofia nodded. “Those aren’t the only ways, I’m sure, but they are the only ones I can think of. Mamá banished a Second Tier demon to cast her spell.”
“Where did she go?”
Sofia smiled, her eyebrows lifting. Sorrow gleamed in her eyes. “I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me. Only that she was being called elsewhere. That the Orichás spoke to her.”
I swallowed, my throat tightening. She just . . . left her daughter. Left her family. For some higher purpose? “She must’ve had a lot of faith, then.” Emotion choked my words, and they came out harsher than I’d intended.
Sofia opened her mouth to respond, but shouts and frantic footsteps echoed from the front of the restaurant.
Concern flickered in Alba’s expression. She stood just as Manuel burst through, gasping for breath.
“What is it?” Alba asked, eyes wide and eyebrows pulled together.
“The Americans have us surrounded,” Manuel said. “The city is under siege.”
Chapter 15
MY MOUTH FELL OPEN. Sofia stiffened, her face paling. Alba’s lips pressed into a hard line, and fire blazed in her eyes.
“We have to get the civilians out,” she said.
“Forgive me, but I must return to my people,” Sofia said. She clasped both my hands. “Please call on me if you need anything.”
Before I could respond, she swept from the room, her beads and trinkets tinkling from her movement.
Alba jerked her head at me, indicating I should follow. She strode toward the front of the restaurant, Manuel at her heels.
I threw the blanket off my legs and stood. Dizziness clouded my vision, but I shook my head to clear it. Brief confusion nagged at me as I glanced at the yellow dress on my body. I knew I hadn’t worn it earlier—my previous outfit had most likely been soaked in my own blood—but I shoved the thought away and followed Alba and Manuel.
Commotion greeted me at the entrance of the restaurant. Dozens of people muttered and gesticulated with urgency and alarm. My eyes darted around the room until I found Alba, weaving through the throng of people to make her way to Ramón. She touched his arm, and he leaned into her as she whispered in his ear. His cheek pressed against her forehead as he nodded.
My eyebrows flew up in surprise. Were they together? I hadn’t gotten that vibe at all because both of them were all business, but when I thought about it, it made sense. Of course Alba would be married. If the name Bardales would be passed down to her children and grandchildren, then it had to be her married name.
“Desi,” a voice said behind me.
I turned to find Oliver wearing his usual flirtatious smirk. His upper arm was heavily bandaged, and fresh blood stained his sleeve.
My jaw dropped. “Oliver! What happened to you?”
His smirk turned into a full-blown smile. “You were burned and bitten by a demonic vampire and you’re worried about what happened to me?”
I crossed my arms. “Who said anything about ‘worried’? Maybe I want to thank whoever did this to you.”
Oliver’s eyes crinkled in amusement. He jerked his chin at me. “How are your wounds healing up?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “Alba’s home remedies are working their magic. No pun intended.”
Oliver’s brows pulled together in confusion at the word pun.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t ask.” I pointed to him. “You never answered my question.”
Oliver sighed. “Demons.”
I raised my eyebrows, waiting for more. When he said nothing else, I cocked my head. Then my eyes grew wide, and my arms fell to my side. “I—you didn’t get injured rescuing me, did you?”
Oliver’s lips pressed together into a thin line, which was all the answer I needed.
Heat blossomed in my cheeks. My mouth opened and closed as I struggled to form a response.
Oliver’s green eyes bore into mine. The intensity of his gaze was so disarming that my eyes dropped to the ground to avoid it.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I mumbled. “You should’ve taken care of yourself.”
Oliver leaned toward me, his scent overwhelming me and fogging my mind. “No one should escape punishment for doing something like that to you,” he said quietly. His low voice raised goosebumps on my skin.
My eyes darted up to his again. “You could’ve been killed.”
He gently grazed his thumb against the rough scabs along my neck. “You, too.”
His touch was so soft that I had to suppress a shiver. Though my burns had scabbed over, they still throbbed under his touch. But it wasn’t unpleasant. Electricity buzzed through me, igniting a fire in my chest that blazed and swirled within me. I couldn’t think. My breaths were shallow and insufficient.
My eyelids fluttered as I tried to blink away the disorienting fog that began to consume me like a haze of nerves and pheromones. I exhaled loudly, shook my head, and muttered, “Thank you. For—for coming back for me.” I swallowed, but a bubble of emotion clogged my throat, choking
