Elena rubbed at her throat and coughed. Hatred burned in her eyes, but when she glanced at Alba, chagrin replaced it. She nodded stiffly.
Alba’s eyes flashed warningly as she stared hard at the two of us. Then she stomped back to the front of the coven, and we resumed our trek.
I could practically feel the heat of Elena’s fury next to me as we walked in silence. Her cheeks glowed pink, and darkness clouded her eyes, but she didn’t once glance at me.
After a few more paces, Alba raised a hand to stop the coven. She turned to Ramón. “This is as far as my vision goes. What can you sense?”
Ramón closed his eyes, his expression relaxing. His nose crinkled as he sniffed the air loudly. “Vampires. Hiding less than a mile south of us.”
Alba raised her eyebrows. “Only vampires?”
Ramón nodded. “I can’t smell anything else.”
My blood ran cold. The vampires are after magical blood. “It’s a trap,” I whispered.
Elena’s head snapped toward me. “What?”
“A trap,” I said louder. “Why would it only be vampires unless they’re after our blood? El Diablo said there’s power in drinking the blood of witches and warlocks. It’s why they don’t have Donors anymore. The blood of mortals wasn’t doing anything for them.”
“She’s right,” Oliver said. I jumped, not realizing he’d pushed his way to the front of the crowd. Had he heard what I’d said to Elena about him? He still wouldn’t look at me.
Alba’s jaw tensed as she looked to Ramón, their eyes communicating something I couldn’t understand. She nodded as if they’d spoken telepathically.
“Elena, take Desi to the western side of the city. Double back and meet us a mile south.”
“What?” Elena and I said together, our voices equally outraged.
“El Diablo can only track your blood, Desi,” Alba said sharply. “I’ll cast a cloaking spell around us so we can catch the vampires by surprise. You two take the long way and join in the battle when you can.”
“But if they’re tracking me—” I started loudly.
Alba looked at me and jabbed a finger at Elena. “She’s a good fighter. She’ll protect you, and we won’t be far. Just wander long enough to distract the demons so we can take them out.”
My heart fell to my stomach. Great. So I’m being used as bait.
“But why—” Elena began.
But Alba already turned away, the coven following behind her. Oliver’s gaze cut to me, piercing me with this strange new hostility before he turned and followed Alba.
I wasn’t sure if I preferred his angry gaze or his complete indifference. Both sliced through my heart in ways I wasn’t prepared for. In ways that embarrassed me. I hadn’t even realized I had feelings for him until now. Until he decided he felt nothing but hatred toward me.
“Let’s go,” Elena muttered, turning back the way we came.
Chapter 22
BEFORE WE SET OFF, I caught Elena by the arm. “Look,” I said quietly. “I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of your coven.”
Elena’s steely gaze bore into mine for a long moment. I held it unwaveringly. Then her eyes softened.
“I deserved it,” she said. “Besides, it was about time you stood up for yourself.”
My head reared back in surprise. “What does that mean?”
“Just that you’ve been letting people walk all over you since you arrived.”
I opened my mouth to object, but the words faltered on my lips. Was she right? Was I just a doormat, letting things happen to me without fighting them? Like how I hadn’t even fought El Diablo when he violated me and took my blood against my will. I had just lain there, sobbing. I hadn’t even sought revenge afterward.
I’d wanted to run. Flee. Hide.
I swallowed, shame and shock clenching my chest.
Elena turned and started walking, and I numbly followed, trying not to think about this revelation of what a stale, unmotivated person I’d become.
After a few minutes, Elena said quietly, “I don’t hate you.”
I jerked my gaze from the cobbled road to her braided hair in front of me. “What?”
“I’m angry with the world right now. You’ve probably heard about my brother.”
I nodded.
“I haven’t had time to grieve or process it. So I’ve been coping the best way I know how.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Elena. I’m coping too.”
Elena remained silent. Then, her voice barely a whisper, she asked, “What do you mean?”
Time to stop hiding, I decided, taking a deep breath. “I lost my parents to a demon lord five years ago. And I still haven’t processed it.”
More silence. The air between us was thick with thoughts and emotions.
“Can you tell me—do you know—how did it happen?” Elena asked, her voice trembling.
My heart rate accelerated, but I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. I hadn’t allowed myself to relive that day since it happened. But it was time. I had to let this go. I had to move on from this. The event had frozen me in place, preventing me from progressing. I was stuck in the moment of their death.
But not anymore.
“They were hunting a powerful Third Tier demon lord named Levarret. Well, their entire coven was, but my parents were the frontrunners. She was a Pusher—or, a Telekinetic—and he was a Thinker . . . What do you all call that? Telepath?”
Elena nodded. “Or Clairvoyant.”
“Right. Anyway, they were both powerful and really good with their abilities. He could always sense attacks before they came, and she used his intel to effectively stop any advances. So Levarret did the only thing he could to stop them. He separated them.
“He lured me out of the house in the middle of the night. I don’t remember it at all. My brain was in a haze. But I woke up on the concrete the next morning. Dad was gone.”
I paused, my arms shaking. Elena had stopped walking and turned to face me,
