“You don’t like this song?”
“No. Actually, I don’t.”
He scoffed. “What do you listen to? Punk rock?” he mocked.
“Sometimes.” I shrugged.
His head turned slightly toward me. “Hmm.”
I couldn’t judge his reaction with the big black sunglasses covering his eyes. Deciding to ignore him, I turned to watch out the window. My heart leapt as we pulled out onto the main road.
We drove too fast for me to get a good look at the neighbor’s mansions. Did any celebrities live on the same street? Not that I was one to go fan girl crazy, but the idea of any of them seeing me outside in my pjs made me blush. Before long, we were driving along the coast; the sparkling beaches and blue water in sight.
Javi finally slowed as we took a turn onto a long dirt road off the main road. It led us to a giant white gate. A guard stepped out of the gatehouse, armed with a gun. Woah. Paranoid much?
He waved at Javi and stared at me. “Do you have a pass for her?”
Javi opened the middle console and pulled out two cards and handed them to the guard. He took them, eyes flicking to me before handing them back.
“All right. Good to go.” He waved us forward.
I grabbed the cards before Javi could put them away. ID cards. One for me and one for him. My eyes widened as I saw my face printed on the plastic.
“What the hell? Where did you get this? This is my old school photo!”
I cringed at the awkward smile and failed attempt at curls.
“My dad made it for you. So, you could come on campus. But we’ll have to get an updated photo because that doesn’t really look like you anymore.”
My face reddened. “It was from last year! Why do I need a freaking ID pass just to come look at the school?”
He gave me an incredulous look. “Uh… because it’s GRIMM Academy. We have the highest security at our school.”
I frowned. Of course they did. They had oodles of money and could probably afford top security. I turned the card over and stared at the strange red signature.
“I didn’t sign this.”
“I know. It’s my dad’s signature. Giving you the highest level of clearance.”
My lip curled. I didn’t want to be cleared. High clearance meant that I was already in too deep. They’d have eyes on me and that was the last thing I wanted.
Rosa. My tío printed my name as Rosa and not Rosita.
“Wait. This is wrong. It should be Reyes Vasquez. Not Perez. Why did you give me your mom’s name?”
He sighed. “Yeah. That’s the other thing. You can’t be Vasquez here.”
Anger rose inside me. “Why not? You’re Vasquez.”
“Yeah, but my dad didn’t leave the GRIMMs to join a coven. No one can know about your mom, Rose. Or that you’re related to her.”
“So, what? We’re gonna pretend we’re not cousins?”
“We’re cousins. But from my mom’s side. My dad made up a sister in Spain who didn’t get the sight but passed it to her daughter. You. Rose Reyes Perez.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded. If they didn’t want me at the school, why was my tío going to such lengths to lie about my past just so I could tour it?
“You can’t tell anyone. You have to promise.”
I scoffed and shook my head. “This isn’t my lie to keep.”
He gave me a side glance. “This is serious, Rose. You could be in danger. Promise you’ll go along with the charade.”
My nostrils flared. Not only did I have to do this against my will, now I had to agree to some bogus story.
“Fine,” I bit out.
We drove past the gate and I sucked in a breath as the campus came into view. There were multiple buildings. Most of them gigantic with Spanish stucco. This was where he went to school? Where were all the students or teachers? It was like a ghost town.
“That’s the guard house there. Where the security lives and that’s the upperclassmen dorms.”
“The garden.” He nodded toward a sculpted lawn and slowed the car.
“That’s the training hall and gym. And here.” He stopped the car. “House Dragon. My dorm. I live on campus most of the year.”
I looked to where he was pointing. A massive black stone building stuck out among the others. As we pulled closer, I noticed the giant red dragon eye on the top of the structure.
I shuddered. “That’s not creepy at all.”
Javi laughed. “Yeah. We call it the eye of Sauron.”
“Of course you do.”
He drove to the back of the building and parked. I was surprised to find his car wasn’t the only one in the lot that was probably worth more than our house in Sonoma.
“Do you have a car?” His question caught me off guard.
An ache spread in my chest. “No. Papi was going to buy one for me for Christmas.”
Javi swore under his breath. “Sorry.”
I shrugged.
He rubbed his neck awkwardly before taking off his sunglasses and putting them back in the console. He snatched the ID cards out and handed me mine before shoving his in his pocket.
I did the same and waited for him to check himself out in the mirror once more. After a final check, he turned to me and grinned. “Ready?”
My stomach churned. “Sure.”
Though I was curious, a part of me grew apprehensive. I was about to see their secret operations and that meant being brought into the fold of whatever it was they did. Was I ready for that?
I followed my cousin to the parking lot. He stopped suddenly, making me bump into him.
“What?”
He frowned. “We should save this for last. You know save the best for last? Let’s start with the lame stuff first.”
I gaped at him. “But we’re already here.”
“It’s fine. We can walk to the lecture hall. It’s right over here.”
Groaning, I caught up to him.
“I should have drank coffee this morning,” I grumbled.
He smiled brightly at me. “There’s a café in
