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Cal says the spell requires a refresh, with the anniversary of the birth last month. The witch says she will be there soon.
The anniversary of the birth? My birthday was last month. I clutch my dress skirt as my hands shake.
Was the mirror right? Raúl?
Is my real mother the other woman in the picture, not the Mother I’ve known all along?
Chapter Thirty-One
Nava continues to monitor Mother for me, with a promise to alert me when she leaves her floors. After cleaning, I retreat to my own floor, pacing across the cold tile. Thoughts cloud my mind as my feet pound on the unforgiving stone. My heart races and sweat beads on the back of my neck.
The sun falls and I run to the window, gripping the ledge. As quietly as possible, I unlatch it and open it. I search the trees until I find the pair of eyes I want and wave.
Seconds later, Raúl is inside my room. He pulls me into his arms, his lips on mine before either of us speaks. He races his fingers across the back of my neck.
He runs a hand down my arm, but he suddenly steps back when his hand reaches my wrist. I open my heavy-lidded eyes to stare at him. “Why did you stop?” I ask in a whisper.
His face is contorted in anger, his red eye flashing. His fangs slide out and he growls low, holding up my arm at the wrist, gesturing to the gauze. “What happened?”
I tug my hand out of his grip, but stop when the gauze shifts, rubbing against my skin. Giving up, I look down at the ground, heat tingling my cheeks. “Mother found out I cut some strands of hair.” My voice is low and quiet. I sigh and shrug. “I tried to tell her it was an accident, but she maintains that rules are rules.”
He seethes, dropping my wrist. He turns to the wall, digging into the stone with nails growing long, black, sharp. “Rules don’t mean you hurt people.” His red eye darkens, turning wild. With his fangs and nails long, he looks more terrifying creature than human-like. “Now, she is mine.”
My mouth falls open, and for a brief second, I don’t want to stop him. I come to my senses, then reach out, despite my hesitation to touch him in this state, and place a hand on his shoulder.
“No, Raúl. You can’t.”
“Why not?” he says, a grating timber underneath his usual tone. “She deserves it. Look what she did to you.”
“I know,” I say. “I’m not going to let you get hurt because of me.”
His nails scrape into the stone, digging tiny trenches beside my bed. Slowly, I scoot forward and wrap my arms around his neck. His tense muscles start to relax, and he winds his arms around me, hugging me close. “One day, that witch will get what she deserves.”
I don’t answer him, simultaneously hoping she will and won’t. She’s my mother, after all. I hug him back, taking refuge in his hold for this moment. “I’ve found out some things. Would you like to hear?”
Raúl grins at me. “Of course.”
He walks over to my bed and pulls me down with him. After he tugs me as close to him as possible, he wraps the blanket over both of us. He props his head up on his arm and smiles at me, stroking my cheek. “Tell me everything.”
I tell him why I had cut my hair in the first place, and what had happened since then. He is fascinated by the spiders, and Nava even agrees to come out of her hiding place so he can see. He taps my back, pursing his lips. “I’ve seen these spiders once before, in a book, I believe. I’ll have to ask my mother. She will know for sure their species. She’s always happy to help.”
My heart breaks at the mention of his mother, and I try to hide my tears. I bury my face in his chest, not bothering to stop them. Mother would probably hear, but she is no stranger to my night crying. I just… wish I could have had a mother like Carmen. One who answers my questions without sneering at me and is happy to help.
“Oh, Penny,” says Raúl. “You don’t have to stay. I can take you anywhere in the realm.”
I sniff as my tears dry. “If she’s willing to steal a baby, how willing would she be to follow me around the world? What value am I even to her? All she does is hurt me. I just don’t understand.”
We can follow her, says Nava. We can find your answers.
“Would you?” I ask Nava. “You need to stay in the shadows. If she sees you once, there’s no telling what she might do.”
I hear laughter and smile at the sheer delight in it.
We have been shadows for centuries. She will never see us.
I agree to Nava’s plan. “But won’t it take long to get information from that far?”
Yes. It is faster than mail, though.
