Page 13 of Secrets of the Six

If anyone from the slums is caught in this district, the Black Guard will gladly drag them to a dead-end alley and remind them of their place. We are not welcome here.

I myself learned that lesson early and kept out of sight during peak daytime hours. The darkness of night was my friend and up until the night I was arrested, it served me well.

“Stop fidgeting.” Lupe swats my hands. “Lady Elena Lozano does not squirm.”

My eyes slide to meet hers. “She sounds like the perfect female specimen. Perhaps the Doña should have recruited her and left me - ”

“Left you where?” she interrupts with a judgmental chuckle. “If Salvador left you where you were you’d be dead.” She scoffs, straightening in her seat across from me. “What a ridiculous thing to say.”

The old woman might annoy me, but she has a valid point. If they hadn’t roped me into their rebellion, I would be dead, with no hope to enact my own revenge.

I roll my shoulders back and stare out the window. We pass shop after shop, the next more colorful than the last, until our carriage comes to a halt.

“Keep your chin up, shoulders back, and for the love of all Twelve Saints, act like you belong here.”

Lupe’s words nearly fall on deaf ears as we stand before Yasmin Romero’s shop. Even if I had no idea of how to find her storefront, I’d know it the second I laid eyes on it.

In stark contrast with the other shops, Yasmin’s storefront is crimson with an inky black door. The establishment oozes sophistication, of which I am lacking.

“Let me do the talking.” Lupe waves her hand, beckoning me to follow her to the door and I obey without argument.

Lupe thrusts the front door open and a tiny black bell jingles to alert the seamstress of our arrival. Instead of a woman appearing, a fluffy white shop cat slinks around the counter. Even the feline – whose gem encrusted collar identifying her as Camilla – exudes more grace and poise than I possess in my entire body.

I reach down to pet her and she purrs. I haven’t seen a cat in years. With meat being a rarity in the slums, any animal spotted in the Brogratto isn’t seen again.

“Buenas dias!” a sweet voice calls from the back of the store.

Startled, I leap to my feet and am met with Lupe’s scowl.

“What?” I hiss. “Does Lady Elena not like cats?”

Denied the opportunity to respond, Yasmin claps her hands together and reaches for Lupe.

“Ah, Lupe! The Doña sent word you would be bringing her niece to see me. She said my services were needed urgently.”

The curvy seamstress pulls Lupe in for a kiss on both cheeks.

“I am grateful you were able to see us on such short notice,” Lupe smiles. At least now I know the old woman is capable of looking cheerful.

“Doña Otero is one of my best customers.” Yasmin tucks strands of salt and pepper hair that escaped her bun behind her ear. “How could I possibly say no to her?”

As if she is just now noticing me as her cat rubs her body against my shoes, she permits her curious and calculating gaze to peruse me from head to toe.

I swallow hard.

She knows I’m an imposter.

She can see right through me. I can sense it.

Any second now, she’s going to scream, and the Black Guard will kick in her door to drag me back to jail – or worse – the Brogratto.

“Hmmm,” she approaches me, scratching her chin.

I force myself to stand my ground and not cower before her.

“You must be Doña Otero’s niece.”

I clear my throat and smile. “I am Elena Lozano.”