A noise like a rushing river envelopes me. I can’t hear anything except the howling in my head, in my heart. The cuff is heavy, a block of ice. I know the moment I drop it, the moment it touches the heat of the earth, it’ll be gone forever.
I slowly turn to face the condesa. “This is the only way.”
Her guards have their arrows aimed at my heart. The ghosts press closer until I can smell every one of their rotting limbs.
“Don’t shoot,” Catalina says. “She’ll drop it!”
But I’m going to let go anyway. She sees it in my eyes. My fingers loosen their hold on the Estrella. Her lips form a cry that rattles inside my lungs, leaving me trembling. She’ll never forgive me for this.
I let go.
The cuff drops and vanishes. I peer over the edge as I’m surrounded by Llacsan rebels protecting me from the onslaught of Illustrian fighters and enraged ghosts. Rumi is at my back, sword swinging at the spirits wanting my blood, my life.
But I watch for the Estrella until I know it’s truly gone. I don’t have to wait long. A burst of light forms miles below, almost hidden by the craggy dark walls of the earth. The ground shakes, jostling me forward. Rumi grabs the scruff of my wedding dress and jerks me upright, but I can’t take my gaze away from the ball of light.
I exhale. The Estrella is destroyed. Gone forever.
The ghosts vanish in a gust of frigid air. It whips my hair across my face. Then comes a crashing noise like glass shattering against stone. A high metallic shrill leaves my ears ringing. The explosion, the magical rebound of bright silver light races up the jagged walls of the earth. I don’t have time to move away.
The blast reaches me in seconds.
Pain explodes in my chest, my head, my heart, my bones.
I’m lifted off my feet.
Everything blackens as my head cracks against stone.
CAPÍTULO
Someone opened the balcony doors too early again. I wince and turn away from the sunlight, snuggling deeper into the pillow.
“Don’t you dare go back to sleep.”
I crack my eyes open. A handsome boy stares back at me. Dark sweeping brows. Thin lips bent into a smile. Freckles dotting his sharp nose. Eyes the color of coffee beans staring into mine.
“Hola, Ximena,” Rumi whispers.
He smooths my sweaty hair away from my forehead. I try to sit up, and he helps me, his grip firm on my shoulders. Then he places another pillow behind me.
I look around my room in the castillo. It’s exactly the same as I’d left it: loom tucked in the corner, clothes folded neatly on the chair. The anaconda sleeps beside the bed, snuggled next to the llama and the sloth. My frogs are lounging on an old tunic in the corner while the parrot and condor are perched on the balcony railing. My ants are roaming the top of my dresser.
They’re all here except my jaguar. My heart cracks.
“What happened?” I ask softly.
Rumi lies next to me, and I glance down from my propped position.
“You’ve been asleep for thirty-six hours,” he says. “The explosion launched you into the air and you landed on the front steps of the temple. There was so much blood.”
I whistle. “Sounds serious.”
His voice goes soft. “I used all of my magic to heal you. I would do it again without hesitating but …”
“Yes?”
“Please don’t put yourself in that kind of danger again,” he says, his voice dropping to a whisper. I almost didn’t hear him. “Please … just don’t. We were lucky.”
My heart warms at thewe.
