“But you only just arrived. And Carolina took great pains to invite us as her special guests,” Fernanda said, a polite smile plastered on her face.
Oh, she is good.Carolina knew exactly what Fernanda was doing. She was silently proclaiming that she too understood the ways of war. If Carolina meant to stake Lalo among all these people, then Fernanda would easily let slip what had transpired between Lalo and Carolina the night before in the woods.
“I only came to retrieve my sister,” Lalo said. “We have…some business to attend to.”
“So late at night?” Mamá questioned. “Surely it can wait until morning. Especially since you live so far outside the barricades.”
His brows raised slightly. “What are the walls for? Pardon me if that’s too forward a question.”
“No, it is fine,” Mamá said. “We…”
“May I answer, Amá?” Carolina interjected, batting her lashes sweetly.
Mamá smiled tightly. “By all means.”
Carolina cleared her throat. “There are these bloodsucking devils that wreak havoc on our…”
“Carolina!” Mamá scorned.
Nena snorted, then covered it with a cough.
“What sort of business are you in, young man?” Papá interjected, always interested in the comings and goings of anyone within his pueblo.
Lalo rubbed a hand against his neck. “Oh, I…I’m doing research. I’m a scholar.”
This was perfect. Let them remain distracted so she could get to work.
Carolina’s fingers slipped over her skirts. She shouldn’t have strapped the stake to her thigh. She should have had it ready. Her nanny had taken to sewing her pockets shut when she was a girl after she had filled them with toads at a garden party, but she could have slipped a weapon in her bodice at least. How was she to grab it without scandalizing the entire room? A bead of sweat eased down her spine. The sediento’s attention snapped to her. Fernanda mouthed, “Don’t even think about it.” Carolina glared at them both.
“What sort of research?” Papá plucked two flutes of bubbling liquid from a passing server and handed one to Lalo.
Lalo observed the glass in his hand with distrust. “History and origins of lore that stem from small pueblos. I sell my findings to libraries and schoolhouses.”
“Can one make a living wage from such studies?”
“Our parents left me and my brother a comfortable inheritance, and our father’s luxury boot business is quite profitable,” Fernanda said. “Lalo will take it over when…” Her brother gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head at her.
He turned to Carolina. “Those bloodsucking devils you spoke about, Señorita Fuentes. I should very much like to learn more.”
“I’m certain you know plenty about them, being thescholaryou are,” she said.
Rafa cleared his throat. “Have we met before?”
Carolina noticed the way Rafa slowly placed his body infront of hers, as if he were claiming her. She suddenly felt a deep longing to pop him straight in the mouth as she had done when they were young.
“I don’t believe so, señor,” Lalo said. But Carolina noticed his jaw muscles flex.
“Where are you from, Lalo?” Rafa asked. “Your fashions speak of people who hail from one of our great cities.”
Good gods, Rafa was nosy. And none of this mattered. The sediento was here for one singular reason—blood. Del Oro was the perfect place to find his victims. The town was hard to travel to, far enough away from most of the larger ciudades to make it an inconvenience for people to wish to come to the valley on holiday. There was no army here, no officials to ensure the safety of the people. Only her father’s guard and a few rangers. And Carolina, of course.
Now, how was she going to retrieve her weapons from under her skirts without anyone taking notice?
“Are you from the capital? I have recently taken up residence in Los Campos. Perhaps that is why you seem so familiar,” Rafa said. “Your family owns a luxury boot business, you say?”
“We…” Lalo placed the full flute on the tray of a server passing by. The platter flipped out of the server’s hand and the fizzy liquid inside splashed onto Lalo’s chest and face.
Mamá’s eyes went wide with horror. Papá hooted his larger-than-life laugh.
