“Up until my Lorenzo showed up to the hacienda as un vampiro, I held on to hope.” Her tía wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders. “Hope is a strange thing, don’t you think? It can pull you out of your darkest thoughts, but also leave you destroyed if that hope turns into nothing greater.”
Carolina’s eyes pricked with tears.
“That’s when we must lean on the people who care for us the most,” Tía Sofia said. “They hold us steady and do the hoping for us when we no longer can.” She squeezed Carolina’s hand.
They could also try to make certain no one felt this way again,Carolina thought. And she was more determined than ever to find Vidal. To end this wretched curse.
“Can you tell me about Lorenzo’s last days? Do you know where he was going when he went missing?” she asked.
Tía Sofia rubbed at the frayed edge of her blanket. “This was Lorenzo’s. He slept with this very cobija every night. My son, he was the sweetest boy, you know that.”
“I do.”
“He heard me complain about my aching bones. Javier and I had him so late in life, and I know he worried for us. He told methere are healing herbs that grow up the craggy rocks just before Devil’s Spine.”
Carolina’s hold on her aunt’s hand tightened. So her primo was going to Devil’s Spine.Holy hell.Might he have come in contact with Vidal himself? She relaxed her grasp and controlled her features before Tía Sofia took notice.
Her aunt’s chin quivered. “He went there for me.”
“You must know his death wasn’t your fault, Tía.”
“I do. My son risked everything to ease my burdens, andthatis what I will remember.” Her aunt sighed. “Do not let a moment go by where you aren’t loving the people you care for with all your might. Love ferociously, mija.”
Tears slid down Carolina’s cheeks. “I will, Tía.”
Her aunt patted her knee. “Now, go on. Get ready for the evening. Dance with the boy who stole your heart.”
Carolina chewed on the inside of her cheek as she thought of the conversation with her tía. Their meeting had left her feeling vulnerable and heartbroken all over again, but it had also given Carolina a new clue. Lorenzo had ventured to Devil’s Spine.
Her eyes swept over the barn filling with people. Papá towered over a group of guests, speaking animatedly about a prized bull. The group surrounding him wore the thick, fur-lined tunics of the Greater North. They came twice a year to the western coast of Abundancia, and only once a year to Del Oro, to trade with the rancheros. When they did, Papá cleared out their largest barn and hosted an extravagant fiesta with a baile after. The dance usually lasted well into dawn.
She turned and started for the main house in search of her vampiro but halted just before she bumped into a woman in a plum-colored gown.
Carolina clutched at her chest and breathlessly apologized. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I didn’t notice you there.”
The woman brushed her long red hair over her shoulder. She wore a wide-brimmed hat that covered most of her face, but Carolina could see her beautiful smile. “No worries, love. I’m told I’m rather light on my feet.” The woman’s voice was soft and warm. Sultry might be a better term.
Something about her made the hairs on the back of Carolina’s neck stand on end. But if she was one of the wives or sisters of the traders, she couldn’t be rude.
“I am Carolina Fuentes.” She gave a small bow of her head. “Welcome to our home.”
“Why thank you, Carolina.” The woman held out a single gloved hand. “I am Maricela.”
Carolina wrapped her fingers around the black lace and shook Maricela’s hand. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“Believe me when I say the pleasure is mine.” A slow grin curved her lips upward.
There was something about Maricela, something in the set of her jaw that seemed so familiar.
“Have we met before?” Carolina asked.
“No. Not face to face, at least. But I am certain you and I are going to become well acquainted soon enough.”
“Oh?”
A small group of young ladies ran past. Fabiola, always the loudest of the bunch, was giggling about a handsome boy. Carolina’s eyes followed them toward the entrance. The crowd parted,and at the center stood a tall young man wearing a wine-colored charro.
Her mouth fell open. She’d seen Lalo in his dark suits that were the fashion of the ciudad, but she’d never seen him in anything so perfectly fit to his build. He looked…He was…She gulped. Lalo was beyond attractive.
