Page 27 of The Lost Guardian

His mother was quiet for a long, breathless moment. Then she made a small sound of recognition.

“Los Guardianes,” she said. “They called themselves Los Guardianes.”

Santiago found a way to end the call quickly after that. His thoughts crashed through his mind like river rapids, moving too fast to get a handle on any one in particular. Despite the conversation with his mother, he felt like he had more questions than answers.

The only thing he knew for certain was that his parents had kept more than just his ancestry from him. It wasn’t that he felt his entire life had been a lie, exactly…but he was acutely aware that he had not been raised knowing the whole truth about his lineage, his legacy, his people. Resentment bubbled up in him, but he shoved it back down.

He didn’t want to resent his dead father.

He walked back toward Brooke, who sprang up to meet him.

“Are you…” she began.

Santiago just shrugged.

“What did she say?” she asked him.

“It’s true,” he answered. “At least, the society, the Guardianes, the stories my grandfather told me…they’re all true.” He ran a hand through his hair while he paced. “There really are ‘Los Guardianes de la Tumba.’ And I guess that makes me one of them?”

The last statement came out more like a question. Could he really claim to be a Guardian if he hadn’t even had any knowledge of their existence two days ago?

“So, what does this mean?” Brooke asked. “What are you going to do?”

He stared at her for a long moment, feeling resigned. “I guess I’m going to Peru.”

8

“I’m going to Peru,” Santiago repeated, feeling dazed.

“Glad to hear it,” a voice said from nearby.

Both he and Brooke turned, surprised to see Ali sauntering up to them. She had pulled her dark hair up into a high ponytail, making already upturned eyes appear all the more catlike.

“What are you still doing here?” Santiago asked. He assumed his outburst in the car would have driven her away.

“I’m here to help you,” she reminded him, crossing her arms. “You didn’t think I would leave you two on your own, did you? There are dangerous men after you.” Her eyes were serious and intent, and locked completely on Santiago. “I wasn’t about to leave you unprotected.”

Santiago felt like he’d been doused in ice water. He hated to admit it, but he was so relieved that Ali was there, especially now that he’d decided to honor his abuelo’s last wishes. He was desperately out of his depth, and she had proven that she knew how to defend herself—and him, at that. If Ali was willing to help, he would be glad for her company.

Though a tiny, treacherous part of his brain did take a moment too long pondering where she might be hiding weapons under all that tight clothing. Santiago pushed the thought away.

“Okay,” he conceded. “What next?”

Ali raised her brows. “I was hoping you could tell me.”

“Right, right,” he answered as he paced again. “I guess the first thing we need to do is get to Peru.”

“Already taken care of,” Ali replied with a wave of her hand. “Our flight boards in an hour.”

“Our flight?” Santiago gasped. He had seen her take the exit toward LAX, but lots of places were around there. It hadn’t registered in the shuffle. Or maybe he hadn’t wanted to believe it.

“Yes, Rios,” Ali said, looking bemused. “That’s usually how people travel to different countries.”

“That’s why you had me grab my passport,” he replied, panic rising up his throat. Or was that bile? Everything was moving too quickly.

“Wait, what, now?” Brooke demanded. “No, we can’t go now!”

“Torres’s men won’t be far behind us, and we’ve already wasted time as it is,” Ali said. “We need to get to Peru before they track us down again.”