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I glanced at her feet, which were now bare. “Put your shoes on, you’ll get sick.”
She raised an eyebrow, bemused, and I realized just how easily the informality was coming between us now.
“Okay, mamá,” she teased, then bent over to pull on some boots
I smiled and sank back into my chair just as a young man came over and sat next to Isabela. He picked up the blond’s feet, sat down, and then replaced the feet in his lap. His hands didn’t leave Isabela’s ankles.
I had never seen this young man before. He certainly hadn’t been at the rehearsal.
Isabela caught me watching and jerked her head toward her guest. “This is Sam.”
“Hola,” I said brightly, after pushing my sleeve up and reaching for a drink. The movement had been so casual that I forgot about the scar running up my forearm.
Sam leaned forward, gently putting Isabela’s feet on the ground. “Woah, what is that?” When he reached out, it wasn’t fast or aggressive, but I flinched hard. Sam angled away from me. “I’m sorry, Renata. I didn’t know you could have golden tattoos. I’ve seen your Blood Magic before, I just. San Volcán, it’s like you have metal embedded straight into your skin.
I had already yanked my sleeve down, but I pressed at the skin. It wasn’t that gold…
I shook my head. “It’s fine. Sorry, I just have a thing with sudden touches.”
Shit, that sounded weird. I wished I could banish the memories of sharp knives and searing pain.
Isabela reached out and patted Sam’s leg.
The movement was discreet, but I caught it while trying to recover from my instinctive recoil.
Everyone at the table stared at me for a few minutes. Then Isaac came and sat down.
I took a deep breath. We would be together for an entire week, I should get used to this.
He looked at me and gestured at his plate. “I feel like a Dreg eating buffet style.”
Santiago shook his head. “This wasn’t meant to be a formal dinner.”
Isaac canted his head toward me. “I heard we had royalty with us tonight. We should be served as such.”
Sam stiffened and glanced at me while his seating companion grew angry.
“Damn, Isaac. Can you not be a prick tonight?” Santiago said.
This felt… strangely familiar. It sounded like something Magda would’ve said.
I stood up, not wanting to subject myself to anymore pain for the evening.
Sam smiled at me with his wide brown lips. “It was good to meet you.”
“Igualmente,” I murmured. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
I didn’t look back at anyone as I walked to the car. I didn’t have to speak while it drove me, Javier, and Manuel back to Antonio's home. My limbs felt heavy from the day's rehearsal, and the chill of the winter air bit at my skin despite the layers of clothing I wore.
"Welcome back," Antonio said from the chair in the sitting room. He was reading a book, and he looked startled when I walked in. My heart fluttered. Despite how angry I had been at him yesterday, the flickering candlelight bathed the room in a soft, intimate glow, and for a moment, I allowed myself to smile.
Then I saw the title of his story.
La Masacre de la Familia Real
I paused. We hadn’t talked about the rumors in a while, even though I knew the rumors were true. If he read that, he probably knew too. And he never told me.
“Hola,” I said, the desire to make up with him evaporated and I tried to slip past him. He hurried to catch up with me.
