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Caught in a moment of surprise, my hands flew to cover his. Then he lifted me and placed me on the bench. His movements were controlled. Those honey-brown eyes never left mine.
I had never danced with a male partner in Las Patrias, and Isaac had done well enough, but with Antonio, there was a synchronicity that translated from all the hours we’d spent together.
His hands did not leave my waist.
Could he feel how my heartbeat reverberated through my rib cage? Did he know I could hardly breathe?
It was hard to look at him because he could see too much, so I focused on the surrounding city and the frozen ocean.
“You’re going to win,” he breathed.
I blinked rapidly, my eyes suddenly burning. “I will die and turn into fodder for the newspapers.”
Antonio stepped onto the bench with me but wasn’t trying to take in the view. He was just close.
Too close.
“You are going to win, Carmen Asbaje.”
I opened my mouth to contest again, but he crossed the line in the sand again. His hand slid up the thick fur coat across my back and landed on my neck.
He held me in place and studied my face, one of his fingers gently stroking the side of my throat. There was no pained expression haunting his face this time. I was no longer a punishment for him—I was his salvation.
He didn’t kiss me, but with his skin on mine, driving me mad, I wasn’t above begging. He just took a deep breath, savoring the details of this evening, and then he said, “Magda is going to stay with us tonight. My gift to you.”
Sweet relief flooded me, so I hugged him.
There was no awkwardness this time, and I could feel his heart racing through the layers of his coat. It beat in time with mine, and I wondered how I had never realized he made me feel safe.
So. Safe.
And Magda? I wanted Isaac because I thought he would allow me to have my friends. Antonio was already making that happen. Maybe the Canciller had been right.
I could marry Antonio. We could be happy.
But I would have to use Isaac to win to ask for a boon from Canciller Duarte.
Chapter18
My last night with my friend
Magda smiled at me while she lay beside me in my enormous bed. A comfortable familiarity came with being with my chosen sister once more. Blood or not, she was still my best friend. After learning that my brother had drowned next to me, her friendship felt all the much more sweet. The soft glow of the moonlight streamed through the thin curtains, casting a silvery hue over the plush velvet bedding that adorned Antonio’s guest room.
A flicker of silver danced across the room, casting a delicate pattern on the wall. I thought of Santiago while Magda explained how they were bound through blood. When she painted the experience with words, it was easy to imagine his quiet strength and his once-broody demeanor turned to sunshine rays. He lit up when he was with her.
“Magda, you licked his blood?” I whispered, thinking back to what had happened with Antonio the night he kissed me.
Our blood didn’t call to each other—I would’ve felt it. Antonio was simply helping me to heal.
Emotion rose in my throat, threatening to choke me. I couldn’t think about this right now.
Magda hesitated for a moment, biting her lip nervously. “Well, it sounds stranger than it felt. Santiago called it the Sanguine Call.”
I furrowed my brow, trying to recollect what Antonio had mentioned about this mysterious type of bond. He said it was a rare phenomenon. “The Sanguine Call... isn’t that some sort of blood-bonding ritual?”
“Exactly,” Magda breathed. “Yes, that’s part of it. But there’s more to it than just the bond, Carmen. Santiago is kind and gentle... and he loves me.” Her cheeks flushed. The words hung in the air, weighted with a significance that sent shivers down my spine. She was never like this with anyone, never shy or fleeting. It was hard to make her blush.
Something was different.
