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The days leading up to the race dragged, but I enjoyed my time with the horses. Tinieblas had spoken to me on two occasions, both times causing me to scream in surprise. He’d been quieter these past few days, no doubt thanks to my ridiculous reactions.
The morning of the race finally arrived, and I was at the stables before dawn, too excited to sleep.
Espera stood in the dimly lit paddock, while Javi was bent over, examining his hooves.
My heart turned a somersault in my chest. I’d seen that horse run, but it would be even better to see him win a race.
“He’s beautiful,” I commented, noting the damp gleam to Espera’s coat and the bucket full of soapy water behind Javier.
The man whirled around, only it wasn’t Javier. Rafael stood to his full height so quickly that it spooked Espera, who jerked his head back and snorted.
“Oh, I thought you were Javier.”
My pulse, already racing, launched into a full gallop.
His expression was always so hard and unchanging. Only in the library had I seen a flash of vulnerability in him. I took a step closer, mouth open but unable to think of what to say.
He gave the smallest shake of his head, then nodded at something behind me.
Sinsorias marched down the path toward the stable, emitting a faint glow. The air whooshed from my lungs as all the things I’d hoped to say to Rafael evaporated on the breeze. The courtier waltzed into the paddock, wearing his favorite condescending smirk.
“Well, what is this? A little cavorting in the dark?”
I scoffed. “Hardly. I assumed he would be off sulking somewhere, as usual. When I arrived, I thought he was Javier.” I forced myself not to look back at Rafael. This had to be convincing.
Rafael said nothing, only picked up a brush and began stroking Espera.
Swallowing my nerves, I stomped up to him and held out my hand. “Here, let me do that. Don’t you have something better to do? Like disappear?” I spat the words with as much disdain as I could manage.
Angling my face away from Sinsorias, I cringed. I was a terrible actor. The courtier would see straight through me—if he couldn’t already hear how loud my heart pounded in my chest.
Rafael’s brow quirked, but he handed me the brush.
I yanked it a little too dramatically. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Rafael only blinked. When my hand moved into the familiar rhythm of brushing a horse, I finally allowed myself a small smile, but I quickly realized my mistake as a snort of laughter escaped.
“Something funny?” asked Sinsorias.
My shoulders were shaking as I tried to shove down the giggles creeping up. Too many times with Zara, we’d attempted to stop laughing, and it had always made it worse. With my bad acting skills, I wasn’t going to convince anyone I hated Rafael. Especially if I couldn’t stop laughing at myself.
“Yes,” I said, having absolutely no idea what I was going to say next. I could feel Rafael staring at me. “I find it entertaining that he’s here.” I pointed at my husband, still trying to form a coherent answer for Sinsorias. “If he’s the head of this grand estate, why is he out here, in the dark, giving his horse a bath?” I turned to him, finally in control of my expression. “Seems like it would be beneath someone like you. Someone who steals mortals from their family for fun.”
My chest heaved in quick breaths. I’d given it my best effort. And it was terrible. He could have told me to dance the flamenco in front of a thousand people, and I might have done better at that.
Rafael waved a dismissive hand and walked around Espera. Ignoring me was certainly the most hurtful thing he could do, and the sting of it killed the laughter still fighting to escape.
Sinsorias crossed his arms. “Nothing is beneath this one. You’ll see. Not even murder.”
Rafael spun on his heel and was in Sinsorias’s face in a blink. “That’s right, courtling. I would keep that in mind, if I were you.”
He stormed off through the barn and disappeared from view.
I didn’t see him again all day. Not as Everence, Hector, and I left the estate in a grand carriage, this one more like the ones from home, only larger and far more comfortable. Not as we rolled up to another grand estate with gates made entirely of bones. Not as we descended the carriage into a crowd of fae, easily the strangest crowd I’d ever seen.
The masks and costumes of the Festival de los Cuentos were nothing compared to the creatures wandering around the gardens of this massive estate. Dryads wearing what appeared to be thin shawls stretched over their twig-like limbs. Alojas in their water-spirit form, with translucent limbs and liquid-fast movements. Little squat creatures Everence called brownies, and some long-nosed, bent-backed things whose faces gave me chills. Those were the duendes.
Hector yelled at a strange form blocking the garden path as we followed the crowds around to a large racetrack surrounded by tall, immaculate hedges.
I froze in my shoes. “What is that?”
