by Dela
Everything throbbed. I wondered why I wasn’t healing fast like before.
“What is wrong with my body?” I asked, shifting to a more comfortable position.
“You suffered a concussion, broke your collarbone, broke a rib. And . . .”
“And what?”
“You died, Zara. I had to resuscitate you,” he said gravely. “We took blood from a local hospital and gave you a transfusion.”
“Am I curable?” I asked, worry compounding when I breathed in deeply and felt a sharp pain in my ribs.
“You mean will you heal fast?” He shook his head apologetically.
I wanted to cry when I couldn’t breathe in all the way. “Why not?”
“Did you drink Xavier’s blood?” he asked.
“He made me.”
“Xavier was trying to rid himself of the curse, but it bonded you two.”
I gasped sharply, then gasped again as pain shrieked through my torso. “What?”
“Only for the time being. But Dylan’s power will only work on humans.”
“What are you saying? That I’m not human anymore?”
There was light laughter suddenly. “You will always be human, but you have a god’s blood inside you. Until your blood runs clear, your body won’t allow Dylan to change it.”
“Will morphine work, at least?”
He looked toward the puncture wounds over the veins on my wrist. “We’ve already tried two days’ worth of doses. It didn’t take—that’s why we took the IV out.”
I slouched with despair.
“So what did you tell Max when you got home?”
He fixed his gaze on me and interlaced our fingers before speaking. “When I got home, Max wasn’t exactly talkative. He saw me outside holding you, and saw all the blood on my clothes. He knew something was up, but I only told him that I saved you from a tide. Your parents didn’t see anything until you were already cleaned up and in bed. I told them the same, that you tried to go for a swim in the middle of a rainstorm, and that I had to get you out of it. Max still hasn’t said anything to anyone, but I know he is spooked. You scared him pretty bad. I mean, I would be too, if my sister was telling me to run for help and then disappeared to who knows where, only to return wounded and unconscious in the hands of a stranger.”
His tone held subtle sympathy for Max. My nose scrunched at my hideous behavior. He was right, and considering how awful I looked and felt now, I could only imagine how Max felt when Lucas brought me in, bloody and mostly dead. “Has he seen me yet?”
“He came as soon as I got home with you.”
I suddenly remembered that I’d left the temple naked, except for that awful loincloth. “Was I decent? I mean, was I still in . . .”
Lucas sighed, flashing a tender smile, and kissed the bandage on my wrist. “No.”
My body warmed as I flushed in embarrassment. “How did I get into these clothes?”
Lucas chuckled quietly. “I wish I could say it was me, but unfortunately it wasn’t. Marifer changed you so that your family wouldn’t see you like that. I may be bad, but I am still a gentleman.”
As I snickered with him, my heart swelled with gratitude for Marifer.
“Max is torn over everything,” Lucas said. “He believed you earlier—that something was wrong—so he doesn’t believe that you were trying to go for a swim in the storm. He’s your brother, Zara. I don’t want to ruin your relationship with him, and we didn’t want to . . . intervene with him unless you want us to. If you need Dylan to help, he will, but I thought you wouldn’t want that. We are leaving Max up to you, to tell him what you think is necessary. Just know that nothing good can come from him knowing even the slightest bit of truth.”
“I know.”
Right then I decided to lie to protect him. I had a funny feeling in my stomach. I knew he’d be hard to persuade, but I had to try. I couldn’t have his mind tampered with.
Lucas’s face suddenly went bland, and he stood abruptly and turned his back to me. My eyes wandered to the door, where my family waited.
“Come in,” I said hoarsely.
My eyes watered when Max entered. His shaggy hair looked greasy, sticking out from his baseball cap. His face had been wrung dry of expression, leaving only confusion as he stood back against the wall, watching me as if I were a ghost. A large lump in my throat prevented me from talking. This is going to be harder than I thought.
Mom sat at my side. “How are you feeling, hon?”
“I’ve been better.”
“You are so lucky Lucas came home when he did. We probably would have never found you,” she griped, attempting cheer. Her eyes were sunken with exhaustion.
“I know, Mom. I’m so sorry.” Max shook his head in the back, calling me on my lie. I flicked my guilty eyes away.
“I’m just happy you’re okay,” Mom said, wrapping her arms around my neck.
I screamed as pain racked me from my collarbone down to my ribs. She rocketed up and covered her mouth.
“I’m so sorry,” she cried into cupped hands.
Dad patted her slouched shoulders, then took the bunched seat at my side, kissing the bandage on my forehead as he did. “Merry Christmas, honey.”
“Merry Christmas, Dad.”
He looked happier than the others. “I can’t wait to show you all the pictures we took.”
“Me too.”
It was nice to smile back. It was the one thing that didn’t hurt.
“I’m sorry you had to miss out on so much,” he said.
“Dad, it’s okay. Really. It’s entirely my fault. I was just being stupid.”
“Maybe. You’re lucky Lucas got you out,” he said, getting off the bed.
Casey moved into his spot. It was disgraceful how he scanned me head to toe with a sly, disgusted smirk. “How you feeling, sis?”
“What do you think?”
There were wrinkles on his forehead when he smiled. “No offense, but Jett is going to hear about this one. This definitely wasn’t your smartest moment.”
“I know, I figured.” I sighed.
Max moved up behind Casey, glaring accusations at me, but then he shook his head and ran out the door.
I froze, wanting to get up and run after him, but I couldn’t even wiggle my toes. Lucas chased after him, and I began to tear up.
“We should probably let Zara rest,” Andrés said quickly, noticing the water gathering in my eyes. “Marifer will keep an eye on her while we get some food into the rest of us. Zara will be fine. Please, let’s go get you all some dinner.”
Mom wiggled out of Dad’s embrace and kissed me softly on my uncut cheek. “Get some rest,” she said. “I’ll check back on you soon.”
When the last of them had left, Andrés bent over and applied a gentle kiss over Mom’s. “I’m glad you are okay.”
“Thank you, Andrés,” I sniffled.
Valentina followed with the same light kiss, but she left her hands delicately on my skin. “I knew you were tough, but it’s important that you get your rest now.”
But I knew that I couldn’t rest until I knew one thing. “Where did Xavier and Xquic go?”
“To Peru, for now.” She paused, reading the fear in my eyes. “They will not come after you. I swear to it. Now rest, my child.”
As Valentina left with Andrés, Gabriella moved to my side with happy tears. Dylan stood next to her with his arms crossed.
“Zara, you made it,” she said.
“Barely.”
Dylan’s emerald eyes were kind and inviting as he stepped closer, the complete opposite of Xavier’s harsh coldness. “What did Xavier say to you, Zara?”
“Tita’s spell didn’t keep him out because his body and soul were separate.”
Dylan dropped into the chair against the wall in full concen
tration, resting his chin on a balled fist and tapping his foot. “He was stronger than I thought, that little bastard.”
Then he stood, directed a torrent of Spanish at Gabriella, and headed out the door.
“Dylan,” I called to his back.
He stopped short of the door and turned.
“I’m sorry about your brother.”
There was a distracted glaze over his nod, and then he left.
I looked around for pain pills, hoping they’d work better than the useless morphine. As I spotted a small orange bottle on the dresser, Gabriella grabbed it and passed me three.
“It won’t do much, but it should take the edge off,” she said, handing me a cup of water.
“Thanks.”
She sat at the edge of the bed, her large brown eyes watching me too closely as I swallowed.
“What?” I asked.
“Just wondering what you will choose to do next.”
“What do you mean?”
She shoved her feet forward, suddenly antsy, then chuckled silently to herself and looked up. “You haven’t just stolen Lucas’s heart. We all love you. We don’t want to lose you.”
I scratched my reeling head, wondering whether the pills could have kicked in that fast.
“Oh, I, uh . . .” I remembered drowsily Lucas saying his family could hear us in the bedroom. I snickered with equal parts embarrassment and curiosity. “Did you hear us the other night?”
She stood with a grin, pulled the loose sheets up over my satin-and-gauze-wrapped body, and tucked them softly underneath. “There’s nothing wrong with love, especially when Lucas was broken for so long.” She walked to the arch of the door and, holding the jamb, glanced back. “You’ve given him a reason to be fixed.”
I lay still as the words sank in.
“Good night, Zara,” she said, and then left me alone.
Once her words faded from my restless mind, I dozed and slipped into a deep sleep. When I woke, Lucas was lying next to me on the bed. It was dark and the house was quiet. As I tried to make myself more comfortable, his lips suddenly pressed to mine, sending gentle sparks throughout my body.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” he whispered softly.
I rubbed my eyes and yawned. “How long have you been here?”
“I came right after you fell asleep.”
I tried to look for a clock, but my injuries restricted my movement. “What time is it?”
“Three in the morning.”
“How long have I been out for?”
“Twelve hours. How are you feeling?”
My bloodied bandages had been changed, glowing whiter in the dark, and I was in clean pajamas. I eyed Lucas with a curious accusation.
He pointed to his chest and laughed as he shook his head. “It wasn’t me.”
“Do you want to?” Something about knowing he could have taken advantage of me built an unnerving excitement.
He messed with his hair, an arrogant grin spreading across his face that stretched his dimple beautifully. “Trust me, I tried, but Marifer wasn’t having it.”
“Well then, I will have to remember to thank her for that.” Then I remembered the ridiculous wrapping and sticky misery of the pyramid. “What was on me in the pyramid?”
His porcelain teeth flashed in the dark. “When the people of my time offered virgins as sacrifices, they painted them white and dressed them in red. The two together to symbolize what was then and what is now. The white symbolized their purity and the red represented the act they were about to perform, giving themselves—their lives—to death.”
I gulped against the hard pit of nausea that wanted to spread throughout me. “And what was on my head?”
“A feather crown,” he said.
“Feathers? It didn’t feel like feathers at all. That thing was so heavy.”
“And gold,” he added with a chuckle. “You’ve seen mine. Try lifting it sometime.”
“No, thank you.”
His fingers gently brushed the surface of my arm, easing away my disgust, and I sighed with pleasure. The rest of the night we laughed over the hideous wardrobe faux pas we’d had as children. We argued about whose clothes were more awful, though it was hard to compare the nineteen nineties to the fifteenth century. Lucas finally caved when I pointed out that he practically grew up naked, and then we agreed that the nineties were not kind to either of us.
Soon light seeped over the horizon, pouring a beautiful orange light into the room. The house was still quiet. Only the ocean waves were audible when Lucas left my bed and bent down over me with his arms outstretched.
“What are you doing?” I said, as he tucked me lightly into him. I winced at first, but then his outer arm moved enough to not press so tightly and his steps didn’t jar me.
“We’re watching the sunrise,” he answered, and he carried me down the stairs.
“Lucas, my parents are going to see.”
He hushed me. “They are asleep. Stop talking, or they’ll wake up.”
I shut my mouth as he passed the kitchen. The double glass doors had been left wide open, letting the fresh breeze blow inside. I smelled sweet water as Lucas trekked across the sand toward the sea. A copse of palms and bushes gave us privacy, and we were far enough away that my family, at least, wouldn’t be able to hear us from the house. Lucas set me down carefully under the curve of a palm. The black ocean was lightening as rays peeked over the edge of the water. I couldn’t take my eyes off the colors blooming in the sky.
“This is my favorite place to watch the sunrise,” Lucas said, resting his elbows on his knees.
“It’s so pretty.”
Lucas turned to me. “Max won’t talk to me. Other than to say it’s all my fault.”
“But that’s stupid,” I said, distress coloring my voice.
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
“Zara, none of this would have happened if I had just listened to you.” He choked and barely clamped down his rising emotions. “I almost lost you.”
“I’m okay now, and Max can’t ignore me forever. I’m his sister!” I declared.
Lucas looked away again to the horizon. “Zara, he’s a guy. You need to give him time.”
“Maybe you’re right,” I muttered.
“I know I’m right. I speak guy.”
“Oh, is that a new language you invented?”
“Nah. It’s always been around. Only guys would understand it, though.”
When I didn’t answer, Lucas turned to me with a serious expression. And as the sun rose in the distance, he cupped my cheeks carefully and kissed me with every reason in the universe. There was no more fear in his lips, and the kisses left words on my heart, as if setting his love in stone.
Our lips popped when he broke away.
“Whatever it takes to keep you, I will do. Just tell me what to do. Whatever I meant but never said when I first met you, I’m saying it now. I will wait for you forever and serve you in all your remaining days. Choose where you want to live, and I will follow. I am yours. I’ll rub your feet every night for the rest of your life if you want, and you have my blessing on whatever it is you desire. I’ll build a mansion for you, or an army—” he promised, sounding nearly scared.
I cut him short when I cupped his scruff gently and smiled, honored. “How about college?”
“It’s yours . . . but I’m paying your way.”
“I’m sure we can work something out.”
He looked happily away into the sunrise and sighed. “I had to make sure you saw this at least once before we go home.”
“We’re going home?”
“Yes. You need to be at home in your own bed, where your mom can take care of you. As much as I would love to be crazy and run off together, we need to act like a normal couple would. And it’s
critical that you act your age.” He kissed my forehead and sniffed. “But I don’t want you to. I want to be the old couple already. I want to surprise you with trips to Paris and new cars.”
“Is that what you think is normal for people my age?”
“My perception, yes. I’ve only had Gabriella and Dylan as an example.”
I laughed. “Okay, that is not normal. Normal people struggle with finances, health, and even their own love for one another.”
He frowned. “But I don’t want you to have any of that.”
I leaned as far back into his shoulder as I could without hurting. “You’ll be surprised. Having trials makes the good times even better.”
He kissed the top of my head, leaving his face buried in my hair. “I’m so in love with you.” Each time he breathed out, it warmed my head. I didn’t want it to go away ever, but he lifted his head and looked toward the ocean. “You may have to show me how to be normal, then.”
“Gladly.”
We sat in each other’s embrace, watching the waves on the shore in the most comfortable silence I’d ever felt. If this was how Lucas’s money was spent—luxurious homes where I could feel the sand between my toes—then I wanted a part of it.
“When are we leaving?” I wondered, feeling the breeze cool my sun-kissed cheeks.
“This afternoon.”
I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, never wanting to forget this place.
As Lucas packed my suitcase, Aluxes checked on me every thirty minutes. I was reading a magazine when Marifer came in, and even though it hurt, I gave her a weak one-armed hug, hoping it was a universal language for thank you. I was pretty confident she understood when she squeezed me back gently. We exchanged a few short words in broken English and Spanish and ended up laughing at each other for our silly attempts.
Max kept quiet, though, and I was really starting to worry. He’d always been the type to let problems fester inside until he blew up. Things were not okay between us, and I knew that as we boarded the plane. It didn’t help that Lucas was pushing my wheelchair. But Max would have to talk to me sooner or later, so I decided to blindside him as soon as we got home.