When the spell ended, I held my breath, waiting to hear how Raphael was.
“His color is better,” Adrian said. “Much better.”
I let out a long breath. It wasn’t a fix by any means, but I was so thankful it had helped at all. “Good.” I wiped my now sweating face. “Good.” I checked my watch. It was just about dinnertime now. I still had time to eat and rest before the morning. Hopefully a good night sleep would help gain back some of my magic before I went to see the evil brujos. “Will you take me off speaker and put the phone to Raphael’s ear?”
“Sure.” All the ambient sounds from the RV quieted. “Putting it against his ear now.”
I cleared my throat. “Raphael de Santos. You listen to me! You hang on. Don’t give up. Don’t give in to Luciana’s magic. Not ever. You wait for me. Whatever it takes. You wait for me to come to you.” I heard a grunt, and I took that as him agreeing. “Good. I love you. So much.”
“Are you okay?” Adrian asked.
I took about a second to be embarrassed that he probably heard all of that before letting it go. “No. I’m not even remotely okay.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“No. Just… Keep him alive for me, okay. He’s really all I’ve got left.”
“That’s not true. You’ve got Tessa and Dastien and me and all of the rest of the pack. You’ve got the coven members who left Luciana. You’ve got Axel and your aunt and uncle. You’ve got Tia Rosa. You’re not alone. Even if the worst happens, you won’t be alone. Never.”
A tear fell down my cheek, and I brushed it away. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
“Nothing to thank me for. Just the truth.” He paused. “Get what you’re looking for. Fast. I’ll text you where to find us when we’re settled in San Jose.”
“Okay.” Because of Luciana, I often found it hard to trust people. I’d been suspicious of Adrian because he seemed too eager to learn magic, but I’d misjudged him. I was trusting him with my brother, and I didn’t think that trust was misplaced. When I got back, I’d teach him whatever he wanted to know. I owed him at least that much. “Thanks for taking care of him.”
“You got it. Talk to you soon.”
“Bye.” I hung up and threw my phone on my bed, willing the morning to come sooner. There wasn’t a second to spare.
Chapter Fourteen
When I woke up, I was still feeling a little tired from the long-distance magic. The good thing was that I knew what I had to do, no matter how much I didn’t want to do it.
Matt would be at breakfast waiting for me. He wasn’t one to give up when he wanted something, and since I’d been there yesterday morning, he’d be there today ready for round two. There was no time to stall. I had to get this done.
I put on the new pair of black pants I’d gotten for the trip. They were hiking pants, but way nicer. They made my butt look really good. I paired them with a magenta tank, and a peasant top. Trading the fleece I wore yesterday for a cardigan, I felt confident. I carefully put on my makeup, feeling like it was war paint. I thought about casting some protection spells—arming myself with a knot or two—but I was already feeling sapped. I’d only been gone from Texas for forty-eight hours. I still hadn’t recovered from Luciana’s heavy draining when I used that big chunk of magic last night. And if these brujos were evil, I was going to need every last scrap of magic I had. Lucas said he’d be watching out for me, but I couldn’t count on that. I had to take care of myself, and be ready to fight Matt and whatever these brujos could throw at me.
When I was ready, I grabbed my purse and headed out to the lobby. Sure enough, Matt was sitting at a table, reading a newspaper. He wore a white button-down, with a brightly colored plaid sweater over it, and navy slacks. The sweater was loud and obnoxious, but it made a statement. I wasn’t sure what that statement was…but it was there.
He noticed me, and grinned. Something about the grin was off. He looked a little too triumphant considering he didn’t know what I planned to say.
You can do this. You have to do this. I blindly grabbed some food, and then approached his table—not wanting to waste any time. Might as well get this over with.
He set the newspaper down, folding it carefully as he looked up at me.
“Can I sit here?”
He sat up straighter, waving a hand at the chair across from him. “Of course.” He took a sip of his coffee, trying to hide the smug look on his face. His grin had to mean he was pleased I’d come to him, and for a second, I thought he wouldn’t give me any grief for being rude to him yesterday.
Maybe this wasn’t going to be so hard after all.
“The wolf get tired of you already?” He said right as I took my first bite of grapefruit.