Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
We stood fifty feet or so outside the senatorial residence. Sunaria had stripped our architect and now wore his clothes. Arnold’s jacket concealed her curves.
“Easier to get about.” Sunaria twisted up her hair and poked it beneath her cap.
I tried to fathom how taking his life was so natural, like how I’d imagine an animal might feel after a kill, as though we were privileged to choose who lived and who died, gifted with the ability to be another’s undoing.
Or perhaps we were cursed.
I stared at Sunaria. It was such a cruel trick for her to appear so alluring, so exquisitely bewitching, the moonlight reflecting off her dark locks, shimmering off her pale skin, lulling everyone, including me.
“After what Ricardo did to you,” she said, “you still want to rescue him?”
I studied the windows of the great house. “He’s a child. He had no idea what he was doing.”
“But…still.”
“He’s also my nephew.”
She pursed her lips. “Let’s deal with the senator first.”
“He’s my unfinished business.”
“And now you have the layout of the place in your head.”
I turned to her. “You think you’ll pass as a man?”
“I’ve done it before.”
Her attire convinced me, but her demeanor would have to change.
“I’m ready,” I said with a nod, trying to convince myself it was true.
“Stick to the plan.”
That had sounded like an order. I questioned whether I could follow it. Within moments, we reached the senatorial mansion’s roof. I peeked over the edge at the sheer drop, astounded that I’d just scaled a building.
No time for self-indulgence.
We pried open the loft door and entered.
“Felipe’s office, go,” she whispered.
I hesitated.
She frowned. “I’ll be fine.”
Stepping mindfully over the rafters, I proceeded ahead and quickly found the room, but when I turned to tell Sunaria, she was gone.
She was going through with it.
Peering down, I had a good view of Felipe’s office, and saw him sitting at his desk, scribing away. With all my will, I resisted the urge to descend and strangle him.
The painting had been replaced by a smaller, less significant portrait. He must have panicked when he’d discovered it was gone.
Sunaria entered with a member of staff who introduced her to Felipe as a royal representative. Felipe bowed, welcoming her. Sunaria’s voice was a tone deeper, her mannerisms masterfully imitating that of a man, albeit an effeminate one.
“How is the king?” Felipe asked.
She sat down. “He sends his deepest regards.”
I closed my gaping mouth as Felipe gestured to a chair.
“My staff will prepare a room for you.”
“I won’t be staying. This is the king’s time; therefore, I must be brief.”
“What brings you here?”
She frowned. “Propaganda is devised to mask the truth.”
“I quite agree.”
“The Church must keep its ministerial throne secure in these times of unrest.”
Felipe showed impatience. “Go on.”
“As you know, I have served the king for many years.”
This he didn’t know.
“His Highness,” she continued, “chose well when he chose you.”
Felipe gave a nod, his interest palpable.
“Intelligence reports indicate that there is a plot against the throne.”
Felipe looked intrigued.
“The king needs evidence.” Sunaria leaned forward. “Proof before he convicts the queen’s favorite courtier.”
“Does Her Majesty know?”
“He wishes to protect her, just in case the information is…”
“False?”
She smiled and raised her chin.
“What is required of me?” Felipe asked.
“Travel to Palos—”
“When?’
“Now.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes. The queen’s ship is due to set sail.”
His brow furrowed. “The Santa Maria?”
“Yes.”
“But I—”
“At seven o’clock tomorrow night, you must be in The Captain’s Table Inn. Wait for further instructions.”
“I don’t think I can make the port, even if I leave right this minute.”
“What shall I tell the king?” Sunaria asked, rising from the chair.
Felipe flinched. “There must be some mistake.”
“This is your message to His Majesty?”
Felipe’s gaze met hers. “Tell His Highness that my utmost discretion is assured.”
She gave a deep bow. “The throne expects nothing less.”
This wasn’t the plan, it couldn’t be. My glorious vision of killing him, of silencing the monster once and for all, had been undone by Sunaria’s blinding pride. He would never fall for a charade like this.
I told her this as we hurried down the hallway.
She turned and pressed me against the wall.
“You speak of us as though we are cursed, as though this life, this power, is something to mourn. I’ve tolerated your doubts, indulged your hesitations, because I wanted to give you time to understand.
But now you must realize that we are not bound by the limits of men.
We are their evolution, their reckoning.
By day we rest, yes, but when the night comes, we awaken as superior.
We are desire. We are strength. We are everything humanity longs to become but fears to embrace.
And I demand you see it – see us – for what we truly are. ”
I leaned down and kissed her hard like a punishment, causing her to glare at me. Her words resonated with a truth I prayed I could believe.
“The Santa Maria?” I kept my voice low, relenting to her wisdom.
She stroked my cheek gently before turning and proceeding down the hallway.
“I hate being back here,” I said.
“I can only imagine.”
Within minutes, we’d found the nursery. Six-year-old Ricardo slept in a corner bed and appeared well cared for.
In the other corner, his nanny snored lightly, a young girl of twenty years or so.
On the floor, near the foot of Ricardo’s bed, lay a broken wooden soldier splayed out.
Someone had tried to rip its head off. Ricardo’s penchant for violence left no object safe.
Sunaria nudged me toward him and, with one hand over his mouth, I picked him up. He immediately began squirming in my arms and then bit me.
The nanny stirred.
“Go,” Sunaria whispered.
With Ricardo in my arms, I flew out of the window and landed on the lawn behind the far wall and knelt beside him, trying to calm his wails. My hand pressed against his mouth. “I’m taking you to your mother.”
He calmed down a little.
I eased my hand off, ready to ram it back if needed.
“Mama’s dead,” Ricardo sobbed.
“Why do you say that?”
“Papa told me.”
“Well, she’s not. She asked me to bring you to her.”
Ricardo made me unbearably uncomfortable. If it weren’t for the fact I adored my sister, I’d have shoved him back into the house. Sunaria came up behind us several minutes later.
I felt relieved to see her. “What happened?”
“The nanny won’t remember,” she whispered. “I gave her a ‘little drink.’”
“What?”
Sunaria stared down at Ricardo. From her expression, she didn’t like the boy, either.
“Can Nanny come?” Ricardo asked.
Sunaria sighed. “Nanny’s too busy writhing in ecstasy.”
I tapped Sunaria’s arm in disapproval, but smiled, aware that Ricardo would soon be back in his mother’s arms and out of mine.
By the way Ricardo clutched my hand, I could tell that Sunaria had scared him.
Hooves clopped along a gravel pathway. We hugged the wall until we reached the front of the manor.
Sunaria peeked around. “Felipe’s getting in.”
The thought of seeing Jacob again consumed my thoughts. We reached the Ocean View Manor by ten in the evening. It was a perfect sanctuary. Sunaria had memorized Miranda’s instructions on how to reach their residence.
We arranged to meet afterward, just before sunrise, as Sunaria being with me would invoke even more questions. Despite having covered Ricardo’s eyes, the events of the night, which included throwing myself out the window with him in my arms, would have to be explained away if he brought it up.
We passed through an avenue of tall cedars that led to the front of the house. Sunaria rose on her toes and planted a kiss on my cheek. She knew what lay ahead for me and, through her gesture, assured her support.
Ricardo remained uncharacteristically quiet, not surprising considering the last two hours we’d spent flying through the air at great speed. I’d held him against me tightly, his face tucked into my jacket to protect him from the wind chill, and the remarkable view.
Lingering at the door of the home, I took a moment to gather my racing thoughts.
The moderately sized house possessed a simple charm.
Although one was not able to see the ocean from the house, the fresh air and occasional seagull that flew overhead revealed we were close.
Inland, the property would be safe from the weather, yet close enough to access the beach if one desired the trek down the winding pathway.
I couldn’t fathom why it had been called The Ocean View Manor if it lacked one. A title to impress those who’d never see it, perhaps.
Ricardo tugged on my trouser leg.
When Alicia opened the door, my heart soared. I willed myself not to burst out with details of all that had happened. Sunaria had known I’d face this very challenge. Alicia’s suffering had been great, and my woes could not be added to them.
Ricardo ran into her arms. Just behind Alicia stood Miranda holding Jacob. His face lit up when he saw me. I entered, wary of revealing anything by my movement, and took Jacob from Miranda, nuzzling into his hair, and smelling his familiar baby scent.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, watching Alicia’s reaction.
Tears welled up in her eyes, her lips trembling. “I heard what they did to him.”
“Salvador was brave until his last…” I couldn’t bear to say it.
I wrapped my free arm around her shoulders as we walked into the drawing room.
Oak logs crackled in the hearth. The aromas of cooking, the perfume of soapy lavender imbued from Miranda’s bedroom and rose petals from Alicia’s, the faint scent of dying lilies, all flooded my senses, mercilessly reminding me that I was now different.
They’d been playing cards, and although I didn’t see the deck on the table in the living room, I heard one of the cards being tossed up, caught by a breeze from an open window, and then flipping over onto the floor.