Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
Lo
El Abysmo grew by the second, greedily consuming everything it could. Vases, statues, chairs, and anything else unfortunate enough to find itself in its path. Mayté shrieked. Dominic toppled from his chair. Carlos clung to the table for dear life—was it anchored to the floor?
Nearby, the Banker simply shuffled his deck, casually catching a stray card before El Abysmo could steal it away.
There was something almost beautiful about the chaos. Bits of gold and jewels mixed with the flying debris. The winds violently tugged Lo’s curls and skirts. El Abysmo would grow, she knew, until it had its sacrifice. One of them would die. She laughed. Perhaps it would be her!
Loretta stayed in her throne with that pathetic shopkeeper at her side, fanning her.
El Abysmo’s inhale intensified. Lo fumbled around for something to cling to as her curls whipped her face. She lost her footing. She closed her eyes.
Death could be a relief.
Something yanked her arm, stopping her tumble toward El Abysmo. She watched in shock as several chairs disappeared into the gaping black.
Carlos had been the one to grab her. With a grunt, he pulled her against him. His other arm was wrapped tight around the sturdy-looking leg of a table.
Lo’s eyes widened as she and Carlos looked at each other, the wind howling around them. “Why?” It was all she could get out. Why would he save her, after everything she’d done?
Carlos yelled over the noise, yet the rest of the world seemed to soften until all she could focus on was him. “If I won, I would have helped my family, restored Las Cinco … and convinced your father to allow me to marry you. You would never have had to depend on him again.”
Their noses nearly touched. She could make out each of his eyelashes and the tiniest few freckles on his brown face.
He could have used his wish on anything. He could have asked for enough power and wealth to attract any woman. One who wasn’t broken, like she was.
And yet—
His eyebrows furrowed. “Now I just want us to make it out of here. Alive.”
Lo’s fluttering heart slowed. What did she want? When this began, she could have confidently answered: she wanted Mamá. A way for her family to start anew.
Hours ago, she also could have answered: destroy Fortune’s Kiss.
But now … now everything felt empty and dull. As if her soul were already claimed by this wretched place.
Carlos was kind, but as much as she cared about him, they could never be together.
Maybe in another world. Another life. One where her mother never left and Senor Robles didn’t destroy his family.
But in this life, no. She hugged him tighter and buried her face in his chest. Her pounding heart was almost as loud as the howling winds.
Maybe they could have stayed like this forever, but El Abysmo had a different idea. The force grew even more powerful, pulling Carlos and Lo’s feet off the floor. Carlos gritted his teeth as he struggled to hold on.
But what about Mayté?
There was something that Lo wanted: for her best friend to be safe. She frantically looked around. Wreckage flew through the air. The debris circled the black hole in the room’s center.
Mayté and Dominic held on to a different table. Dominic coughed and coughed. His chest convulsed.
As Lo stared, he lost hold of the table—
And plummeted toward the spinning vortex.