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before walking out the door to leave their family forever.
    Standing on the small island with Elizabeth, swearing her allegiance to the One Beneath, while Mateo shouted for her to stop.
    Nadia jerked her head upright, feeling a shock wave ripple through her—unlike any kind of magic she’d felt before. The sensation was uncomfortable, not painful but queasy and wrong.
    “You chose poorly,” Elizabeth said with her eyes still shut.
    It was true; she had. Nadia had felt betrayed when her mother walked out, but now she knew the truth behind what Mom had done and why; that had actually been Mom’s deepest sacrifice for her family. And she’d had no choice but to swear allegiance to Elizabeth, to save the lives of dozens of people.
    Elizabeth couldn’t know which memories Nadia had chosen—but obviously she had felt the spell’s failure. Nadia felt embarrassed despite herself. You know you’re too much of a perfectionist when you’re upset that you weren’t good enough at being evil.
    Elizabeth’s smile was thin, yet satisfied. “You need more experience with betrayal.”
    Mateo had known something was up when Nadia texted him that she couldn’t come by La Catrina. He’d worked his way through his shift, his thoughts so confused that he’d delivered burritos to the table that wanted tamales—and vice versa. Eventually his dad had drawn him aside. Not for a lecture. No, worse: Dad was worried that the “seizures” were affecting his ability to concentrate.
    “That’s not it. I swear. It’s Nadia. She’s upset about something, and I don’t know what, so I can’t stop wondering why.” It was a relief to be able to tell his father the truth for once.
    Dad folded his arms. “Maybe I should be relieved it’s just hormones like any other guy your age. Don’t worry; you two will work it out. Talk to your girlfriend later. Now? Concentrate on what you’re doing.”
    Mateo nodded and tried to concentrate on his tables. Still, he didn’t feel right.
    The second he was free, though, he grabbed his phone—and it buzzed with a text from Nadia just as he picked it up. Can you come get me? It’s raining.
    Mateo hadn’t even heard the rain before, not over the mariachi music playing in the front of the restaurant. Sure enough, drops were pattering against the window in the back room. Of course. Where are you?
    Elizabeth’s.
    A chill shivered along Mateo’s skin, but he punched his arms through the sleeves of his coat and headed out.
    Elizabeth’s house glowed a sickly, feverish red on the horizon as he sped toward it on his motorcycle. His Steadfast powers showed him the magic within that house, the twining, twisted evil that clung to it like ivy. The heat of it beat at him even through the December cold, so fierce that he almost expected the rain to evaporate before it fell—like it would sizzle into steam.
    Mateo had braced himself to walk up the steps or eveninside to get Nadia if he had to. But even as he brought his motorcycle to a stop, she dashed out to him, holding the collar of her coat over her head. From his glove box he fished out his waterproof jacket—the one he would normally wear when riding his cycle in this kind of weather but had saved for her tonight. As Nadia wrestled it on, Mateo saw Elizabeth looking out the door at him, leaning against the jamb with a slight smile on her face.
    Last month he’d tried to convince Nadia they should try to kill Elizabeth. She’d talked him out of it at the time. He still thought it wasn’t a bad idea.
    Nadia spoke not a word. Not as she put on his spare helmet. Not as he sped her to her house. When he stopped, though, they got off the bike together and ran to her porch, their feet sloshing through mud puddles side by side. Only when they sat on the wood steps of her porch—him half-soaked and shivering, her in the bright orange reflective jacket, did he break the silence.
    “Why didn’t you come by earlier?” he asked.
    Nadia shrugged. “I was