The next day and a half passed quickly- too quickly.
Now, it was the night before the wedding.
Juan and Alejandro dragged Jaime to the tavern, insisting it was tradition. A men's night out to drink, laugh, and forget the doom pacing at their heels. Aurora and Elena both frowned at the idea, but Esperanza had smiled with her usual calm wisdom.
"They've earned a night, Mama," she said softly. "Besides, what trouble could they possibly get into in one evening?"
Elena hadn't been convinced. Bonded to Jaime now, she could feel the burn of rum sliding down his throat at Alejandro's persistent urging. Her lips curled into a scowl even as she sat alone in the cottage, muttering at shadows.
So it was Esperanza who found her mother later in the kitchen, clutching her old wedding band to her chest, hair plastered to damp cheeks. Elena's violet eyes shone wetly, lightning flickering in their depths, unstable.
"I wanted him so badly," Elena slurred, voice raw, trembling. "I waited so long before giving in… and he destroyed me. Puto. And now the lion is back, Jaime can't just say no to that rat bastard Ale, and, tell me, Espie, is life meant to be nothing but tragedy? To live just to suffer?" She flung the ring across the table, where it clattered like a curse. Sagging forward, she groaned into her hands. "A hangover at my third wedding. A la mierda estupidá vida."
Esperanza slid a cup of water toward her, eyes soft. "You really loved him, didn't you, Mama?"
Elena scowled through curls falling into her face, then gave a small, broken nod. "I did. Coño, I still do."
She drained the water in one gulp, shaking her head as Guabancex's voice chuckled in her bones:
Maybe it's time for bed, my vessel.
"¡Cállate!" Elena snapped into the silence. "Let me wallow if I want to!"
Esperanza laughed before she could stop herself, then covered her mouth. Elena glared sideways, but her lips softened into a rueful smile. "I've earned that right, damn it. If Jaime were here, he'd just say, let it out. So why shouldn't I?"
Then she barked a laugh, sharp and cracking. "Especially since he's the one making me drunk! Alejandro is dead the next time I see him."
Esperanza wrapped her arms around her mother. Elena stiffened, then slowly melted into the embrace.
"Mama," Esperanza whispered, voice trembling with love, "you're the strongest person I've ever met. And I love you. So much."
Tears welled in Elena's eyes, but her heart didn't feel sad at all. She kissed her daughter's curls, her voice thick. "I'm so grateful to have a daughter like you, mi niña. You really are my hope."
They were still holding each other when the door banged open. Juan stumbled in with Jaime half-collapsed against him, his ocean-blue eyes hazy and bloodshot. "He's fine, he's fine," Juan was laughing, but both women had to stifle their own laughter at the sight.
"Let's get these drunkards to bed, hm?" Esperanza giggled, helping her mother stand.
"Ay, Jaime," Elena groaned, leaning heavily against her daughter, "we're bonded now. Whyyy are we both so far gone?"
Jaime, slurring into Juan's shoulder, muttered something about love you so much and never again. Between the four of them, they managed to shove mother and stepfather into Esperanza's old bed. Elena swore under her breath as she pushed Jaime's heavy frame off her chest.
The younger pair only made it out into the hall before collapsing against each other, convulsing with helpless laughter.
In the kitchen, Alejandro leaned against the counter, smirking. "Think they'll stay like that for a while?"
"Tío!" Esperanza hissed, swatting him. "The plan was distract them, not hang them over for the ritual!"
Alejandro just shrugged, smug. "Instructions unclear. Distracted? They're distracted."
Juan smirked, holding up his hands. "In my defense, he really wanted that rum."
Esperanza rolled her eyes. "Mama says otherwise. She says you're a dead man walking."
They were still laughing when a sharp knock rattled the door. Juan opened it to Aurora, flushed and hurried, with several village men behind her carrying crates and bundles. "Are we ready? We don't have much time."
The cottage filled with quiet, urgent purpose. Furniture moved piece by piece into Elena's old room. Aurora and Esperanza pressed satin against irons, steam hissing softly.
"Do you think it will work?" Esperanza asked, her voice almost lost in the hiss. "This bond… between Jaime and Mama?"
Aurora paused, her expression soft. "From the way he looked at her when she was bleeding out? Even without gods, Jaime is already hers. And your mother…" She smiled faintly. "She deserves this happiness."
Esperanza's lips curved, though her gaze turned inward. "Where did it go wrong with Papa?"
Aurora's hands stilled. "Niegal always wanted to be the savior. When your mother told him she was done with his self-righteousness, he couldn't bear it. Then came the corruption."
Esperanza's teeth worried her lip. "Could it happen to Juan? To anyone who's a vessel?"
Aurora hesitated. "Perhaps. But Jaime suspects a relic. If so, it can be destroyed."
At last, Juan ushered them into the finished room. A new bed draped in velvet quilts stitched with sigils for rest. Lavender-stuffed pillows. A wardrobe, vanity, and two chairs by the hearth.
Esperanza's eyes filled. "Dioses… they're going to love it."
Alejandro grinned. "Best part? We can take it all back to La Sirena."
Juan chuckled. "Hardest part? Getting Elena in here without being fried by lightning."
"I got this," Esperanza said, smiling as she turned toward her mother's room.
But when she pushed the door open-7
Her smile died.
Shattered glass glittered across the floor. Jaime slumped half out the broken window, blood dark down his side as he struggled to drag himself back in. His hands slipped. He cursed weakly, collapsing against the frame.
Blood smeared the floorboards.
And Elena was gone.
The night air through the broken panes carried a sound. Low. Guttural. Alive.
A growl.
Esperanza's heart plummeted.
Her scream split the cottage.