do, so why is it so hard for me? When I close my eyes, I see the

maloscuros. I see the bloody parakeet in my hands. I see everyone I

love lying in a heap, just dead bodies.

“Sh,” Lula whispers in my ear. “Don’t do that. Remember the times

Dad took us to Coney?”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to think about Dad.”

“Well you have to, okay? Because we loved him once, and he loved

us too. Remember, Alex. He’d take us every Sunday night to the

boardwalk. We’d fill up on corn dogs and popcorn until we were too

full to walk and we’d just lay there on the beach watching the sun

set.”

“I remember.” Sometimes it’s hard to find the good memories.

“It’s love, Alex. Love is you jumping through a portal despite

your own safety. Love is Mom singing in the car and Rose making tea

when we’re sick and even us fighting because we’re blood, and no

matter what you do, I’ll never forget that you are my sister.”

I let the magic uncoil from the pit of my stomach and flow through

me. It’s different than the other times. Brighter and stronger. It

leaves me in a flood, connecting to Jesla. Her eyes snap open, and she

gasps for air. Her back arcs, like there’s something inside her

fighting against my magic. I move my hand over the claw marks from the

saberskins. They’ve been cleaned, but they’re still bleeding. I focus

on the brilliant light that links me to the aviana, my magic embracing

her, calling her back from the darkness. When I feel her heartbeat

kick up to a normal rate, I let go.

“Easy,” Lula says. “The recoil is going to kick in soon. Move on

to the next. You can do it.”

My mind spins. I try to grab Lula’s hand, but I forget she’s only

a projection of herself.

“Don’t go there,” she tells me. “Not yet.”

There are white spots in my vision as I stumble to Hadrigal. Her

black wings hang over the sides of the stone slab. Her eyes roll to

the back of her head. I can feel her fading quickly, so I press my

hands over her heart and send a shock right into its center. I can

hear Lula cheering me on, telling me it’s working. I can feel my

healing energy flooding Hadrigal, returning the color to her cheeks,

mending the cuts over her chest until she has the same pearly scars I

do.

I fall on my knees, my head spinning like a carousel.

“Come on, Alex,” Lula says. “One more. You’re a natural, don’t you

see? Way better than I ever could be.”

I choke on a laugh. “Am I dying or something? You’re being really

nice.”

“I can’t hold on, Ale. Hurry.”

“Lula?” It’s hard to breath. She looks over her shoulder, her

apparition getting weaker.

“Oh no… It’s coming back.”

“Is it the Devourer? I’m going to kill it.”

Lula erupts in an earsplitting scream.

“Lula!” I reach for her but I grab air.

She’s gone.

I crawl on my knees to the next table. I lower my ear to the

aviana’s open beak. The breath is as faint as mine, but I have to find

a way. I repeat Lula’s words. That’s the love I have for you .

Love is Lula. Love is my mom. Love is Rose. Love is in this power

that I never asked for but courses through my veins like the blood of

my ancestors.

When I hear the sharp intake of the aviana, I let go. All three of

them are awake.

I fall on my face. I’m not ready for the recoil, but I brace

myself. I shut my eyes and think of my family.

“I wish you could see me now.”

20

All roads lead to the labyrinth.

- from the journal of Rosaria Vargas

When I wake, I feel like I’ve slept for a hundred years. Rishi

sleeps in the fetal position atop a pile of leaves, and Nova sits

beside me. We’re back in the nest.

“It’s funny,” I tell Nova, “having to remind myself that this

isn’t a dream.”

He nods but doesn’t look at me. He leans his head back against the

cool wall, watching the avianas in their bird form, flying around the

statue of El Cielo.

“You could have died,” he says.

“You told me an encantrix can do anything.”

He looks off to the side, avoiding my eyes. “Experienced ones. Not

ones who barely know how to control their power.”

“I had to do something to save your skin. A simple thank-you would

be nice.” I sit up and stretch the stiffness out of my body. I’m

covered in tender bruises, but it was worth it to know that my family

is safe. For now. “Madra’s going to help us with the map. Let’s get

our things and keep going.”

I stand to walk past him, but he takes my hand in his. He stands,

towering over me. He brushes my tangled hair back and cups my face.

His eyes are greener in this firelight.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

I shake my head. “Why’d you do it, Nova?”

He starts to smile. I bet he can’t help it. I bet his smile gets

him out of and into all sorts of trouble.

“You and me?” he says. “We come from different worlds. I have

nothing to my name.”

“What about your grandma?”

He shrugs dismissively. “I’m just another mouth to feed.”

“That can’t be true.”

His hands slide down from my cheeks to my neck. I wonder if he can

feel my heart racing.

“Not everyone’s got a family they’d die for,” he says. “If I

thought it’d get you in trouble, I would’ve thought twice about

stealing. Okay?”

“I can’t get all righteous on you,” I say, “though I’d just like

to point out that you’re the one who told me not to touch anything.”

Eye roll. “We cool?”

Rishi clears her throat. She’s leaning on the wall opposite us.

How long has she been standing there without me noticing?

“Let’s get this donkey show on the road,” she says.

“I think you mean dog and pony show,” Nova says.

Rishi looks him up and down. I guess they’ve stopped yelling at

each other, but that doesn’t mean they’ve called a truce. “Since

you’re here, I’m pretty sure I mean donkey.”

• • •

We say good-bye to the avianas, leaving them two-thirds of our

food supplies. Madra walks us to a tunnel that leads out of the caves.

It smells dank and is lit by torches.

“I do not think it is wise to journey to the labyrinth,” Madra

tells me. “But I honor your loyalty to your family, Alejandra Mortiz.

I will take a look at your map.”

I unfold the map for her to see. Her hawk eyes follow the ink

rendering of Los Lagos.

“The opening to this cave is on the map,” I say, “but if you

hadn’t come to our rescue, we’d never have found it.”

“Many witches and humans alike have come to these lands. Some seek

to steal its treasures. Others seek to make deadly pacts with the

Devourer-the desperate searching for their dead. We used to offer

passage to those who landed on this side of Los Lagos, but we closed

the caves off long ago.”

“What changed?”

“The Devourer’s strength grows every eclipse. My kin and I

attempted to band with the other tribes this side of the labyrinth.

Our loss was nearly total. The Forests of Lights were burned to the

ground. Now they are wastelands. The desert land of Bone Valle was

created from an old witch village during the first rebellion.”

“First?” I ask. “There’s been more than one?”

Madra nods somberly. “You ask why we do not join you. We have lost

everything to the Devourer. All we can do is try to stay alive. Even

now, the dead earth of Bone Valle encroaches on our territory as the

Devourer feeds off the Tree of Souls.”

“That’s horrible,” Rishi says.

“What if the Devourer could no longer feed off the tree?” I ask.

“That is a question that has cost thousands of lives.” Madra looks