Page 80 of Mistress of Bones
“Yes.”
“Who are they?” Azul pressed.
Nereida’s eyes grew a faraway look. “Miguel Esparza, an old friend of my sister’s.”
Azul recalled their conversation back in Del Valle’s guest bedroom in Monteverde. “You have a sister and a brother.”
“I do.” Nereida’s voice had become strange, but Azul couldn’t tell if that was because she missed her siblings or because she did not.
“Are they in Cienpuentes?”
“One moved away a year ago, the other remains here in Cienpuentes.”
The words were stilted now, and Azul was surprised they were coming out at all. Nereida was a book with multiple locks.
“I am glad you have them with you,” she said. “Losing a sister… I would not wish it on anyone.”
“But you have so many to choose from,” came the reply, sharp and meant to sting, although Azul couldn’t fathom why.
Surprised, she studied Nereida’s expression. It gave nothing away. Those cool green eyes met hers, and Azul lowered her head.
“Forgive me… Azul. I shouldn’t have spoken so.” Nereida’s attention drifted toward the river again. “My siblings and I haven’t always gotten along. It’s hard when you grow up with so many of them. I sometimes envy your position—having one sibling by your side, but with so many available should the need arise.”
Azul could barely swallow a bitter laugh. “That’s not how it works, is it? A sibling you have never met might as well be a stranger. What bond is there? They’re not interchangeable dolls.”
“De Gracia seems to hold you in high esteem.”
“He has known about my existence for years.”
“Do your other half siblings not know of you?”
Azul gave in to a sudden impulse and crouched to run her hands through the patch of grass by her boots, sinking her fingers into damp soil. Someone must come to water the grass regularly, she realized, for it hadn’t rained since they got to town.
“In truth, I do not know whether they do or not,” she answered. “I know about them because it’s hard not to know where one’s mother disappears to for months at a time.” Not when your tutor tells you to write letters to her and shows you how to address them. Not when that tutor gossips with the cook or other temporary help over the latest rich family in need of a child but unable to bring one to term. “But my half siblings? I assume most of them are raised to believe they’re fully their parents’ children.”
She stood and fixed a wicked smiled on Nereida. “Youcould be my half sister, and you might never know it.”
“The gods wouldn’t be that mean.”
“Are you sure? I bet you have been remiss in your prayers.”
Nereida barked a laugh. “You might be correct on that. It has been a while since I thought they looked after me at all.”
Azul couldn’t help but look at the mural. “I often wonder the same. I often wonder if they ever looked after us.”
After all, didn’t some tales say they regretted giving up their bones? Hadn’t the Lord Death stolen her sister—twice?
“The gods look after each other,” Nereida agreed, “so we must look out for our own. Will you be able to get away from your escort on Noche Verde?”
“Yes,” Azul said.
Nereida did not appear to doubt her. Having siblings of her own, she must know Azul would do whatever it took to see Isadora again.
“You never told me who you want me to bring back,” she said.
“And I don’t mean to.”
“I will find out when it’s time to raise them.”
