Finally, a witch in Captive’s Sound who isn’t evil. Someone who knows what’s going on—someone older, who could maybe teach me all the stuff Mom never got around to—how long can it take to get to La Catrina! This town isn’t big enough for a drive this long!

It was hard to be patient.

Then Nadia turned the corner and saw La Catrina—and the ambulance in front of it.

From the backseat, Cole whispered, “Did somebody die?”

“You don’t know that,” Dad said. “But maybe this isn’t the best night to eat out after all.”

“But did they die?” Cole’s voice had begun to shake. Nadia wanted to turn and comfort him, but she couldn’t; fortunately, Dad was right there.

“Hey. Come on, buddy. People have minor accidents all the time. Remember how the ambulance came for us? And we’re okay.”

“We have to find out if anybody died,” Cole insisted, and now it sounded like he was crying.

It’s nothing to do with Mateo, Nadia told herself, even as her pulse quickened and her hands tensed on the steering wheel. Probably somebody choked on some food, or had a heart attack.

But wouldn’t Mateo have texted her about that? Maybe he hadn’t had a chance. Maybe he was doing CPR, being a hero again.

Even as she hesitated, unwilling to drive away but unable to think straight, a tall, skinny figure darted out from the crowd of onlookers—Verlaine, her silvery hair streaming behind her. She was running toward them as fast as she could, brilliant green Converses slapping the pavement, and her eyes were wide with terror. Nadia’s whole body went cold.

Verlaine called out, “Nadia!” as she waved a hand in the air. Nadia snapped down the window as Verlaine reached them, panting. “It’s Mateo. He collapsed.”

“You mean—he fainted. Passed out,” Nadia said. Those things could happen to anybody who got overheated or didn’t eat enough; it didn’t mean anything serious. They’d called an ambulance just as a precaution.

Mateo was okay. He had to be.

But Verlaine shook her head. “He’s unconscious, still. Mateo’s dad is freaking—they’re shutting down the restaurant early. Nobody can tell what happened.” Verlaine’s eyes widened, clearly suggesting that she knew more but couldn’t say it aloud in front of other people. She said only, “Oh, hi, Mr. Caldani. Hi, Cole.”

Dad nodded, but he spoke to Nadia next. “Honey, why don’t you go with Verlaine to check on Mateo? We owe that guy a lot. I’ll get Cole home. He could use some quiet time.”

“Are—are you sure?” If Cole needed her—

But Dad had him. And Nadia couldn’t take her eyes from the ambulance, from the stretcher she could barely glimpse being slid into the back. The red and blue lights seemed to beat against her eyes, to blind her to the rest of the world.

Before waiting for her dad’s reassurance, Nadia threw the car into park and leaped out. “I’ll call!” she shouted as she dashed toward the ambulance, Verlaine at her side, without ever looking back.