It’s those things that confuse me about Santiago. In one breath, he tells me he wants me dead. In his eyes, I sometimes glimpse his hate. Then he buys me shoes so I don’t break my neck on the heels when he finds out about my disorder.

I shake my head.

No. He's not doing any of this for me. He just wants to be the one to torment me. To murder me maybe. It wouldn’t do if I were to have an accidental fall.

“Ready?” Antonia asks, stepping aside and gesturing to the hallway.

I smile and nod and feel ridiculous. It’s been three days, and I’m acting like I’ve been imprisoned for years and this is release day.

I follow her down the hall, taking in all the details—the dark walls, the thick carpet, the winding staircases, two of them.

“How old is the house?”

“The Manor dates back several centuries. It was built by the first De La Rosa to settle in New Orleans. They’re from Spain, did you know that?”

I shake my head, looking up at the portraits hanging along the wall as we reach the top of the stairs.

“His mother went back to Barcelona four years ago.”

I turn to watch her shake her head.

“Santiago’s mother?” I ask as I take hold of the banister. I pause when I look down, and a moment of vertigo overcomes me, so I quickly sit on the stair.

“Ivy?”

I squeeze my eyes, open them and focus on Antonia’s kind face. “I’m all right. I just haven’t had any exercise, and it’s harder then. And the stairs…when I look down...”

“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Perhaps you should lie down.”

I shake my head and stand, feeling hot and clammy and not quite steady like I always do after one of these episodes but desperate not to go back into that room.

“I’m perfectly fine. Really.” I smile as wide as I can, and it’s not really a lie. These episodes don’t last forever. You just don’t want to be at the top of the stairs when they come.

Antonia studies me for a long moment then, and maybe against her better judgment, she nods, and we proceed down the stairs.

“Santiago’s mom left four years ago, you said? After the accident, I guess?”

We reach the first-floor landing, and I raise my head to look around me. The ceilings' vaulted arches create a dramatic effect, especially with the dark furnishings and iron-clad windows. Several corridors lead off into different directions, and straight ahead, I see the window I’d spied the other night.