Page 137 of Koroleva

"You're a champion! Not like Nikita, who arrived in installments," he joked. I made a disgusted face.

My nephew glanced at me sideways with a "take that" expression that I wanted to erase immediately by pulling his ear. I infused myself with high doses of patience and virtual chamomile tea, telling my brain that it wouldn't be a good idea and that I had to endure.

My whole body was hurting, so I volunteered to record the videos and let them be the ones to launch themselves everywhere. It was either that or end up flying through the air in any of those diabolical traps, ready for my nephew to trip me up.

I ended the day by taking an ibuprofen and praying that the next one wouldn't involve me becoming the lions' appetizer.

The second stop took place this morning. Selwo Aventura was located in Estepona, a park with wild animals and a dolphin enclosure that Adri visited with his school the previous year. R arranged a kind of safari, through which we saw the animals from a truck. My nephew spent the trip singing the praises of each animal we saw, recounting a bunch of curiosities. It was clear that he had been there before because he anticipated what was coming, demonstrating his good memory. I smiled internally. Yuri was also like that, with a great memory, and he was fascinated by wild animals. I made the comment, and Romeo smiled at me. Adriano acted as if he hadn't heard anything and continued with his explanations. At least he seemed excited and more talkative than usual. Maybe my sister-in-law wasn't so wrong.

Everything was going moderately well; the kid was happy. He even wanted to sit next to me during the birds of prey show, and my husband gave me a satisfied wink.

We watched the performance while eating some sandwiches that Ana María prepared for us. To my surprise, the boy stood up, approached my head, and removed a leaf that had gotten tangled in my hair, placing it in my hand.

"Wow, thank you."

"You're welcome." R was paying for some sodas from a vendor, so he didn't see my nephew's close gesture. I would tell him about it later.

They announced the release of the American eagle, which was supposed to fly over our heads and land on the arm of the bird trainer, who was giving the talk in front of us.

There was a gasp when the bird circled perfectly above us, allowing us to admire its majesty. And then it happened, the bird unexpectedly veered and dove, making us believe it was some flashy trick.

We all held our breath, especially me, as I saw its final destination land right on my head.

It placed its talons on my shoulder and started pecking at my hair.

I screamed and acted on instinct. No one expected the eagle to attack me, and before anyone could do anything about it, I raised my hands, found its strong neck, and twisted it with a dry crunch that left the animal lifeless.

I threw the lifeless body over my head, and it fell to my feet.

Adriano, who had been laughing at the attack until now, suddenly fell silent.

"You killed her!"he screamed.

Another, much more audible "oh" was uttered by the spectators. Parents covered their children's eyes, who cried in horror. People were accusing me of killing the damn bird that tried to burrow into my brain! I stood up indignantly and addressed them all.

"What?! What's going on? Would you have preferred me to

pluck out my eyes and eat them in front of your children?"

The only one who seemed concerned was Romeo, who still had the sodas in his hand and incredulously asked me if I was okay.

The trainer immediately came over to us, along with one of the assistants, to take the eagle away. The show was suspended immediately, and we were asked to accompany them to speak with management.

The man looked at me as if I were a serial killer. Let's see what all those good people would have done if an eagle larger than the forty-meter flats they lived in had threatened their heads or those of their children!

The keeper's eyes were watery at the loss of the animal. My neck-twisting didn't garner any sympathy from him. He was more concerned about my state out of obligation than genuine concern and justified the bird by saying it had never attacked anyone before today.

"Well, it must have woken up on the wrong side of the nest, because it nearly pecked a hole in my skull." I put my hand to my head, right where I felt the first peck of the eagle. The area was oily; I felt remnants of something and brought my fingers to my nose.

That wasn't leaf residue; it looked like smoked salmon. I glanced sideways at Adriano, who avoided me, hiding behind Romeo.

That little son of my brother...

I was convinced he put something in my hair to justify the animal's behavior. He must have known what attracted eagles and brought it from home, planning the animal's performance down to the last detail as soon as it saw the prey on my head.

He was twisted, cold, calculating... He was a damn Korolev!

I remained silent, fascinated by that twisted mind emerging with total audacity. Quietly, hidden in the shadows, as it should

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