Page 1 of The Shadow Heir

1

Zara

Ihad only seconds to reach the ground before the night guard returned, but my ruffled skirt snagged as I swung my legs over the balcony’s stone railing. Timing my descent with quiet breaths, I held my weight in my arms and lowered myself down.

One.

A small ripping sound rent the quiet night, stealing another second as my attention stalled.

Two. No time to waste. I felt with my toes for the trellis anchored to the whitewashed walls.

Three. Ignoring the way the leaves tickled my ankles, I released one hand from the railing.

Four. I released the other hand.

Five.

Only twelve seconds before the guard reappeared. With a racing heart and careful movements, I slipped down to the grass below my bedroom window.

In my haste, I’d knocked a pair of passionflower blooms to the ground. I snatched up the fragrant blossoms and took off towardthe wall of boxwoods marking the inner garden on the west side of my family’s estate.

On a good day, running flat out across the grass from the house to the privacy of the inner garden on my short legs took nine seconds. But tonight, I also wore flamenco shoes and a tight dress.

Holding up my dress, I pumped my legs so hard that a quiet scream tore from my lips as my muscles burned.

I darted through the opening between the boxwoods and heaved in gasps of air as quietly as I could, tiptoeing around the burbling fountain in the safety of the shadows while holding back the laughter that threatened to spew from my lips. The moon was out as well as a host of stars, but the darkness seemed thicker tonight, as if it welcomed me.

A flicker of fear sent gooseflesh down my arms as I scanned the deep shadows of the garden. Memories of stories recounting the many beasts that prowled the worlds at night flashed through my mind. I’d always considered the tales nothing more than entertainment, until one month ago, when I’d seen the Wild Hunt with my own eyes outside of Puerta de los Reyes as I sped there on horseback beside my best friend, Talia. That night had changed everything for me. That night, the Wild Hunt had stolen a woman, and Talia had disappeared into the fae lands, and I’d been forced to admit that my father’s warnings about a bargain he’d made many years ago with what he simply calledla sombra—the shadow—mightnotactually be lies meant to scare me into good behavior.

Stolen. Disappeared. Bargain. The words rang in my ears as I picked my way around the happy, oblivious fountain. My heart was bursting from my sprint, and a wave of lightheadedness swept over me. I bent to brace my hands on the fountain’s edge, breathing heavily.

Dull bronze coins glinted in the water, coins I’d tossed in every year—on my birthday, on every holiday, on my father’s birthday, and during the harvest festivals, where otherworldly creatures were said to be present among us in greater numbers. I’d hoped my father’s words about his bargain with the shadows was a ruse, but deep down, I’d feared it was true. These coins were proof. But with each coin tossed in, each hopeless prayer offered to whatever deity listened to humans, not once had anything happened. Not once had my father come to me and told me the bargain was broken, that his foolish mistake was remedied, that I wouldn’t have to leave my home on my twentieth birthday because of a magical deal he’d made long ago.

In a matter of hours, I would complete my twentieth year. Tonight was my last chance—one more night to break the curse he didn’t seem able to break. It was a half hour to midnight, which meant I had less than one hour until I learned whether my father’s bargain was, in fact, real.

I stood straight and inhaled deeply. I had enough time. I was so close to breaking the terms of my father’s bargain, to no longer beingmaldita—cursed.

The man I loved would break the curse. He would end this tonight.

Because in all the fae stories, all the fantastical tales oflosmalditos, true love always broke the curse. And I’d found it.

I just needed to tell him. To know my love was returned.

With renewed excitement, I hurried toward the back of the garden to a pale brick wall that marked the edge of my father’s property.

The flowers I’d grabbed now wilted in the sweat at my neckline, where I’d stuffed the blooms. Ignacio, the stone-faced guard who paraded the west side of the estate at night, had a way ofknowingwhen I wasn’t in my room, no matter how flawless my escape. He might have counted the flowers before his patrolthis evening, but I couldn’t be certain. He never seemed to miss anything, and my father had been quite clear about what would happen if I got caught without a chaperone one more time. I’d have to marry one of the rich boys he approved of, and at my birthday celebration, no less. The party could easily double as my wedding celebration.

But I wouldn’t be marrying one of the stuffy gentlemen’s heirs. I’d be marrying Jorge, and my father wouldn’t be able to say no when he learned that love broke the cursehecreated.

As I neared the edge of my father’s property, a man emerged from the shadowy forest and hopped over the wall, arms extended.

With a quiet gasp, I sailed into his open arms, wrapping myself in Jorge’s warm embrace. We tipped backward against the wall, and for a moment we laughed as we tried to untangle ourselves.

When we regained our balance, his fingers pushed a stray curl from my face. “Señorita,” he said, voice low.

His dark eyes carried a seriousness in them tonight, a hunger that made my belly flip over inside me. He brought his lips down to mine, and for a moment, I thought the world was for no one but him and me.

A moment later, I traced my thumb over his mustache. “This is new.”

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