Half-Blooded | The Dark Child Prophecy Series [✔️]

Chapter 40: Las Palabras (The Words)

We walked for another fifteen minutes, making conversation as we went. The atmosphere continued to mount, becoming wilder by the block, and I found myself beginning to embrace it fully. My body hummed with the sounds of music and life. I pushed through the crowd, falling into third place as Nik took the lead and Krystal dropped in line behind him. Gabriel brought up the rear. I could feel the moon pulling at me again as the smells of body musk and mixing of scents hung over the crowds of people.

"This way," Nik called from ahead of me and pushed to the left, ducking beneath the paper lanterns that hung above the doorway of a packed bar. At the door, a pair of women with trays of shot glasses waited in greeting. One sniff and I knew it was Caipirinha.

We took the complimentary drinks and headed through the throng of people at their tables. Nik continued through the back of the restaurant and out onto the huge patio behind the building. The dance floor was full of people enjoying themselves, more on the outskirts and at high-boy tables, drinking and laughing.

Music filled up all of my body and I shivered. The harsh and bright city lights were relaxed into the soft glow of Italian lightbulbs and lanterns, samba melodies echoing off the walls. There was no such thing as silence during Carnivale.

"...Las palabras que seducen, / traen problemas y me enredan, / y tus ojos que torturan y tus labios que resaltan mi camaaa... / Porque si sigues mirando se me parala razon, / se para la razon..."

A young woman about my age stood on the raised stage, singing in front of an old-school microphone, a red flower in her hair. A full band filled the back half of the stage, playing their instruments.

I downed my shot of alcohol and placed the empty glass on a table as we passed it. "This is so much better," I said, barely having to raise my voice. With our vampire hearing, my cousins would be able to hear me.

"I agree," Krystal said, turning to look for the bar. "And I need a drink before one of these two yank us out on the dance floor." She pulled at the hem of her dress as she twirled around slowly, spotting the tiki-bar counter. "What's your poison tonight?"

"I've got it, my treat," I insisted, grabbing her arm to stop her. "Gabe, help me carry!" I called over my shoulder as I pushed forward.

"I'm coming," my cousin answered.

I nodded and headed through the crowd. I was halfway across the patio when the smell caught my nose. I paused, looking around. Wolf musk. It was faint, but detectable. I scanned the faces, but didn't see anything suspicious.

"What's wrong?" Gabe asked, his hand suddenly on my shoulder.

I shook my head. "Nothing. Just thought I smelled something."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm good," I said. "C'mon."

We rounded through the crowd and made our way to the bar. As Gabriel tried to get the bartender's attention, I turned my back to the counter and looked around again. I saw Nik and Krystal laughing about something back where we had left them. I continued surveying the crowd, my nose twitching.

"Seren," Gabe called, and I turned my head again to look at him. "Caipirinha?"

I nodded, pulling a couple bills out of my purse and handing them to him. "Yeah, make it four! Might as well enjoy it while we can."

My cousin shook his head against taking my money, and I shoved it at him with a harsh look. He laughed, took the cash, and turned back to the bartender to place the order in fluent Portuguese.

I went back to staring at the crowd, trying to sniff out the wolf again. But there was nothing more than the faint scent I had picked up. You're just being paranoid, my mind chided. It's nothing. You would know if someone was tracking you.