Chapter three
1163 Words
~Thiago’s POV
He had heard three hundred and twelve heartbeats that day.
He counted.
Not because he wanted to.
Because he couldn't stop.
The woman walking her dog.
The child chasing pigeons through Plaza Mayor.
The waiter balancing six cups of coffee.
Even the taxi driver who cursed at every red light.
Every heartbeat reached him.
Loud.
Clear.
Impossible.
Thiago rubbed his temples as he unlocked the door to his apartment.
Silence.
Finally.
Or so he thought.
"You're late."
His older sister, Clara, looked up from the kitchen island, where she was eating pasta straight from the pot.
"I live here," Thiago replied, dropping his keys into the bowl by the entrance.
"So do I."
"You have your own apartment."
"I got bored."
"You got hungry."
"...Also true."
He opened the refrigerator.
Empty.
He stared inside.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Still empty.
"When were you planning on buying groceries?"
"I thought food reproduced when left alone."
Clara laughed.
"You're impossible."
"So I've been told."
She studied him for a moment.
"You look awful."
"Thanks."
"I mean it."
"I know."
Dark circles framed his eyes.
His head still pounded.
And every sound...
Every tiny sound...
Felt too loud.
The ticking clock above the stove.
The refrigerator humming.
The rain tapping against the windows.
Even Clara's fork scraping the plate made him wince.
"You sick?" she asked.
"I don't know."
"Flu?"
"I hope so."
She frowned.
"You never get sick."
Exactly.
That was the strange part.
Thiago had gone years without more than a common cold.
Yet since that morning...
Everything felt different.
He could smell the garlic in Clara's dinner from across the apartment.
He could hear the television in the neighboring building.
He even knew the exact second the elevator reached the fifth floor.
None of it made sense.
His phone buzzed.
Papá
He answered.
"Hey."
His father's voice sounded tired.
"How did the Navarro inspection go?"
Thiago leaned against the counter.
"They refused."
There was a pause.
"Refused?"
"The grandmother wouldn't let us inspect the basement."
Another pause.
Longer this time.
"...Did she give a reason?"
"No."
"Hm."
Thiago frowned.
"You know them?"
"What?"
"The Navarros."
"No."
"But you hesitated."
"I was thinking."
"About?"
"The paperwork."
His father wasn't a good liar.
Thiago had known that since childhood.
"I'll go back tomorrow," he said.
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
"I mean..."
His father cleared his throat.
"Leave it for a few days."
"Why?"
"They're old."
"The granddaughter isn't."
Silence.
Then...
"You met the granddaughter?"
"Briefly."
"What was her name?"
"Laluna."
Another silence.
Long enough for Thiago to pull the phone away from his ear and check if the call had disconnected.
It hadn't.
His father's breathing was still there.
Slow.
Uneven.
Almost as if he were deciding whether to speak.
"Dad?"
Another pause.
Then—
"Stay away from the Navarro family."
Thiago frowned.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"I've known them for less than five minutes."
"Good."
His father's voice was firmer now.
"Let's keep it that way."
Thiago let out a dry laugh.
"You're acting like they belong to a crime family."
"I'm serious."
"So am I. What's this really about?"
"You don't need to know."
"I think I do."
"You don't."
His father's tone ended the conversation before it should have.
Thiago hated that tone.
The because I said so tone.
He hadn't heard it since he was sixteen.
"Dad."
No response.
"Why does the name Navarro bother you?"
A chair scraped against the floor on the other end of the line.
Then a woman's voice.
Soft.
Urgent.
"Mateo... don't."
His mother.
Thiago straightened.
"Mom?"
Silence.
His father spoke again.
"I'll explain another time."
"When?"
"When I know more."
"You already know something."
"..."
"Dad."
"Promise me you'll stay away from that girl."
Thiago rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"I can't promise something when I don't even know why."
"You can."
"No."
Another long silence.
Finally, his father sighed.
"I have to go."
The call ended.
Thiago stared at his phone.
His reflection looked back at him through the dark screen.
Tired.
Confused.
Annoyed.
"What the hell..."
His sister looked up from the kitchen.
"Dad?"
"He wants me to avoid someone."
Clara snorted.
"Again?"
"This time it's different."
"When isn't it?"
He ignored her.
The surname echoed in his mind.
Navarro.
It meant nothing to him.
Or at least...
It should have.
Yet every time he thought about Laluna, he felt that same strange pull he'd experienced in the pharmacy.
As though his body recognized someone his mind had never met.
He slipped the phone into his pocket.
"I'm going for a walk."
"In this weather?"
"It's just rain."
Clara raised an eyebrow.
"It's midnight."
"So?"
"So normal people sleep."
"I've never claimed to be normal."
She laughed.
"Fair point."
********
Madrid after midnight was quieter than usual.
The rain had washed the streets clean, leaving the pavement shimmering beneath the streetlights.
Thiago walked without a destination.
He hoped the fresh air would clear his head.
Instead...
Everything became louder.
A couple arguing three streets away.
A motorcycle engine from somewhere across the river.
The rhythmic footsteps of someone jogging behind him.
He stopped.
The footsteps stopped too.
He turned.
Nobody.
His heartbeat quickened.
No.
Not his heartbeat.
Someone else's.
Steady.
Hidden.
Watching.
"Who's there?"
Only the rain answered.
Thiago shook his head.
"I'm losing it."
He continued walking.
Then caught a scent.
Smoke.
Not cigarette smoke.
Wood smoke.
Mixed with lavender.
For reasons he couldn't explain...
He followed it.
The smell led him through narrow streets until he reached an old iron gate.
Beyond it stood a neglected building wrapped in ivy.
A faded sign read:
NAVARRO RESIDENCE
His stomach tightened.
Coincidence.
It had to be.
He took one step closer.
Then another.
A light flickered on in a third-floor window.
A silhouette appeared behind the curtain.
A woman.
She stood perfectly still.
Watching him.
Even from this distance...
He knew it was Laluna.
At that exact moment—
A stabbing pain tore through his chest.
He gasped, grabbing the iron gate for support.
His heartbeat became erratic.
Too fast.
Too powerful.
His vision blurred.
For a split second, the world disappeared.
Darkness.
Then...
A voice.
Not outside.
Inside his head.
"Wake up."
His eyes snapped open.
The gate beneath his hand bent inward with a metallic groan.
Thiago jerked his hand away.
He stared.
The solid iron bar now carried the unmistakable imprint of his fingers.
His breathing stopped.
"...That's impossible."
Upstairs, the curtain moved.
Laluna had seen it.
And from behind her...
An older woman stepped into view.
The moment her eyes landed on the bent gate...
The color drained from her face.
She whispered something Thiago couldn't hear.
Laluna turned sharply toward her grandmother.
"What is it?"
The older woman didn't answer.
She kept staring at Thiago.
Then, with a trembling hand...
She made the sign of protection used only by witches.
And whispered five words that chilled the night.
"The bloodline has awakened."
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