Phoenix Rise (From the Ashes Trilogy Book 2) by Karina Espinosa

Author:Karina Espinosa [Espinosa, Karina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-10-16T05:00:00+00:00

Tristan and I left the others at the penthouse and left for the cemetery. The drive was roughly an hour with heavy traffic, but when we arrived, the place was peaceful and quiet. The sun was sinking toward the horizon and the sky was a beautiful mixture of pinkish-orange hues that felt warm against my chilled skin.

Tristan led the way as we passed headstone after headstone of those who had passed. We were deep in the midst of the cemetery when we reached a plot with five headstones and a marble bench before them. The flowers on each grave looked fresh, as if someone had been there recently.

The first two headstones read Jose and Miriam Cortez—my parents. The next two were Carmen and Carlos, my sister and brother, and the last one was blank. I trudged over to the marble bench and saw a simple message engraved in the top. In memory of the Cortez family.

I didn’t realize I was crying until I licked my lips and tasted the salt on them. I sat on the bench and slumped down, feeling exhausted. The tears were almost automatic, like my body was on autopilot. I wanted to be done crying. I’d done so much of it.

Tristan finally broke the silence. “I was here not too long ago, or I would have brought fresh flowers. It was actually the morning we rescued you that I came to see them. Just in case I didn’t make it back.”

“You did all of this … for my family,” I said, confused but grateful for the gesture all the same.

“I did it for you, Octavia,” he said, coming closer. “You didn’t deserve what happened to you.” Tristan squatted in front of me and placed his hands on my knees. “This wasn’t your fault.”

“But I’m the one who has to live with it,” I muttered and looked over at the graves. “What’s the blank one for?”

Tristan let out a breath and then looked at me. “It’s for you. If you’re ready to put Camila Cortez to rest.”

I tensed. Putting my name on that headstone would be so final; an official marker to show I was putting my old life behind me and saying goodbye. Camila Cortez would be at peace with her family. My family. Maybe I should. It would—

“I don’t know, I really like the name Camila,” a honeyed voice said from around the corner. I looked up as Tristan looked behind him. Behind the headstones, a couple feet away, stood Lucifer, impeccably dressed and wearing a sardonic smile.

We both stood up in an instant on full alert.

This is it. He’s taking me back! It was just like the first time, outside my parents’ house. There was no way Tristan could defeat him on his own.

“How dare you show up here!” I shouted, angry that he would step his filthy soles in the one place I thought was safe.

Lucifer shrugged. “I thought I’d pay my respects.” He placed a hand over his heart, the other behind his back.

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