Chapter 7

• **Evelina's POV**
• The rhythmic hum of the road beneath me nudged me out of slumber, and my eyes fluttered open to darkness. Confusion fogged my mind momentarily as I tried to make sense of my surroundings. The realization hit me like a freight train—I was in the backseat of a car. Gabriel was at the wheel, his silhouette illuminated by the soft glow of the dashboard lights. A woman with dark hair, Gabriel kept referring to her as Amaya, sat shotgun, her presence a palpable force in this confined space. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she was the witch he kept referring to.
• I steadied my breathing, trying not to alert the two of my wakefulness. Instead, I focused on the subtle details around me—the faint scent of leather, the gentle sway of the car as it cruised along the road. We were somewhere in Texas, judging by the signs whizzing by that I could just barely make out from my reclined position in the back seat. The landscape rolled by in shadowy patches beyond the windows.