Page 66

1:01 p.m.

While walking through the theme park, no one has been making me feel like a killer—not Alano, not his bodyguard, not his best

friend, and not even any strangers, but I’m tensing up as we finally approach the Milagro Castle.

I stop in my tracks.

“Are you okay?” Alano asks, his hand on my lower back.

“I’m just nervous about getting recognized,” I say.

“Does that happen often?” Rio asks.

“It’s happened a lot, especially since that shitty docuseries.”

“Maybe someone will recognize you as your character and not your—” Rio stops himself.

“Myself?”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry,” Rio says.

Alano’s gaze is hidden behind his sunglasses, but I’m pretty damn sure he’s glaring at Rio, who apologizes again. “Here are

the facts, . If anyone knows you from Grim Missed Calls , they’re unlikely to detect you because you dyed your hair. The chances of you being recognized by casual movie viewers is

also slim since you’re, you know, older than when you starred in my favorite scene in the entire franchise.” I doubt that

part is really a fact, but it’s sweet. “You’re safe with us.”

I take a deep breath. That perspective does help a lot.

“Okay, I got this.”

“You got this,” Alano says.

“And if you don’t, Dane will make your harasser disappear,” Rio says.

Dane doesn’t deny that.

Throughout the first Scorpius Hawthorne book, Scorpius wrestles with being the chosen one because he doesn’t think he can

fulfill the prophecy to win a war against demonkind, but he soon learns that being the chosen one doesn’t mean fighting alone.

That’s all thanks to the psychic demonic witch, Diolinda Souza, and the wealthy demonic wizard, Magnus Moguel (who we later

learn in book six is Scorpius’s soulmate, but only if Scorpius wins the war to keep Magnus’s soul, which is absolutely not

the pressure he needed at ten years old). I have spent so much of my life not having any real friends, or even a future to

be excited about, but I do now thanks to Alano. There is no evil that can bury me in an abyss as long as I got friends backing

me up.

We walk through the iron gate, officially entering the battle-scarred kingdom from the Scorpius Hawthorne franchise. We cross a drawbridge over the red pond known as Devil’s Tears, pass a shaded playground that looks like the Seven-Legged Monster Spider’s cave, animatronic water dragons that breathe mists to help keep guests cool, and, of course, there’s the pathway of backward footsteps of the Curupira, a demon that I thought the author Poppy Iglesias invented but was actually adapted from real Brazilian myths, but instead of scaring away hunters who steal from the rainforest, the Curupira terrorizes those without magic blood, only providing safe passage for the demonic witches and wizards to the Milagro Castle.

And there it is.

The Milagro Castle is built out of four gray cracked spire towers leaning toward each other, like a clawed hand trying to

pinch the sky, just like the series lore. The castle is actually the claw of Fera the First Demon, who became hexed between

the underworld and the overworld after trying to rip apart the universe over its outrage of demons mating with witches and

wizards. The Founders then straight up turned the ancient demon’s hand into a school to prepare future witches and wizards

for the day Fera is unleashed, which Larkin Cano plots to do in the final book/movies.

Seeing the Milagro Castle this close is mind-blowing; it’s something I didn’t even get to experience on set because the studio

was just renting a different castle for its interiors, but that obviously didn’t look like a demon’s claw on the outside.

I legit could cry from nostalgia, the happy memories I have of reading the series with Mom, and experiencing the movie magic

in person.

“What do you think?” Alano asks, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

“I don’t wanna say it’s magical, but...”

“But it’s magical.”

“Legit.”

I’ve seen at least a billion photos online of people proposing in front of the Milagro Castle, always captioning that the biggest miracle of all was finding their soulmate, and while I’ve always thought that was stupid and cringey I’m wondering now if that’s only because I was so bitter and had no one in my life that made me happy, powerful, and yeah, magical.

Alano claps. “First round of tartsun on me. , how spicy do you want yours? Mild, medium—”

“Spicy-spicy. I’ve been handling the heat from my mom’s kitchen all my life.”

He smiles. “Noted.”

Rio stares at the sign on the cart. “I’ll have—”

“You’ll have no spice,” Alano tells Rio. “I don’t want you having another coughing fit.”

“Fine,” he says as Alano and Dane walk off.

“Did Alano just ban you from spices?” I ask.

Rio laughs. “We had gone to dinner and I choked on a spicy salsa so bad that my coughing blew out the candle. This was years

ago, but he’s got that stored away in his Rio Morales Encyclopedia, so he’ll never let me live it down. Anyway...”

I’m suddenly running so hot and my chest is tightening like I’m choking on spice too. I thought I was special in Alano’s eyes with the Dario Encyclopedia he’s keeping about me, but I guess he does this for other people too? Like Rio? Like superhot Rio? Like superhot Rio who is dressed like the Luigi to Alano’s Mario? Did Alano also give him some speech about how he wants to know the real Rio? I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know. Alano did mention last night that he got close with trusting someone, but it didn’t work out. Is that Rio? Wouldn’t he have told me if we were about to hang out with someone he has feelings for? I’m trying to get out of this spiral because this might not even be romantic except that they were at a candlelit dinner together. I guess some restaurants set down candles even if you’re not on a date, and Alano said last night was his first date.

I’m spiraling, spiraling, spiraling.

Rio waves his hand in front of my face. “?”

I shake it off. “Sorry, was thinking about the spices. That’s scary.”

He looks at me suspiciously. “I asked if you’re still in touch with the Scorpius cast.”

“Nope. I met them when I was six.”

“You haven’t seen them since?”

The last time I saw anyone from Scorpius Hawthorne was during my trial, not that anyone would know this from watching Grim Missed Calls , since the filmmakers left out any mention of my high-profile character witnesses. First there was Poppy Iglesias, who had written to my mom and offered to fly from Brazil to the States to advocate for my innocence in person. Then there was the franchise’s leading hero, Sol Reynaldo, who spoke about the pressures of being a child actor and how impressed he was with how I’d conducted myself during the intensity of filming a blockbuster movie with a three-hundred-million-dollar budget. But what meant the most to the jury—and me—was the testimony from Howie Maldonado since out of everyone on set he spent the most time with me. Howie was known as a villain on-screen, but in person he was a hero of mine, and I cried so much when he died in that car crash three years ago.

I don’t wanna get into all this right now, so I just tell Rio it’s been a few years since I’ve seen anyone. It’s true enough.

Alano returns with three cups of tartsun. I thank him for mine even though I really wanna ask if he’s hiding history with

Rio because it means nothing or because it’s something to hide. This spiral is souring my mood, and the drink sours my tongue.

I only get more annoyed when Rio suffers from a brain freeze after chugging his tartsun for some fucking reason—actually for

a clear fucking reason. Attention. Alano rushes to Rio’s aid with every tip in the book to combat brain freeze and a hand

on Rio’s lower back. I almost chug my drink too to steal Alano’s attention back.

I wander off to the school’s garden that doubles as a cemetery for the students killed in the castle. “I’m a survivor,” I

breathe out as suicidal thoughts reach for me like the First Demon’s claw.

“I’m a survivor,” I say as I think about how much easier life would be as a corpse in a cemetery.

“I’m a survivor,” I whisper, even though I don’t wanna be.

Alano appears at my side. “Is this everything you imagined?”

“No,” I almost snap, but Rio walks up. “It’s just the start,” I lie when it really feels like the end.

“Can we check out the castle?” Rio asks, his lips red from the spicy juice.

“Lead the way, tour guide,” Alano tells me.

I’m not really in the mood to be the tour guide, but it has to be me since I’m the only one in the group who has read all the books—Rio gave up by book five, and Alano doesn’t read fantasy—and because I’m obviously the only one who has been on the actual movie set. Dane upgraded everyone with VIP passes as a security measure, but we still wait in the torturously slow standard line because the express path will rush us through the castle, denying us the full experience. I’d rather this be over sooner anyway, but I try burying my rage by putting on my Happy mask.

Happy fools everyone, but every smile hurts me. I’m not actually happy when we finally get into the castle because now

there’s no escape, no wandering off. I’m not actually happy when we pass the crystal ball lanterns that predict small prophecies

(“Danger ahead,” it warns, as if I don’t know that shit) because all those glowing crystal balls do is illuminate how Rio

and Alano are pressed together, shoulder to shoulder. I’m not actually happy when the ground vibrates from under us as if

the First Demon is flexing its claws because the fright only causes Rio to grab on to Alano as if they were about to die from

a real earthquake. I’m not actually happy when we spend the next hour going through all the iconic rooms like the elixir lab,

the training chamber, or even the goddamn library that looks so identical to the one from the scene I starred in because all

of this is fake, as fake as a movie set, as fake as playing a character, as fake as boys who pretend their words are truth

instead of lines from a script.

“A round of applause for our tour guide,” Alano says as we go down the last flight of steps into the dungeon for the ride that will bring us out of the castle.

“You should work here,” Rio says.

I fake a laugh and say yes even though there’s no way in hell I’m going from a character in the movie to a theme park employee.

While we’re waiting our turn, we watch the video of Scorpius Hawthorne, Magnus Moguel, and Diolinda Souza—portrayed by the

original actors as they reprised their roles for this bonus footage—telling us that they’re gonna need our help to stop Larkin

Cano, who is trying to fulfill his prophecy as the Draconian Marsh to unearth the First Demon and undo the castle’s many miracles.

People of all ages, ahead and behind, are so excited, but I couldn’t give a shit.

“Next!” the employee calls in a very North American accent instead of literally any of the other South American accents in

the series.

The ride’s vehicle can seat parties of four with the backs of all seats shaped like the wings that Milagro students grow in

their final year. We can feel like we’re flying too as this robotic arm carries us through the simulation. I’ve heard this

ride is even more epic than most of the virtual offerings at Make-A-Moment.

“Let’s ride up front,” Rio says, dragging Alano by his arm.

Alano looks behind at me, trying to say something, but Dane interrupts with some security shit and next thing I know I’m in my seat, restrained under an over-the-shoulder harness, next to Dane. Being separated from Alano sucks enough, but he’s seated directly in front of me so I won’t even be able to see his reactions, only Rio’s, who’s diagonal from me.

Why the hell did Rio have to grab Alano’s hand? Is that something they do as friends? I guess Alano has done it with me ever

since the night we met. But does Rio only see Alano as a friend? Does he still have feelings? Does Alano? I don’t know a damn

thing except that I wanna get off this ride and go cry, but the ride begins, slowly carrying us into the darkness where fans

blow down on us, making it instantly chilly.

We follow the Trio as they creep through the castle. It’s eerily quiet until I see a real ghost projected on one of the screens:

Howie Maldonado reprising his role as Larkin Cano. He swoops down with his wings of fire and some unseen radiator blasts us

with heat. “ MALTRATAR! ” he shouts, but his curse misses the Trio. “The First Demon will end you all,” he says before flying away.

The ride accelerates, thrusting us through the four towers, where Larkin Cano’s unearthing spell is blowing apart the ancient binding that has trapped the First Demon. The Trio fight off three-eyed giants, acid-breathing hydras, and skeletal dragons, often calling on us to shout spells and curses too to help them. Rio thinks he’s funny by shouting made-up curses like “Fuck-him-up-uh-tis!” but the worst sound is Alano laughing at that dumb shit. Then we’re up against Fera’s fanatics, the Hex Breakers, who cast so many spells that blind us with a lightshow, flip us upside down, spin us around really fast, and then drop us into the abyss, where we come face-to-face with the First Demon, but all I’m staring at is Rio holding on to Alano’s hand as if his life depends on it—like my life has.

I try pushing this harness off me so I can actually drop into the darkness, but I’m too fucking secured. The best thing I

can do when Scorpius Hawthorne rescues us from the abyss, shooting us up so fast and high that our eyes water, is scream with

everyone else, the way I can only ever scream when I’m home alone and self-harming.

I don’t give a shit about this final battle where the Trio hex Larkin Cano into a gargoyle that now lives forever outside

the Milagro Castle, bound to the master he failed to free. Everyone else is clapping at the victory, even Rio, who has managed

to finally let go of Alano’s fucking hand.

Once I’m unbuckled, I return to the platform where Alano is waiting.

“Did you have fun?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“I wish I got to sit with you,” he says on the way out. “Maybe the next ride?”

“Yeah,” I lie again. As much as I don’t wanna leave Alano, I also don’t wanna hang around for any more of this shit.

We exit into the gift shop, and Alano wants to treat everyone to wands and crimson robes. Rio grabs Magnus’s wand, and Alano grabs Scorpius’s, like they’re soulmates. I’m the odd one out who needs to either get my shit together or curse out Alano for being a dick. I just grab an iron wand and robe instead of making a scene. At least everyone being in robes means I don’t have to look at their stupid-ass Super Mario shirts anymore.

Outside the castle, Rio calls us in for a group selfie. Alano gets in the center, wrapping his arm around me, pulling me close.

It’s got me thinking that I’m turning nothing into something. Then in real time on the camera’s mirror I watch Alano wrap

his other arm around Rio. That kills any shot of a real smile from me. If Alano zooms in on the picture later, he’ll see the

truth of how I’m actually feeling because my eyes can’t lie the way my mouth can.

We round the corner, and Alano excitedly stops me. “Check it out.”

There’s the gargoyle of Larkin Cano, Howie Maldonado’s face frozen forever. Someone has dropped flowers underneath the statue.

I’ve gotten so mad in the past about how people forgive Larkin Cano for his crimes all because of his terrible upbringing

and not me for killing an abusive man, but I’m touched that people still grieve Howie, who was a great guy in real life.

I’ll never know what it’s like to be grieved by millions of strangers.

“Do you want a picture?” Alano asks, whipping out his phone.

“It’s fine.”

“Dude, you were the guy,” Rio says. “You should get a picture.”

“It’ll be a cool full-circle moment,” Alano adds.

I almost snap and shout at them to shut the fuck up, to stop ganging up on me, to run off and leave me alone, but I’ve had enough strangers in this lifetime looking at me like I’m dangerous, they’re not about to catch me unhinged.

I give in, trying not to crack as I stand next to the gargoyle.

Happy smiles for the camera.