I crawled almost another step in his direction without retreating and leaned in further. I thought that maybe, if he smelled me, he would understand what was happening. It was Alejandro. I could trust him, couldn’t I? At that precise moment I could not be one hundred percent sure—but I could not leave him like that either.
The risk was great. Too great.
I tried not to be afraid: if he detected terror in me, most likely he would take advantage of it and something bad would happen.
“I’m going to touch you, Lai,” I told him, invoking the name his closest friends and most loyal companions used. “I’m going to touch you so you can see it’s me, Johanna, and I want to ask you to come with me. Andre is here too—do you see him?”
Another growl. Andre stirred and whispered to me:
“No, Han! He’s v
