The celebration was held in an ancient villa, deep in the mountains of the Basque Country. The kind of place where old traditions still lived, where secrets were still kept.
I was trying to hide in a corner, checking my phone for the hundredth time to see if Mark had unblocked me, when I felt someone watching me.
She moved like a shadow. Elegant. Timeless. Sarah had mentioned her great-aunt, Madame Alaia, but hadn't said much else. Just that she was... different.
Now I understood why.
"His name is Mark, isn't it?" she said quietly.
My head snapped up. I hadn't told anyone here about him.
"The pain of blocked love leaves marks only some can see," she continued, her accent thick but her English perfect. "I've spent my life studying such things."
I tried to laugh it off, but she touched my hand and everything went still.
That's when Sarah's words from earlier clicked. About how her great-aunt Madame Alaia wasn't just any relative - she was one of the last Basque enchantresses.
A keeper of ancient secrets passed down through generations of women.
"In these mountains," she said, "we keep old secrets. Knowledge passed down through blood. About incantations that can pierce a man's soul. Make him remember what his heart already knows."
"Every man has his own Sacred Passage," she continued.
"Specific words that, when spoken, awaken something primal. Something he can't fight."
I rolled my eyes. "Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but..."
"Check your phone," she interrupted.
"What?"
"Check. Your. Phone."
My hands trembling slightly, I pulled it out.
Three new notifications. All from Mark. On an app he'd blocked me on just hours ago.
My heart stopped.
"That's just a taste," she said softly. "A fraction of what's possible when you know the right words. His Sacred Passage."