Page 108 of Castle of the Cursed
“She made it,” I say, blinking my dry eyes. “She lived.”
I barely register Bea’s shocked gasp or Teo’s gleeful laugh. All I think about is Sebastián. If he got his memories back last night, he must remember my sister and the pact they made. Why didn’t he say anything about her when we spoke on the balcony?
He’s never forgotten Antonela, the small voice in my mind reminds me.
One of the first things the shadow beast said to me was that my face and voice were familiar to him. Some part of his brain must have recognized Antonela through the amnesia. So did he like me for me, or for her?
“What else did you see?” prods my uncle.
“Um, she was going to cross over with Sebastián, but I don’t know if they ever made it. He didn’t even mention her to me—how can I see the rest?”
“There’s a spell,” says Teo, tapping the tower tattoo on his neck. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t!” warns my aunt, but my uncle is already blasting through the door that leads up to the tower.
Once he’s gone, I turn to her. “Leave some of your blood for Sebastián to find so he can follow us there.”
“Are you serious—?”
“Just in case. Please.”
I’m pretty sure she’s not convinced Sebastián is real, but I hope she trusts me enough to do as I ask. When I make it to the journal room, my uncle is pulling out a red book.
“I’ve opened it before,” I say. “It’s blank.”
“Not this time.”
“What happens this time?”
“My hope is we will be able to reach Antonela, wherever she is, and find a way to bring her home.”
“How do you know so much?” I ask, a switch flipping inside me as my investigative instinct kicks in. “You know how to bring back my sister, you knew about Sebastián and that his memories were stored in my blood—how?”
“You want answers,” he says. “So do I. But your sister is running out of time. First bring her home, then I’ll answer your questions.”
Bea bursts in, breathless from the stairs. “What have you done?” she asks her brother right off the bat.
“Nothing yet,” I answer for him. “He hasn’t explained how it works.”
“Just open the book,” says Teo. “Otherwise, Antonela will be trapped there forever, just beyond our reach. Is that what you want?”
“I don’t trust him,” says Bea. “He’s got that fanatic look on his face. He wants this too much.”
She’s right.
But then again, so do I.
I know why Beatríz is worried, but I need to see what happened to my sister. Felipe already gave his life for these answers. The same answers I came here to find. Antonela was willing to face the Iron Prince just for the chance to come back to us; I can’t fail to bring her home now.
Besides, it’s just a book—how much harm can it cause?
I open the red cover and flip through the pages. They’re still blank.
My shoulders sag with disappointment—
“Ow! Paper cut.”
My blood trails on the white canvas, and the text falls from my hands as black smoke whirs forth from the pages, overtaking the full space. When it clears, we’re no longer in the journal room.
