Page 86 of Castle of the Cursed
“I’m already caught in your curse! Don’t you get it? He’s going to kill me—but I guess you can live with that.”
“You can’t come in here,” I insist, making my voice firm. “But if you’re that afraid, I’ll walk you to the clínica—”
“Don’t bother!” he shouts at me. “I’m going to the police, and I’m telling them everything! They’ll come here searching for answers, and you can explain your curse to them—”
I swing open the door. “I’ll walk with you, and we can tell my aunt what’s happening,” I say, and since the key is in my pocket, I shut the door behind me.
Before the lock clicks, Felipe shoves past me, shouldering the door open. “Hey!” I shout as he knocks me into the doorframe on his way inside.
“Felipe!” I call after him, but he doesn’t turn or slow down. My heart plummets as I realize I’ve made the same mistake twice.
Bea is never going to trust me after this.
“Felipe, wait!” I follow him into the grand hall with the ribbed ceiling and ask, “What does my uncle want with you?”
The guy who meets my gaze is not the Felipe I know.
He looks sickly, as if his skin would be sticky to touch, and his gaze darts everywhere, like he’s searching for something. Or someone.
“First tell me what happened,” he says, leaning against the back of a leather couch.
“When?”
“After I passed out.” He’s breathing heavier than usual.
“Let’s sit,” I say, and he looks around, like this might be a trap. But once I drop onto a cushion, he comes around and joins me, his face relaxing as his body rests.
“My uncle bled me from both arms until I passed out,” I say. “I woke up on the ground outside la Sombra the next morning. What do you remember?”
“Waking up in an empty shack.” He swallows, and his throat sounds parched. “It’s where your uncle has been staying. He only moves at night, so no one sees him. He took me back to the same spot in the forest two nights ago, tied me up, and blindfolded me, but I could hear him chanting the same words over and over again.”
“No hay luz en Oscuro,” I supply, and he nods. “Did he use my blood?” I ask.
“I don’t know. I woke up in that shack yesterday. I’ve been feeling sick ever since, and your uncle has been tending to me, but today I felt fine enough to escape once he fell asleep.”
“But your dad,” I say, frowning. “He said he spoke to you on the phone—”
The castle’s front door thuds shut. Felipe and I stiffen, and I don’t even breathe until I hear Bea’s voice.
“Estela?”
“I’m here!” I call out, and I say to Felipe, “Wait here.” I need to do some explaining before she sees him.
I meet my aunt in the hallway.
“You never came,” she says, syringe cocked in her hand like it’s a loaded gun. “I got worried—”
“I’m fine, but I need to tell you something,” I say hurriedly, reaching for her arms so she’ll lower her weapon and stop walking. “Felipe’s here.”
Her gaze narrows with anger. “I told you no visitors!”
“Teo was holding him hostage, and he managed to escape,” I say quickly, letting go of her arms. “I think he needs medical attention.”
“He needs to go home, and his family needs to take him to a doctor far from here,” she says, syringe still in hand.
“You’re a doctor!”
She blows out a hard breath and starts marching ahead to meet Felipe. “Haven’t you realized yet?” she asks over her shoulder as she rounds the corner. “He isn’t safe with us! No one is—ahhh!”
