Page 87 of Castle of the Cursed
“Beatríz!”
I rush forward as she collapses, but I freeze when I see Felipe. He’s caught her before she hits the floor, and the syringe clatters away.
“She should be more careful,” he says, setting her down.
“What just happened?” I ask. “Did—did you do that?” I back away a few paces.
“She injected herself—”
“You pushed her hand!”
My heart’s pounding shakes my frame. I never should have let him in.
He moves toward me, and I keep walking backward. “Why are you here?” I ask, my voice quavering.
“I may have rewritten some details of my story.” His crooked smirk is now more of a leer, his once-handsome face sagging with illness. “When I woke up in your uncle’s shed the morning after he drew your blood, I wasn’t tied up. Teo gave me a choice: I could go home, or I could make a new home in la Sombra.”
I slip my hands inside my hoodie’s pocket, and my fingers close around my own syringe, since Bea warned me to be armed at all times. If Felipe reaches for me, he’s going down.
“So, what do you think I chose?” he asks, still marching closer. “I tried to resist. I wanted so much to be good for you. But he offered me something I could never refuse.” His glassy eyes begin to shimmer, and I see that actual tears are forming.
“Being a Brálaga is all I ever wanted. I hoped to do it by marrying you, but you turned me down. You left me no other choice.”
I scramble back, toward the front door, trying to keep out of his reach. “What did my uncle mean? How could you become a Brálaga?”
“He told me I could marry into the family if I did one thing for him.”
I feel the blood abandoning my face. “It’s your fault if you thought I was his to offer!”
“I didn’t say I’d be marrying you.”
“I don’t think you’re Bea’s type—”
But when Felipe’s confidence doesn’t crack, I realize who he means, and I gasp. “You can’t actually think—”
“I do,” he says. “He’s promised me your sister’s hand when she returns.”
“My uncle is sick!” I shout at him. “And my sister is dead!”
“He’s going to bring her back.” Felipe’s face lights up with manic faith. “But first, he needs me to deliver a message.”
The brightness of his gaze has hardened to glass, and I break into a run. He looks so ill that I’m hoping I can make it out the front door in time—
I duck as he lunges for me.
Felipe crashes against the door, and I spin away. Careening deeper into the castle, I hope I’ve bought myself enough time to outrun him. If I can just make it to one of the secret rooms, he won’t be able to follow me.
I cut toward the tower, but I hear Felipe’s footsteps gaining ground. His breaths grow louder, and I grip the syringe. When he’s too close, I swing around—
He bats my arm away, and the needle goes flying. We both dive for it, and I jab my elbow into his eye.
“Ow!”
I reach the syringe first and spring to my feet. Felipe yanks on my ankle, knocking me down.
“Let go!”
He pulls on my leg to slide me toward him, and I arch up to stab him with the needle—but he rolls out of my reach.
