The thought was ludicrous, a fantastical notion born of the night’s strange occurrences. Yet, I couldn’t dismiss the unsettling feeling that something extraordinary, something that defied explanation, was unfolding before my eyes.
“The pendant…” I murmured, my gaze drawn to the trinket resting against my skin. Her reaction to it, the intensity of her focus, the whispered Encantado, all hinted at a connection, a link between her, the pendant, and the legends I had always considered mere folklore.
Luzia remained silent, her gaze fixed on her healed ankle, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. She tentatively reached out, her fingers lightly tracing the skin. The forest around us, usually a comforting presence, seemed to hold its breath, waiting for the answer to a question neither of us had yet voiced.
The thought of her wandering alone in the forest, vulnerable, sent a shiver down my spine. Despite the swirling uncertainty and unsettling questions about her identity and the pendant, I couldn’t leave her exposed to the dangers of nighttime.
The fading light was my warning. Shadows twisted into restless spirits, and the air bit at my exposed skin. The wild chorus of the jungle at night began its overture, and a primal unease settled in my bones. I couldn’t leave her out here. Not now.
“You know what,” I said, the words escaping before I could fully process them. “You can come and stay with us tonight. My mom makes a mean stew, and… well, you can have my bed. I can take the hammock.”
My offer hung in the air, heavy with the unspoken questions that lay between us. Luzia studied me, her eyes narrowed as if weighing the potential dangers of accepting my offer against the risks of staying alone. She looked toward the river, her brow furrowed.
With a hesitant nod and a soft sigh, she agreed, “All right.”
A wave of illogical relief washed over me, surprising in its intensity, but it wasn’t just concern for her safety. An urge pulsed within me, a need to understand the secret of her instantaneous healing and the unnatural grace of hermovements. Offering her shelter felt like a leap of faith into a world I didn’t understand. But out here, leaving her alone would be a cruelty far greater than any risk she posed.
Luzia followed, her bare feet navigating the uneven forest floor with the hesitant and uncertain steps of a toddler. I watched her, the knot in my stomach tightening with each clumsy movement. The rapid healing, the pendant, her impossible grace in the water—it all swirled in my mind, a mystery that grew more unsettling with every new piece.
As we emerged from the trees, the warm glow of the village lamps spilled out to greet us. The small house, nestled amongst the others, suddenly felt like a sanctuary. My mother, a sturdy woman with a smile as wide as the Amazon River, rushed out to meet us. Her eyes, however, quickly shifted from me to Luzia, widening with a mixture of surprise and a glint of mischief.
“Luzia can do with a safe place to stay for the night,” I said, shooting my mother a look that I hoped conveyed both warning and embarrassment.
“Of course,mi casa es su casa,” Mom replied, her smile warm but her eyes sharp, assessing Luzia with an intensity that mirrored my unease. “I’m Elisa.”
Luzia hesitated at the threshold, her luminous eyes wide as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings. The scent of river lilies and something wild clung to her, a foreignness that drew me to her even more. I had offered shelter and protection.
But as she finally stepped inside, the shadows clinging to her like a second skin, a chilling thought struck me—had I invited salvation into my home or something far more dangerous?
CHAPTER 8
Luzia
I knew I had to say yes to Caio.
I liked the way his name formed on my tongue.
The forest was hardly a sanctuary compared to my river, and a chill seeped into my bones. Where else could I go?
But shelter wasn’t my only need. I craved answers. I had to understand how this man possessed theSeolais, our lost pendant.
The wood that formed the partly transformed Encantado held the whispers of my ancestors, the key to secrets hidden from the present. Seeing it dangling from his neck had sent a jolt through me, awakening me to possibilities of a future our queen denies.
Inside his home, the air hung heavy and still, thick with unfamiliar scents—woodsmoke, cooked food, something faintly sweet. My bare feet felt awkward on the smooth wooden floor.
Caio’s mother, a sturdy woman with a warm smile and unnervingly knowing eyes, watched me. Caio seemed obliviousto the weight of theSeolaisas he chattered about his day, helping his mother around the stove.
“Good thing I made plenty for us… and a guest,” she said to him, her voice laced with amusement. She turned to Caio, a teasing glint in her eye.
He looked at me then, and for a moment, the way his eyes locked with mine stilled the discomfort inside me. Being closer to theSeolaisalso calmed me.
Elisa smiled, a knowing look in her eyes. “Luzia,” she repeated softly. “I had a friend a long time ago, and we played in the river.” She spoke as if recalling an imaginary friend, a childhood fantasy.
The name echoed in the small room, a phantom whisper from a past I barely understood.Luzia.
How could she know?My mind raced.
I was named for my great-aunt. Our kind live for centuries, far longer than humans.Was it possible that in her long life, my great-aunt had known a human? Trusted one enough to share a family name? But why?My thoughts tangled, snagging on the impossibility. The strange coincidence sent another tremor through me.
