Caio, sensing my distress, took a step closer to me. “Mom, she’s tired.”
And just as suddenly, his mother’s words became clear again, the strange sounds resolving back into language I knew. Of course, Caio was closer to me which meant so was theSeolais.
“I just wanted to make sure you were settling in all right,” she said, her voice regaining its familiar cadence, though her eyes held a sharp, knowing glint. She had been testing me.
“I am,” I said quickly, my heart still pounding. She’d only shown me kindness, but that brief moment of linguistic blindness was terrifying.
Elisa gave me a reassuring smile, then slipped out of the room, leaving me alone with Caio.
He hesitated in the doorway, the pendant resting against his chest. The air between us was thick with unspoken questions. I could see the conflict in his eyes—the scientific mind trying to rationalize the impossible healing of my ankle, the man trying to understand the strange girl who appeared from the river.
“Well,” he said finally, the word feeling inadequate. “The hammock is calling my name. Sleep well, Luzia.”
He gave me a small, uncertain smile and gently closed the door, leaving me in silence. The soft click of the latch felt like a final, definitive separation.
I went to the bed, a strange place to sleep. I slipped off the clothes, which were too painful on my drying skin. My skin prickled, knowing it was Caio’s bed, and I could smell his scent when I slipped between the sheets.
The air was filled with the lingering scent of him—woodsmoke, sunshine, and something uniquely him, something that made my breath catch in my throat. A forbidden warmth bloomed in my chest, a dangerous, intoxicating feeling that both thrilled and terrified me.
Sleep was impossible. The man in the hammock just outside my door held the key to my understanding this world and theSeolaisthat could save my people. And my heart, I feared, was in just as much danger as my mission.
CHAPTER 9
Caio
I couldn’t bring myself to leave her alone.
How could she not sense this connection between us?
I went out to the front of the house, where my parents sat in their rocking chairs and settled into the hammock. The rough weave was an unwelcome stranger against my back. I’d given Luzia my bed, but sleep was the last thing on my mind. Staring past the dark silhouettes of the trees to where the river whispered in the night, my thoughts tangled around a single, impossible point—her ankle.
“The river is restless tonight,” Mom stated, her gaze fixed on the water.
“Mom, it’s just a river.”
“Is it?” she countered, her voice soft but sharp. “You brought a girl from its banks with an injury that healed itself. Do not tell me it is ‘just a river.’ ”
My father placed a hand on her arm. “Elisa…”
“Our son needs to be careful,” she insisted, turning her gaze to me. The moonlight caught the worry in her eyes. “She willsteal your heart, and then the river will steal her back. It always does.”
The words tasted like a lie even to me. “That’s folklore.”
My heart clenched at the thought of her being stolen from anyone. I scoffed to cover the feeling. “Don’t be dramatic.”
“Do you think theSeolaisbelongs to her?” she pressed, her voice sharp. “Where did you get that idea? From your… friend? Or should I say, the Encantado from the river?”
“Hush,” Dad said quickly, his voice strained. “Be quiet. You don’t know who is listening.” He leaned forward. “Bringing her here means you are committed to protecting her.”
“So sheisan Encantado?” I whispered, the word barely audible.
“I believe so,” Dad replied, his voice grave.
My gaze shifted to Mom, seeking an answer. “That’s where you got theSeolaisfrom?”
“It’s been passed down through generations,” she explained, her gaze distant, as if lost in thought.
“Were there… more?” I asked, a sudden curiosity piquing my interest.
