The Encanto's Daughter by Melissa de la Cruz

Author:Melissa de la Cruz [de la Cruz, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2024-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

18

I woke up in a strange room, totally disoriented, face stuck to the pillow with drool. I didn’t even remember falling asleep, let alone in my clothes. It took a few seconds for the events of the previous night to come back to me. When they did, I groaned out loud. I was locked in a guest suite with the most annoying guy I knew. Speaking of, I wondered what he was doing, so I got out of bed, crept over to the door, and cracked it open. There was no sound, and I didn’t see him anywhere. I opened it more but still didn’t spot him. My heart soared. We must have been cleared to leave while I was still asleep. I walked out and went to open the main door.

It was locked. I knocked on it, then called out, “Hello?”

“It’s a bit early for all that shouting,” a groggy voice mumbled behind me.

I spun around. “Oh my god. I thought you were gone.” Lucas was sprawled on the big chair where he’d been sitting the night before, his arm thrown over his eyes. I must have missed him when I walked by.

He sat up slowly, cringing while rubbing his neck. “Remind me to ask for a pillow tonight.” His hair was tousled, and of course it made him look even more charming and boyish.

“Oh, don’t worry. That won’t be necessary. Not a chance I’m staying in here another whole night.”

He looked up at me, his eyes still not fully awake, and smiled. “Then I guess you better hope they capture the killer.”

I didn’t have anything to say to that. I stood there for a few seconds, arms crossed, a million thoughts running through my head at once. I wanted out of there, first of all. Then I wanted something to eat. And I wanted to know who killed the page.

For lack of anything else to do, I went and sat in the chair across from him. “They think Althea, the healer, did it,” I said. Might as well address the one issue I could at the moment. “What do you think?”

He shrugged. “Maybe she did.”

“Do you really think so?” I couldn’t believe he thought she’d be a suspect.

“No, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t.”

He had a point. “I don’t know much about healers,” I said. Or anything at all. “Do they . . .” I cleared my throat. I wasn’t sure I should go there, but I’d already started, so might as well. “Do they use bugs? Like beetles?”

Lucas leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. “Hmmm. Healers might use leeches, but bugs aren’t usually a healer’s choice of murder weapon.”

“What is?”

“Poison, usually. Beetles require magic. Healers don’t have that.”

“Why not?”

He regarded me with what seemed like curiosity. “You’re really new to Biringan, aren’t you?”

I didn’t answer, which was answer enough.

He sighed. “Healers are always human.”

I was confused. “What do you mean? Althea’s human?”

“Yeah. They aren’t diwata like you. They aren’t even hapcanto. They’re entirely human.”

I didn’t like what that insinuated.

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