Jean Genie
Copyright© 2026 by Rachael Jane
Chapter 78: Burgalimar Castle
The carriage creaks to a stop at the edge of Baños de la Encina, dust rising around the wheels. The sun‑washed town is quiet. I look towards to where the Valcázar family home once stood. My home that was destroyed by the Inquisition three centuries ago. Newer buildings now stand on the site. There’s nothing from my childhood left to see.
But none of that matters. Because above the town, high on the ridge, crowned in gold light, stands Burgalimar Castle. Its dungeons are where I was imprisoned and met my death. Presumably my bones lie somewhere nearby.
The sight of the castle hits me so hard I cannot speak. The air around Isabel’s wrist seems to tighten. The bracelet warms against her skin. She presses her hand to her chest, startled.
“Jeannia?” she whispers silently.
I cannot answer. Not yet.
The castle rises from the hill like a memory carved in stone ... fifteen towers, ancient walls, the curve of the battlements I once walked beneath. The gate where I was dragged inside. The courtyard where I pleaded for mercy. The cell where I died.
The place where I became what I am now.
Isabel feels my silence and grows frightened. When she disembarks the carriage, Nicole notices her trembling and places a steadying hand on her arm.
“Are you all right?” Nicole murmurs.
Isabel nods, though her breath shakes. “I ... I think so. I’m not so sure about Jeannia.”
The Altamira family disembarks, stretching their legs, gathering their belongings. Doña Elvira speaks with her cousin who has come to greet them. The children run ahead, excited to see the castle. Nicole follows them, calm and composed.
Isabel lingers near the carriage, her hand still pressed to her wrist.
I whisper at last ... soft and, fragile. ‘I’m here.’
She exhales shakily. “You’re frightened.”
‘Yes.’
She looks up at the castle, her eyes wide. “Because of this place?”
‘Yes.’
She swallows. “What happened here?”
I hesitate. The truth is heavy but it’s mine.
‘Everything. This is where my story began long ago.’
The family walk toward the castle along a dusty path lined with trees. Isabel follows slowly, each step careful, as though the earth itself might shift beneath her. I feel her heartbeat quicken. I feel her fear mingling with mine. I do my best to calm her, even though I am far from calm myself.
When we reach the gate, the children rush inside, their laughter echoing against the walls. Nicole smiles faintly, following them. Doña Elvira and her cousin walk in a different direction. Isabel steps beneath the archway ... and I feel something break open inside me.
The air changes. The light changes. The world changes.
I am no longer only inside the bracelet. I am also within the castle walls. Not fully. Not physically. But present.
The castle may be abandoned, but it remembers me. The castle presses against me like a memory trying to surface. The walls hum with echoes of my life, my death, my binding. I feel the weight of centuries settle around me, heavy but familiar. I lived here. I died here. And something of me remains.
We enter the courtyard. The stones are warm beneath the sun, worn smooth by centuries of footsteps. I feel the echoes of the past ... voices, footsteps, the clank of iron, the cold of night. I feel the weight of chains. I feel the final breath I took here.
Isabel stops suddenly, her breath catching. “Jeannia...”
I whisper. ‘I lived here.’
She closes her eyes. “And you died here.”
‘Yes.’
Isabel trembles, overwhelmed by the intensity of my presence. She moves to a low stone bench near the wall and sits, clutching her wrist, her eyes fixed on the towers above.
I whisper again, softer. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.’
She shakes her head. “You didn’t. I just ... I feel you so strongly.”
I sense the truth of her words. She is experiencing something that is emotionally strong, but not frightening.
‘I know. The castle amplifies me. The walls remember me. The air carries my last breath. This is where my spirit left my body.’
Isabel looks around the courtyard, her voice barely a whisper. “Where were you kept?”
I guide her gaze gently toward a narrow doorway half hidden in shadow.
‘Through there.’
She stares at it, her breath trembling.
“Can we ... go inside?”
I hesitate. I’m afraid. But I whisper: ‘Yes. But you will need a lantern. The passageway leads down to the underground levels.’
Isabel rises slowly. She looks across to the rest of the family group. Nicole is with the children, exploring the huge round tower. Doña Elvira and her cousin are walking around the huge courtyard. Isabel collects one of the night-lanterns from the coach. She returns and walks toward the doorway, each step careful as she peers into the depths beyond the doorway. The air grows cooler as she approaches. The shadows deepen.
She steps inside.
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