"The Enemy's Daughter"

Melissa Poett majored in music composition, first telling stories with instruments before switching her medium to words. She now writes young adult novels in a variety of genres ranging from contemporary to romantasy. She lives in Canada, and The Enemy’s Daughter is her debut novel.

Poett applied the Page 69 Test to The Enemy’s Daughter and reported the following:

From page 69:

“Fesber—that’s the antidote and will help the kidneys. Use the leaves, too. They assist with circulation and oxygenating the blood. Let’s start with that: fesber tea made with the whole plant, even the root.”

Why aren’t they moving?

“Don’t you know what it is?” I ask. “Small purple flower with fuzzy leaves. It grows in the rocky, higher ground. You must have some of that around here. Get me some paper, I’ll draw it for you. And crushed white thistle! He’ll need that, too, to support the liver...” So many other plants come to mind, but there isn’t time.

Samuel shares a skeptical look with Ryland. They know what I know: it’s too late. These remedies could’ve helped Tristan if he didn’t have a lethal dose of poison in his body. Now, he’s too far gone.

Which is why I need them to go and search for this flower.

After I fail to take back the poison, I’m going to have to make my escape.

“Make it concentrated,” I continue, my voice turning desperate. “A handful of each plant and cover just enough with water and simmer. It will need to be given for days. Maybe weeks. He’ll have to drink buckets of it. But it will help.”

I straighten my shoulders, doing my best to look confident that this is still a viable option.

“Go,” Vador commands without taking his eyes off Tristan.

“You, too, Ryland. Help him. We don’t have much time.”

Samuel flexes his fists like he’s about to punch a hole in the wall. “Fine. But if he’s dead when I return, I’m the one who gets to kill her.”

I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised to find that page 69 of The Enemy's Daughter offers a fairly rounded picture of the story—at least the key parts.

The Enemy's Daughter is a reimagining of the medieval legend of Tristan and Isolde and unfolds in three pivotal parts: the main characters are cast as enemies, a poisoning occurs, and a love potion ultimately binds them together.

Page 69 includes all three of those things. Here we see that Isadora, a young healer, is trapped in enemy territory and in grave danger. The stakes are high, not only for her, but for her people, who are dependant on her to escape her enemy captors. Tristan, an elite enemy soldier, has been poisoned, and Isadora must find a way to save his life or face death.

At the end of this passage, the reader is given a glimpse of what will eventually lead to a kind of love potion—a rare magic that will irrevocably bind them together. It sets them on a path toward a fateful choice: will they give into their growing attraction, putting aside a decades-long war . . . or will they betray the other to save their own people?

Visit Melissa Poett's website.

--Marshal Zeringue