I tried to imagined what Ama must have been doing while I wrote her the letter. Mixing perfumes, cooking little stews of vegetables over the fire. I wondered if she missed me as I missed her.
Please answer this letter, Ama. I need to know you’re all right. It’s been good here, and I’ve almost earned enough money to keep us through the rest of the winter. My teas and poultices are helping young Master Lucien, and I’ll be coming home soon . . . before the monthlies take you.
If Madame Écrue tried to read it before she sent it with the courier, she’d just think I was talking about Ama’s period, not her transformation.
Have you chopped enough wood for the week? Don’t put it off, Ama, or you’ll wind up cold.
A wave of sadness washed over me and I had to put the pen down. I missed her. Lucien had tucked himself in my heart, yes, but Ama was my sister. She’d been my constant for as long as I could remember, and the last time we’d been apart for this long, I’d felt my soul splinter. I’d have to go home in the next week, breaking my promise to Sebastian. Ama would turn, so I needed to either mark her prey or lock her in the cellar and feed her a rabbit if I could catch one, knowing it wouldn’t be enough. She weakened when we did that too many times in a row, which was why I let her kill at all. To keep her healthy, to keep her safe.
If I left here for good without the book of spells, we’d be no better off than when I came here. This was my only chance to figure out what had happened to her. Secrets whispered behind the walls of this house like scurrying mice. I just had to catch the right one. There had to be a way to go back just for a few nights without breaking the promise I’d made to Sebastian. I needed him to welcome me back if I couldn’t find the book before next week.
Ama had always said I was the best hunter out of the two of us. I couldn’t help but remember the first time we’d killed an animal. One warm spring, Papa had found the right kind of wood and fashioned us a slingshot. Only one, of course, because he’d never think to try and avoid squabbles between us. We fought over it, but I insisted it should be mine since I was the eldest. Ama didn’t swallow that, but I was still bigger than her then and easily pinned her down and wrestled the slingshot from her hands. After sulking for a few minutes, she slipped down beside me in the long grass and we waited, holding our breath, for a rabbit to come.
Ama saw it first. She tapped my shoulder and stuck out her stubby fingers. I pulled the ball back, straining against the tension. Ama grabbed my wrist, helping me drag the line back even farther. I counted under my breath . . . one, two, three. Then we both let go.
The rabbit fell, and my heart swelled with excitement. Meat for the pot. Ama shook my shoulders, grinning so wide I could see her missing milk tooth.
“You’re a huntress,” she said.
We scurried out from our hiding spot and picked up the rabbit together—me holding its ears and Ama grasping its hind legs.
I might have been the huntress that day, but we were a team. I couldn’t be me without her, and I had to figure out a way to bring her back to me for good.
Answer me, Ama. Please.
I let the ink dry and sealed the letter, ready for the courier to take into town, and then collapsed on my bed. I would have fallen asleep if not for the knock at my door.
Sebastian stood behind it.
“Lucien?” I asked, heart beating too quickly.
I should have stayed with him in his room, sat on the edge of his bed, held the teacup to his lips.
“No, he’s fine. Sleeping.”
My shoulders relaxed and a warm rush of relief spread through me. Lucien was all right. Everything was fine.
“You scared me,” I said.
Color rose in Sebastian’s cheeks. He had high, fine cheekbones and expressive eyes. I’d noticed how easy it was to get lost in them. More than once I’d had to remind myself to look away, much to my embarrassment.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “Actually, I came here to ask you a favor.”
“Oh? Another poultice?”
“Not that. I, uh, well it’s Madame Écrue’s birthday tomorrow and I wondered if you might help me with her present.”
Help him with her present? What help could I be? Even though his estate seemed to be in trouble, money-wise, he still had much more of it than anyone in the village. He could buy whatever he wanted for his housekeeper’s birthday.
“What can I help with?”
He leaned against the doorframe, eyes on his feet.
“I want to make her a perfume, and I’ve heard you’re very good at that.”
A scent. I wrapped my arms around myself, holding in the colony of butterflies suddenly fluttering in my stomach. He’d heard I was good at making perfumes and he wanted me to help him make one instead of using his coin to buy something for Madame Écrue. It was sweet.
“Of course I’ll help.”
“Now?”
I glanced back at the bed and said goodbye to the nap I’d been planning. This would be better. Even though I’d tried speaking with Sebastian at the dining table or when we’d been together in Lucien’s room, he hadn’t been very open to conversation. While Lucien had been young and sick when his parents were alive, Sebastian had been old enough to know what was going on. He might know a lot more about his mother’s magic and Ama’s transformation than he realized. Making a perfume with him would be a great time to finally get him to talk.
“I hope it’s not too much trouble, Marie,” he said.
“No trouble at all.” I stood and brushed off my dress. “I’d love to help.”