I furrow my brow. “Magnus?”
“Magnus Merriweather.” She pauses her brushing, eyes going wide as she meets mine in the mirror. “I haven’t told you, have I? That’s the best part! After the announcement, Magnus invited me to dinner. Through his cousin, Annabel, of course. But I saw the way he looked at me from across the plaza. He and Theresa Holstrom were practically engaged. Now that she’s…well, you know…he has to marry me!”
“Has to?”
“Well, Theresa was obviously his first choice, but I’ve always known I was a close second.”
“And you’re happy about that?”
Amelie’s smile grows radiant as she returns to brushing my hair. “Magnus is the most handsome man in Sableton. Maybe all of Eisleigh, though I haven’t traveled the Isle much, as you well know. But I can’t imagine a man more dignified than he. And now he’s stuck with me. I couldn’t feel luckier, Evie.”
I try my best to suppress my laugh. Despite Amelie being what I very much define as asilly person, I never go out of my way to make fun of her. She may be two years older, but she’s more fragile than I am, like a tiny violet in a patch of weeds. That fragility was almost the death of her once. I’ll never forget what it felt like to think I was going to lose her, and I’ve been fiercely protective of her ever since.
“We’re both free women now,” Amelie says, shaking me from my thoughts as she pins my fully brushed hair into a low chignon the way I like. She’s given up trying to get me to wear my hair down like hers. “How are you going to celebrate?”
My eyes fall on the stack of books on my dressing table. All are either human anatomy or medical guides, to aid my studies as a surgeon’s apprentice. Hidden beneath the stack of books is a letter. A letter I’ve read and reread a dozen times or more since receiving it last month. I’ve been waiting to respond to it until this very day—the day I can declare my absolute freedom.
I feel my cheeks flush before the words are out of my mouth. Not with shame. With excitement. “I’m going to mainland Bretton. To medical school. I’m going to become arealsurgeon.”
Amelie’s eyes go wide as if I’ve just told her I plan on exchanging my head for a new one. “The mainland? You’re leaving the isle?”
My heart drops at the hurt in her tone. It was always my plan to leave the Fair Isle after the Reaping. I would have left already if it would have been allowed. According to the treaty, all young women who would come of age during the Reaping are forbidden to marry or leave the isle three years prior. You can only imagine the influx of weddings and moves to the mainland that took place three years ago. I was livid Mother wouldn’t comply with my wishes and leave with us immediately. Amelie was furious she was forbidden to marry at age seventeen. But mother was fixed on staying in Eisleigh, convinced our offerings would keep us safe.I understand the fae,she would say.We will not be driven from our home or forced into rash behavior. We’ll work with them. You’ll be safe, I promise.
Mother was right. We’re free from the Reaping once and for all. Now I can do what I’ve always wanted to do. “I’ll still visit you and Mother.”
Amelie forces a smile, but I can tell she’s hurt. “When will you go?”
“I’ve been invited to join the fall quarter at Bennings University of Medical Arts. It begins at the end of the month.”
My sister sighs, pinning the last strand of hair in place. She steps back, admiring her work, then places a hand on my shoulder. “You’ll see me get married at least, right?”
I feel my throat grow tight as I stand to face her. “Of course I will.”
Amelie pulls me into a hug with her slender arms. My head barely reaches her shoulder. “It won’t be the same without you.”
I blink back tears. “Nothing will be the same without you.”
She releases me but keeps her hands on my shoulders. “Have you told Mother?”
“Told me what?”
I whirl to find Mother standing in the doorway.
“Evie is leaving us for medical school on the mainland,” Amelie says with a pout, then floats away from me, past Mother, to my door. “Meanwhile, I have a man to steal. Good day.” With that, she disappears into the hall, leaving me to face Mother alone.
Chapter Three
“Is this true, Evelyn?” Mother asks, her voice soft. “You’re moving to the mainland?”
I feel my shoulders collapse and have to turn away to avoid her tear-glazed eyes. “It shouldn’t be a surprise.” My voice comes out more defensive than I intend, but I’m not sure what to say. I wasn’t ready for this conversation yet.Thanks, Amelie.
I grab a pile of clothes from my table and move behind my dressing screen. Again, I’m surprised to find my trousers so dirty and recall the night before. The wall. The offering. The fae male. I shake the memories from my mind and peel off the pants and nightdress and toss them to the floor. I don a fresh pair of wide-legged trousers, then retrieve my stiff corset from the floor. With a grimace, I wrap it around my waist. A moment later, I hear Mother’s footsteps approach from behind, followed by the gentle pull of the laces. She knows better than to lace it as tight as Amelie’s. Mother dislikes corsets almost as much as I do. However, she’s convinced it’s the burden we must bear for propriety’s sake. At least until they fall out of fashion.
With my corset done, Mother returns to the other side of the screen, and I put on a cream satin blouse with round pearl-like buttons, followed by a short-waisted coat in a deep gray. I still can’t meet Mother’s eyes when I step out from behind my dressing screen, but I can feel her scrutiny at my trousers. I’m likely the only woman in my village who prefers trousers to dresses, and Mother hasn’t decided her stance on them when it comes to propriety.
Not that propriety is Mother’s only concern. She has her own curious ways, like her trailing scarves, colorful hair ornaments, and mismatched shawls. She’s an odd mix of both me and Amelie, as if we were split from two sides of her personality, each taking an equal half. On one hand, Mother is whimsical, fair, and pretty like Amelie, with the same copper hair and green eyes. She knows how to fit into society and earn the acceptance of her peers. On the other hand, Mother has always been a bit of a secret rebel. She came to the Fair Isle from the mainland after she parted ways with my father. Yes, shewillinglyparted ways with a decent man, leaving the more traditional structure of the mainland for the less judgmental people of the isle. That’s how she explains it, anyway. I’ve never known the residents of Sableton to be anything other than petty gossips with empty heads and rigid ways.
But the people here respect her, lone mother of two, witch of Sableton. Of course, she prefers the term healer. I prefer the term charlatan.
