He raised a brow. “The truth?”
She laughed. “Exactly.”
???
The next fewdays passed in a blur of nerves. Sadie gathered her ingredients, including the anise Nicholas sent to the city for, and brewed her potion, but didn’t know when or how to administer it to everyone. Nicholas couldn’t get his demon-detecting charm to work, but since Sadie’s control of her telepathy grew with each passing day as she practiced with the focus charm in her ring, that wasn’t as critical.
For every moment that nothing happened was another moment of worry over what could happen. Madeleine keptHelen and Jane busy; Nicholas etched poison-detecting glyphs in hidden spots on most of the plates and cups in the manor, though the power would fade fast.
And Beatrice discovered that the only way to make a demon leave its host was to entice it to jump to a new one.
The demon and Abigail continued to grumble about hurting or getting rid of everyone, but as far as Sadie could tell, hadn’t attempted to do anything more. She wanted to believe the charms Nicholas had made for Madeleine and Beatrice, combined with all their efforts to limit opportunities for the demon to cause issues, were working. She feared it was instead biding its time.
About to retreat to the brewing room for the third day in a row—at the very least Sadie could make sure the manor was prepared with healing potions and common antidotes, if nothing else—Sadie kissed Nicholas in the hall where they’d part ways. Somehow in the last few days, she had lost all hesitation to these semi-public acts of affection. They hadn’t actually kissed in front of anyone but Beatrice—and Pippa one time, but that had been an accident. A few servants had almost certainly seen them, but not Madeleine nor any of the other guests. Sadie didn’t worry about being caught, though.
She felt no shame about kissing Nicholas, and didn’t care if the true ladies would be scandalized. All she cared about was soaking in as much of the wonder of being with him as she could before the month ended, for end it must.
Nicholas hadn’t changed his stance on marriage, which was for the best. Sadie could trust in having a few weeks with him without consequence, but she knew better than to hope for a long-term arrangement. Thanks to her power, long-term was never an option for her in any aspect of her life. She’d focus on the short-term and enjoy it, instead.
“You’re going into the forest today?” she confirmed when they drew apart.
“Yes. I think I know where the tear might be, and the journal from my ancestor gives enough hints that I think I can recognize it if it is there. If I find it, I’ll put up a ward to prevent anyone passing through from getting too close, and then we can move on to figuring out how to lure the demon out there.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“With any luck, only a few hours. The spot I’m thinking of is about an hour away, and hopefully it won’t take too long to search the area.” Nicholas ran his hands down her arms and squeezed her hands. “You are back in the brewing room today?”
“Yes, I want to make a few more general healing potions.”
“I’ll see you at supper, then.”
Sadie reluctantly stepped back. She’d much rather retreat to Nick’s room, where they’d spend the morning lost in pleasure instead of worry, but she’d never suggest it. Not when every delay meant more opportunities for the demon to cause harm.
“Until supper. Stay safe.”
“You too, Sadie.”
They turned and went their separate ways, but Sadie didn’t make it to the brewing room before she heard a scream from the direction Nicholas had gone. She spun around.
Not him.
The scream wasn’t him.
It had been a woman.
The realization made Sadie feel at once both relieved and disgusted with herself for that relief.
She made it two steps before spinning back around. Better to get the potions first. She ran to the brewing room and shoved two of every type of potion she had made into a convenient bowl, then ran for where the scream had originated.
She found Nicholas at the foot of the main staircase, crouched next to Helen. The images the demon had shared with Abigail at supper a few evenings prior flashed back through Sadie’s mind. Helen at the base of the stairs, her neck broken.
No. Sadie forced herself to notice the differences in the tableau in front of her compared to the demon’s vision. Helen was sitting on the bottom step, not lying on the ground. She was sniffling, and cradling her arm against her chest as Nicholas inspected it, but definitely alive.
Nicholas looked up at that instant. “Sadie, I think her wrist is broken. Do you have a healing potion for that?”
She sorted through the jumble of vials in the bowl and grabbed one that was nearly the same shade of blue as Nicholas’s standard wards. She handed it to him. “This will help with broken bones, but if it is a sprain, a different potion will work better.”
“She also twisted her ankle at the least.”
