“You ought to sew more,” Ammi continued. “You look happier than I’ve seen you in weeks. The Lord Enchanter will be glad to see it.”
At the mention of Edan, my shoulders sagged. “He won’t. I should tell you, Ammi, I’ve made up my mind not to see—”
Ammi raised her finger to her lips and darted to the side of the window, closing the curtains with a jerk.
I heard shouting outside, and horses neighing. Nothing out of the ordinary, given that the inn was on the village’s main street.
“What’s the matter?” I whispered.
“Soldiers.”
The muscles in my jaw stiffened. “Here?”
She nodded grimly. “That’s not all. The peddler mentioned that mercenaries had been spotted in the next province.”
The shansen’s men.
She looked at me, her expression beseeching me for answers. “The emperor’s men are looking for a woman with red eyes. An enchantress. But people are saying she’s a demon.”
What could I say? She’d seen my red eyes before. I couldn’t deny I was who they were looking for.
“I’m not a demon, Ammi.” I swallowed, about to add “Not yet,” but she looked so relieved I couldn’t bring myself to undo the lie.
“The shansen’s demon must have cursed you somehow. You seek the Lord Enchanter to help you.”
My mouth went dry, the sweet aftertaste of the honeycomb cookie turning sour.
I didn’t reply. She wasn’t that far from the truth. Maybe it was better that she believed the shansen’s demon had cursedme.
Ammi flinched as we heard men shouting downstairs. “What should we do?”
“We stay tonight, leave first thing in the morning. People think we’re brothers, and His Majesty’s men couldn’t possibly know our true identities.”
Besides,I thought,I’d much rather face Khanujin’s soldiers than the shansen’s mercenaries.
Ammi took the handkerchiefs I’d embroidered. “I’ll see if I can learn more.”
“You’re a true friend, Ammi” was all I could manage.I pray you won’t regret it.
• • •
While Ammi was gone, I lit a candle to ward off the coming dusk, but the shadows that danced along the dented walls stirred my nightmares. Wolves with sharp teeth. Tigers with crooked claws. Birds with broken wings.
Under the waning flame, I studied my old drawings of Edan, memorizing the sharp angles of his face, the tiny crook of his nose, and wishing I’d taken the time to paint the black of his hair, the blue of his eyes.
I should try to summon him again,I thought as I flipped the pages of my sketchbook. But after passing my portraits of Baba and Keton, I stopped at a blank page.
Edan could wait. I needed to draw Ammi first, before I forgot her too.
I got as far as outlining the contours of her face, when the door rattled open.
“Look, fifty jens,” Ammi said proudly, showing me the coins in her hand. “It’s not much, but it’ll pay for another night here, and tomorrow I can buy more food.” She noted my sketchbook and hovered over it. “Is that me? I want to see.”
“It’s not finished,” I said, hastily shutting it, but Ammi put her hand over mine, her nails digging into my flesh.
I jerked away from her. “Ammi?”
A sneer formed on her lips, twisting her kind face into one I hardly recognized.
