Jean Genie
Copyright© 2026 by Rachael Jane
Chapter 32: Avoiding Marriage
Montréal, September, 1672
After the oppressive summer heat, Sophie appreciates the cooler weather. She sits in her chamber, the shutters half‑closed but the air still thick with the scent of pine. She has not slept well since Armand’s outburst. Although his devotion to Sophie has moderated into a simple infatuation, his embarrassing behaviour still echoes through the garrison, and the unwelcome gossip affects Sophie.
Sophie touches the bracelet but she doesn’t summon me. Her voice is tight, brittle.
“I want a way out of this marriage.”
The stones warm instantly and the magic stirs as her wish takes shape. As usual, I feel the magic ripple outward. It’s neither gentle, nor subtle. It manifests like a thread pulled too quickly through cloth.
Sophie exhales, relieved. She believes she has solved her problem. She doesn’t understand the ambiguity in what she has asked.
The accident happens before noon. The officers and soldiers are undertaking target practice in the yard. Their muskets raised and their powder horns slung at their sides. Armand stands at the front of his unit, still pale from weeks of sleepless nights, still trembling with the remnants of his obsession.
The sergeant calls for the troop to prepare for a volley. Armand loads his musket with shaking hands. He makes the sort of mistake that a raw recruit might make. His musket misfires and explodes in his hands. The explosion knocks Armand backward. He screams, clutching his right hand. Blood splashes across the dirt and the yard erupts into chaos.
Soldiers rush forward. The sergeant shouts for a medic. Armand collapses, sobbing, his hand mangled, fingers twisted and burned.
Inside the bracelet I feel the magic settle. The wish is complete. Sophie’s way out of the marriage has been granted. Literally. When the news reaches Sophie, she is visibly shocked. Minutes later, Étienne storms into the de la Roque house, his boots striking the floor like gunshots. Sophie stands in the hallway, frozen, her face pale.
“What happened?” she whispers.
He rounds on her, eyes blazing, as though realising her involvement in the accident.
“Lieutenant Duplessis has been gravely injured. His hand is ruined. He will never serve again.”
Sophie’s breath catches. “I ... I didn’t...”
Étienne steps closer, voice low and furious. “This is the second time your presence has caused disorder in my garrison. First his disgrace. Now this.”
She flinches. “I didn’t touch him.”
“No,” Étienne says, “but something is happening around you. Something I cannot explain. And I will not allow it to continue.”
Sophie’s pulse races. She feels the bracelet burning faintly against her skin. She whispers, “I only wanted...”
“A way out?” Étienne snaps. “You have it. The marriage is off. But at what cost?”
She looks away, trembling. Étienne’s voice drops to a cold, controlled tone.
“You will remain in your chamber until I decide what to do with you.”
He turns sharply and leaves, slamming the door behind him. Sophie sinks into a chair, shaking. She summons me, and I respond. Her voice cracks.
“Jeannia ... I didn’t want him hurt.”
I stand beside her with mixed emotions. I have offered my help and she has repeatedly spurned it. She treats me not as a companion, but as an unquestioning slave to do her bidding. And yet I cannot truly loathe her. Sophie is a victim of her upbringing, but she cannot heal unless she wishes it so.
“You wished for a way out,” I say softly. “And you have one.”
She presses her hands to her mouth, horrified.
“This is wrong,” she whispers. “This is all wrong.”
The bracelet glows faintly, pulsing like a heartbeat. Sophie stares at it with a mixture of fear and hatred. She has begun to understand that every wish carries a price. But she has not yet learned to put the bracelet aside and to stop using its magic. So the bracelet waits, patient and dangerous, for her next mistake.
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