Chapter Twenty
Athena
The universe was singing.
I could feel it in every cell of my body. It was a bright, golden, absolutely perfect energy that hummed through everything. The air tasted sweeter. The light looked warmer. Even the traffic sounds from the street below sounded like music.
I was cosmically, completely, utterly happy.
This is what alignment feels like.
This is what it feels like when the universe says, “Yes, this, exactly this.”
I spun around Julien’s apartment, our apartment now—we were “figuring out the logistics,” which really meant he was slowly, adorably adjusting to the idea of living somewhere that didn’t look like a surgical suite—and gathered my supplies.
My tarot deck. The one my grandmother had given me, worn soft at the edges, the cards practically humming with energy.
My rose quartz cluster. For love, obviously. For celebrating love.
My clear quartz points. For clarity and amplification.
My amethyst. For spiritual connection.
My citrine. For joy and abundance.
My selenite wand. For cleansing and charging.
I arranged them on my reading cloth—deep purple silk embroidered with gold stars—and lit three candles. White for purity, pink for love, gold for divine blessing.
I need to tell my sisters.
I need to tell them everything.
About Julien finally surrendering. About the dinner with our parents, where his mother got wine-faced and his father looked like he’d swallowed a lemon. About the sex. Oh God, the sex! About waking up in his arms and feeling like I was finally home.
About how the universe had been right all along.
I grabbed my phone, pulled up the group chat with Freyja and Phoebe, and started typing:
EMERGENCY SISTER MEETING. I HAVE NEWS. COSMIC NEWS. UNIVERSE-LEVEL NEWS.
Then I deleted it.
Too vague.
JULIEN AND I HAD SEX AND IT WAS PERFECT, AND I LOVE HIM AND HE LOVES ME, AND THE UNIVERSE WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING.
Delete.
Too much information.
Need to talk. Good news. Really good news. Can we FaceTime?
Better.
I hit send, then immediately started gathering more crystals because I couldn’t just sit there waiting. I needed to do something with all this energy.
My phone rang, and I looked at the screen.
Freyja & Phoebe
Perfect timing!
The universe was always listening.
I answered, already grinning, already opening my mouth to babble.
“Athena,” Freyja said.
Just my name.
But something in her voice made me pause.
“Hey! I was just about to call you guys. I have so much to tell you. You won’t believe what happened this weekend—well, you probably will believe it because you both said the universe had plans and you were right, you were so right. Julien finally—”
“Athena,” Freyja said again, firmer this time. “Stop.”
I stopped.
Freyja never interrupted me. Freyja was the oldest, the calmest, the one who let me ramble for hours while she listened with infinite patience. Freyja was earth to my air, grounded and steady.
“Something’s wrong,” she said.
The golden energy around me flickered.
“What? No, nothing’s wrong. Everything’s perfect. Julien and I—”
“I know about Julien,” Freyja said gently. “I can feel it. The shift in your energy. The alignment. It’s beautiful, Athena. It really is.”
“Then what?”
“Something else is coming,” Phoebe said, her voice tight. “Something big.”
I sat down on my meditation cushion, suddenly cold despite the candles.
“What do you mean?”
“The universe isn’t done with him yet,” Freyja said. “I’ve been getting signs all morning. Strong ones. The kind that wakes you up at 3 AM and won’t let you go back to sleep.”
“I pulled cards,” Phoebe added. “Three times. Same message every time.”
My hand moved automatically to my tarot deck, fingers brushing the worn edges.
“What message?”
“A test,” Freyja said. “A big one. Soon.”
“The Tower,” Phoebe whispered. “I keep pulling the Tower.”
My stomach dropped.
The Tower—Upheaval. Destruction. Everything I thought was solid was crumbling. The card that meant change was coming, whether I was ready or not.
“But—” I looked around the apartment, at the candles and crystals, at the golden light still trying to shine through the windows. “But everything just aligned. Julien and I—we just figured it out. We just—”
“I know,” Freyja said, and her voice was so gentle it made my chest ache. “I know, honey. But the universe doesn’t work on our timeline. And sometimes—” She paused. “Sometimes the biggest tests come right after the biggest breakthroughs.”
“To make sure it’s real,” Phoebe added. “To make sure the foundation is solid enough to hold.”
“What kind of test?” I asked, my voice smaller than I wanted it to be.
“We don’t know exactly,” Freyja said. “But it’s about Julien. The energy is all around him. Something big.”
“Something he’ll have to face,” Phoebe added. “Something that will challenge everything he believes.”
I closed my eyes.
No.
No, we just got here.
We just found each other.
“Athena?” Freyja’s voice was soft. “Are you okay?”
“I need to pull cards,” I said. “I need to see for myself.”
“We thought you might,” Phoebe said. “That’s why we called. We didn’t want you to be blindsided.”
“When?” I asked. “When is this test coming?”
“Soon,” Freyja said. “Weeks, not months. The energy is building fast.”
“Pull your cards,” Phoebe said. “See what the universe wants you to know. And then call us back.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Athena?” Freyja said. “Whatever’s coming? You and Julien can handle it. The universe wouldn’t have brought you together if you couldn’t.”
“The alignment is real,” Phoebe added. “Don’t forget that. Whatever happens, the alignment is real.”
“Okay,” I said again.
“We love you,” they said in unison.
“Love you too.”
I hung up and sat in silence.
The candles flickered. The crystals hummed. And the golden energy that had been singing through everything just minutes ago felt... different now. Still there, but muted. Like the universe was holding its breath.
Okay.
Okay.
Pull the cards.
See what’s coming.
I picked up my deck, held it against my heart, and closed my eyes.
“Universe,” I whispered. “I’m listening. Show me what I need to know. Show me what’s coming. Show me how to help him.”
I shuffled.
Once. Twice. Three times.
The cards felt heavy in my hands. Weighted with meaning.
I pulled three cards, laying them face down on the silk cloth.
Past. Present. Future.
Here we go.
I flipped the first card.
The Lovers. I smiled despite everything. That was us. That was Julien and me. The divine union. The cosmic alignment. The choice to love despite, or maybe because of, our differences.
Okay. Good start.
I flipped the second card.
The Sun. Joy. Success. Clarity. Everything coming into the light. This was now. This was the happiness I had been feeling all morning. This was Julien showing up late to work in sneakers, texting me during meetings, and finally letting himself be happy.
Still good.
Please let the future be good too.
I reached for the third card.
My hand hesitated.
Whatever it is, you can handle it.
Whatever it is, the universe has a plan.
I flipped it.
The Tower.
Oh.
Oh no.
I stared at the card. The lightning strike. The crumbling tower. The figures falling. Everything you thought was solid revealed to be built on unstable ground. Upheaval. Destruction. Necessary change.
But we just built this.
We just—
I pulled another card, my hands shaking slightly.
Show me more. Show me what this means. Show me how to prepare.
The Devil.
Fuck.
Bondage. Addiction. Being chained to old patterns. The shadow self. The parts of ourselves we tried to hide.
I pulled another.
The Eight of Swords.
A woman blindfolded, surrounded by swords, trapped by her own thoughts.
Imprisonment. Restriction. Feeling trapped.
Another card.
The Five of Pentacles.
Loss. Hardship. Being left out in the cold.
No no no!
Another.
The Three of Swords.
A heart pierced by three swords.
Heartbreak. Betrayal. Painful truth.
Stop. Stop pulling cards.
You’re spiraling.
I set the deck down with shaking hands and looked at the spread in front of me.
The Lovers. The Sun. And then... chaos. Upheaval. Everything falling apart.
But why? What’s coming? What could possibly—
My phone buzzed.
A text from Julien: Meeting finally over. Heading into surgery. Love you.
I stared at the message.
At the casual “love you” that would have been impossible a week ago.
At the man who’d finally let himself be happy.
At the person I loved more than I’d ever loved anyone.
Something’s coming for him. Something that will test everything we’ve built.
I looked back at the cards.
The Tower. The Devil. The Eight of Swords. The Five of Pentacles. The Three of Swords.
What are you trying to tell me, universe? What’s coming?
I closed my eyes, centered myself, and asked the question differently. “What does Julien need to know? What does he need to be prepared for?”
I pulled one more card.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Flipped it face-up.
The Ten of Swords. A figure lying face-down, ten swords in their back.
The dark night. Rock bottom. The end of a cycle.
But I looked closer at the sun rising on the horizon.
The promise of a new day. The understanding that sometimes things had to completely fall apart before they could be rebuilt stronger.
Change.
That’s what’s coming. Something is going to change him, challenge him in ways he’s never been tested. And it’s going to press his limits. It’s going to challenge him so much he’ll want to go back to his old ways. Back to control and precision, and walls so high that nothing can touch him.
Back to the person he was before me.
I gathered the cards with trembling hands and held them against my chest.
“Universe,” I whispered. “I trust you. I do. But please... please don’t let this break him. Don’t let this break us.”
The candles flickered. The crystals hummed. And somewhere deep in my chest, I felt it: the universe’s response. Not words, exactly. More like a feeling. A knowing.
This is necessary, but you will survive it.
Both of you.
Together.
I picked up my phone and pulled up my sisters’ group chat.
You were right. The Tower. The Devil. The Ten of Swords. Something’s coming. Something that will test everything.
The response was immediate.
Freyja: When?
Me: Soon. Weeks. Maybe less.
Phoebe: What are you going to do?
I looked at Julien’s text again.
Heading into surgery. Love you.
What was I going to do?
I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t say, “Hey, by the way, the universe says you’re about to be challenged in ways you’ve never imagined, and you’re going to want to run away from everything, but you need to stand strong.”
He’d think I was crazy!
Or worse... he’d try to control it. Try to prevent it. Try to build walls to protect himself.
And that would defeat the entire purpose.
No. I couldn’t tell him. I could only be there when it happened. I could only trust that what we had was strong enough to survive whatever was coming.
Me: I’m going to trust the universe. And I’m going to love him through it. Whatever happens, I’m going to love him through it.
Freyja: That’s all you can do.
Phoebe: We’re here if you need us.
Freyja: The alignment is real, Athena. Don’t forget that. Whatever happens, the alignment is real.
I set my phone down.
Looked at the cards spread across my reading cloth.
The Lovers. The Sun. The Tower. The Devil. The Eight of Swords. The Five of Pentacles. The Three of Swords. The Ten of Swords.
A story written in archetypes and symbols, and then I looked at the Ten of Swords again. The sunrise. The new beginning. The understanding that sometimes you had to hit rock bottom before you could rise.
Okay, universe.
Okay.
I hear you.
Something’s coming.
Something that will test us.
But we’ll survive it.
We have to.
I gathered my crystals, held them in my hands, and closed my eyes.
“Protect him,” I whispered. “Whatever’s coming, protect his heart. Protect his spirit. Protect the beautiful, vulnerable person he’s finally letting himself be.”
The crystals warmed in my palms. The candles burned steady, and somewhere in the distance, I heard it... the universe’s laughter.
Not cruel. Not mocking.
Just... knowing.
The kind of laughter that said, “You think you’re ready, but you have no idea what’s coming.”
The kind of laughter that said, “This is going to be fun.”
The kind of laughter that said, “Trust me.”
I opened my eyes and looked at my phone.
Julien’s text was still there: Heading into surgery. Love you.
I typed back: Love you too. Be safe. I’m here. Then quickly added, Always.
Because whatever was coming, whatever test the universe had planned, I meant it. I was here. I was staying, and we were going to survive this. Together.
The universe knew what it was doing when it brought us together.
I have to trust that. I have to trust that whatever’s coming is part of the plan.
Even if it breaks us. Even if—
My phone buzzed again.
Another text from Julien: Always.
I smiled despite the fear coiling in my chest.
See? The universe is listening.
It’s going to be okay.
It has to be okay.
I blew out the candles one by one, watching the smoke curl toward the ceiling. I gathered my crystals and returned them to their places, then wrapped my tarot deck in its silk cloth and tried very, very hard not to think about the Tower card.
About lightning strikes and crumbling foundations. About everything falling apart.
It’s going to be okay.
We’re going to be okay.
The universe wouldn’t have brought us together just to tear us apart.
Right?
But as I cleaned up my reading space, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was already in motion. That somewhere, right now, the universe was setting pieces on a board I couldn’t see.
That the test was coming.
Soon.
And there was nothing I could do to stop it.