Chapter 9 #2
Sierra, Kerrigan, and Lillivere. 2001
I gasp, the photo trembling in my grip. This was after I was born.
“Who are they?” E asks.
I growl under my breath, too angry with him to answer, yet shaking with nerves.
I need to go through every single one of Mabel’s books, get into the attic, and call Nick.
I might be on the cusp of remembering exactly what happened that horrible night in the cabin, and my brother might be able to fill in the holes in my memory.
I leave the photo and open frame on the bed and hurry back down two floors to the kitchen.
Lachlan is peeking out at the gardens when I return. “I think there’s a storm brewing. The lights are being funny.”
The sun is already low on the horizon. He needs to leave now, before the mist comes. I join him next to the French doors and pat his back. “Maybe you should leave before the rain.”
When he’s gone, I can concentrate and sort through everything I’ve remembered.
His mouth curls into a pout. “You’re really going to stay here all weekend? We have a redo with the choreographer scheduled for Sunday.”
“I can’t help the timing.” I bite my bottom lip hard. “Mabel needs me now.”
Lachlan plants a heated kiss on my lips. “But if your cousin’s here, shouldn’t you get a night off?” He clasps my hands. “It just makes me even more eager for the wedding. Come home with me tonight.”
Damn E and his prank—he’s landed me in hot water.
“He’s going home soon. He’s got three little kids at home.”
Lies. Lies. Lies.
Lachlan’s eyes dance. “Then let me stay the night.” He leans in, mischievous. “Sneak me inside your bedroom. Your cousin can let himself out.”
Mist rises in the gardens, snaking between the bushes, and my stomach drops. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yes, you can stay.”
I pour him another cup of tea and add a hint of red jasmine and poppyseed, just enough to keep him calm. Something to ease his suspicions and blur the night into something hazy and forgettable, in case he sees shapes moving in the mist—or if E decides to blow my cover.
I grip his sleeve and tug him to the second floor.
He whistles as he steps into my bedroom, and I move past him to draw the curtains shut so the mist won’t catch his attention.
Lachlan sits on the bed and tilts his head up toward the fairy lights strung above it. “Isn’t it creepy to sleep here with all this childish decor? You’re all grown now.”
I cross the room and stop between his knees, leaning down for a kiss. It’s muscle memory more than desire, a routine I know how to perform. Without warning, he slips a hand under the hem of my shirt, unhooking my bra in one fluid motion.
I grip his shoulders. “Wait.”
He places a kiss on my stomach. “Oh, come on, luv. I missed you.”
I can’t have sex with him now. Not when I know E is close by. That he could hear us, or—Dark One forbid—slip past my door and see us.
I screw my eyes shut. “I can’t. It’s too weird with Mabel right upstairs. I’m sorry.”
He falls back on the bed and rubs a hand down his face. “Then what are we going to do?”
I slip my beloved tarot deck out of my dresser and wink at him, trying to rekindle that spark we found outside these walls. “I’ll read your future.”
He waves dismissively. “You know I don’t believe in all that.”
“I know, but I painted them myself.” I slip the cards out of their box and slide the lounge chair closer to the bed so I can sit across from him.
He frowns at the stack. “I didn’t know you could paint.”
For him to say that, framed by the wall I painted, is a little ridiculous.
“Well, listen closely, and you might learn my darkest secrets,” I tease him.
Maybe this love is worth fighting for. Archer or not, we committed to a lifetime together. Maybe he wouldn’t run. Maybe he’d stay if I were honest enough to show him all of me.
He studies me with that cautious half-smile he gets when he’s trying not to offend. “You look hot, actually. Like some wanton gypsy girl.”
I shift my weight and shuffle the cards. My fingers remember the rhythm even though it’s been years. I gather the deck, flicking it once with my pinky—Mabel’s rule.
“So…” he nods at the cards, “what do they say about me?”
“You have to touch the deck first,” I tell him. “Just for a second.”
He hesitates, then presses his fingertips to the top card.
“Now, think about your question,” I instruct. “Don’t say it out loud.”
His nose wrinkles. “I don’t have a question.”
“Then the cards will pick one for you.” My thumb slides along the edges, loosening the cards into a smooth fan. “You don’t pick the cards. They pick you. You stop when you feel a spark or a change in temperature. That’s how you know you should slide a card out of the deck.”
He cups my face and steals a kiss. “You’re cute when you’re excited about something.”
My eyes dart to the cards expectantly.
“Beautiful, I can’t hear any cards calling me.” He purses his lips and slides three cards out of the stack anyway. “Here. To make you smile.”
“Past, present, future,” I tell him, spinning them around and laying them down one by one.
The first card unveiled is the Lovers, reversed.
My voice trembles as I try to sound cheerful. “This one is the Lovers.”
Upside down, it signals disharmony. Choices made in bad faith.
“Aren’t you a little minx, drawing naked people?”
He doesn’t notice the way my fingers shake, and I turn over the second card. Lightning splits stone. A tower coming apart at its seams.
“This one’s about sudden change. Collapse before renewal,” I say quickly.
Lachlan exhales through his nose and rubs his face, already retreating. He sinks into the mattress, his gaze skimming past the spread.
“These things weird me out,” he mutters. “Can we just watch a movie on my phone?”
My shoulders sag. “Yes. Of course.”
I peek at the last card before discarding the deck.
The Eight of Cups.
Leaving. Walking away from something that no longer fulfills you.
I slide the cards back into their box and set it aside, my heart in my throat.
Then I curl up beside my mortal fiancé, fitting myself against him, and wonder if Mabel is laughing somewhere at my expense.
Because I think she might have been right all along, and I was too stubborn—or too deep under the spell of a love arrow—to see it.