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As if trying to convince himself, Aric rasped, "He could have survived yet."
A pang of sadness pierced me. Aric had shared a mystical bond with Thanatos that I could never understand. They'd ridden together for longer than I'd been alive.
"My point remains," Aric continued. "I will be watching over you from near or afar. My success will be improved with proximity."
Jack said, "And what about her mental health?" Fair question after my behavior with the Cups. "To do right by this kid, she needs to be under as little stress as possible. After the day she just had, she's now sitting tense as a board."
True. Even though I was exhausted.
"I'd rather she be tense than dead," Aric said.
"See now"--Jack tapped his chin--"that's not the way I heard it."
Aric's gauntlets creaked as he clenched his fists. If Jack's tell was his jaw muscle, Aric's hands gave away his emotions. "I've broken free of the Hanged Man's control, which means I will never hurt her again. I can protect her, as I just got through doing."
I finally chimed in. "Why now? After all this time."
"The Fool appeared to me and showed me the future should I not intervene. The end of your life."
"You left Paul's sphere because you wanted to save me?" I hated how hopeful I sounded.
He cast me a pained look. "I left because I didn't want . . . because I ached to take your icon myself."
Honest as ever. "To behead me yourself." An involuntary sob escaped my lips.
"Sieva, I am so sorry. I was in the grip of his powers." He reached for me.
But I flinched, leaning into Jack. "Right up until you weren't. Which is almost worse."
He lowered his hand. "Yes." He stared straight ahead, seeming like he was crumbling inside. And yet he admitted, "Had the Fool not intervened, I would be there still."
"Gabriel liked being in the sphere. Do you not miss it?"
"My thoughts were not my own. Rationality disappeared, replaced by bitter rage. Once I crossed the boundary of the sphere, I comprehended everything. Everything I did to you."
Jack said, "You didn't answer the lady's question."
My gaze flicked over Aric's weary face. "Maybe this isn't your natural reticence. You might feel a lingering loyalty to Paul."
Aric turned to me with his eyes ablaze. "That vile fiend is going to die bloody. I swear this to you."
Well then, my knight was back. Aric had returned to me the day after Jack and I had slept together. Repeatedly.
"How?" Jack demanded. "You know how to kill him?"
"Not yet."
I said, "You smugly told me there's no way to take him out."
"And you were correct when you pointed out that there must be."
Jack said, "Maybe we have the means. And if we do, seems we should keep it to ourselves."
Before we revealed anything, I needed to know: "Aric, do you miss being within that haze?"
"I am grateful to be free, but there are repercussions. It is simpler within. And this guilt I feel over my actions is . . . it's crippling--as is jealousy. I miss . . . not contending with those emotions." For him to admit even that, it must be pure chaos inside him.
Jack muttered, "Nothing less than you deserve."
"Yes. I will gladly take my punishment as long as I can protect my wife and child."
I said, "Obviously things are different now."
"I understand that, sieva."
Jack put his arm around my shoulders. "News flash, Dominija. We've been together."
Everything out in the open? Sure! Why not?
Aric grated, "Do you think I don't know that?"
I had to ask, "How?"
"If possible, the mortal is even more possessive of you." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not asking for anything other than the privilege of protecting your life. And his as well, then. I saved him twice earlier."
"And I appreciate that," Jack said sincerely. "God knows I do. But even if you've escaped Paul's control, what if you get reversed again? Evie told me what happened in that castle. How she didn't lose Tee is a miracle. We'd rather face the dangers out in the Ash without you than risk touching gloves with you."
"I will not be taken in by the Hanged Man's power. It cannot happen."
"How can you be so certain?" I asked him. "Your hatred came from our history. Which means there's no reason he can't tap into that and turn you against me. It's like you have a bomb waiting to go off inside you."
Jack pointed out, "Kentarch said the sphere is still growing. It could engulf you."
"I won't get close enough to allow that." Aric's brows drew together. "Where did Kentarch go? We need to find him as soon as possible. I can't believe he's separated from his vehicle."
My eyes watered. I hoped Kentarch didn't teleport himself and Joules back to Jubilee. There'd be nowhere to land.
Jack scrubbed a hand over his face and explained what had happened.
As he spoke, the duality of the Chariot's card struck me anew. Kentarch was so physically strong, yet he'd been damaged down to his soul. He was a warrior vanquished not by violence, but by love.
Aric's expression registered his shock. "Issa was dead all along? Then Kentarch is lost." He cursed in Latvian. "We needed him in the fight against the Emperor."
Jack said, "He wasn't able to help."
Aric did a double take. "You faced Richter?"
I murmured, "And Zara. She cost Kentarch his right hand. The only reason we escaped them is because of Circe. In any case, there's no fighting the Emperor. Bullets melted. Javelins and rock too. No weapon can reach him."
I frowned. Right before I'd killed Lorraine, hadn't the queen whispered something about Richter? What was it?
Jack added, "That fils de pute has Evie in his sights now, wants to make her his Empress."
Another string of curses from Aric.
"So what's your plan, Reaper?" Jack asked. "You always got one."
"Since I escaped the sphere, my only plan was to reach my wife and prevent her demise. Now I do not know." The infallible knight looked more unsure than I'd ever seen him.
Jack raised his brows. "Never thought those words would come out of your mouth."
Aric's I have power over all I survey vibe was shot. "We're going to need food and fuel. I can raid the closest settlement and steal both. If they're disorganized enough, perhaps I can infiltrate and take control, securing a safe shelter."
"What settlement?" I asked.
"The Sick House."
I shook my head. "It's run by the Pentacles. Lorraine--the Queen of Cups--said the Minors were uniting in order to hasten the end of the game and bring back the earth. And that was before I took out an entire suit. Now they're going to be gunning for me and my kid. No plac
e could be more dangerous."
Jack said, "Besides, how do we infiltrate without Finn?"
We all grew quiet. Outside, rain began to fall, dotting the cracked windshield of Kentarch's chariot. Like tears.
I asked Aric, "How is Lark doing?"
"Not well. She grieves the boy she loved."
"Did she attempt to revive him?"
"Paul persuaded her to cremate the body."
Though I'd figured Paul would never risk the Magician's resurrection, some part of me must not have accepted that Finn was gone.
Until now.
I kept replaying his last night when he'd given us that breathtaking illusion of the surf at Malibu. I'd never forget the excitement in his voice and his lively expression. Finn had promised to teach my kid what the sun looked like.
Rage bubbled up from a bottomless well of it. Paul had robbed the world of my friend.
Aric said, "That's an example of the Hanged Man's total control. He convinced Fauna, a card known for being driven, to blindly follow his dictates. When she gets free . . ."
I was confused on so many scores--Aric had returned, Jack was alive, and my heart was torn apart again--but I knew one thing for certain: Paul needed to pay. "No one will be free or safe until the Hanged Man is dead. Which is why I'm going to face him." Now that Death wasn't defending the castle, I might have a shot against Paul and the others. Or at least, the red witch would. "Aric, we do have the means to kill him."
"How?"
"Lorraine told us that the only weapon capable of ending him was a noose that had executed twelve murderous souls. Unfortunately, it'd been destroyed. Then I realized I could make another noose, and I happened to have an entire suit of serial killers within reach."
Jack reached beneath his coat and untied the length of rope from his waist, tossing it on the dash. "No way, Evie. We doan know if this thing will work."
I needed revenge against Paul. I needed to save my friends. I needed a place to give birth. "I'm facing him. And there's no question mark at the end of that sentence."
"Look, we doan have to decide anything right away." Jack took my hand. "You just hold on. I got food and fuel, me. We can think things through for a spell."
Aric said, "What food and fuel?"
"We worked salvage in Jubilee, looting wrecks. With the help of Kentarch and Joules, I set up a bug-out location, filled it up nice and good." Narrowing his gaze, he said, "You bragged about that castle enough, but I bet you're wishing you had a bolt hole right about now."
