I catch Doc’s eye across the kitchen, and I know at once our minds just jumped to the same place: What if Trello is one of the Dark Arcana?
But something about that idea doesn’t hit the mark, either. All along, we’ve been operating under the assumption that there are four Dark Arcana energies at work right now—the Magician, the Hierophant, the Chariot, and Judgment. One, five, seven, twenty—that’s what my visions have revealed. There’s a chance others will be turned, but that would mean Trello started out as a light Arcana, and that doesn’t feel quite true either.
I see Doc making the same calculations, drawing the same conclusion. Blowing out a breath, he shakes his head, then opens the dishwasher, loading up some of the now-empty mugs.
“If that’s true,” Professor Maddox says, “perhaps that’s why Trello booted the Milans out of the Academy. Melissa must’ve figured out Trello had turned to the dark side—or she at least became suspicious. Perhaps there was a confrontation.”
“Maybe.” I swirl the remaining tea inside the mug. Professor Maddox’s hypothesis is a good one, but still. I don’t buy it.
Something about the whole mess just isn’t adding up. Sure, Trello’s been cold and distant with me, and a completely inadequate leader when it comes to keeping students safe and informed during what’s quickly becoming a worldwide crisis for witches and mages. She’s been evasive, aloof, and her inaction on the security stuff might end up costing lives—and there’s no excuse for that kind of epic failure.
I could even buy that she’s after the artifacts, and that her quest for riches and glory is blinding her to all else.
But evil? Trulyevil? The kind of witch who attacks young students and robs them of their magick in some twisted Dark Arcana plot? Who allows a dark mage to torture a student and possess a new staff member and an APOA agent?
“There’s abutin that maybe,” Isla says.
“A big one.” I set down my mug and look at everyone seated around me. “If Trello went dark all those years ago, why did she wait until now to start stealing magick—especially with APOA agents on the scene, like Doc said? She’s had access to student witches and mages for decades. And if Mom was the one who figured out Trello’s evil machinations, then why in goddess’s name would Trello push so hard to enroll me, of all people? To make me crack the code on Mom’s prophecies? Surely she knows I would’ve found something on her by now—whatever stuff Mom uncovered in the first place. There would’ve been traces in her work… After all the shit we’ve seen, we’re saying the creepy, ice-queen headmistress was the bad guy all along? No way. We’re missing something.”
I shake my head, my eyes brimming with tears of frustration. Goddess, I wish Mom were here. I wish she could tell me what to do, or at least point me on the right path. We’re spinning in circles, no closer to figuring any of this out than we were when Phaines tied me to a tree in the Forest of Iron and Bone.
I drain the last of my tea, more than ready to call it a night, but movement at the bottom of the mug catches my eye. At first it’s just the dregs of the leaves, but then they take shape into something else, blooming from the tea residue like bright, otherworldly flowers.
Tarot cards.
I pluck them out of the mug and set them on the table, wet with tea leaves and melted chocolate, but clear as can be.
“Hi, Mom,” I say with a laugh, not caring how crazy it sounds.
“Your mother is communicating from the great beyond with magickally appearing Tarot cards?” Carly rolls her eyes. “Are youseriousright now?”
“It’s kind of a thing with them,” Nat says.
“And they’re never wrong,” Isla says. “Because Melissa Milan is as badass as her daughter.”
Professor Maddox reaches out and touches the cards, her eyes misting. “Hello, my dear friend.” Then, to me, “What is she saying tonight, Stevie?”
Three of Pentacles reversed comes first, showing a man chiseling pentacles and other Celtic symbols into a massive stone while three onlookers scrutinize his work.
Next up is Two of Cups. The card depicts a young couple standing in a flowering meadow beside a lake, sharing chalices of wine as they gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes.
Finally, The Moon reversed appears, moonlight gleaming over a dark ocean, a wolf and a dog howling before a stone gateway.
I touch each card, gazing into the brightly colored images and listening for their messages.
“It’s about agreements or partnerships,” I say. “Not friendships exactly, but a kind of working relationship. Some of those bonds have been strained or broken, while others have emerged from unexpected places. Nothing is what it seems on the surface.” Tapping the Moon card, I look up at Professor Maddox. “We’re right to keep questioning this. To keep digging, no matter how clear the evidence looks.”
“All that, and Mommy dearest isstilltalking.” Carly smirks, plucking two new cards from the mug and handing them over. “Guess we know where you get it from, Twink.”
She rolls her eyes again, but she’s smiling now, her energy warm and engaged.
I set down the new cards beneath the originals—Queen of Swords and Queen of Pentacles. The first one shows a queen with long gray locks, dressed in a deep purple dress, her cape tattered from years of wear. Her eyes are closed, but she holds her sword proudly, as if to remind us that she still knows how to use that thing.
“Wow,” Carly says. “Now there’s a woman who doesnothave time for your bullshit.”
I laugh—the card gives me the exact same vibe.
The Queen of Pentacles is a bit warmer, featuring a woman seated on a throne in a bright red dress and green cape, an ancient Celtic drum in her lap, as if she’s waiting to serenade us all before getting back to the practical tasks of managing her household.
