Whether it’s Janelle’s exit, or Baz and Carly’s teasing jokes as they chop and stir and sautée, or the fact that we survived a brutal magickal attack last night, or even just the sweet and savory smells of a home-cooked meal, the vibe in the house is light and happy, full of a promise as bright as the sun streaming through the open windows. Wrapping my hands around a mug of Earl Gray, vanilla bean, and rose petal tea, I try to take it all in, to hold onto the warmth and joy, to store it deep in my heart.
For as perfect as this moment feels, I know it’s fleeting. I know that until we can uncover and defeat our enemies,nohappiness is secure,nofuture is promised.
But before I can sink too deeply into those dark thoughts, Baz is leaning in to steal a kiss, his soft moan of pleasure temporarily eradicating my worries.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he says. “You snuck away this morning before I could ravage you.”
“Maybe I had a better offer,” I tease.
“Is that so? From who?”
My gaze darts toward the kitchen entryway, where Doc has just made his first appearance of the day, his hair uncharacteristically tussled, his eyes still a bit glazed. I’m not sure he’ll ever recover from the surprise visit I paid him this morning.
“Nice of you to join us, Dr. Devane.” I smile at him, wide-eyed and innocent. “Trouble sleeping?”
“Cass?” Baz shakes his head, his mischievous grin stretching wide. “He’s your better offer? Oh, you’vegotto be shitting me.”
“Maybe you should talk to him, Baz,” I say, keeping my voice low. “He’s got this no-sharing rule, but I’m thinking mornings could be better for everyone if he bends it, just a little bit. Don’t you agree?”
“Miss Milan,” Doc warns, looming over us both, “donotget on my bad side. You won’t like the consequences.”
I stretch up on my toes and nip his earlobe. “Oh, I think I’d like the consequencesverymuch.”
“So anyway,” Baz says, clearing his throat, “brunch is ready. Get it while it’s hot. Preferably without making the rest of us sick.” He gives Doc a playful smack on the chest. “And we’ll talk about sleeping arrangements later.”
On that note, the rest of the house files into the kitchen, and together we descend upon the counter like locusts, loading up our plates from the impressive spread set out before us.
“Don’t forget the mimosa bar,” Carly says. “We’ve got pineapple juice, orange, mango, pineapple orange mango, grapefruit, and for those of you who need a little more fiber in your diet—looking at you, professors—there’s some prune juice.”
“Cass,” Baz says, “I think she means you.”
“Right. I think I’ll be sticking to whiskey for all my digestive needs.” He grabs the bottle from the stash of booze on the counter and pours a shot into his coffee, then takes a seat at the table, right next to me.
It’s a perfect meal, and as the morning stretches into the afternoon, we luxuriate in the delicious food and drink, the excellent company, the warm sunshine spilling across the kitchen. It feels like we’re in a bubble, safe and protected and loved, and part of me wishes we could stay inside it forever.
But as the final pieces of bacon disappear and the sun rises high in the afternoon sky, the Arcana mages and I know we can’t put off our revelations any longer.
“Professors and friends,” Doc begins. “Now that we’re all sated, Stevie, Baz, Kirin, and I have a few things we’d like to share with you.”
“Starting with where you all snuck off to last night?” Carly shoots me an all-knowing smirk. Goddess, living with a clairsentient witch is definitely not all it’s cracked up to be.
“Starting,” Doc says, covertly squeezing my hand under the table, “with the fact that our Dark enemies are not the only ones blessed with the power of the Major Arcana.”
“Wait, don’t tell me.” Carly presses her fingers to her temples as if she’s trying to predict the punchline, clearly assuming this is a joke. “Stevie’s the Star.StarlaMilan, Star… Get it?”
She glances at me, the smile frozen on her face as she waits for the rest of us to laugh.
But all I can do is shrug and grin. “Guess you reallydoknow everything, Carly.”
* * *
The guys and I let Doc do most of the talking, filling in the blanks on the history of the Brotherhood, including my mother’s involvement as the World Arcana and Phaines’s role as the Dark Hierophant. Out of respect for Lala’s privacy, we don’t mention her by name, saying only that the High Priestess has been assisting us inside the dream realm, helping us unravel some of the mysteries about how the Arcana energies manifest in physical form and what, if anything, we can do to stop them from carrying out their mission.
We tell them about finding the Chalice of Blood and Sorrow, and about last night’s crazy adventure, including my visions of the Chariot, the attack we suffered at the Fool’s Grave, and Jareth swooping in to save us from certain doom.
It seems like hours before we get the whole story out, each of us taking turns to share our gifts and our nature, the legends and lore we’ve pieced together so far, my mother’s prophecies. But no matter how crazy it all sounds, the witches gathered here—Professor Maddox, Professor Broome, Nat, Isla, and Carly—take it all in stride, their energy swirling with amazement and curiosity and a deep, unwavering respect.
Even Carly, who insists she’s still calling me Twink, no matter how powerful I become, can’t hide the fact that she’s a hundred percent in our corner. Inmycorner.
