Paralyzed, we watched helplessly as the Magician lured her here. Watched helplessly as he paraded her before us in her sacrificial gown, and then as he paradedusbeforeher, using the Chalice’s inherent emotional magick to invade her mind and heart.
Everything he showed her was a lie. His last great deceit—and I’m sure he couldn’t have been more elated.
Until our beloved Star—our beautifully wicked witch—pulled off a deception of her own.
The Magician needs her blood. Even with all the Arcana objects in his possession, he can’t complete the ritual—can’t fully reclaim magick—without it.
So she’s taking it away from him.
I would smile with abject pride if not for the consequences of her decision.
Instead, I’m shouting in horror, screaming at her to stop. To hear us. To see through the filthy lies.
But it’s too late. I can’t reach her. None of us can. Whatever lies they fed to her, they must’ve been so terrible that she truly believes there’s no other choice.
The Dark Arcana chase after her, but they’re too late as well.
Stevie has made her choice.
They say in the final moments before a man’s death, his life flashes before his eyes, and I’ve always believed that saying to be true.
Now, Iknowit to be true.
Only… the life playing out before my eyes isn’t my own at all.
It’s hers.
My beautiful Star…
In the film version, I see her in that prison the first day we met, her orange jumpsuit covered in filth, her blue eyes bright behind the grime. I see the gorgeous smile on her face when she walked out of Lala’s house and into the sunlit backyard, the golden afternoon rays lighting her up like a goddess.
I hear her, too—the soft sighs of pleasure she made as she ate the tacos we made. The steely determination in her voice when she accepted my offer to attend Arcana Academy, her demands. The sass in her tone as she argued with me in class.
I remember her fetish for snacks, her skill at the kettle, the off-key songs she sang for Ani. I remember the way she fought for her brothers and friends.
I see her in my arms. Recall the taste of her kiss, the sounds of her sweet moans the first time I made love to her. The feel of her skin beneath my rough palms. The echo of her words to me back in Red Sands Canyon before the Black Sun took me.I love you, Cassius Devane. Do you understand? I claimed you, remember? I love you, and I’m not letting you go…The taste of her divine kiss when she saved me earlier, healing my wounds with her magick. With her touch. With her light.
And then, with a swiftness that nearly breaks me, I see her jump into the Void, those wild curls sailing up behind her like a cape, the echo of her scream a death knell for everything I once held dear.
She’s gone.
I blink once. Twice. She’s really fucking gone.
And now, all I see is red.
The Magician leaps in after her, so desperate for her blood that he’ll chase her across the realms if he has to. Chariot quickly follows her master.
The moment the Dark One is gone, the Arcana objects vanish, and the magick holding us finally breaks.
But Judgment is heading back for us, as if his anger alone can save him.
Maybe it could have, once.
But that time is gone.
Her absence made sure of that.
I look from Kirin to Baz to Ani, tears streaking their cheeks. I feel the same wetness on my own skin, pooling in my collar, leaving a cold trail in its wake. But inside me, everything burns with a furious fire bent on one thing and one thing alone.
