Page 27 of The Witch’s Daughter

“A curse?” I cried.

“It could mean that.” She shook her head. “Or dark forces gathering. Ones of your own making, perhaps?”

“I still think it’s a curse,” I muttered, even though I’d been tested for that.

Frances flipped the second card.

A heart pierced by three swords and the dark storm clouds gathered behind had me leaning closer to inspect the card.

Frances nodded. “Three of Swords.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” It was my turn to frown.

“A separation. Pain. Heartbreak,” she explained.

I folded my arms across my chest. “See? This is why I don’t like tarot. The tea leaves always come out more clearly.”

Frances glared at me as she flipped the third card. Our eyes both dropped at the same time, and she muttered a soft protection spell.

“The Tower.” I licked my dry lips. “That’s not good. But wait, are these backwards? I thought the third card is supposed to be the future. I already went through the horrifying event.”

Frances inhaled a calming breath. “That’s not…” She exhaled. “The third card can be the outcome of what has already passed.”

“Oh… Yeah, being magic-broken is horrible.” I nodded. “So how do I fix this outcome?”

“The Tower isn’t something that has already come to pass, but will.” Her voice took on a foreboding tone. “The Tower is yet to fall.”

“Look, I appreciate a good ominous warning as much as the next witch,” I said. “But what does that fourth card say? Isn’t it supposed to be advice?”

Frances’s eye twitched, but she still flipped the card. “The Lovers.”

Great. I leaned back in my chair, blowing a breath through pursed lips. It couldn’t mean real lovers. Cards were never so simple, were they? It probably was a play on words. “So, self-love will get me through this?”

“I take it back. This was a bad idea.” Frances sighed. “Maybe you should stick to the tea leaves.”

I was keen to agree with her, but the tent flap was pushed open before I could get another word out, and there in all his pissed-off-Alpha-glory was Jaxon, glaring.

Frances made a girly little noise, fanning herself. “Hello there, handsome.”

My wolf barked out a laugh.

I quickly stood so Jaxon couldn’t see the spread of cards on the table and judge me worse than I was judging myself. “I was just coming to find you.”

“Be careful of the Tower,” Frances called after me as I started pushing Jaxon out of the tent.

“What did she say?” he growled.

“Nothing.” I grabbed the meat on a stick from his hand, skipping into the noise of the festival as the anxious energy for the coming event rippled through the crowd and everyone hurried to find a seat. “Oh look, the bonfire is about to start.”

10

Jaxon

It was hard to stay mad at Tisiphone, especially when she did a happy little dance as she munched on the food I’d brought her. But my blood was still pounding after that scare of not being able to find her until my wolf had picked up the scent.

Being near her was the only thing calming my beast now. I hated that she didn’t feel the same.

“We need to stick together,” I told her. My voice was harsher than I intended and she frowned, so I quickly added, “Not just us. The whole coven.”