Page 34
Aurora
Maybe this will be the day Jewel realizes I’m a fraud. Then again, I think that every time I’m waiting outside her office. Why do I keep showing up?
I knock twice and push inside, offering her a small smile.
“Sterling told me the two of you have made some headway with the festival,” she says. “Good job. Do let me know if you need help putting anything together.”
“We should have it under control.” I sink into my usual spot on the overstuffed couch. Today, the incense smells like… pumpkin spice. Is that a thing? “What did you want to work on?”
It would be easy to backstab Sterling and tell her what we have planned, but he texted me to wait to present the idea until it’s finalized, and I’m not here to make enemies, no matter what he may think.
“Well, what do you wish to learn?” she asks calmly. “A mentorship is for you, not me. I’ve been showing up and giving you what I believe you need, but if there’s something else, you’re free to let me know.”
What do I need from a mentorship? My father’s studies were different. He would give me big books to finish, assign me reports, and bring me to museums. He dragged out his telescope and showed me the stars…
We would talk to them. Together.
This witch, as nice as she is, can’t help me unless she can converse with the cosmos. I have a feeling she can’t, not even with the use of her tarot cards. Then again, some witches are full of surprises.
I purse my lips to the side. “Can I be honest? I don’t really know what I need. Like, I agreed to this because it felt right…” Or because I wanted to annoy Sterling. Hard to say. “But I don’t really know what to do now that we’re here.”
“I have an idea.” She picks up a tarot deck. “Do you mind?”
“Oh.” I blink. “No. I don’t mind.”
My father prefers to converse with the stars, but my mother has always enjoyed tarot. There’s a tie to the art of it all, which makes it a good form of divination for her. It’s not her preferred magic—she creates feelings from paintings, able to sway people’s emotions with her art. It’s a subtle form of magic, but magical all the same.
Maybe a tarot reading is what I need.
“A simple three-card spread,” she says. “Past, present, and future. Does that feel right to you?”
“I… think so?”
My heart hammers as she shuffles the deck with quiet expertise. It’s been a while since I had a tarot reading, and from a witch as strong as Jewel, this one is sure to cut me right to the soul. Am I ready for this?
Three cards go flying.
Nine of Pentacles. Queen of Swords. Knight of Swords—in reverse.
“Interesting…” She lifts the Nine of Pentacles first. A woman in a field with her pet bird, basking in bliss. “You were happy before. Weren’t you?”
I swallow thickly. “Yes.”
She nods. “Having fun. Finding some level of success. Friendships. Companions.”
“That… sounds like me. A long time ago.”
Before Dad died, I was creating, playing, thriving. I was studying art and magic. I was going to be a teacher, like my dad.
And then I dropped out. I lost my friends. I spiraled. Lost my art entirely. And my magic…
“Something changed…” She tilts her head. “You became more independent, and that’s where you are now. This is an impressive card, one of an intelligent woman who speaks clearly and truthfully. It’s a card of a leader. A queen.”
A leader? Doubtful. But the independence… I mean, how else am I supposed to be when I lost everything? My father’s passing made me lose the rest of my family, in a way, and I don’t know how to get them back. We’re living together now, but they’re so distant.
“You doubt the cards, don’t you?” She chuckles. “Sometimes, it’s hard to see ourselves clearly.”
“I guess.”
