Page 35 of Avalon Tower

I cross into the bedroom again and freeze. An unfamiliar man is sitting in the room, nestled next to Tana on her bed.

“Oh, sorry,” he quickly apologizes. He has a wave of raven-dark hair, brown skin, and large eyes. He wears a white, frilly shirt with the buttons open and a top hat. Strings of silver necklaces gleam on his neck, and his eyes are lined with black eyeliner.

He smiles at Tana and me. “You have a new roommate?”

“This is Nia,” Tana says.

“She’s joining the academy.” Serana is carving a piece of wood with a sharp blade, and wood chips are scattering all over the floor and her bed. “Just came in today after single-handedly killing a sea serpent and smuggling an entire crowd of fugitives through the border.”

I huff a laugh. “That’s not even remotely true.”

“I’m Darius.” He waves. “Nice to meet you. I’ll get out in just a moment. I just came for a quick reading.”

“Darius is addicted to Tana’s readings,” Serana explains. “You know drug addicts? He’s like that, but for cartomancy. He’s here every night, asking about love. Tana, where is my soulmate? Tana, is the fella I met today the one? Tana, does this devil on the card mean I stop following my old lovers through the streets of Camelot, or am I destined for a gorgeous bad boy?”

“I also ask about weightier subjects, not just my love life,” Darius snaps.

“I don’t mind either way.” Tana is shuffling her cards. “But before we do your reading, I promised one for Nia.”

Darius scoots to the corner of the bed and gestures at me. “Ladies first.”

“It’s not necessary,” I say warily.

“Oh, let her get on with it,” Serana says. “Or she won’t stop harping about it.”

I sit down between Darius and Tana, and she hands me the deck of cards. “Shuffle and think of the future.”

I shuffle the cards, but thinking of the future seems impossible. I used to have everything planned years in advance. But now? I have no idea what’s happening.

I finally hand the cards back to Tana, and she flips the first one. I peer down to see what it is, and a chill sweeps over my skin. I don’t know a ton about tarot, but this one is obviously ominous. It looks like a tower struck by lightning, with silhouettes of bodies falling from it. Flames rise from some of the windows, and dark storm clouds surround it.

“The Tower,” she says.

“Like…Avalon Tower?” I ask.

“Perhaps. The cards shouldn’t be taken too literally.”

She frowns and flips another card, which she places across it. This one was The Lovers. A naked couple are in flagrante. I don’t think the tarot cards in America are quite this racy. These two look to be on the verge, and I find myself staring a little too hard.

“Huh. The Lovers.” Tana sounds puzzled.

“What? I never get The Lovers,” Darius says. “Serana told me that you don’t even have that card in your deck.”

“I was just trying to spare your feelings, hon.” Serana gives him a sympathetic smile.

Tana runs her fingers on the card. “This one’s both in the past and the future. A lover from the past.”

My chest flutters. I’ve only had two real boyfriends, and they worked in the same bar. One of them was obsessed with getting women to do body shots off his abs, the other with his terrible glam rock band. I hope neither of them is in my future.

“And The Tower interjects in between,” says Tana. “Pulling them apart, drawing them together.”

“Pulling and pushing, huh?” Serana makes a really crude, unmistakable motion with her fingers. “Some good stuff, Nia. The readings here don’t usually get that saucy.”

“You know, this should really be done in private,” Tana says sharply.

“Well, it’s my room, too.” Serana sticks her tongue out.

“Just imagine I’m not even here,” Darius says. “I want to see what happens.”

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