Page 3 of Endurance

“No, really. I should go,” I said with a weak smile as I turned toward the exit.

“You have heartache in your future,” Madame Lavinia announced. Slowly, I turned back to face her. A pit formed in my gut, and I was afraid of what she might say next.

Damn you, Austin!

“Wha-what do you mean?” I hesitantly replied.

The gypsy took a few steps toward me until she was close enough to reach out and take my hand. Her slender fingers turned my palm, so it was face up. Her grip was so cold; it caused goosebumps to rise on the surface of my skin.

“I see travel in your future. And the sun—the sun setting in the west.”

I stifled a tiny gasp.

How does she know I will be traveling?

It had to be a coincidence.

“Last I checked, the sun always set in the west,” I told her, trying my best to sound skeptical, even though my heart was starting to race.

“You’re a Gemini?” she asked.

I frowned. She had a one-in-twelve chance of getting my zodiac sign right, but still…

“That’s right. Lucky guess.”

She smiled knowingly at my aloof reply, then looked down at my hand where she had begun tracing a red-painted fingernail along the creases in my palm. After a few moments, she clasped my hand between hers and led me over to the chair in front of a table supporting an eerie, glowing crystal ball. Smoke swirled inside the glass orb as it pulsed with multicolored light. I tried to remind myself that it was probably only trick magic.

But what if it wasn’t?

“Sit,” she ordered. My breath quickened, and my pulse pounded in my ears. I was suddenly too terrified to do anything other than comply as she rounded the table and took a seat across from me. “Now tell me, what fortune do you wish to hear from Madame Lavinia?”

I glanced back at Austin. He stood near the entrance to the tent, looking gleeful. I scowled at him before turning back to the gypsy.

“Well, just a basic fortunetelling, I guess. Just don’t tell me anything bad.”

“I can’t guarantee that. Your destiny is your own.” Her eyes narrowed, and I sat transfixed, unable to look away from her shrewd stare. She stayed silent for what seemed like hours, but it was probably only a few seconds before moving both hands to hover over the crystal ball.

“I see something—something that is very important to your future. Destructive and doomed love surrounds you. Remember the weaknesses of a Gemini, my dear, or you’ll be destined for a life of heartbreak. Your eagerness to express your emotions will be your downfall,” she warned.

My eyes widened, not sure what she was getting at.

“My downfall?”

Madame Lavinia slowly nodded her head but never took her eyes off the glowing sphere.

“You will fall in love under the bright sun in the west, giving someone the power to destroy you. And make no mistake—destroy you he will.”

“What do you mean by…by destroy me?” I whispered.

The wind outside the tent picked up, rustling the thin walls and causing the candle flames to flicker. The gypsy inhaled sharply and snapped her head up to look at me. Her two different eyes turned black as night as she reached across the table to grip my hand tightly.

“The man who tastes your lips under a California sunset will be the one to break you.”

1

Six Years Later

Kallie

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