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Lucille was right. She was always right.

Disappointment settled over me once I admitted to myself what I needed to do.

A light tap on my door came seconds before it opened, revealing my sister Athena. Her hopeful eyes held a speck of anxiousness. “Well?”

“Well, what?” I asked, my eyes on the cards in front of me.

“How did last night go? I mean, it must have gone pretty well since Jeffrey came home without you.” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down and I laughed at her ridiculousness.

Huffing out a breath, I rested my elbows on my knees and held my head in my hands.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Athena jumped on the bed with me and put her arm around my shoulder.

“Why does this have to be so hard? Why do I have to wait until a certain point to meet my one? Why couldn’t I meet him ten years ago? Why does it have to be complicated?”

“Freyja, it’s only complicated if you make it that way.”

Standing from the bed, I walked to the dresser and turned to glare at my sister. “Why can’t you just tell me who he is?”

“Because I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I can’t say it any clearer. I didn’t know who Henley was until we met her either. I only knew when and where Dimeter would encounter her. Did you not like Duncan?”

I let my head drop back, my eyes fixed on the ceiling. “No, I liked him. The problem is, I liked him a lot.”

“You still have free will,” Athena whispered.

“Do I? What if I say to hell with Mardi Gras, go back to Duncan’s hotel and then follow him to Boston? How long would it last before fate stepped in and pulled us apart? I feel like I’ve been waiting so long. I’ve built up this man in my head and now that it’s so close, what if he isn’t anything like what I imagined?”

“You won’t know unless you try.”

I looked at my sister. I hated it when she talked like that. “But which path should I try? Can you tell me that?”

She shook her head and stood from my bed. Walking over to me, she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tight. “Youknow where your journey is supposed to lead you. You’re just scared. Looking for any door or window to escape through.”

She pulled back, her hands on my arms and smiled. “You’re the bossy big sister. Pretend it’s not about you and tell me what you would say?”

“I would say Lucille is never wrong.”

“There you have it.”

She swept out the door like all had been decided. And of course, she was right. I had already made my decision before she came in. I just didn’t want to admit it out loud.

My phone beeped, and I knew immediately who it was. Moving to the bed, I sat on the edge and picked it up. Holding it to my chest, I closed my eyes before looking at it.

“Please, Lucille, tell me I’m making the right decision.”

It’s a hell of a start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.

“Well, if that didn’t make things more confusing.” I laughed.

I pulled my phone away from my chest, settling my hands in my lap and looked at the text.

I’ll be back around 6. I want you waiting for me.

A glance at the clock told me I had a few hours before I needed to be back at the hotel. I considered not going back at all. But I wouldn’t ghost him. I would hate that.