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Tee. My kids. I had to believe they would also be reborn.

I caught my reflection in the glass. Though my face was different, my eyes and hair were the same. Would Aric recognize me? Would I know him in a crowd?

Museum visitors gasped as I traipsed past the velvet ropes to reclaim my things. I punched one exhibit’s glass and retrieved my gold locket and amber wedding ring.

Jack’s rosary too! I gave a cry to see the bloodstained red ribbon. I snared it as well and pocketed it.

My mom rushed in, her eyes wide. “Ivy, have you lost your mind? Those items are holy. Put them back this instant!”

I turned to take her hands in my bloody ones. My skin wasn’t regenerating. That would take some getting used to. “When I get back, we’re going to have a long talk. But for right now, I have a boat to catch.”

59

The Empress

I set out at a brisk gallop.

As I ride, my emotions careen from grief to nervousness to excitement and back. After so long, Aric and I are about to be reunited. Fitting that he would return to me by ship. He has one on his card.

As my mare and I cover miles, everything feels surreal, my body mine but not. My experiences mine but not.

How many adventures have I saddled up for in previous lives? But in this one, I have no supernatural powers and will live as a normal girl. I keep my knife within easy reach and spur my mount.

Riding through the night, I arrive just after dawn. At the port, I ask around until I find a dock with a ship due. Only one is expected.

In a crowd of strangers, I anxiously wait, my focus fixed on the horizon as seagulls swoop and play. I nearly cry out when sails appear, tiny at first but growing. Eagerness ripples through me, my nerves jangling. I want to wrap the vessel in vine and draw it closer.

No vines. No powers.

No Arcana war. I’ll take the trade-off.

After an eternity, the ship maneuvers to the dock, sailors calling greetings as they moor. I scan the busy decks, but I don’t see Aric. Patience, Ivy. I mean, Evie. He’ll be here.

Others might be as well. Matthew mentioned shepherding allies to the area. Which ones? Circe, Lark, or Selena? I could soon see Kentarch, Sol, Finn, or Tess! Joules and Gabriel are probably already best friends.

But never Matthew again. I swipe a hand over my damp cheek. Nor Jack—

A figure out of the corner of my eye draws my notice.

On the dock not twenty feet away stands a tall, black-haired young man with tanned skin. He’s broad-shouldered, like my Jack used to be. He seems restless, as if he craves to be anywhere but here. A full backpack sits at his feet, a bug-out bag. Is he sailing out on the same ship Aric arrived on?

Why can’t I look away? Aric is so close.

The man stills, turning in my direction. His vivid gray eyes narrow on me.

Electricity and heat sizzle inside me. Longing explodes. Oh, dear God. I whisper to myself, “It’s Jack.” Or a reincarnation of him.

He looks similar, but not exactly the same. Except for those eyes.

His gaze roams over me the way it did when he saw me for the first time—centuries ago. His restlessness turns into a determined look.

I should’ve remembered: Never underestimate Jackson Deveaux. Hadn’t he always been unexpected?

Though not the Page of Swords, Jack has still reincarnated, which means everyone will return. We’re on the carousel together! I give a laugh of wonder, and that feeling of surreality overtakes me again.

Maybe I’m in a type of heaven, like Matthew is. Or maybe I’m dreaming. If so . . . not waking up!

Yet my laughter dies in my throat when a man on the ship wrenches my attention back. At last, I see Aric. I recognize him just as easily as I did Jack. He is tall with a rangy build and longish blond hair. He wears no gloves because he has no deadly touch. One look at his amber eyes, and I forget to breathe.

They’re back. Both returned to me!

When Aric reaches the dock, he does a stutter step and presses his hands to his temples, as if he’s being bombarded. Circe’s spell must be hitting. Then recognition flickers over his spellbinding face. He starts toward me with an intent stride, brows drawn with yearning.

Jack too is crossing the distance to me. When he rubs his chest as if his heart can’t be contained, I wonder if Circe’s spell has affected him too. Or is he simply experiencing our connection once more?

Connection. Yearning. My giddiness fades, replaced by sadness. My heart will be torn in two again. Is that my fate—always to be incomplete?

I remember once lying on a cot in Fort Arcana, deciding which man I would choose. Jack, the love of my life, had told me, “It’ll always be Evie and Jack.” Aric, my soul mate, had told me, “We are forever.”