Page 30 of A Charming Touch of Tarot (The Gin & Tarot Club #2)

Epilogue

The Tower

Two months later…

Nina, Lanie, Nick, and I are gathered at the exhibit hall, standing in front of Ava’s mixed-media masterpiece, titled A Curious Case of Tentacles . It commands our attention. Its sheer creativity leaves me speechless, tears welling in my eyes.

But it’s also captured me in a chokehold, sucking the air from my lungs.

A giant octopus, its tentacles reaching out in all directions, dominates the center of the piece, overlaying a page from Alice in Wonderland . Each tentacle is adorned with shimmering crystals that catch the light and bathe the room in rainbow hues. The octopus’s expression steals the show, its eyes gleaming with a sinister intensity. A Cheshire-cat grin makes it appear even more menacing.

In one of its tentacles, the octopus clutches a large eye, seemingly choking the life out of it.

The octopus.

The eye.

Words Natalia Moradi spoke to me not long ago replay in my mind.

Nothing in your life moving forward is a coincidence, my dear.

“Do you like it?” Ava asks, holding my hand.

I turn to her and nod, a tear falling down my cheek. I swipe it away quickly.

“I’m in awe, Ava. This is so beyond my expectations.”

And it is. It’s truly incredible. The detail. The symbolism. This is more than just a school project—it’s a work of art, a reflection of Ava’s endless talent.

I couldn’t be prouder of her in this moment, but it’s also packing on a host of questions I can’t ask.

“How did you decide to do this?” Nina asks, her voice thick with emotion.

Ava shrugs. “I wanted to create a piece using a passage from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in the background. The overlaid image was originally the Mad Hatter as the focal image, but I always felt like it was wrong.” She sighs heavily, shoulders sagging. “The pieces needed to be connected by something other than the book itself. Otherwise, it just felt unoriginal.”

“What made you choose an octopus?” I ask.

She stares at her piece, a dreamy quality taking over her expression. “They’re mysterious and cunning. They’re known to be playful and creative. The passage I chose embodied all those things.”

Maybe this is truly a coincidence.

“Thankfully, we got a new teacher a few weeks ago, and he suggested the octopus when I told him my concerns. He helped me re-create my project in record time.” She turns to me. “That’s why I’ve been so MIA.”

Lanie, Nina, Nick, and I all share a look.

“Who’s your teacher?” I ask, glancing around the room. “I thought it was Mrs. Woods.”

“He’s a student teacher, Mr. Oaks.” Ava’s head swivels around as she lifts up on her toes. “There he is,” she says, pointing toward a man conversing with another family about their child’s project.

He turns to the side, scratching at his arm. The sleeve of his black smock lifts, and there on his arm is an octopus tattooed on his skin.

Nina sees it too, because her eyes are wide as she turns back to me. It’s clear that we’ve arrived at the same conclusion.

The KVS knows that we’ve been snooping around, and nearly took down one of their own. They’re sending a warning.

“I’m going to go see a friend’s piece. I’ll be back,” Ava says, smiling at all of us before bouncing away.

The four of us huddle together, voices lowered. “What the hell?” Nick nearly growls.

Lanie blows out a harsh breath. “She has to come home. Somewhere we can keep her safe.”

“You can’t exactly pull her from school without explaining your reasons. And you can’t tell her the truth,” Nina says. “Her knowing anything puts her in more danger.”

I close my eyes, my heart pounding out of my chest. “Guys, we have to be looking at this wrong. We just learned about the KVS. What would be the chances that this has anything to do with them? What if his tattoo is mere coincidence? I mean, it’s not exactly like Austin’s.”

“I think she’s right,” Nick says, running a hand back through his hair. “Get me all the details on this teacher, and I’ll look into him. He can’t have a record; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten this job.”

I bob my head, starting to feel slightly better.

I’m obviously still on edge. Knowing that secret societies exist and that I had a hand in putting away some people who could potentially bring their whole group down has me nervous. Add the fact that I’ve been to one of these underground poker locations, and it’s hard to not feel like I have a target on my back. Not only with the KVS, but the Order could be watching us too.

“Everyone, let’s just calm down,” Nick says, addressing my friends.

Lanie looks ready to tackle Mr. Oaks to the ground, brace or no.

“He’s right. We’re really just overreacting. It’s a tattoo. Octopuses are popular. They’re not limited to criminal organizations.”

My phone vibrates in my purse, and I hear both Lanie and Nina’s do the same.

We all pull our phones from our bags, staring at our screens.

Unknown

We’re watching you and those you love.

Give Lanie my regards. xo OR

I blink, rereading the text several times.

“What is it?” Nick asks.

I hand him my phone, looking first at Nina and then at Lanie.

“What does yours say?”

Nina turns her phone toward me, showing me her screen.

Unknown

Touch one of ours again and die

“Lanie?” I say, peering up at her, wanting to see her screen.

Her head shakes back and forth as she backs away from us.

“This can’t be happening.” It’s all she says.

I grab Lanie by the arm and pull her away from the throngs of people, Nina right behind us.

I refuse to make a scene. The last thing I want is for Ava to realize there’s a problem. I won’t ruin this day for her.

“What do you know?” I snap at Lanie as soon as we’re out of sight from anyone else. “And don’t you dare act like you know nothing.”

I lift my phone, putting the screen right in front of her face. “OR? Who is OR?”

She closes her eyes, swallowing hard. A pained expression is frozen on her face.

“Olivia Rossi.” The name slips from her mouth in a whisper, as though saying it louder will lead to her materializing.

“Why?” I bark. “Why is she bringing you up as if you know each other?”

“Because we do,” she cries. “She’s part of my secret past. The person I ran from.” She shakes her head, looking pathetic, something entirely foreign for Lanie. “I knew she was coming. I dreamed it.” She grabs my shirt, holding tight. “I didn’t burn the scarecrow, and now she’s coming to take away everything that I love.”

Her nightmare.

I know that some people have the ability to see things before they occur through dreams. I’m one of them. And now it would appear that Lanie has that ability too.