Page 10

I emerge from an opening in the wall that rings the lower floor and supports the stands looming above.

In the shadows, indistinct figures—the academy’s student body, staff, and faculty—whisper, but the words are too faint to comprehend, along with the details of their appearance.

The weight of their collective gaze, heavy with scrutiny, settles on me.

From this vantage, my eyes can follow the sculpted columns up to the massive domed ceiling.

Leaded glass creates the outlines of the four suits of tarot along the lower edge of the dome.

At its apex, theglass portrays a man mid-step, forever embarking on an unknown journey: the Fool.

The trials and triumphs of his adventure are depicted by the Major Arcana that adorn the archways between the upper pillars.

Kaelis waits beside the Chalice, bathed in its pulsing glow. The vastness of the room swallows the echoes of my footsteps as I make my way to him.

“Welcome, Clara Redwin of Clan Hermit.” Murmurs ripple through the crowd at that proclamation, nearly drowning out what Kaelis says next. “My betrothed, future princess of Oricalis.”

Outright gasps. Kaelis pauses for dramatic effect, allowing the shock to rip through the students and faculty.

“Smile like this is the best day of your life,” Kaelis mumbles, barely moving his lips.

I force a smile, grateful everyone else is too far away to see the murderous glint in my eyes.

Kaelis continues as the noise dies down, “Welcome to the sacred and secret halls of Arcana Academy. As headmaster of the academy, and second prince of the Oricalis Kingdom, I welcome you into the illustrious ranks of the Arcanists. In the past few years, you have heard the call of the cards and your noble lineage. Now it is time to realize your potential, however great or small it might be.”

In the past few years. I snort softly at that.

Mother was teaching me how to ink from the moment I could hold a pen.

I knew how to read cards before I could read words.

While most Arcanists don’t begin showing even the rough edges of an affinity toward tarot until the age of eighteen or nineteen, my skills appeared much, much earlier—a fact I suspect Kaelis is well aware of.

“All Arcanists are required to offer their power to the Chalice in exchange for even greater skill. When you make your sacrifice, you will be forced to fight what was once your fate. Should you triumph over destiny, you will be granted more time within these hallowed halls. Lose, and you will be Marked and cast out.” He sets the deck he’s holding on the pedestal and fans it out.

“For yourself, for your kingdom, it is time to pay the price for the knowledge we protect here. Select three.”

I stare at the cards. Here I am, where I never thought I’d be…

Where I’d hoped to—been outright told to—avoid.

Taking a breath, I flutter my eyes closed and hold out my hand, moving it left and right over the cards.

My fingertips lightly touch the corner of one, drawn by a tingling in my palm, and I slide the card upward.

I repeat the process two more times before opening my eyes.

Three cards for me and me alone. My destiny. My future.

Kaelis puts the rest of the cards to the side. One by one, he flips the three I’ve drawn and announces them to the room.

“The Ten of Coins.”

A beautiful card. Ten golden coins shine like suns above a joyous family, every generation as happy as the last. The Ten of Coins symbolizes wealth and joy and reaping the rewards of one’s work.

In the image of the people painted on the card, I see the Starcrossed Club gathered around a table for an All Coins Day feast.

The next card is the Five of Swords. A woman stands facing a bloodied battlefield, two swords in each hand.

Three men are positioned behind her, prepared to drive their own blades through her back.

It’s a card of conflict and loss. Of battles that might be ultimately won, but, if so, just barely…

and that victory achieved at a great cost.

The crowd murmurs with excitement as Kaelis announces the Five of Swords. They suspect this will be the one I throw into the Chalice, and it would undoubtedly make for a good show for all of them to watch. But I have one more card left to read…

As Kaelis flips the final card, his movements halt in midair. We both have barely a glimpse of the image painted on its front. But it’s unmistakable—a noteworthy card that everyone knows.

“The Two of Cups.” His voice doesn’t waver, but when his eyes, swirling with the colors cast by the Chalice, drift toward mine, I can see a full array of emotions in them.

His mouth presses into a hard line, as if he’s physically trying to hold back the unspoken threat that I can practically hear him screaming in his mind.

The Two of Cups. A romance card. A man and woman stand facing each other, both toasting full goblets.

Their expressions are relaxed—and yet tinged with apprehension and excitement.

Their lips are parted as if frozen on an inhale.

Ribbons swirl up and around their hands, linking them together and then gathering in the shape of a dove.

It is the card of fated meetings, of new unions rooted in harmony and balance. The card of falling in love.

“Choose one to cast into the Chalice—choose which future to kill.” Kaelis steps away, but our eyes remain fixed like two rams locking horns.

With a sharp turn, he strides away, and I wait to make my choice until I see him high on the risers above.

He’s easy to spot. As the headmaster, he has his own balcony.

Three faculty stand with him, and one man makes his way directly to Kaelis.

He’s a broad-shouldered fellow with dark brown hair.

But his eyes are so brilliantly green they stand out as they dart my way.

I can feel disapproval of me radiating off him, as if he already knows I’m not who I claim to be.

An adviser, or a lackey? A question for my future self to answer.

I turn back to the cards. There’s no question which I will choose.

The Ten of Coins is my friends and family.

The future that I have always dreamed of for myself.

The Five of Swords is hardship…but I have always known struggle.

I will always be moving from one battle to the next, constantly watching my back.

My fingers come to a stop over the Two of Cups. The relationship card. I look back to Kaelis and can feel the weight of his stare.

“I am not your plaything,” I murmur. He said he likes a challenge. Well, I’ll give him one. I will show him, and his entire academy, that I will not be quiet or subservient.

The students immediately go wild. They’re shocked and confused.

It makes no sense why someone would willingly throw away an opportunity at a smart match.

Especially when there’s the obvious choice of the Five of Swords.

Especially when the person throwing away the fated meeting is engaged to a prince.

But, within their shock, I hear something far more telling. Far more expected . Amusement. Entertainment. They’re ready to bear witness to what awaits me and how I conduct myself in the trial to come.

With a flick of my fingers, I cast the card into the aura of the Chalice like I’m throwing down a gauntlet. The card explodes with a cavalcade of stardust and shimmering motes of silver light.

An unseen force wrenches at me, grabbing at the essence of my soul and pulling magic from my depths.

A gasp escapes me, and I’m left breathless.

I stagger forward, every muscle shaking.

It feels like a light within me is growing dim.

A star flickering and then winking completely out of existence. Forever lost.

I grip the pedestal to keep my balance. The crowd is ravenous. They know what is to come, and even though I am the last of nearly four dozen applicants…they want more. They want a grand finale.

The aura of the Chalice has enveloped me now.

It pushes me down, forces my breath to become shallow, my heart to quiver.

I close my eyes, but behind them is nothing but flashes of light and incoherent visions.

I am trapped between the real world and the world of the future I must destroy.

Not quite in one nor in the other—neither what is nor what could’ve been.

With every pulse of these worlds—dream, vision, future, reality—Itry to focus on a single point: the deck that Kaelis left on the pedestal.

Moving my arm toward the cards requires a titanic amount of effort.

Yet when my hand settles upon them, I heave a sigh of relief as I instantly sense the magic of every inked card in the stack.

Arcanists can’t summon cards from an unfamiliar deck.

Fortunately, to know a deck requires only a single touch.

The ones who have the hardest time in the festival are those who forget to grab the deck early, Arina told me when she regaled me with her tale at the first opportunity she found to sneak out of the academy. If you have to waste time trying to find it in the future world, you’re done for.

Little did she know she was preparing me for my own Chalice trial. I hope she’s watching now with pride.

I push away from the pedestal and shove the deck in my pocket. The aura of the Chalice has amplified now. It’s in and around me. There’s no difference between the blinding images behind my eyelids and the glow solidifying before me.

Swallowed whole by the Chalice’s overwhelming light, I inhale sharply. I blink one final time, and when I open my eyes again, I find myself standing in a brightly lit dance hall.

Face-to-face with the last man I wanted, or expected, to ever see again.