Zelda drew the next card.
The Emperor.
She whistled.“Well, damn.”
“What?”
“This is a man,” she exclaimed, her eyes dancing.“A powerful man.Older than you.Stoic.Dangerous in a ‘touch her and die’ kind of way.Someone who commands rooms.Someone who doesn’t let people close.”
I forgot how to breathe.
She tilted her head.“And yet… you’re in this house.”
The air charged, humming.On the other side of the door, I heard the faintest inhale — like Atlas was silently cursing the accuracy of a piece of painted cardboard.
Zelda pulled the next card.
The Devil.
My cheeks heated instantly.
“Oh-ho-ho,” she crowed.“Okay, baby girl.This is obsession.Possession.Temptation.A connection that’s not healthy but also not going anywhere.”
“I don’t—Zelda, no,” I stammered.
“Neve,” she breathed slowly, “is there a man here?”
I shook my head too fast.“No.”And outside, I swore the world stopped moving.
Zelda arched her brow.“You’re a terrible liar.”
She pulled another card.
The Knight of Swords.
A warrior.Violent.Protective.Reckless in all the ways that mattered.
Zelda’s gaze lingered.“He saved you.”
My throat closed.Saved.Claimed.Trapped.Protected.I didn’t know the difference anymore.
“And he’s not done,” she added softly.“This man… whoever he is… he’s not letting you go anytime soon.”
Zelda shuffled again.“Last one.”
She flipped it.
The Lovers.
My breath caught.
She nodded once, as if sealing a verdict.“There’s a bond here.A real one.Doesn’t matter if you don’t understand it yet.Doesn’t matter if it scares the hell out of you.The fates are already in motion.”
I stared at the card — two figures, two paths, two fates intertwined.
Zelda squeezed my hand.“Neve, just be sure he deserves you.”
I forced a smile in her direction.But all I could think about was the shadow standing guard on the other side of the wood… and how the cards had just tied my fate to his.