I turned it over and Tory leaned in close as we gazed at it. The High Priestess. She was sitting in a golden throne, her body clad in blue robes with a veil over her face.
“What does that one mean?” I asked, thumbing through the notes on my Atlas.
“Err…it means…” Tory scrolled through her own notes.
Sofia pressed against my shoulder, leaning over to look at my card. She gasped sharply and I turned to her in alarm.
“What?” I demanded.
She shook her head apologetically, plucking the card from my hand. “This means someone's being dishonest with you or withholding information.” She turned the card over then grabbed my hand, placing it flat against the back of it. “What do you feel?” she whispered, her tone making goosebumps rise on the back of my neck.
“Ummm…” I looked to Tory who was trying not to laugh.
“What do you mean, Sofia?” I hissed, trying to pull my hand away but she was weirdly strong for a beanpole. Several other students were turning to watch and my cheeks flushed with heat.
I glanced at Diego for help but he was gazing glumly at his own card. Death.
“Shut your eyes and feel it,” Sofia pressed. “Sometimes the cards can give you a sense of who they’re referring to.”
I shut my eyes and heard Tory cluck her tongue with disbelief. But I had to have an open mind. With my horoscopes seeming more accurate every day, how could I deny that this was possible too?
I focused on the card, the back of it cool against my heated palm.
Light danced at the edges of my vision and the noise in the room suddenly fell away. Strange whispers replaced the sound of my classmates but I couldn't catch anything they were saying.
My blood turned icily cold as I got the strangest feeling I was being watched. It was like yesterday in The Wailing Wood. Eyes on me. Darkness pressing in. Then fire licked at my feet and closed in all around, burning, burning, burning-
“Darcy!” Tory shook me and my eyes flew open. She gazed at me in alarm and I found my mouth desperately dry and sweat beading on my brow.
The room had fallen quiet and all eyes were on me. Professor Astrum drew closer. “Did the card show you something, Miss Vega?” His gaze was hopeful.
I nodded, then shook my head. Because it hadn't. Not really. “It was more of a feeling.” I shuddered, rubbing my fingers together as warm air tickled my palms.
“What feeling?” Sofia asked, her tone dramatic.
“Just the feeling of being…watched. And then there was fire.” I didn't like the attention of the whole room on me and I saw Kylie lean in to her dark-haired friend Jillian beside her, cupping her mouth with her hand as she whispered something. They both fell into silent giggles and my neck grew hot with irritation.
Astrum frowned, directing the other students to get back to work. I was relieved when they all returned to talking with each other and Astrum stepped closer, eyeing my card.
“May I hold your hand a moment, Miss Vega?” He reached out, his fingers long and spindly. I hesitantly took his palm and his eyes fell blank and his shoulders slumped.
The cool clamp of his hand was iron tight and I didn’t think I’d be able to pull mine free if I tried. Astrum gasped, releasing me as he stumbled back with a look of horror on his face.
“What is it?” I demanded, not liking how pale he suddenly looked.
He cleared his throat, brushing down his dark robes. He dropped his voice to a deadly whisper, leaning closer. “Beware of your enemies, girl. They are made of fire and shadow.” He turned away, moving to help another pair of students while I was left to stew on what he’d said.
“This is all bullshit,” Tory said, elbowing me. “Don’t look so freaked out, Darcy.”
“How can you say that?” I sighed. “After everything we know to be true now.” I loved Tory but she was too cynical for her own good sometimes. We were in a classroom for magical lessons, on the grounds of an Academy in a world of Fae and she’d shot magic at one of Darius’s cronies just yesterday. But she was still intent on denying the possibility that horoscopes, tarot and any magic beyond the physical could exist too.
“It’s fairy tales,” she said but she didn’t seem as convinced this time. “I can see the fire in my hand, but this is just a card which can be interpreted any way anyone wants to.”
“What about the vision I just had, are you denying that happened too?” I arched a brow and she frowned in apology.
“Of course not. Are you alright?” Tory asked more gently and I nodded.
“Just freaked me out a bit,” I murmured, burying the sensation deep inside me. I laid the deck out before her with a grin pulling at my mouth. “Alright, your turn. Let’s see if this can make you a believer.”
She beamed with the challenge, holding her hand above them as Astrum had taught us. A moment later, she picked out a card and turned it over.
The High Priestess glared up at us and my heart jolted at the sight.
“I'm gonna do it again.” Tory immediately shoved the card back into the deck, shuffled it several times then laid them out once more. My throat constricted as I watched her run her hands across the pile then pluck out the card on the far left.
She flipped it over and The High Priestess stared back at us. Tory shuddered, placing it down on the desk and pushing it away from her.
“So someone's lying to us,” I whispered and Tory nodded, belief filling her eyes as she finally bought into the art of Tarot.
Tory and I headed toward The Howling Meadow, following the directions on my Atlas to our Werewolf Order Enhancement Class. Sofia headed off to join the Pegasus group and Diego had been sent to the Griffins to see if they could bring out his own Order.
As we wound through the path in Air Territory, the scent of the sea washed over us and the crash of waves beyond the eastern cliff soothed my anxiety. The Tarot class had creeped me out, but now I was out of the cold room with the sun shining down on my back, it didn't seem so frightening. More than half the students in Zodiac were probably withholding crap from us. Especially the Heirs who didn't want us anywhere near their precious throne.
As we cut through a corner of The Wailing Wood, we stepped out into the sprawling meadow where we'd had our Awakening. Yellow and purple flowers swayed in a gentle breeze, the grass almost up to our knees as we carved a path through it to where a large group of around a hundred and fifty students were gathered.
Many of them were howling, bouncing up and down on their heels, some tussling in the grass.
“I don't know why we have to do this,” Tory said, pursing her lips. “I know I'm not a dog.”
I nodded in total agreement.
I am not like Seth.
“Right!” the Professor barked loudly from the centre of the group. The students ringed around her, some jogging on the spot in anticipation.
We hurried to join the group and the Professor beckoned us forward. She had a long black ponytail and a wide smile on her face. She caught us both by the arm, tugging us toward her, her hands immediately sliding into our hair. “These are our new pups, take good care of them. They're trying to work out what Order they are so no shifting too close to them, no biting, no scratching, no being an asshole, alright?”