“Ooh…I want to go next.”
Their voices died away when I opened the flap and stepped inside.
The woman with the scarf around her head and neck was there, smelling her scented oils and laying down cards like it was a round of solitaire. The tent was small, so she knew I was there, but she didn’t look up to greet me. “One fortune per person. No exceptions.”
She recognized me?
I approached the table and stood there, inhaling the musty smell of dirty drapes and humidity. I glanced around at the assortments of pots and other decorations, noticing the way it looked exactly the same as the last time I was there. Then I looked at her and examined the odd cards. She flipped one over, revealing a fanged cobra. Another had nothing but angel wings.
She didn’t acknowledge me again.
“I’m not here for another fortune. Just want to hear my original.”
“If it’s that important to you, you should have written it down.” She looked down her long nose and continued to play whatever game she was playing. Cards flipped before they were returned to the pile sitting in her hands.
“I was twenty-one…and didn’t take it seriously.”
“That’s not my problem, Damien.”
Bumps formed on my arms when she knew my name…without even looking at my face. Now I wanted to turn back because this woman was the real deal…and whatever she said would change my life.
But I had to know.
I drew out a few bills and dropped them on the table.
She finally pulled her gaze away from her work and examined the cash. “I want everything in your wallet—and I know exactly how much is in there.”
I pulled out the rest of the cash and placed it on the table before I took a seat.
She grabbed all the cards, shuffled them, and then started over.
“Well?”
“I’m refreshing my memory. It’s been a long time since I read your cards.” For ten minutes, she played with the cards, flipping over the various animals and symbols that represented something to her. “No…” She kept working, trying to find the words she’d said to me before.
I’d walk out of there right now if I didn’t know how serious this was, that she wasn’t a hack. I’d witnessed Hades fulfill every single prophecy. I knew this shit was real.
She flipped over a few more cards before she sighed. “Ahh…there it is.” She stared at the arrangement for a minute before she pulled all the cards toward her into a massive pile. Then she inserted them back into the deck. “You will be a rich man, Damien. Very rich. You will have more money than you could ever spend in one lifetime.”
Her words started to jog my memory, and the past returned.
“But you will be alone. And you will lose many people you love on the way. One woman will love you for you, not your money or your power, but you’ll lose her. And once she’s gone…she’s gone. Your life will be filled with regret, mistakes that can never be undone.” She held my gaze as she finished.
It was like a punch to the stomach, a knife to the artery. I inhaled a deep breath and felt the nausea form in my stomach, making me want to puke up the lunch we’d had when we arrived. Despair like I never felt before weighed me down, made me sink so far that I thought I would never rise again. She said I would lose loved ones along the way…and I had. I lost Hades for a year, and that was the most painful experience of my life.
Until this.
She watched me with her fingers tight around her cards. “You got what you wanted, Damien.”
When Annabella had rejected me, it was painful, but this was worse…because it was so final. Hope still resided in my heart, that Liam would fuck up sometime in the future and I would get my chance. But now, I knew she would never be mine…and I would return to my empty bachelorhood, bedding models that didn’t mean a damn thing to me.
Sympathy filled her gaze. “I’m sorry.”
“There has to be something I can do.” Hades was able to break the curse. Could I do the same?
She shook her head. “For as long as she’s married, you’ll never have your chance.”
I sighed loudly. Annabella was committed to making this marriage work because she was filled with so much integrity. Nothing would shatter that. It was obvious how much she loved me, but even that wasn’t enough.
“I’m sorry.”
I didn’t rise from the chair because I didn’t have the energy. I was weak, so fucking weak. But I couldn’t stay here. My fortune had been read…and the consequences would haunt me forever.
Knowing I could never have her back wasn’t the worst part. It was knowing that she truly loved me…for me…and I would never find that again. She was the only one. Wordlessly, I got to my feet and left the tent. I pulled back the purple flap and stepped into the firelight from the torches and bonfires.