Page 51 of Lovers Fate

“How would I know what that debt is?”

She nods. “Be careful of your path because it can lead you into darkness.” She flips another card. The fool stands upright. “This means a new beginning. Innocence. You need to have faith and believe. And… you’re lucky...”

I snort. “In what? I haven’t been very lucky in life.”

“Oh, you’re lucky. Everything that has happened to you has a purpose. It’s what led you here.” She smiles and flips another card. The lover’s card is upright.

“What does that mean? I’m going to fall deeply in love,” I joke.

Her expression becomes serious. The crystal ball darkens, but it must be a trick of the light. “You’ve been in love for manyyears, Athena. Before your time and in many lives before this one.”

“That’s not possible,” I say, bewildered. No one here loves me or could ever love me.

“It’s right here. In this position, the lover’s card says quite the opposite. Death cannot break the ancient sacrifice you made in a past life, nor the promise to return and find each other again in this life. For all eternity. The payment… is to kill the unjust and send the souls to the damned.” I shake my head. There is no way what she says is true.

“When the cycle begins, you take the form of your true self,” she says, tapping the devil’s card. “What you did in the past altered fate,” she continues, “but you were innocent, and what you did was right.” She taps the fool’s card and hums softly. “As for love, he’s been waiting for you, Athena. It’s up to you to continue the cycle, or all is lost.”

“What is lost?”

“Your true self and everyone that is part of it. Including trying to save the innocent souls, like the little girl you heard when you sat in that chair. The longer you spend with him, the more it will resonate. The visions will be stronger for you both, but he has to believe. He’s stubborn, but that is nothing you can’t handle.” She snickers like she knows something I don’t.

“Who is he?”

“The man of your dreams. The man who makes the fire between your thighs blaze in fury.” She flips another card, and the high priestess is upright and looks up. “Trust your instinct. This is not the time to question what you feel inside. Whatever it is, act on it. As crazy as it sounds, follow your gut. Don’t worry about where he is or when you’ll see him again. He will come for you, Athena. He will save you the same way you saved him.”

“Who are you talking about?” I ask, already knowing exactly who she’s talking about.

She looks at the dark crystal and then at me. “The Lord of Fire. You’re his one true love. He will burn heaven. He will burn earth and every fucking being in it to save you. That’s who he is, and God help anyone that gets in his way when it comes to you.”

Draco.

“Have I met him?” I ask to see if she is as good as she seems.

“I see you have, but you doubt my words because you doubt the truth. And, like I said, he’s stubborn. There’s more,” she continues, flipping the next card to reveal the ace of cups. A new love that you haven’t experienced in this life but remember from all the others you have shared together will create an unbreakable bond.”

“But you said I have loved before in a past life.”

“Good, you were paying attention. In this life, you’re different. You are a different human being, and in order for him to recognize your soul and initiate the cycle, you must fall in love once more. The way you dance, make love, kiss, and the relationships with others around you are new and different. They all must go through the same thing. The same process.”

“There are others? Like reincarnation?” I ask, wanting to know if they exist and believe the same bullshit she is spilling to me.

“Oh, yes. You’re not the only one who came back, but I can’t tell you more until everything starts to fall into place. Until the cycle begins to take shape.”

“What if it doesn’t?”

“You’ll die and come back until it does,” she says simply.”And it will be harder. More painful.”

The crystal shifts from dark to clear. I get up to leave, and she shuffles the cards. “One more thing,” she says before I turn to leave.

“Yes?”

“Two things. The woman—your little friend.”

“Rose,” I tell her, knowing it’s her she is referring to.

“Take care of her. You loved her, you know. She’s part of the circle, but her cycle won’t start until you do what’s needed, or she’ll be lost.”

For some reason, I believe that. “And the second?”

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