Page 38 of Saint, Sorrow, Sinner
“A tarot reading?”
“Chamomile, lavender, valerian root, and passionflower,” Juniper said. She filled one cup for Sophia, then the second for herself. “And yes, a tarot reading.”
Sophia brought the cup to her lips, allowing the hot porcelain to rest against her mouth. The sensation grounded her. “Okay.”
Juniper’s charcoal hair was loosely braided. Stray curls fell around her bare face, stripped of any makeup, and her jewelry was gone. Sophia seized the chance to appreciate her like that, unadorned and classically beautiful. She shuffled the deck once before handing it to Sophia and asking her to do the same. Once the cards were ready, Juniper got comfortable, lounging across the bed with her elbow bent, propping up her head. She fanned the cards face down.
“Pick one,” Juniper said.
Sophia pulled one from the center.
“Good. Another.”
She opened her hand over the deck and closed her eyes, waiting for some kind of force to guide her. None did, though. She simply took another card.
“Last one,” Juniper said.
Show me.Sophia sat cross-legged, staring at the cards, channeling something close to hope. It manifested like longing—an ache spreading from her rib cage to her arm, down into her wrist, throbbing in the stigmata scabbed dead center on her palm. The itch to scream, to open her mouth and release whatever magic whirled within her, came and went. She followed that feeling to the very last card tucked and hidden at the leftmost side of the deck. She dragged it across the comforter.
“Are you ready?” Juniper asked. She aligned the three cards and pinched the edge of the first one. Once Sophia nodded, she flipped it, revealing a cylindrical building coming apart brick by brick. Lightning branched the sky behind it. “The Tower,” Juniper said, as if she’d predicted the outcome, and tapped it. “Upheaval, change, turmoil. There’s a suddenness to The Tower that people usually connect with. Something jolted you out of one life and into another.”
Sophia wrinkled her nose. “Seems obvious.”
“The cards aren’t always known for their subtlety.” She flipped the next. A woman seated in a throne, holding a wooden staff, accompanied by a cat. This time, Juniper hummed. “The Queen of Wands represents certainty. She’s uncompromising and steadfast, ambitious and relentless. Since she’s paired with The Tower, I think she might be leading you away from the rubble. She’s encouraging change and strength.”
“Could she represent a person?”
“Yes, or a deity.” She glanced at Sophia, eyebrows creeping higher. “Do you have any ideas?”
You,she wanted to say, but she shook her head. “Maybe the voice I’ve been hearing.”
Juniper nodded. She ran her fingers along the last card before flipping it. She tightened her mouth, staring hard at an illustration of two people exchanging chalices. “Two of Cups,” she said. The statement gusted softly, awestruck, filled with bewilderment. “This is a binding card. It speaks to unions being made. As the Queen of Wands guides you out of chaos and into strength, you find love, or the prospect of it, and step into something shared with someone else.”
Sophia recognized that card. Juniper had pulled it in her room beneath the staircase.
“Some people call it the soulmate card, but I think that’s a little ...” Juniper rolled her eyes. “Cheesy, I guess.”
Lamplight accentuated Juniper’s body, illuminating the dip at her waist. Sophia tried to be courteous, but once again she thought,I might die tomorrow, and let her eyes wander. Juniper collected the cards and smacked the deck against her palm before placing it on the nightstand and retrieving her cup.
“You called me tempting,” Sophia braved. She paid close attention to Juniper’s reaction, how she paused at the top of a breath, how her hands went rigid on the comforter. “Explain that.”
Juniper gave her a once-over before meeting her eyes. “You’re twenty-one—”
“Which makes me a grown woman.”
“Colin brought you to me for help—”
“This isn’t about Colin.”
Juniper heaved an exasperated sigh and flopped on her back, staring at the ceiling. “You don’tknowme.”
“You were in my head, remember? I know you plenty.” Sophia hadn’t felt a surge of adrenaline like that in years. Her entire body revved like an engine. Blood ran hotter; heart beat faster. She unfolded her legs and braced on her hands, blocking Juniper’s view. “Look, I know I’m quiet, but I can read a room. If you don’t like me, say that—”
Juniper made a wounded sound, like a painful laugh. “Like you?Sophia, I have to tie your soul back to your body tomorrow night. You get that, right?” She narrowed her eyes. Her full mouth thinned. “This isn’t aboutlikingyou.”
“You’re right, it’s not,” she said.Don’t freeze. She took Juniper’s cup and set it on the nightstand, then sheslid her thigh over Juniper’s waist and hovered above her, hands planted on either side of her shoulders. “But I’m going to die tomorrow and I’d like to live a little first.”
“Oh, so I’m your last hurrah. Is that it?”
