“Nothing!”
“The third card, your goal, is the Magician…desire and creation.”
Those were certainly accurate, or she hoped that it was her destiny. She wanted her desire for Lucian to finally come to fruition and she would continue creating stories.
“Let us see what your distant past reveals,” Lucian said as he turned over the fourth card. “The Ten of Cups, reversed.” He glanced at the sheets and frowned. “Broken dreams, disharmony.” He then looked up at her, a question in his blue eyes.
“Distant past,” she reminded him. “It could have been anything from my childhood that seemed monumental at the time but in retrospect was minimal.” Except the card was accurate. She had dreamed of her parents wanting her, a sense of belonging…she shook the thoughts away. Nothing could change what was.
“What of your more recent past?” He flipped the card. “Queen of wands, which is…courage and determination.” He looked up and chuckled. “Even I have to admit that is correct.”
At least it was a more positive card.
“Future influence is the Two of Cups, which is…unity, partnership.” He frowned. “That is odd, wasn’t mine similar?” he asked.
“Yours was the Lovers, also meaning partnership and union. Do you think our future influence is the other person?” she asked.
“I am certain that it is only a coincidence. However, if we choose to believe that there is any truth in these cards, I stand by my earlier statement that we have formed a partnership, or union, to keep you safe.”
If only the partnership and union could be more permanent, but Lucian only kissed her when she finally forced herself on him so it was unlikely he would ever pursue her.
“The questioner card is the Five of Cups…acceptance and finding peace.”
Eliza frowned. The seventh card, besides questioner, could also mean advice. Did that mean that she must simply accept that she had no future with Lucian, or did it have another meaning? Was she to find peace in her circumstances or accept that the mummy may never be found?
Oh, Lucian was right, these cards were so general that they could mean anything.
“The eighth card, and also your external influence is The Wheel of Fortune…inevitable fate or change.”
“I do not like the wordinevitable. It means that I will have no control to change something.”
“Perhaps it will be something you do not wish to alter,” he offered.
Except, if she was supposed to simply accept and find peace, then she doubted she would welcome whateverinevitablefate awaited her.
“Let us see what card nine reveals, your inner emotion.” He turned it over to reveal Strength.
That was a good card. Except, it was reversed, which did not bode well.
Eliza was no longer having fun with the tarot cards.
“Self-doubt or insecurity.”
Only where Lucian was concerned. In every other aspect of her life Eliza was quite confident, which was why she refused to comment on the card.
“What does the last one say? What is my final result?”
Lucian turned the card over. “Page of Wands…exploration and freedom.”
While all that sounded well and good, what Eliza took from this reading was that soon she would be away from here and Lucian would be out of her life and she faced a future alone. It was something she had accepted, but she had hoped for more while she visited, besides finding the mummy.
Though, in truth, when she first took the cottage, it was the mummy that she sought. Since, her infatuation with Lucian had grown and she now desired him. She wanted him, but as nothing was to come of this temporary partnership, she needed to set those emotions aside or she would only be hurt when the time came for her to leave.
“At least I have a bright future,” she finally said as she picked up the cards and shuffled them again.
Eliza did intend to write the scene for her book, but the cards no longer held the appeal that they once had.
And maybe she wouldn’t have to find the right cards for her character but use Lucian’s reading. After all, he was the hero of her story, not that she would ever tell him.
