Page 37 of A Ghost’s Guide to Haunting a Witch

Theo’s eyes lifted to hers.

“By someone you knew,” she finished softly. “Someone close to you.”

The words hung in the air between them.

“You mean her?” Theo asked immediately. “My girlfriend?”

“I don’t know.” Augustine shook her head. “Maybe. Maybe not. That’s why we keep reading.” She gestured towards the card. “But this one . . .” She exhaled slowly. “It’s bleak. As far as the Fates are concerned, what happened to you, it was unavoidable. There was no easy way out of it.”

“So, I was always destined to die,” Theo said, a bitter edge creeping into his voice.

Augustine frowned, looking back down at the card. “We’re all destined to die, Theo,” she offered softly.

“As young as I was?”

“No. But death . . . it comes for all of us, one day. Besides, I don’t think that’s what this card is saying.” She tapped lightly near the horizon of the illustration. “See the sunrise behind the swords?”

Theo leaned closer.

“That’s the important part,” she carried on. “The Ten of Swords isn’t just about the ending. It’s about what comes after.” She met his eyes again. “Truth,” she said quietly. “Revelation. The moment when everything that’s been hidden finally shows itself.”

“Okay,” Theo said softly. “Like the rainbow that comes after a storm.”

“Yeah.” Augustine gave him a small smile. “Kind of.”

“Did you know that a person has a thirty-two per cent chance of seeing a rainbow on a daily basis?” Theo asked her suddenly, and she was surprised by the sudden change in conversation. “Of course, the odds of seeing one change depending on your geographic location and position relative to the sun, but still, thirty-two per cent. That’s pretty good.”

“Those are pretty optimistic odds,” Augustine said. “I think I can count on one hand the number of rainbows I’ve seen in London.”

Theo gave a small shrug, but there was something quietly stubborn in it. Augustine studied him. He wasn’t looking at her, but at the card still lying between them. Suddenly, she realized what he was doing.

Theo wasn’t looking at the Ten of Swords like it was the end of his story. He was looking past it. Past the storm and past the swords. Past the betrayal and the victim lying broken in the dirt. He was looking at the sunrise, waiting for it with the patience of a man who only saw the light. With the hope of a man waiting for the sun.

Augustine felt something shift in her chest. “You’re an optimist, aren’t you? A glass half-full kind of man.”

Theo blinked. “Am I?”

“You are,” she said. “You’re sitting here discussing rainbow statistics after discovering a tarot card that basically says you were brutally betrayed and murdered.”

He considered that. “Is that wrong?”

“No. Not wrong.” Actually, I kind of like it.

She glanced back down at the illustration. “So,” she said, tapping lightly near the glowing horizon again, “how close do you feel to the sun right now?”

Theo’s eyes lifted to hers, something soft and heartbreakingly hopeful moving across his expression.

“I’m fairly certain she’s my sun, Augustine.”

The words were gentle, but she felt them deep within her soul, because she understood immediately.

His girlfriend. Of course.

She looked away quickly, back down at the spread before he could notice the small, unwelcome tug the words caused somewhere behind her ribs.

Right. Just focus on the cards.

Clearing her throat, she slid her fingers towards the next card in the cross. “Do you want to know who betrayed you?” she asked quietly.