I swallow a lump in my throat. With the war, with my training, with everything going on, it's easy to forget why I'm doing this. It's all been for her. "Thank you. I can't tell you how much that means to me."
Asher throws an arm behind me and crosses a leg over one knee. "So, Pete, Arianna here tells me you read fortunes."
"Yes," he says simply.
"Do mine, won't you? I'm dying to know my future."
I elbow him in the ribs. "Don't be an ass," I hiss under my breath.
He looks offended. "What? I genuinely want to know. Can't fault a man for wanting a heads-up about what's to be, can you?"
I roll my eyes at him, but Pete is already pulling out his Tarot cards. He asks Asher to draw three cards. "For your past, your present and your future."
Asher does, and Pete lays out the past. The Ten of Pentacles. On the card, an old wise man sits comfortably on a chair, surrounded by his family. Pete studies it. "You have lived a long life, accomplished much."
Asher raises an eyebrow and leans forward, taking this much more seriously now.
Pete turns over the second card. A man and woman embrace. The Lovers. "You're suspended between two possible courses of action. Both have their risks. However, you must choose one. Indecision will only make things worse."
"Well, that's just lovely, isn't it?" Asher says.
I shush him as Pete lays out the last card. A tower struck by lightning. His eyes widen. "The Tower. You will soon face disaster. Your previous preconceptions will be washed away, but in their place you will find new truth."
Asher looks uneasy. He adjusts his collar and checks his watch. "Time to catch a plane," he says, standing and leaving Pete and me to say our goodbyes.
I hug my friend. "Take care of Es. Take care of each other."
He nods. "Take care of you," he says. He pulls away and stares at me. "There's something different about you, Ari. Are you okay?"
I almost laugh at how true his words are. "People change, Pete. Life changes us."
"Just don't lose who you are inside."
Asher wants to go back to the mansion and head home, but I still have some darkness with which to play, and so I make him walk with me. "It's time you see how the 99% lives," I say, dragging him down the street. A light rain sprinkles from above. Cars hum and a dog barks in the distance.
"I do not want to see how the 99% lives, thank you very much. I'd much prefer staying in my 1% of the world, whichever world I happen to be occupying."
I shake my head. "You're going to walk with me, and we'll talk and get a drink and for another few hours I'll get to be the girl I used to be before all this happened."
"Very well, Princess. If you insist."
I link my arm through his and we walk. I show him my favorite knick-knack shop, and the place I like to go for coffee. Everything is closed, of course, so we head to a bar instead, and I order us the frilliest drinks on the menu—mine's a virgin of course. Since I am clearly not the law in this world. His has an umbrella and several cherries.
We sit outside, watching mostly intoxicated people pass us on their way home from the bars.
"You know, I must admit to a bit of envy," he says suddenly, as I sip my drink.
"Of what?"
"Of you. Your friendships. Es and Pete, they're family to you."
"They are," I admit.
"It must be nice, having people mean something. To me, everyone is a piece on a board to be manipulated."
We finish our drinks and continue our walk. The weather is turning cold, and I pull my jacket closer to me. I miss the weight of my sword on my hip, but love that I get to wear jeans here.
"That's a sad way to live," I say as we walk across the street and through a park. Couples stroll together in the distance. Ducks swim through a pond, hunting for any treats left by picnickers.
We stop near the water, watching the birds.
"I suppose I learned it from my father," Asher says. "I never really thought to question it, but you have a way of making me view my life differently."
I turn to look at him. At his blue eyes and chiseled face. "Surely not everyone is a pawn in your game?"
He raises his hand to my cheek. "Not everyone."
He's not Fen. But he's Asher. Handsome, debonair, charming Asher. Someone who believes in peace, who's fighting to make that dream a reality. He might be the best choice for king. Don't I owe it to that world to see if there's a spark?
And so when he asks if he can kiss me, I nod.
Our lips come together.
And it is tender. And sweet.
And like kissing my brother.
That is, if I had a brother.
We pull away from each other.
He looks at me oddly. "Nothing?"