We reach a small clearing and I push myself to run faster, my lungs burning in my chest. Golden sunlight spills across the grassy openness, and I raise my hand in front of my face to glimpse the King of Pentacles. Goddess forbid Rosa catches us, I at least want to lay eyes on this lost creation. Glancing up at the card in punctuated bursts, I am immediately haunted by the King’s gaunt face. His head is topped with a crown of leaves and wildflowers and he sits on a throne of twisted thorns. Pentacle coins fall from his outstretched hands, cascading into the grass below and sprouting like seeds.

“I see you!”

I feel doubly haunted as Rosa’s voice screams behind us. I turn my head to find her just across the clearing, looking feral. Supriya sprints at her side, joined for the hunt. They’ve caught up to us quickly—too quickly. And where did Sherwin and Rowe go? Fear trickles into my muscles. We’re not going to get away with this.

Just then, a thought bursts into my brain. Cleo has the deck up ahead of me and they are the fastest of the three of us—that’s what matters most. But I hold the King, and obviously Rosa cares about that card most of all…

The question quickly arranges itself before me: Do I somehow visibly leave the King of Pentacles behind for Rosa and her coven? It would be a consolation prize, giving them the chance to make back some of the money they gave Anwar. More important, stopping to gather the King would maybe slow them down and give us a better shot at making a clean getaway. Or do I continue running forward and keep the King of Pentacles with the rest of the deck, where it maybe really belongs?

Chase made exactly this kind of decision for me earlier with the Prince of Wands, and that has never sat right with me.

So now is my time to make up for that, Empress I remain.

I leave the King of Pentacles behind for Rosa and her coven to treasure.

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I keep the King of Pentacles. Completing more of the deck is a risk worth taking.

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As this decision locks into place, I know it’s the right thing to do. So, taking one last look down at the King of Pentacles, I say my goodbyes.

However, I find this moment doesn’t feel bittersweet at all, because I know now for sure these physical cards are not what really matters. What matters is the journey. The lessons. The truth. What matters is how I become the kind of person Grandma would be proud of.

Scanning my surroundings, I spot a stream nearby, slim but coursing. Instantly, I know how to make this work.