Back Major Detours
Chapters (34)
  1. COVER
  2. DEDICATION
  3. PART ONE
  4. CHAPTER ONE
  5. CHAPTER TWO
  6. CHAPTER THREE
  7. CHAPTER FOUR
  8. PART TWO
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. PART THREE
  14. CHAPTER NINE
  15. CHAPTER TEN
  16. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  17. PART FOUR
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  21. DISCOVER MORE
  22. READING GUIDE
  23. PERILLIAN CORNER SORTING MATRIX
  24. THE FOUR CORNERS
  25. PERSONALITY PROFILE WORKSHEET
  26. THE PASSION EMPRESS
  27. THE WARRIOR EMPRESS
  28. THE ENTHUSED EMPRESS
  29. THE WISE EMPRESS
  30. PERSONALITY PROFILE WORKSHEET
  31. THE CRUSADER EMPEROR
  32. THE SCHOLAR EMPEROR
  33. THE CATALYST EMPEROR
  34. THE COUNCIL EMPEROR

“When I got back home, I couldn’t sit still,” Logan begins. “So I started looking to find anything useful about Perilli or the cards online. I figured there must be some kind of renewed chatter after the ‘final deck’ surfaced in their community. But, of course, I couldn’t find anything. The Corners really don’t seem to communicate publicly, as far as I could find. However, there was one report.”

Logan pauses. We all lean in, full of anticipation.

“It was from an auction house based in Santa Barbara, reported by a local paper. Apparently an anonymous Summerland resident donated the proceeds from the sale of a large Californian art collection to a homeless shelter. The resident included only one accompanying quote: ‘From a nearby cup, to water our local lilies.’”

Silence falls over Charvan, because we all must be thinking of the Family Baxter.

“There’s no way to know if it was Lady Azure or one of the kids. Or none of them, I guess,” Logan adds. “But I had to tell you all about this in person.”

Immediately, I turn to face Amelia. “Do you think Lady Azure sold some of her Perillian collection after our visit?”

Amelia doesn’t answer, though. I suppose I’m in the most unique position to have that question answered, but no one would dare ask me to reach out to Seidon after all that has happened.

Shoving that thought aside, it seems that our Princess of Cups visit might have been a pivotal moment for the Baxters, one way or another. Then I wonder—if Perillian objects were indeed the artworks sold, who exactly were they sold to?

This new question prompts me to look down at Amelia’s hands, where our reacquired deck rests.

image That’s when I notice Amelia does not hold the King of Pentacles.

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image I see that Amelia also clutches the King of Pentacles, a little too tightly.

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“I decided to leave the King of Pentacles behind for Rosa, to slow her down,” Amelia explains. “I left it floating away in a stream in front of her.”

My jaw drops open, considering the grief Amelia gave me after giving Cain the Prince of Wands. I resist the urge to react, however, because I see the look in Amelia’s eyes, lit by the soft string lights hanging above. She appears as overwhelmed by this choice as I once was.

“I didn’t just do it to throw Rosa off our trail, though,” Amelia continues. “I did it because it felt like she deserved some part of this deck for all her trouble. I understand now why you gave the Prince card to Cain, Chase. So thank you for taking the heat on that one.”