“Carson kept a file with this information, one he made us swear not to open until the deck finally returned. My husband keeps this file under lock and key so we’re not tempted.”

“You never opened it?” Cleo asks. “And you never tried to find this deck?”

“If you can believe anything about me, it’s that I have complete reverence for Carson’s ways,” Lady Azure answers. “Besides, Carson assured me his final deck would return to Coupled Cottage. He also left very specific instructions for whoever did appear with it, to help them find the missing Princess of Cups.”

“Does this location mean anything to you?” Amelia asks next, stepping forward with her phone. We all agreed keeping our phones on us would be smarter than leaving them in the shoebox, just in case. “This is supposed to be an uninhabited island.”

“Yes, my parents paid handsomely to ensure it seems that way,” Lady Azure says, glancing down at Amelia’s phone. “They were perhaps even more secretive than Carson, so Baxter Manor isn’t supposed to exist. Actually, its complete seclusion was precisely why it appealed so greatly to dear Carson.”

“Wait, these coordinates point to your home?” Amelia asks, surprised.

“More precisely, they pinpoint Coupled Cottage, where the missing Princess of Cups is hidden,” Lady Azure answers. “So, my dearest darlings, would you like to sojourn to the Isle of Baxter?”

Lady Azure then raises her arms, stretching them out so her caftan blows with the breeze. Chills run up my arms, despite myself. I look to the others and can tell they all feel the same. If we really are invited to the secret island estate of a wealthy family of Perillian patrons, what long-buried secrets might we unearth there?

“Well, my fair lady, we accept your invitation,” Cleo answers first. “Because I spy with my little eye some Wanderers on their way here.”

I turn, along with the others, to see a rusted red car turn down the street—one of the same cars we saw parked outside the inn when we left. Adrenaline bursts into my veins. Our hunch about the Wanderers checking for us here was right.

Suddenly a remote island getaway feels even more impossible to resist.

The next hour becomes a blur of some of the most surreal moments of my life, including yesterday’s desert danger. We sneak out of Azure Tarot’s back entrance into Charvan, then follow Lady Azure as she and Seidon drive to a private dock. We marvel as wrought-iron gates swing open for us, then we split up to board two luxury motorboats. I then find myself speeding off into the sunset with Seidon and Logan across the Pacific Ocean, riding the choppy waters without any clue where we’re really headed.