After lunch, we stopped to buy Anwar some clothes for the next leg. Then we made our way through Monterey and fulfilled a solemn oath to Cleo to stop at the famous aquarium, which was a much-needed break. We also now have an excellent Cleo doodle of me, her, and Toky posing in front of a tank of glowing jellyfish.

After that, we finally arrived at a rental house on the northern outskirts of town. Chase found this cozy log cabin last minute, choosing it because it’s closest to our next missing card: the King of Pentacles. The King’s coordinates pinpoint in the neighboring forest, so we plan to “camp” here before heading out first thing in the morning.

Which means Anwar and I might actually get to share a room for the night. Chase and Cleo already went to bed, but Anwar was game to hang on the back deck and gaze at the stars a bit. He’s currently brewing us some of his “signature hot chocolate,” which has left me out here for a merciful moment to gather myself. Despite all the driving, I still haven’t had much time to process what happened in Coupled Cottage. Perhaps I’ve avoided doing so on purpose, if I’m being honest. I’ve evaded a panic attack so far, but after last night I know my anxiety tank is rising far too high—it’s bound to spill over if I don’t manage it.

So I try to sift through the images that remain tattooed on my brain. The first is the sight of Lady Azure’s face, frozen with tears, gaunt and ghostly. I don’t really want to sort through what she might have deliberately done to us, to me…

So instead, I dwell on a different moment imprinted on my mind.

Back at Coupled Cottage, I recovered the Princess of Cups.

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Back at Coupled Cottage, I did not recover the Princess of Cups.

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I look down at the Princess of Cups, which I have placed at the top of the card stack. It’s surreal holding it in my hands; it’s like another small piece that has been missing my entire life is now found. The Princess feels like she overflows with meaning, given all I had to endure and overcome to save her.

And I really do feel I saved her from Lady Azure’s clutches. I found a way to set the Princess of Cups free—and hopefully, in the process, I set some of the Baxters free as well.

Especially because, staring down at the Princess, I now see only Lily’s face gazing back up at me. I know what I believed about hauntings and psychics and mediums before Lily led us into Coupled Cottage, but nothing could prepare me for what happened inside. I’m not sure if what I believe has actually changed, but how I feel about all of it? That has become a beast of an entirely different color.