Three altars lined every wall, and Bethan knew what each altar stood for too well. A statue for each goddess of the Trine stood tall upon each table.

A true Mystic Witch, Bethan thought.

Selene ushered Kellan and Bethan to sit on the cushions on the floor; Selene also did the same and crossed her legs.

‘What was it you wanted from me?’ she asked.

Bethan shifted nervously; she had never seen Selene for her mystic services, but she knew Elnora did.

‘Because of my illness, the one where I lost my memories and magic, I was—’

‘You wanted to see if I could recover those memories.’

‘I doubt you can recover them, but I wanted to know if we’re on the right path of finding the First Grimoire.’

‘A tarot reading, then?’

‘Yes, only if you have time.’

‘I’ll always have time for you.’ Her eyes darted to Kellan and Agatha. ‘You two can wait outside.’

Agatha had disappeared while Kellan remained seated. Ever since the dinner at the Rennigan House, he has been reluctant to leave her side.

However, seeing that Selene wasn’t going to start unless he left, he moved off the cushion.

‘I’ll be just outside.’

Alone, Selene reached forward, grabbing a small velvet bag. She unfurled the top and pulled out a set of hand-painted tarot cards.

‘This isn’t a typical tarot set,’ she whispered. ‘These were created by the oracles from the Old Kingdom before they perished. Once I shuffle the deck, you simply pick three cards that you feel drawn to; it should feel like a string is pulling you toward the card. I will do a reading from those cards.’

Bethan took in all the new information. Perhaps after finding the grimoire, she’d research the Old Kingdom.

Selene shuffled the cards, one after the other, then laid them before her.

Bethan felt the pull immediately as if her pointer fingers were tied to an invisible string pulling her toward the fourth card in the fanned-out row.

‘Don’t flip it yet. You must select the other two first.’

Bethan nodded and waved her hand over the remaining cards; she felt so foolish believing in the mystics, believing in the existence of fate. The other type of magic was like a science. For all Bethan knows, Selene could have made it all up.

Another card jumped at her; she pulled it from the deck and grabbed the remaining card.

Her hand waved over the cards again; the string tugged her to the end of the deck, unlike the gentle nature of the other two.

No, it felt like a cold hand grabbing her.

She slammed her hand on the last card, and she drew it and lined it up with the other cards she picked.

Selene picked up the remaining cards. Her brown eyes met Bethan’s, and an excited grin painted her face.

‘All right, your reading will commence now. Flip them one at a time.’