Page 20 of Death Card

“Forget the phone interview. I’ll email her right now and tell her she can start tomorrow.”

“Why would you want to hire the girl who’s going to kill me?” I gasp.

“Keep your enemies close and all that,” he says. His fingers fly across the keyboard as he drafts an email to Joelle. “You didn’t receive that vision for no reason, baby girl. This is a blessing in disguise. Now you’ll have an opportunity to discover more information about her.”

“I don’t want to get to know her.” Though, if I’m honest with myself, I am so intrigued by this girl. Ancestors, help me!

“If she won’t reveal her motive willingly, then you’ll have to read her mind, Mikaela.”

My heart drops. “But—”

“No buts. Keep me informed on everything,” Gramps says, ignoring my protests. “We’ll sort this out.”

Breaking into a mortal’s mind is easy, since their defenses are nonexistent. To the right witch, a mortal’s brain can be an open book. Morally, I don’t believe it’s right to take advantage of people who don’t even know about the existence of magic. You can listen to their deepest, darkest secrets and they would never even suspect a thing. The situation would have to be dire for me to try, but there has to be another way.

He sucks in a deep breath. “This may be the first trial you’re facing, but it won’t be the last. You’re the next Witch Queen, my girl. You carry the strength of your ancestors within you, and you’ve got the backing of the coven.”

“But what happens if I can’t stop the vision from happening?”

He presses his lips into a thin line. “I believe in you. A mortal is no match for a witch of your bloodline.”

The slight tremble in his voice doesn’t instill me with much confidence. First, the mysterious sickness with Marian, and now this. I’ve always trusted him to fix things, but two unprecedented events in one week is really stretching the limits of Gramps’s skill.

“For now, I’ll delay your training and keep wind of this from the Council.”

The last thing we need is for the rest of the coven to hear that their future Witch Queen is marked for death. That would throw us into the succession crisis of the century.

I can’t believe my eighteenth birthday may be my last. The thought shatters the dam inside, sending tears streaming down my face.

9

By the timeOrion gets home, I’ve cried nearly all the water from my body. When he shakes me awake, my eyes are crusted with the salty remnants. A mountain of tissues is stacked on the nightstand and my pillow is covered in a still-damp stain.

“So…are you going to explain what you meant earlier?” Orion says. “I tried to ask Gramps, but he was locked in his study and wouldn’t answer the door.”

“That’s my fault. I’m sure he’s busy preemptively mourning his only granddaughter.”

“Mikaela,” Orion snaps. “Talk to me. Now!”

I tell him about the vision. When I’m done, he collapses onto the bed beside me, and we both stare up at the lilac fabric of my canopy in silence.

“That’s some dark shit.” He chews on his fingernail for a moment before sitting up. “We need some outside help. I’ll hit up Malik and see what everybody else is up to.”

“I just told you that I’m about to die in less than a month and you think I want to be social?”

Orion shrugs. “What’s the other option? Rot in bed until the full moon?” He grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet. “Look, even if they can’t help, they can at least distract you a little. It’s not like you can get anything done in this state.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “A good rot session never hurt anybody.”

“Mikaela,” he scolds.

Ugh, that’s the thing about my brother: He’s a textbook extrovert. He’s always derived energy and strength from the people around him, while I’m perfectly content to find answers in my books and my cards. But from the look on his face, he’s not going to let me waste away crying all night.

I relent. “Fine.”

He clenches his fists in victory. “Sweet!” He yanks out his phone and immediately blasts a text to the group chat.

Responses fly in immediately and my heart sinks. Half of me hoped that everyone would be busy.