Page 55 of Choosing Stella

“You’re hiding it beautifully.”

She sat across from me again and unwrapped the cards.

She touched the deck and went quiet.

“What do you want to know?”

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to influence the cards.”

“That was Antonio’s theory. I prefer a question.”

I considered it.

“What am I carrying that I should’ve put down?”

Stella’s eyebrows lifted.

“That’s almost poetic for you.”

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“I’ll protect your reputation.”

She shuffled.

Her hands moved through the deck in smooth, practiced passes.

After a few passes, she set the deck down.

“Cut it.”

I did.

She drew the first card and placed it between us.

A skeletal figure rode a pale horse.

I read the title.

“Death.”

“Reversed.”

“That improves it?”

“Not necessarily.”

“Good. I was worried this might become cheerful.”

Her mouth curved briefly.

She drew the second card: Five of Cups.

The third was Justice reversed.

Stella didn’t speak immediately.

Her fingers rested beside the cards without touching them.