The guys respected my request for privacy and were out in the field practicing channeling each other’s elements. Good. That should keep them occupied. I took the two rope bridges to Stace and Renee’s treehouse and knocked on the front opening.
The tall strawberry blonde glanced up from a giant book on a stand and smiled warmly when she spotted me. “Katy, what brings you by?”
“I’m looking for Stace. Have you seen her?”
“She’s on a supply run. The newest recruits ate the last of the red meat. We weren’t anticipating feeding so many.”
Guilt ate at me for bringing so many people into her perfect bubble of paradise. She had no idea when she’d agreed to let me speak to her coven that it’d turn into HQ for Sentry. I didn’t know that either.
“Can you tell her I stopped by?”
“She shouldn’t be much longer if you’d like to come in and share some tea. I was just about to read some leaves. Care to join me?”
Would I ever. I’d never seen anyone read tea leaves before. The concept fascinated me, that a person’s fortune could be told from soggy leaves stuck to the cup. One year ago, I might not have believed it possible. After what I’d seen this year—this month, even—I was open to anything.
Renee set two dainty teacups and saucers on the table, a bag of tea leaves, and the teapot of steaming water. “Have a seat.”
I did in front of one of the cups and awaited instructions, now even more excited. I’d expected to watch her read leaves. I didn’t expect that I’d get to read my own.
“Take a pinch of the leaves and drop them into the cup.” She poured water into each cup once we had our leaves. “As we let the tea steep for a bit and the water to cool, think about the question you want to ask. The more specific the question, the more specific the answer.”
I knew the question I wanted to ask. It was the same question I came to ask Stace. Did I trust a bunch of rando symbols to tell me whether Xye was right or not?
“You seem to be making good progress with Sentry,” Renee mentioned, then sipped her tea.
I did the same, careful not to suck in any of the loose leaves floating in the water. I’d never had tea not trapped in a bag. This was a new experience for me, and not one I much cared for. I had to keep spitting tea leaves back into my cup and picking them off my lips. Even then, some of them broke through my best attempt to block them and went down my throat with the tea. What if I ingested too many? Would we have to start over?
“We’re trying. Having the blacksmiths join us along with the alchemists is good.” I drained my glass until there was more tea leaves than water.
“Good. We’re ready. Now really concentrate on your question and take the cup in your left hand, swirl it like this three times from left to right. That’s it. Carefully turn the cup upside down on the saucer.”
I did and waited for it to do something, unsure what to expect. It wasn’t as if it’d come to life and break into song like in a Disney movie.
“That’s long enough. With your left hand, rotate the cup three times and turn it back over. Place the handle toward yourself. Good.”
“Now what?”
“Now we see what the leaves have to tell us.” She leaned in and studied the leaves. The lines around her mouth turned down into a frown that deepened the more she read the leaves. “Katy, what was your question?”
My heart skipped. “What do you see?”
“That depends on the question.”
Here went nothing. I drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Does being the prophecy mean I have to die to save our world?”
She stilled and lifted her gaze to mine while still leaning over the cup. Blinking to break eye contact, she dropped her attention back to the cup and turned it this way and that, tilting it, righting it, and finally set it back on the saucer. “I see an anchor near the top, which means good luck and a stable love life. You seem to be doing well with the guys. They aren’t going anywhere and will stay by your side until the very end.”
My heart skipped again as I keyed in on that word. “End?”
Renee sat back and pushed the cup away. “The leaves can be interpreted so many different ways.”
“What did you see?”
“I’m not very good at reading them.”
“Renee!” I practically cried, now close to a full-on panic attack. “What did you see?”
She jumped from my outburst. “I see three distinct symbols, none of them good. The hourglass is imminent danger. That alone isn’t surprising considering what we’re up against with the Council. It’s the last two that trouble me. The cross signifies death, and the arrow…well…the arrow points to the person who knew of your fate all along, the person leading you to your destiny.”
“Oh, fun! Tasseography. We haven’t read tea leaves in a very long time.” Stace stood at the opening into the treehouse, all smiles and her hands full of supplies. Renee fell back into the chair as her expression melted. Stace’s smile slid from her face. “What is it?”
I glanced into the teacup and saw what Renee did. The arrow pointed directly at Stacey Layden.
The air whistled from my lungs as I swallowed over and over to keep the tea from coming back up. I covered my mouth and breathed through my fingers, blinking rapidly to stop myself from tearing up over the shock. My friend, my mentor, the woman I trusted as equally as I trusted the guys, knew the truth. Xye was right. I had to
