Tarot Academy 4 - Sarah Piper Page 0,84

how, after all those months of shy, sweet jokes, did he become such a commanding dirty-talker? All that confidence, all that fire… I didn’t expect it.

Because it wasn’t Ani.

Not the Ani I fell in love with. Not the Ani who sang with me and made up funny Tarot stories and gave me the sunrise.

“What’s happening?” I whisper, tears glazing my eyes.

“What’s wrong, Starla?” he snaps, climbing out of the bed and stalking toward me. His steps are slow and deliberate, a lion stalking a gazelle. “Don’t like a man who pushes back? You prefer them dumb and docile, is that it?”

“No, I…” I close my eyes and take a deep, steadying breath. I don’t know what’s going on, but this isn’t Ani. Maybe it’s some side effect from the dream realm or the potion, or some lingering brain fog from the whole ordeal, but it isn’t him. “You’ve been through a lot, Ani. I think we all need to just take a step back and—”

“Step back right into Baz and Kirin’s bed. That’s what you mean, right? Or maybe Cass’s? Anyone but good ol’ Ani.” He grabs the sheet and whips it out of my hands, tossing it onto the floor between us. His eyes are wild, his smile bordering on manic. “String me along for a laugh or two, some fashion advice, a few stupid karaoke songs, but I’ll never be good enough for that pussy, right?”

His energy hits me again, all at once. Rejection, loneliness, self-loathing, darkness. I’ve barely tasted the full cocktail of it when the door bursts open, Doc and Baz barreling into the room.

Doc takes one look at the scene, and grabs Ani by the throat, pinning him against the wall. “Apologize to her. Now.”

Ani’s eyes blaze with new fire, but then it’s like a wall goes up between us, cutting him off completely. I can’t get a read on him, can’t sense anything beyond a cold, dark numbness that makes my skin crawl.

Gaze locked on mine, Ani forces a smile I know he doesn’t mean. “I apologize. I’m just a little… tired. After everything.”

“Just… get some rest.” Dropping my gaze, I grab the sheet and my clothes and head for the door, desperate to get as far away from that room as possible. Away from him.

Baz follows me out, closing the door behind him, leaving Doc to deal with Ani’s post-realm mood swings.

“You okay?” Baz asks, holding up the sheet while I get into my T-shirt and underwear. No one else is around, but I appreciate the gesture nevertheless, especially since I feel like Ani just stripped me to the core.

“Thanks,” I say, taking the sheet and wrapping it around myself. “I’m okay. Just a little rattled, I guess.”

Baz scrutinizes my face, then shakes his head, pulling me in for a soft hug. He’s trembling, I realize, unable to hide his anger.

“You’re pissed at him,” I say.

“After the way he talked to you? I wanted to put him through the wall.” He pulls back, gazing into my eyes, his face tight with concern. “Didn’t you?”

“No,” I answer honestly. “I can’t be mad at him, Baz. Not after what he’s been through.”

I close my eyes, burying my face against his chest.

The dream realm changed Baz. It changed Kirin. It changed all of us. I was a fool to think Ani would come through it unscathed, especially considering how long he was trapped there.

“He’ll be okay,” Baz says, rubbing my back. “Just give him some time.”

I nod, but I can’t bring myself to share his optimism. I can’t explain it, but this just feels different. Maybe it’s because Ani was always so happy and warm, our Sun Arcana. But hearing those cruel words fall from his mouth, seeing the look of disgust in his eyes, feeling the repulsion in his energy…

I’ll never forget it.

I glance back at the bedroom door as a new feeling blooms in my chest, hot and prickly.

Guilt.

Because whoever I just shared myself with in there, in all the hot, delicious ways that set my body and soul on fire?

It wasn’t Ani. It just looked like him.

Twenty-Nine

BAZ

She skipped lunch again. That was the first clue. I was willing to let it slide the day after the world started burning and Ani arose from the dead, talking all that nonsense. But by the fourth skipped lunch, I’m starting to get worried.

She manages to avoid me by sticking with the other witches most of the afternoon, the whole lot of them concocting some scheme that