The Dark Calling (The Arcana Chronicles #5)(48)

Earlier, Joules and I had rested in the back of the truck while Jack and Kentarch sat up front, talking with a relaxed camaraderie about weapons and hunting and potential modifications for the Beast.

Just before I’d dozed off, Kentarch had told him, “I know what everyone thinks—that it’s futile to hope my wife still lives. But you came back from the dead. It makes me believe even more strongly that I will reunite with her.”

“I came back to a different situation.” Jack had no idea just how different. “Are you prepared for whatever you get?” They’d grown quiet, both lost in thought.

Now Jack said, “I like Kentarch, but I doan want you alone with him. Gabe offered him a deal: you for Issa.”

Oh, shit. “Do they have his wife?”

“Non, but I’d be surprised if they aren’t searching for her, in addition to you.”

“Kentarch would never willingly submit to mind control.”

“He doan have to join the alliance; just has to make the exchange. I respect him, but I also understand his motives. In his situation, I’d hand over an Arcana I barely knew for you. Do it in a heartbeat.”

Because Jack was steadfastly loyal—even to a fault. And yet I was keeping a huge secret from him. “I’ll be careful around Kentarch.”

Satisfied nod. “So did your grand-mère teach you about the game?”

“She did. She had the Empress chronicles.” Which I had completely forgotten about from my early childhood. “I learned that Matthew killed me in the first game. I was in an alliance with him, and he betrayed me.”

“Coo-y?n? You kidding me?” When I shook my head, he said, “I told you I barely recognized him when he came to rescue me. My vision was blurred, but when I looked at him, I thought I was seeing another person. He was like a sosie, an evil double.”

“That’s how it was with Aric! There was so much hatred in his eyes. Though, to be fair, I deserved a lot of that hatred. In the past, I was the sosie; I was as bad as they come. Jack, what if I turn that way again?” I recalled when I’d once thought, I AM the red witch! Evie is a sliver of ME! “What if I’m evil to the bone?”

I’d asked Aric this same question. Instead of answering me, he’d told me he’d had an errant thought.

Jack shook his head firmly. “In this life, you fight hard and ruthlessly for the people you love. No blame in that.”

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how I am in this game. Paul read every word of my chronicles, so now he gets to telepathically inform everyone how I screwed them over in the past. You know, my grandmother was unstable toward the end, but she predicted that Aric would turn on me, that they all would. How prophetic was that?”

“But they didn’t want to turn on you. They didn’t make a choice to betray you. The Reaper would normally die for you, which I can always hope for.”

I raised a brow. “Jack, Aric might not truly be brainwashed. Well, not only brainwashed.” I explained what Paul had told me, about working with what was already there. “I don’t believe the Hanged Man can manufacture that much bitterness and mistrust. Aric’s resentment must have always been there.”

Latent, like a seed with terrible potential.

“As much as I doan want to say this, I know Death loves you.”

“Not enough to overcome Paul’s reach.”

“Did coo-y?n not warn you about an Arcana this powerful? One you couldn’t kill?”

“When we talked about how to identify the inactivated card, he told me, ‘Don’t ask, if you ever want to know.’ Maybe he meant never to ask the card himself, considering that Paul has the power of trust manipulation. Sterling advice.” I really didn’t miss Matthew’s decoder-ring talk.

Jack tilted his head. “What did you do in the next game after coo-y?n killed you?”

“He deeply regretted his actions and vowed never to win again, so I allied with him, telling myself I’d dispose of him in time. But that never really worked out for me.” Since I kept dying. “I’ve always felt close to Matthew, but maybe he steered me toward that.” Though he didn’t possess emotion manipulation—at least, I didn’t think so—he could’ve affected my memories of the past. “I don’t know how I feel about him. I can’t decide.”

“You doan have to decide, doan have to know how you feel. Peek?n, how about we just kick that can down the road?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I missed you, Jack.”

His answering grin faded when he asked, “How was married life? With Domīnija?” He glanced away and tossed a rock.

“He really tried to be a good husband and make me happy, and in some ways, I was.” Strangely, Jack’s return made my feelings for Aric even keener. Everything felt keener, my emotions brimming. At last, I could loosen the tourniquet. “But I was also devastated from losing you.”

“I saw your reaction in Matthew’s vision.” His voice grew rumbly with emotion. “I always wanted to make a difference, to matter. When you crafted that tombstone, I felt important, me. In a way I never had before.”

“Even with your army and your leadership?”

“Even then.” He tossed another stone. “Before the Flash, I never much thought that I’d be . . . missed.”