"Woah, are you alright?" Eden immediately shuts her book when I walk inside.

"Sure." I smile in what I hope is a convincing way.

She looks at me doubtfully. "Are you sure? Your aura is super dark right now. Did something frighten you?"

Damn psyches and their aura readings.

"Yeah, kind of," I admit. Eden pats the seat on the couch next to her. I practically crumple in it, exhausted from the night. Eden scoots closer to me, putting half the blanket over my legs.

"What happened?" she asks gently.

I sigh. "I don't know. Nothing, I guess. A cop came from a noise complaint."

"Did you have to kill him?" Her voice is hesitant. She's far more reluctant about killing than I am. In fact, I'm not sure if she's ever even hexed someone before.

"No, nothing like that. A vampire was able to persuade him to leave, no one got hurt." I don't tell her how close it came to the cop getting killed. Not by my hand, but one of the vampires would have broken his neck and dumped his body in the Atlantic.

That would have more than likely upset Eden.

"Oh, good." She relaxes, chuckling slightly. "Then what's the problem?"

"The vampire..." I pause, unsure how to phrase it. At least Eden wouldn't think I was a lunatic. "I don't know. I got weird vibes from him. He was kind of freaky."

"Vampires usually are," Eden agrees, seeming unbothered by it. She hasn't met many of them, and the ones she has have all been upper class, more refined versions of the ones I've seen at the Empire. Ones her parents would approve of, or at least classify them as decent enough to do business with, despite being less-than-decent people.

"No, not like him." Involuntarily, I shudder.

She laughs, poking my side. "Did he just give you goosebumps, Jade? Are you sure you're scared of him, and not just attracted to him?"

My response is immediate. "No."

"So, he wasn't attractive?" Eden asks, quirking an eyebrow.

I wrinkle my nose. I hadn't thought of anyone as attractive. Not since...

"You wouldn't have to feel guilty," she says quietly, her eyes sad. "If you did find someone else attractive. It's been over three centuries, Jade. Maybe it would do you some good to get back in the dating game."

"It's not that," I say defensively, and it's a half the truth and half a lie. "Maybe he was attractive, maybe not. It wasn't that which was disturbing. He was just... I don't know. Something about him was off. I can't explain it but... I just know. He was evil, Eden."

Eden gnaws on her lower lip, thinking for a few moments. "I don't know, Jade. He persuaded the cop to leave, right? So that you didn't have to kill him? He doesn't sound all that evil to me."

I consider her words. She's not wrong. If he was truly sinister, I doubt he would have bothered helping with the police situation. He definitely didn't have to do that. "Yeah," I say slowly. "Maybe he was just a creep."

"Ooh, maybe he's just killed a few people and that's what you were picking up on?" she suggests. "Do you really believe it's true that whenever a vampire kills someone, they have to one century in the afterlife per murder alone?"

"Of course I do," I respond immediately. "That's what makes them one of the damned, Eden."

She shrugs. "Kinda sucks for them, but sucks way more to get killed. I feel like that's a pretty fair punishment, don't you?"

I bump my shoulder with hers. "I never knew you could be so vengeful, Eden."

"Not vengeful," she corrects. "It's justice in action, babes. And it's beautiful."

"Maybe you should become a vampire hunter?" I suggest. "You know, track down some murderous vamps. Hex them, kill them, whichever suits your fancy."

We stare at each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.

"Could you even imagine?" she asks through giggles. "My parents would have a stroke. What if I killed one of their business partners?"

"They would probably kill you," I tell her, only half-kidding.

"So true, babes, so true," she says, still laughing hysterically. It takes a few minutes for us to settle down, and by the time we do, my stomach hurts from laughing so hard. The idea of Eden killing someone in cold blood is so inconceivable, it's hilarious.

Finally, she straightens up. "Seriously, though. Maybe you should start putting yourself out there. Romantically, you know? It's been a long time since... well, you know. I know it would be hard, but at some point you just have to go for it."

I shake my head. "No, no I won't do that. It's too late for me. I'm not capable happiness or romantic love with someone else. I don't want to drag anyone else into my eternal misery."

Eden's mouth slackens. "Jade, everyone is capable of happiness and love. Especially you. I know you'll find it again with someone someday."

Her words are so forceful, it takes me aback. I try brushing it off with a joke. "You see that in your tarot cards?"

She shoves me playfully. "What, like reading palms is so much more accurate?"

"Yes, I've always found that to be true." Witches all have their own preferred method of fortune telling; since we don't inherently have the ability to tell the future, we have to use other mediums in combination with our innate abilities in order to get any inkling as to what may happen. Some witches prefer crystal balls, some prefer tarot cards, some magic mirrors—I like to keep it old school with palm readings.

Eden claps, lurching to her feet, which I know means she's about to get way too excited about something. "Let me read your cards."

"No way," I say with a laugh.

"Oh, why not? We can just see if there's a sexy mystery guy coming into your life soon! Won't that be so exciting?" she shouts, already racing into her room to get them.

I groan, smacking myself in the face. I hate—hate getting my fortune read. There are so many reasons why it's a bad idea.

Eden returns quickly, bounding into the living room before sitting cross-legged on furry rug. "Come on, sit down!"

I groan, but there's no real way to tell Eden no, so I sit across from her as she spreads her deck. "Is that a new set?"

"Yeah, do you like them?" she asks, grinning proudly.

"They're nice," I murmur. The backs are all painted a bright teal, with silver swirls and strokes adorning them. "Did you just paint this? I haven't seen you use them before."

I know she painted them, because if a witch wants to use tarot cards, they have to paint their own set. By painting the set, witches are able to properly bond with the cards, knowing how to draw them and how to read them. The cards have unique symbols and pictures on each one, and they'll only have meaning to the same witch that made them.

"Yeah, just two days ago, actually." She pauses. "Do you think I made them specifically for this?"

"No, Eden. You made a new set because you make one every few months when you get bored with the last one," I tell her drily.

She frowns. "Maybe, maybe not. Either way, let's get started on your reading." She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes and holding her hands face down, a foot above the cards. "Clear your mind," she instructs, her voice floating through the air like a breeze. "Cards, speak now about Jade's love life, or forever hold your peace."

I roll my eyes at that, but three cards instantly fly to her hands, sticking to the palms.

"Shit," she whispers, and Eden never swears. "I've never had cards come to me that fast. Don't you think this was meant to be?"

"No," I whisper harshly, not knowing why I'm whispering. "It was a weird fluke."

Eden opens her eyes, laying the cards out in front of her. One is painted with a moon above a cityscape, another has a rock cave of some kind, and the last one is the only one upside down, featuring a glass vase perched on a table.

Of course, since it's not my deck, I have no idea what any of it means.

"Ooh," she says, staring at the cards. "This is interesting."

"What?" My heart races.

"It says you'll die next week."

"What?"

Eden breaks into laughter. "Oh, you should have seen your face! I knew you believed in tarot readings!"

I chuck a pillow from the couch at her. "Shut up! Read the stupid cards, I didn't even want to do this!"

But I can't deny that now I'm very, very interested in what they say.

"Okay, okay," she acquiesces, staring at the cards, her eyebrows furrowed. She starts with the one on the left, with the moon. "That one? It's a new moon above a city. This city, to be specific. Blackhelm. It means someone new will come into your life, soon, and in Blackhelm. And, well, since I asked about your love life in specific, it means you'll fall in love with someone new."

I shake my head. "No, you're wrong. That can't be true. Read them again."

"They're my cards," she points out. "I know how to read them. You don't. Do you want to hear the others or not?"

"Fine," I grumble, but I still don't believe the last one. Maybe after she reads these next two, she'll take back what she said about the first one. Tarot cards are about storytelling; one card can mean something completely different when paired with the others.

"Okay, so the second card is the tomb Jesus woke up in after he was crucified and—"

"Jesus?" I ask in disbelief. "You made tarot cards with Christian influences?"

She shrugs. "Why not? I have ones from other religions. I took a world religions class last year. It was very informative."

I blink.

"Besides, it has meaning to me. It symbolizes the return of someone."

"The Messiah?" I ask drily.

She flicks my forehead. "No, brat. Just the return of someone from your past."

I doubt that. Almost everyone from my past is dead. "Sure. Go on."

She pauses on the third card. "Um..."

"What is it?" I ask, a knot forming in my stomach, identical to last night.

Eden scratches the back of her head. "Well, uh, I'm sure it's no big deal..." her voice trails off.

"Spit it out, Eden."

"Umm," she begins hesitantly. "Well, the third card is a vase on a table. It represents trust, stability."

Realization dawns on me. "And it's upside down. So, it represents mistrust and instability."

Eden squirms from her seat on the floor. "If I were to give you a reading like you were anyone else, I would tell you that someone new is coming into your life, and you will love them a lot. Unfortunately, someone you loved in the past will be returning, after you fall in love with the new guy. They will wreak havoc on your life, and you shouldn't trust them."

My throat is dry, so I clear my throat. "Tarot cards can have multiple readings. None of that is certain."

She looks at the cards doubtfully before glancing up at me. "I made this tarot deck with you in mind. I don't think it was an accident. I think you should be careful because—"

"Enough," I say, my voice shaky as I stand up. "Tarot readings are unreliable. I'm not going to be scared of some mystery guy from my past, just because of an upside-down card."

Eden follows me as I walk to my half of the condo. "This wasn't a scary reading! The guy you fall in love with is a different guy than the one from your past! That's what the new moon means!"

"No one is falling in love with anyone," I say in exasperation, stopping in my bedroom doorway and turning to face my roommate. "Eden, I'm not going to ever be in love with anyone else, alright? This tarot reading was screwed from the start because there is not a love life to predict. Okay? I'm going to go to sleep, I have work again tonight."

Eden looks disappointed. "Yeah, okay. But if I turn out to be right, I better get an apology."

I chuckle slightly. "Sure. Just don't hold your breath."

***

I swear as I leave the condominium building, too much in a hurry to bother scowling at the doorman on my way out, which is a damn shame, because someone needs to scowl at him until he fixes his attitude.

Times like now, I really question my aversion to cars.

"Shit, shit, shit," I hiss under my breath, walking faster as I check the time on my phone. There's no real consequence if I'm late, but the regulars will give me shit all night if I am, and then I'll spend a ton of energy hexing them, and then no one has a good night.

I'm usually not ever close to being late, but I slept in too much after the exhausting tarot reading debacle. I was too tired to shower before going to sleep, so even though I slept in, I still had to take the time to shower before leaving.

If today couldn't get any worse, rain pours from the sky, soaking into my clothes. I could dry them, if I wasn't walking on a street with a billion freaking other people who definitely would be suspicious if I was dry in this weather.

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, because I keep looking down at my phone to check the time while simultaneously dodging and weaving through people that are too slow and too dumb to care that they're too slow...

I crash into a wall.

The wall's hands grip my shoulders, steadying me.

Shit, definitely not a wall.

I bite back an embarrassed groan, looking up at the person who caught me.

Bright, concerned, clear blue eyes stare back at me.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

Hey everyone! This is the end of the free Shadow Empire sample. If you're interested in reading more, you can find it on the iReader app under the same title/ username.