For The One (Gaming The System Book 5)

by Brenna Aubrey

  I decide that I don’t want to find out—and that I will do everything in my power to make her forget him. Even if it means wiping him off the face of the Barony of Anaya. I won’t risk losing her again.

  With purposeful strides, I make my way toward her booth, sink down on the hard, wooden stool in front of her table and plunk down a twenty-dollar bill. I don’t believe in fortunes at all, but I do believe in watching Jenna’s every move and listening to her every word as she tells me mine.

  Chapter 13

  Jenna

  “What is it you wish from Mistress Jenna?” I asked, trying not to smile.

  William’s face was expressionless, but it also held somewhat of a challenge, as if to say, “Do your worst.”

  “I seek the answer to a question,” he answered without hesitation. My brows twitched a little with surprise. He’d mentioned the night before that he was skeptical about this, and I was certain my brief answer explaining that the cards functioned as a meditative device didn’t dispel his doubts.

  I pulled out one of my older decks—the Rider-Waite. It was a classic, with bright colors and beautifully rendered pictures. It was one of the oldest and most well-known Tarot decks around. And something about William just screamed classic to me.

  “Take this and handle the cards for a few minutes while thinking about your question. You can shuffle it, cut the cards, whatever. Just generally manipulate them and focus on what you want to know about.”

  I almost laughed at the expression on his face—clear and obvious disbelief—but he humored me and did as I asked. “Do I tell you my question?”

  “If you want. But you don’t have to.”

  After he’d shuffled the cards for a while, I took them back from him and laid out a classic Celtic Cross spread. The results were…extremely surprising. Hardly any Minor Arcana cards.

  William’s eyes glided over every card. “This is fine artwork.” He reached out and traced the edge of one of them—The Hanged Man. A trump card. “Beautiful detail,” he breathed.

  “The deck is designed around a journey. It tells a very intricate story, but each part of the journey is marked by archetypes. It can be complex, but you can just look at them as…cues for things to think about in your own life. As you make your own journey through life.”

  His finger tapped the corner of the Hanged Man, which depicted exactly that—a man hanging from a tree upside-down by one leg with the other hooked over the branch, his hands behind his back and his hair hanging loosely toward the ground. “And what does he represent?”

  “The Hanged Man is stasis, a rut, a need for change or to learn something new. In Norse mythology, the god Odin hung on the world tree for nine days in order to gain knowledge.”

  “So you’re saying I need to learn something new?”

  I shrugged. “Well, actually these should all be read in order, which I can do. But first, I want to point out that the only Minor Arcana card you drew is the King of Cups.”

  “There are suits? Like with playing cards?”

  I nodded. “Yes, but instead of hearts, clubs, spades, et cetera, they are cups, wands, swords and pentacles.”

  “And why is the King of Cups significant?”

  “Because in this spread and in that spot, it represents the querent. That’s the person seeking the answer. You. And the King of Cups represents a man of emotional stability, a man who lives by honor—quiet, kind and trustworthy.”

  It was bizarre, really, that this card would come up in that exact spot, too. Was it Fate? Was She or He whispering something to me? “Goddess,” I murmured at the realization that maybe this reading was as much for me as it was for William. The card might represent him, but right now it was speaking to me.

  I reached out to touch the card at the exact same time William did, his mouth open to ask another question. Our fingers met and that electric jolt sent a shivering thrill up my arm again. Slowly, deliberately, William moved his hand over mine, not looking at me but trapping my fingers under his large, callused ones.

  I could barely force a swallow through the heartbeat thrumming in my throat. “I take my honor very seriously,” he said.

  I drew in a shaky breath, unable to tear my eyes from the strong column of his throat where it extended from his period-style shirt.

  “You take many things very seriously,” I rasped, thinking again of my determination last night to get William into my bed. If possible, I wanted it even more now than I did then.

  I trembled like I was cold, even though we were both sitting in the sunshine. “Oh goddess…” My eyes squeezed tight.

  “Do you believe in a goddess?” I opened my eyes when he asked the question. “You say that a lot.”

  I cleared my throat. “If there’s a higher being, I’d prefer to think of her as a female. Mother Nature. Mother Earth. I was raised Catholic and always thought very highly of the Virgin Mary. She was someone I could relate to, so when I grew older and felt the need to pray, I prayed to her. As my beliefs strayed from the patriarchy, I kept thinking of deity as a woman. And mythology has always fascinated me. So my beliefs about a higher power kind of parallel the beliefs about the cards. Archetypes. Models and stories to look to for inspiration, courage… strength.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You have your own strength.”

  I blinked and sat still, thinking. I didn’t know what to say to him in response, and even if I did, the sudden emotion clutching the base of my throat wouldn’t have allowed it. By the time I was able to, I realized we were no longer alone.

  “Sir William! Mistress Jenna,” Caitlyn said. She smiled before grabbing a stool from her table, where she had been taking orders for silhouettes earlier. This time she had Ann with her. “What do we have here?”

  “It’s a run-of-the-mill reading,” I lied with a shrug. I was still shaking off that weird feeling that those cards were speaking to me every bit as much as they were speaking to him. But what were they saying? What was my heart trying to tell me?

  “So William,” Caitlyn said, fluttering her dark blonde eyelashes at him. “How’s your sword?”

  “I didn’t bring my sword. No fighting today.”

  “It’s a nice, long sword though, isn’t it?” She threw a playful glance my way. “Did you notice, Jenna? That William’s sword is quite long? I bet it’s longer than Doug’s.”

  I sent her a death glare, which she handily avoided by fixing her gaze on William. Ann, however, was valiantly fighting laughter behind her fist.

  “I’m taller than Doug so, yes, I wield a longer sword. They are custom made for us based on our height and the length of our arm span.”

  “Hmm. I bet you have a longer sword. Maybe I’ll get to see how you wield it someday.”

  William looked at her like she was a Martian. “You’ve seen the sword. Both the long sword and the shorter one I use with the shield—”

  “Then maybe you could explain the parts to me. There’s a shaft, right?”

  “Caitlyn—” I warned.

  “Yes, the shaft is part of the blade.” He nodded. “There’s also the hilt, the cross-guard, the pommel—”

  “And that knobby part at the very end… the peen?”

  Ann doubled over, tears streaming down her face.

  “Enough, Caitlyn!” I snarled. “I’m in the middle of a reading.”

  “Maybe Jenna has a sheath you can put your sword—”

  I stood up and pushed her shoulder. “Go away before I have someone lock you in the stock and throw tomatoes at you.”

  “Well, well…so this is where the party’s at,” a familiar voice said just behind my shoulder. “Who’d have thought Sir William would be at the center of it?”

  I refused to turn and look at him, but the other two women greeted Doug with cool politeness.

  “Hey, Doug,” said Caitlyn.

  “Sir Douglas,” Ann inclined her head and gave a very respectable curtsy.

  There was an awkward silence, and I presumed Doug was waitin
g for me to turn and say something to him. I didn’t.

  “So what’s up, Jen? Are you not speaking to me now?”

  I folded my arms across my chest, still refusing to look at him. “Are you still holding my tiara hostage? If so, then you’re correct. I’m not talking to you.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught him gesturing dramatically with open palms. “Hey, we have a perfectly fair agreement. I think we can all be adults here.”

  “Too late for you,” I ground out.

  Doug stepped closer to me, and I detected more movement from the other side of the table.

  “C’mon, Jen, do you have to be like that?” Doug’s hand landed on my shoulder and I jerked away from the touch, rounding on him. But William was there first.

  “Step away from her,” he said in a quiet voice that was deadly as poison.

  “Chill, Forrest Gump. I’m not hurting her. I have a right to talk to my girlfriend.”

  I stiffened, trying to keep a lid on the rage I was suddenly feeling. “Ex,” I corrected. “So very ex. And if you call him that again, I’m going to start talking about the real reason you need to overcompensate by acting like an asshole all the time.” I held up my thumb and forefinger about an inch apart while both Caitlyn and Ann laughed.

  His mouth thinned. “Whatever. So you’ve traded down I see. Hanging out with the Rain Man.”

  Caitlyn flushed beet red. “Fuck off, Doug. You’re an asshole.”

  “I call it like I see it. And maybe I’m just concerned that Jen is making a big mistake.”

  “I already made a big mistake when I agreed to go out with you,” I muttered. “Now go away.”

  “Wow.” He held his hands up in mock surrender. “I see how it is. Treated you like gold for months, and now you just turn around and act all heartless. Believe it or not, I do have feelings that you seem to enjoy stomping on.” He shifted his attention back to William. “Let that be a lesson to you, because she’ll do the same to you. She’ll lead you on like some small dog until she’s done with you.”

  William looked him up and down.

  “You do act like a little bitch, so why not treat you like a small dog?” William delivered the biting comeback so calmly that he sounded like he was discussing sword techniques.

  Doug flushed dark red and opened his mouth, then shut it again like a fish. He turned to say something to me, but William pointed a finger right in his face before he could get a word out.

  “Do not talk to her. She doesn’t want to talk to you. And don’t talk to me, either. Don’t breathe my air.”

  Ann and Caitlyn both started laughing and Doug’s head jerked in their direction. But instead of backing off, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared defiantly at William.

  William did not meet his gaze, but he did take a threatening step toward Doug. I was this close to getting in between them and stopping the pissing contest when Doug stiffened, startled by William’s threatening posture.

  Doug stepped back, a distinct look of fear in his eyes, before waving a hand and saying, “Whatever. You’re all a bunch of losers.” Then he turned and walked off.

  “Wow,” Caitlyn said. “He’s nutting up.”

  Fists clenched at his sides, William watched Doug retreat, his eyes following the douchebag’s every movement. “Wil? Are you okay?” I asked.

  His jaw clenched so tight that it bulged. I studied his posture, his physique. He was so goddamn hot it almost hurt to look at him for too long. And he was never hotter than when he was defending me.

  “Hey,” I said, laying a light hand on his shoulder. He immediately jerked away from my touch, and I remembered that he liked to be warned before being touched. “Sorry…”

  He licked his lips. “I need to go for a walk and calm down. I’m very angry right now. If he comes back here, text me.”

  I bit my bottom lip. “He’s not going to come back. But if he does, I will. I promise.”

  He frowned and looked at me intently—everywhere but my eyes, of course—as if inspecting me to make sure I was okay. Then he nodded, turned and left.

  “Holy shit,” Caitlyn huffed before swiveling on her stool. “A whole lot of testosterone flowing around here. What is up Doug’s butt?”

  Ann was staring straight at me, her head tilted. “Doug is jealous. I watched him while you were doing your reading for William, and he never took his eyes off the two of you.”

  Caitlyn frowned. “Is it true, then? Are you seeing William now?” She didn’t seem entirely happy, and I remembered her comment from a few weeks ago.

  Save some of them for us homely girls.

  I’d suspected that she might have a thing for William. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. He did have his own fangirl section, after all.

  “I’m only working with him to help with his crowd issues. So he’ll have a better shot at beating that twerp at the next duel.”

  Her shoulders relaxed a bit. Uh-oh. She might as well have just said, “Thank God.”

  Ann sat down in the seat William had vacated. I carefully scooped up my Rider-Waite deck and slid it inside its satin pouch. We passed the next few hours talking of other things, mostly work and Ann’s new double major, African Studies and European Studies, at Cal State Fullerton.

  I read for a few more people—clan members, visiting courtiers from other clans of the RMRA and “mundanes,” modern park visiters who did not participate in reenactment. I made some decent cash by the time all was said and done.

  And fortunately, William returned from his walk unscathed, as I saw him visiting booths again and talking with other clansmen as if nothing had happened. Ann caught me watching him right before it was time to close up shop.

  “I don’t think it would be a bad thing for you to date William,” Ann murmured.

  I didn’t answer, throwing a surreptitious gaze at Caitlyn, who busied herself with tidying activities at her side of the booth. She laughed to herself after a tense stretch of minutes.

  Ann’s head swiveled in Caitlyn’s direction. “What?”

  “Just that I bet Jenna could date William and he wouldn’t even know they were dating.”

  I stiffened. “He’s not dumb.”

  “Oh no. Not even close. I just mean that he’s…adorably clueless. For example, one time he brushed me off, and I don’t think he even realized he did it.”

  I stacked my cards in the satchel along with the other decks and tucked my earnings from the day into my leather belt pouch. Though I normally might have asked Caitlyn to elaborate on her story, given the subject matter, I refrained.

  Ann was still staring at me while I fiddled with the cloth covering on my table. “Why do those two hate each other so much?”

  Caitlyn and I both brought our heads up to stare at her.

  “Who? Doug and William?” Caitlyn asked.

  I’d been curious about that, too. Ann nodded and we both stared at Caitlyn, waiting for the answer. Caitlyn had been a member of the clan for several years and knew all the gossip. She cleared her throat. “William has been one of the clan pillars since nearly the beginning. He’s always supporting clansmen. Practically every member has mad respect for him. But things changed when Doug showed up. He knew how to schmooze and get into people’s good graces quickly.”

  Including mine, I thought. Although Doug was a lot more charming and intriguing from a distance than he was up close. He’d been appreciative and extremely flattering, and I had been in a bit of a dark place so I welcomed the attention.

  “So did he hate William from the start?” Ann asked.

  Caitlyn shook her head. “No…not at all. He actually tried to kiss up to William, if you can believe it. But William doesn’t respond well to schmoozing, and Doug ended up being particularly offended by William’s blunt personality.”

  She tucked her art supplies into a cloth bag and stood up, gently tipping the folding table on its side so that it was ready to load onto the truck.

  “I’ve always liked W
illiam. He’s a great guy.” She was silent for a moment before shrugging and continuing. “I have to admit that I kind of used that clash with Doug to get closer to him, you know? Talk to him, give him some advice. And one night, after one of our meetings, I offered to help him pack up his stuff in exchange for a ride home, which he took me up on. But when we got to my house, he was focused on getting home and not the least bit interested in coming up for a ‘cup of coffee or a beer.’ He said it was too late to drink either and thanked me. Then he drove off.”

  Ann snickered. “He really had no idea you were coming on to him?”

  Caitlyn smiled ruefully. “I was offended for about five minutes, then I laughed and resolved to be more obvious. That didn’t work either,” she said with a neutral glance in my direction. “He was interested in someone else.”

  Ann followed her gaze to look at me, and I busied myself by grabbing a couple of stools. “We should get these out to the truck.”

  “Have you ever considered that that’s the reason Doug asked you out?” Ann asked when Caitlyn was out of earshot.

  “What?” I asked. She carried the third stool and we headed to the truck.

  “A lot of people knew that William had a thing for you. I’m just wondering if Doug wasn’t trying to get back at William by asking you out.”

  I raised my brows. “So what am I, chopped liver? He couldn’t like me for me?”

  Ann rolled her eyes. “No, that’s not what I meant. Sorry. Of course he’s attracted to you, but…you know how men get.”

  I sighed. “Men suffer from testosterone poisoning and it makes them do stupid shit all the time.” Like challenging their arch nemesis to fight a duel when they have a phobia of crowds. Like going into beast protector mode whenever any type of threat to the meeker sex existed in the nearby vicinity. Like turning down perfectly sensible propositions to go to bed with a woman. Okay, maybe not that last one…

  Chapter 14

  William

  During the ride back to her house, Jenna doesn’t say a word. Perhaps she’s still upset about the confrontation with Doug. He said some really mean things, and I wish there was a way she could unhear them.