by Jenn Stark
But I hadn’t only interacted with Armaeus on earth. I’d thought I’d known him in another place…truly known him. Truly touched his heart. I’d thought we’d shared a deep and transcendent love, one that erased all that had come before, and superseded all that could come after.
Only we hadn’t shared anything, in the end. It had all been an illusion. I’d been left holding the broken shards of a perfect, precious dream that only I had dreamed. I wasn’t sure I could come back from that, no matter how much fury I built up between us.
Oblivious to my thoughts, Armaeus shifted his hold on me from a soft embrace to an iron grip.
“This will hurt,” he said, the words flowing through my mind.
I grimaced. Oh, you have no idea.
The dark power gave up its hold violently. It crashed and roared, ripping through my every cell, searing my nerves and scalding my veins, a crackling rush of darkness that screamed out of me in waves that seemed to go on forever, leaving me limp in its wake.
I crumbled beneath that bellowing storm, shattered and remade myself.
Over and over again.
Finally, however, Armaeus gathered me close, and heaved a deep sigh. “This is unplanned territory for me. If Death is to be believed, it’s unexplored territory for all of us.”
“What are you talking about?” I peered up at him, too exhausted to make out his cryptic gloom, too pathetically glad to be in his arms for another few moments, before I had to pull on the mantle of my own defiance once more. “I thought you fixed me.”
“I fixed the last vestiges of dark magic within you, cauterized the last of those wounds,” he said, drifting a kiss over my hair. “But there remains one small matter to attend to.”
“Mmmhmm.” If this was a come-on, I had to say, Armaeus was upping his game. My defiance could wait a bit longer. “And what is that matter exactly?”
His kiss was whisper soft, touching down on one eyelid and then the other. “I’m afraid you’ve become immortal, Miss Wilde.”
Forever Wilde
In December, 2016, rejoin the war on magic as Sara and Armaeus go toe to toe with an intoxicating rush of immortal power and attraction that neither can control. Meanwhile, Sara learns more about the mysterious Houses of magic that have remained hidden for centuries—and isn’t so certain she likes what she discovers. With enemies old and new taking aim, Sara is charged with locating the Hanged Man of the Arcana Council. His identity comes as…something of a shock.
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A Note From Jenn
Sara’s reading in the opening chapter of Aces Wilde provides clues to how she can find some (literally) buried treasure. The cards’ general interpretations are below, which fit most situations…unless you’re looking for an ancient artifact. In that case, pay more attention to the pictures than the symbology of the cards!
The Four of Swords
The Four of Swords is the quintessential “let’s take a break” card. It features a soldier at rest, apparently recovering from a battle and possibly doing so on holy ground (note the stained glass above him.) It’s likely that you’ve drawn this card in advance of some enforced down time. You may not want to take a time out, but before you chafe too much over delays/lack of progress, consider the advantages of rest. Sometimes things need to happen behind the scenes and if you’re constantly pushing, you may miss out on an opportunity that needs time to develop. Also, rest helps the body (and mind) recover from stress and taxing experiences, which is never a bad thing. Another interpretation of this card is that you simply need to “sleep on it”—take another night to consider a challenging problem or question, and you might wake up with the answer!
The Two of Pentacles
Balance is everything. The Two of Pentacles is the card of managing multiple and sometimes conflicting obligations, weighing two seemingly equal choices or facing the reality of having to go down one path while leaving another one unexplored. As a Pentacle card, often this choice can have to do with money, security or health. Sometimes it’s not a question of one-or-the-other, but how you truly can have your cake and eat it too—if you choose to accept multiple obligations, however, you’ll need to take on the aspect of the figure in this card. He’s not standing still, but in motion, almost dancing. In other words, if you’re going to try and do it all, you’ll want to stay light on your feet!
The Three of Swords
This card simply looks sad, and for good reason. It’s the card of grief, loneliness, literally feeling that your heart has been pricked by swords. It’s also, however, the card of necessary cutting—such as a surgery or the removal of that which is no longer needed. It could mean that it’s time to clear out the old to make way for the new, and for authors it could be a sign that editing is needed to improve a work. Feeling grumpy or whiny? This card could literally be advising you to “cut it out.” In any event, when you draw the Three of Swords, prepare to open yourself up to pain but also to improvement that such pain might bring, and know that you’ll be stronger for whatever you’re going through now.
Acknowledgments
Aces Wilde was one of those books that makes you nervous to write. Once I started working on it, it wouldn’t let me go—and it’s my deepest hope I got close to the vision I had for this tale. My sincere thanks to readers all over the world who asked for another book in the Immortal Vegas series by sharing Sara’s story with their friends and encouraging sales and reviews. It means more than you can ever know! I remain forever grateful to Elizabeth Bemis for your friendship and mad formatting/design abilities. Gene Mollica once again created a stunning cover for Aces Wilde, exactly capturing the feel of the book, and my editorial team of Linda Ingmanson and Toni Lee kept me (and the story) sane. Any mistakes in the manuscript are, of course, my own. I am also indebted to Kristine Krantz for your patient and thorough read—the book would not be the same without you! And as always, sincere thanks go to Geoffrey—for your vision, insight and guidance, even when you don’t realize you’re giving it. It’s been a Wilde ride.
About Jenn Stark
Jenn Stark is an award-winning author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy. She lives and writes in Ohio. . . and she definitely loves to write. In addition to her new "Immortal Vegas" urban fantasy series, she is also author Jennifer McGowan, whose Maids of Honor series of Young Adult Elizabethan spy romances are published by Simon & Schuster, and author Jennifer Chance, whose Rule Breakers series of New Adult contemporary romances are published by Random House/LoveSwept and whose modern royals series, Gowns & Crowns, is now available.
You can find her online at http://www.jennstark.com, follow her on Twitter @jennstark, and visit her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/authorjennstark