Chapter 2

Elara

Only Mara would think getting your fortune read was a form of celebration. Not that there was anything to celebrate yet, unless you counted me finally landing a job interview as a nanny. But for her, that was enough. Her best friend might finally leave the hellhole she called home.

“Come on, Mara. I haven’t even gotten the job yet."

“Yes, but you will,” she said, grinning. “Which calls for celebration. A nanny job with accommodation? It's perfect."

I tugged my scarf tighter, half from the cold, half from the nerves crawling under my skin.

Mara slowed and glanced back at me. "You’re sure they don’t know you’re leaving?"

I hesitated. "No. If they did, I wouldn’t be standing here."

She didn’t ask more. She didn’t need to.

She’d seen enough over the years how my stepmother and her daughter treated me.  How my father, the one man who should’ve protected me, looked the other way every time.

I used to stay because I thought he’d change. That he’d remember I was his blood.

He never did.

Mara skipped ahead toward the small alleyway tucked between the butcher’s shop and an old pawn store like she did this all the time. I hesitated.

We stopped outside a small, crooked shop wedged between a closed bakery and a hair salon.  The windows were clouded with dust, and the sign above the door read “Madam Isolde — Seer of Truths” in faded gold paint.

Mara grinned. “She’s weird, but good weird.”

I raised a brow. “There’s a good kind of weird now? Now I'm starting to think you're weird too."

She rolled her eyes and pushed the door open.

The room inside was dark, lit only by low lamps and candles.

A woman sat at a round table draped in deep violet cloth, fingers already gliding over a worn deck of tarot cards. Her eyes, when they finally lifted, were clouded, pale grey.

“You bring her,” the woman said to Mara.

I froze.

Mara blinked. “Uh… that’s Elara.”

“I know what she is,” the woman replied, gesturing for me to come closer. “Sit. The cards already know why you're here.”

She placed the card down between us. “You’ll see soon. They’ve already sensed you.”

Mara laughed nervously behind me. “Okay... that’s enough creepy fortune stuff for today.”

But the woman kept her eyes on me.

“Be careful, girl,” she said. “Some bindings are made long before you ever meet the ones who hold the chains.”

I glanced at Mara, but she just gave me a tiny shove forward. I didn’t know what I expected, some over-the-top, mystical chant maybe. But the woman just motioned to the seat across from her.

I sat.

She shuffled the cards slowly.

“No full reading. Just one card.”

I nodded.

She slid the deck toward me. “Cut.”

I did. She took the top card without looking and flipped it face up.

It showed a dark forest, twisted trees, and a cloaked figure standing at its edge.

The Path. Reversed.

Madam Isolde stared at it for a moment. Then she looked at me like she was seeing something underneath my skin.

“You’re standing at a threshold,” she said. “One step forward, and everything changes.”

I swallowed. “That’s... vague.”

Her gaze didn’t waver. “Once you enter their world, there is no turning back.”

My pulse jumped.

“Their world? What does that mean?” I asked, voice smaller than I wanted.

Her fingers moved across the worn table, tracing invisible lines. Then she looked at me, and her eyes were suddenly far too clear.

“They will mark you,” she said. “Once you enter their world, you will not leave it. You are not running away, child. You are walking toward something far more dangerous.”

I swallowed.

Mara gave a nervous laugh. “Okay, that’s enough spooky fortune telling for one day.”

The woman smiled faintly. “You already feel it, don’t you?”

We left the little shop in silence.

Mara tried to lighten the mood with a joke about cursed tarot cards, but her voice didn’t carry like it usually did. I kept hearing the fortune teller’s words over and over.

“They will mark you. Once you enter their world, you will not leave it."

I didn’t know who they were. I didn’t want to.

Still, the words looped in my head with every step we took.

It took us nearly an hour to reach the estate by foot. The mansion stood far back, hidden behind tall iron gates and rows of trees.  It was the kind of house that made you feel like you didn’t belong before you even stepped inside.

I tugged nervously at the hem of my plain black skirt. I’d borrowed the blouse from Mara, thankfully she had something modest enough for an interview.

I turned to Mara, suddenly anxious. “Do I look okay?”

She gave me a once-over, then tilted her head. “You look… painfully innocent. Like a little lamb going to knock on the wolf’s door.”

“That is really comforting.” I muttered.

“Just… don’t smile too much. Or talk too much. Actually, just… keep your head down and look small. Maybe they’ll pity you.”

I laughed under my breath. “Excellent advice. No smiling. No running. Definitely no touching mysterious chains.”

“Exactly,” she said, then squeezed my hand tight. “You’ve got this, El. Just focus on the job. And don't forget to give me a call once you get the job, okay? I'm rooting for you."

I nodded, throat tight. “Thanks.”

There was a long beat of silence, and then I pulled her into a hug.

She hugged me back with equal strength. “You’re finally leaving that house,” she whispered. “You’re free, El.”

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. If I spoke, I’d cry. And I didn’t want to cry now. Not when I was so close to getting out. I didn't know why I was getting so emotional. Maybe because I wouldn't be seeing my best friend for a very long time or the fact that I would finally be saying goodbye to that hellhole.

We pulled apart slowly, and Mara reached up to wipe the corner of my eye before I could. “Okay, go. Before they think you’re flaking. And text me the second you’re in.”

I nodded again, swallowed the lump in my throat, and turned toward the gate.

The guard at the gate checked my name and let me through without a word.

I walked alone up the long driveway. By the time I stepped into the main lounge, the silence had a weight to it. Like the walls were listening.

And then I saw them.

A line of women standing stiffly in front of a man seated in an armchair.

I felt his eyes on me and I didn't even dare   to look up.

I moved quickly, mumbling a quick apology for being late before I joined the end of the line.

Some minutes passed before I heard his voice, loud and clear.

"Hey you." I looked up to find his gaze on me. Was he referring to me?

I pointed to myself and mouthed, "me?"

He nodded. "Yes, you're hired."

I gasped in surprise. Did I just get the job? And that too without any interview?