It’s a dark night in January with snow on the ground and ice in the air, but I’m not cold. I’m thirteen years old and I’m stuck in bed with a fever. It’s too cold without the blanket but too hot beneath it. I keep kicking it off and shivering to the bone as a result. The more I try to get comfortable the worse it becomes.

Then, I see him standing at the other side of the room. I startle up to sit, thinking my mind is playing tricks on me. I know him but I don’t know him. I’ve never seen him before in my life but I recognize his presence, like an old friend or a guardian angel.

“Shh,” he whispers as he steps forward. “It’s all right. Lie back down.”

I do as he says. I trust him but I’m terrified. I’m on the verge of tears but I feel like laughing. I’m so cold but covered in sweat. Everything hurts. Nothing makes sense.

He places his hand on my forehead. I lean into it, enjoying the ice-cold touch on my burning skin.

“Hold still, Tannis,” he says, his face soft and comforting.

I relax, closing my eyes as he places his other hand over my heart.

And just like that, my fever breaks. I can breathe. I feel like myself again.

“You’re okay now,” he says, pushing my hair behind my ears. “Go back to sleep.”

He’s saved my life before.

It was seven years ago. I’d already been out of school for a whole week. My parents were worried. They never said it but I could tell they were terrified that I wasn’t getting any better.

Then, suddenly, my mystery illness vanished.

When I went down for breakfast that morning, I told them about the man in my room. They didn’t believe me, of course. It was just a fever dream, they said. Just some hallucination my brain created to make sense of it.

But I knew better. I knew what I saw. I knew what I felt.

His ice-cold touch. His deep, soulful eyes. His low voice.

Ari.

I stare at my bedroom ceiling, still wrapped in my warm, blanket cocoon. I’ve been up for hours now just replaying last night over and over again.

The man who pulled me from the path of a speeding car healed me in this very room seven years ago.

Could I be wrong?

Is my brain somehow transplanting the memory of him over another?

Have I finally gone mad?

I roll off my bed and get dressed in a cardigan and jeans before heading downstairs. Voices murmur in from the kitchen down the hall, partially obscured beneath the sizzle of bacon on a skillet.

“It wasn’t him, Moira.”

“Yes, it was.”

“It’s not time yet.”

“It’s close enough, Owen.”

I pause on the final stair, holding my breath to stand completely silent.

Dad lets out a long sigh and flicks off the stovetop. “Then, what do you want to do?” he asks. “Tell her?”

“We should have already told her by now,” Mom replies.

“He asked us not to.”

She exhales hard. “It wasn’t fair to her.”

“Robbing her of a normal life wouldn’t have been either.”

“I know. I know it was the lesser evil, but… dammit, Owen. Seeing her standing with him like that… I’m not ready.”

My heart stops. Not ready? Not ready for what?

“Neither am I,” he says, his voice turning grim. “But that was the deal we made, Moira.”

She says nothing. I stand and wait for more but their silence sits heavy and cold.

VII of Swords.

A card of deception.

Finally, I take the final step down and the old floor creaks beneath my weight. I throw on a smile and make my way into the kitchen, pretending I didn’t hear a word of their conversation.

“Good morning,” I say. I catch a whiff of the air. “Smells good in here.”

“Hey, honey!” My father smiles and wags his spatula around. “We’ve got bacon. We’ve got scrambled eggs. We’ve got animal-shaped pancakes. Your favorite.”

I pull the refrigerator open to grab the orange juice. “Thanks.”

“You better appreciate those unicorns,” he gloats as he points toward the stack of pancakes beside him. “It took a long time to get the horns juuust right.”

I laugh. “You know I do.”

He bends down to kiss the side of my head. “Eat up, baby.”

My mother looks at me as she always does. Her eyes are so full of warmth and love, despite the heavy words she just said. Makes me wonder how many times she’s faked it like this while her inner thoughts lingered on this deal they made.

What deal?

“Any classes today?” she asks me.

I shake my head. “No, I’m free. Just need to stop by Dina’s to return some shoes.”

“Wanna do some shopping?” Dad asks. “Big birthday coming up.”

“Maybe.” I grab a drinking glass from the cupboard. “I have a test coming up; should probably study at some point.”

He waves his spatula again. “Eh, blow it off. Take my credit card and go nuts.”

I squint. “Really?”

“Owen,” Mom scolds.

“Moira, it’s Tannis,” he says with a laugh. “She’s gonna splurge for extra espresso and hit up the bookstore for nine hours.”

I snort. “Yeah, that’s me.”

Mom hesitates, briefly biting her lip before finally smiling. “Okay,” she says, timidly. “She can go nuts for an afternoon.”

Dad fishes his wallet from his back pocket and slides his credit card free while I make myself up a plate. As he slips me the card, he whispers in my ear, “Make it a weekend.”

I laugh. “Thank you, Daddy.”

Mom raises a sharp brow but says nothing.

I stop at the end of the driveway with Dina’s shoes hooked in one hand. After a brief check left and right, I hop off the curb and walk across the street toward her house. Cool winds blow orange and brown leaves around me as I make my way up onto the front porch. I smile at the now rotting jack-o-lanterns. The spirit of Halloween lingers on.

I ring the doorbell and wait for an answer.

Within seconds, the door whooshes open and Dina stands there with her hair in a messy, just-woke-up bun.

Before I can get a word out, she gasps. “Tell. Me. Everything.”

I hold out her shoes. “Thanks for the shoes. They were very uncomfortable but looked nice, just like you said they would.”

She snatches the shoes from my hand and tosses them to the floor with a groan. “Not the shoes, nimrod. Ari! Is he a good kisser?”

I screw up my nose. “How would I know that?”

“Tannis, he walked you home.”

“So?”

She blinks twice. “A tall, handsome, Greek stallion pulls you out of harm’s way and you thank him by… literally letting him walk you home?”

“Well…” I stutter. “Yeah. We walked. We talked. I thanked him. He left.”

“No kiss?”

“Was I supposed to?”

“Did you get his number?”

I wince. “… No.”

She deflates. “What the hell are they teaching you at that college?”

“Iambic pentameter,” I say.

“Gross.”

I laugh. “I’m heading to the bookstore. Want to come with?”

“Nah,” she says. “Riley’s on his way over. He’s getting some brownie points with Mom today by helping her clear out the storage in the basement. I plan on watching.”

“Good man,” I say with a nod. “Anyway, I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Tannis.”

“Bye.”

I turn around and toss my hood up as I hop down to the sidewalk. It’s not nearly as cold as it was last night but it’ll get chilly fast. I keep a quick gait, igniting heat in my legs as I make my way out of the neighborhood toward the center of town. My thoughts wander as I walk the same road as last night. Phantom footprints walk with me and I almost look to see if he’s here beside me.

Seeing her standing with him like that… I’m not ready.

My mother knew him. Last night, she looked at Ari and she knew him. My father, too.

Neither am I. But that was the deal we made.

My parents know Ari. My parents made a deal with Ari.

Who is Ari really?

A random guy who happened to pass by? Right place, right time?

Or has he always been there? Watching me, waiting in the shadows like that night in my room?

I reach the downtown area and pause at the busy crosswalk to wait for a green light.

Are you happy?

I didn’t have an answer when Ari asked me last night. If Mom hadn’t have interrupted, I’m sure I would have said yes. That’s what you’re supposed to say, right? Yes, I’m happy. I live in a big house with loving parents. I go to school. I have a plan for my future.

Time’s up.

The light flashes green but I don’t move.

How much of my life has been real?

What should they have told me by now?

The VII of Swords.

A card of deception.

A warning for…

I look up as the crosswalk light flashes red and the cross traffic begins blitzing past again.

If I step off this curb right now, will I get hit by one of these cars?

Will I die?

Can I die?

He saved me twice before, that I know of.

Will he save me again?

I close my eyes and step forward off the curb into the street.

Something blocks me before my foot touches the ground. My eyes jolt open and I shudder at the man now standing beside me in the sleek, black coat with his arm outstretched in front of me to hold me back.

Ari’s jaw fixes into a hard line. He exhales slowly, keeping his strong arm pressed along my body as the cars speed by.

“Well,” he says, staring down at me, “aren’t you a clever one?”