My father was already drawing away, his face hard. He had loved my mother more than life itself, and I knew these would be some of the last words he ever spoke. He pushed my bed to the side and opened the hidden latch, revealing the passageway. He took Alette from my arms, watched me climb down the short ladder, and then pressed a kiss to her sleeping face.

He handed her to me and began to gather his power.

“Go, Samael. And remember, you will lay waste to our enemies.”

I stared at him. “I will,” I promised. “Goodbye, father.”

“Goodbye, son.”

I ran and ran, holding my sister tightly in my arms. Alette was small but heavy, and I panted, sobbing for my mother. Long minutes later, I forced myself to wipe my tears as I cracked open the door to the dungeon, tiptoeing through the silent cell and outside.

“What did I say? I told you he’d be here.”

Hands grabbed me, ripping Alette from my arms.

“Your father truly thought you could escape? His arrogance knows no bounds.” Niyax, my grandfather’s second. He’d betrayed him.

Niyax smiled at me, pulling me toward the crowd. Soldiers surround me on all sides, hundreds, thousands of them.

I screamed, reaching for my sister. He waved a hand and one of his men dropped her on the cold ground. He lifted his sword, impaling Alette’s tiny body.

I roared, drowning in agony. My sister loved me. I told her stories, cuddled her when she was sad, promised to teach her everything I knew about the secret passageways in our home.

She was supposed to grow up. We were meant to be siblings for the rest of our lives.

Alette was the baby. Loved and doted on by all who knew her.

I was supposed to protect her.

The demon in front of me lifted his own sword. “Goodbye, Samael.”

My power engulfed me. It tore through my body like wildfire. Too soon. I wasn’t supposed to come into my power yet. I was too young. It would rip me apart.

But it would also rip these demons apart. I would be with my family. But first, I would make these men suffer.

Demon fire streamed from me, and the men around me began to scream. My body shook with the overload of power, but it spread, destroying everything in its path.

Moments later, I was alone. The men who had killed my family were nothing but ash, floating on the breeze. The taste of it filled my mouth, got stuck in my nostrils and I choked on it as I gasped, falling to my knees.

I crawled to my sister, blood pouring from my mouth and nose. I took her tiny body in my arms and lay down, waiting to die.

Long moments later, a face appeared above me.

“Time to go, Samael.”

The ferryman.

“No. Let me die.”