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Back Kingdom of the Wicked
Chapters (58)
  1. About the Author
  2. Title Page
  3. Imprint Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. Map
  7. Contents
  8. Prologue
  9. One
  10. Two
  11. Three
  12. Four
  13. Five
  14. Six
  15. Seven
  16. Eight
  17. Nine
  18. Ten
  19. Eleven
  20. Twelve
  21. Thirteen
  22. Fourteen
  23. Fifteen
  24. Sixteen
  25. Seventeen
  26. Eighteen
  27. Nineteen
  28. Twenty
  29. Twenty-One
  30. Twenty-Two
  31. Twenty-Three
  32. Twenty-Four
  33. Twenty-Five
  34. Twenty-Six
  35. Twenty-Seven
  36. Twenty-Eight
  37. Twenty-Nine
  38. Thirty
  39. Thirty-One
  40. Thirty-Two
  41. Thirty-Three
  42. Thirty-Four
  43. Thirty-Five
  44. Thirty-Six
  45. Thirty-Seven
  46. Thirty-Eight
  47. Thirty-Nine
  48. Forty
  49. Forty-One
  50. Forty-Two
  51. Forty-Three
  52. Forty-Four
  53. Forty-Five
  54. Forty-Six
  55. Forty-Seven
  56. Forty-Eight
  57. Acknowledgments
  58. Endmatter page 1

Pulse racing, I inched close and bent to brush the dirt away. My missing amulet glowed in welcome. I snatched it up and went to loop it over my neck, then stopped. Nonna said they must never touch. I wasn’t sure if that mattered anymore, but didn’t want to chance another catastrophe. I took my sister’s amulet off and stuck it into my secret skirt pocket. The moment my cornicello laid against my skin, my shoulders relaxed. I hadn’t realized how much tension I’d been carrying. It might be one of the devil’s horns, but it now belonged to me.

I stood up, and looked around. I’d been expecting to find a secret meeting location of the shape-shifters, but there were no doors or offshoots. I was considering my options when I heard a sound that wasn’t a result of magical objects whispering. Someone was down here. It might be whoever had painted that symbol on the door, or it might be something much worse.

I considered running, but that wouldn’t be wise. Whatever big bad creature was out there would probably love to give chase. I glanced straight ahead, happy to see the turnoff a few short meters away. If I ran, I might be able to lose whatever was following me. I didn’t waste another second considering it, I charged toward the next tunnel.

I rounded the corner and hurried into the shadows, drew a quick protection circle, then pressed myself into a damp recess, hidden from view.

A slight displacement of pebbles indicated my stalker hadn’t given up. I held my breath, worried the slightest intake or exhalation would give me away. My pursuer paused close enough that I could just make out his features, and I bit back a string of curses.

“Are you completely—”

Wrath’s hand shot out and covered my mouth before I finished my sentence. He’d crossed my protection circle without showing any indication it had affected him at all. Which should have been impossible because it was keyed with my power. I was too stunned to do something smart, like bite him.

“Now that you possess the Horn, there are three dozen Umbra demons closing in. Two dozen of which have been following you since you left your house.” He removed his hand. “If they attack, I want you to run. Do not look back or linger. Understand?”

“What?” Nearly forty invisible assassins had been trailing me, but that wasn’t even the most terrifying part. Imagining that many demons invading this world, and the damage they could do . . . it was too much. “How did they get here?”