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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

I let out a slow breath. Vittoria had found a way to force two enemies to work together. A united front to fight the true enemy. Which was still an unknown. I considered this new information carefully. My sister had believed in Greed. I’d believed in Wrath. And Envy was still the obvious murderer except . . . he hadn’t bragged about ripping hearts from anyone’s body, and he didn’t have my amulet. Which meant our murderer could still be out there. “Domenico isn’t really on the mainland, is he?”

“No,” Signore Nucci admitted, sniffling. “He’s at the monastery.”

All roads kept leading back to the monastery. And I no longer believed in coincidences.

My sister’s body was found there.

Claudia’s scrying session went horribly wrong there.

Domenico prayed there almost daily, but, according to Claudia, he also spoke with members of the brotherhood. I’d bet anything he may have confided his troubles to the wrong person, especially with how they acted the night I found Claudia.

I bid Signore Nucci good-bye and hurried off to hunt down my next clue.

Before Vittoria was murdered and my world went to Hell, Nonna said there were witch hunters actively seeking prey on the island. I’d ruled them out after I’d summoned Wrath and found three other princes of Hell roaming the earth. But maybe I’d been too hasty.

If someone wanted to kill witches, the holy order was the perfect suspect. Who better to eradicate the world from evil than those ordained by God?

I thought back to the night I’d found Claudia, to Brother Carmine, who’d had a murderous gleam in his eyes. He’d stepped forward, looking hungry for blood. I knew he despised witches, and he hadn’t given one of his vitriolic speeches in the marketplace in years. I could only imagine how much he’d love to climb back onto his soapbox and spew more hatred.

His open contempt for magic-users made him a prime suspect for a witch hunter.

Today, one way or another, I’d uncover the secrets the holy brotherhood were keeping.

Forty-Six

Forty-Six

A group of robed figures was gathered in the courtyard. Tension was as thick as the summer heat among the brotherhood. One of their members was missing, and several young women were dead. I wasn’t surprised they were blaming the devil. I hid near the edge of the main building and my gaze swept around the crowd, searching for one member I knew I wouldn’t find.

Brother Carmine stood at the center, his hand punching the sky with each impassioned word that left his mouth. Apparently I’d arrived at the apex of his speech.