Chapters (58)
- About the Author
- Title Page
- Imprint Page
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Map
- Contents
- Prologue
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Acknowledgments
- Endmatter page 1
“Old stories claim he stole her firstborn’s soul. From that day forward the devil was trapped in Hell for eternity. His brothers could travel between realms within reason, typically the days before and after a full moon, but he would never set foot outside the underworld. And that wasn’t all. Supposedly he’d only retain his full powers if a witch sat on the throne beside him, wearing the Horn of Hades to keep the balance between realms.”
“The Horn of Hades? Is that a crown?”
“There’s no written documentation on what it is, or how it works exactly. My aunt thinks part of the curse included removing or blocking our memories. She also believes that’s what really happened to old Sofia Santorini; that her scrying session unveiled something about the curse it wanted forgotten.”
“By ‘it’ you mean the curse? Like it’s its own entity?”
Claudia nodded. “It’s strange that no one recalls certain details. Everyone has a slightly different myth or legend, but no one knows the truth.”
“Nonna never mentioned any of this.”
“Not surprising. My aunt said witches of the light don’t believe La Prima would cast such a dangerous spell. It goes against their image of what it means to be goddess blessed. Who knows?” Claudia lifted a shoulder. “Stories twist each time they’re told. Maybe it’s all fiction now. The only way anyone might know the truth is if they had the first book of spells created by La Prima. And I’ve heard tales that the Wicked are searching for it. There may be a spell in it that will allow the devil to break the curse and travel between realms again without needing a witch queen.”
Unease crept through me as I thought about the strange grimoire sheets Vittoria had hidden away under the floorboards. There was no way my sister had found La Prima’s missing spell book.
And yet . . . there was the ancient magic binding her diary that wasn’t of this realm. Was the secret location of the first book of spells written within those pages? I’d think it was impossible, but I’d been learning that impossible was another figment of the imagination.
So if it was true, then how in the world did my twin find it?
I scooted my chair back from the table and stood. Until I figured out the answers to all of my questions, I didn’t want anyone else near Vittoria’s diary. If it had a spell the devil was after that could release him from Hell, it was more dangerous than I’d originally feared.
“Will you get the diary for me?”
Seventeen
Seventeen