My eyes shot open. It had only been a nightmare. It was already daytime. Outside, the sunlight reflecting off the pure white snow was blinding. My heart still beating fast, I suddenly realized my arm was raised, suspended in the air and swaying like a snake hypnotized by a snake charmer. I pulled it down, bewildered, and sat up in bed.

  A large panther put its head around the door. It was Anya, with her marvelous eyes of jade. I smiled at her. “Good morning.” She gave a little bow, came over, and rubbed her head against my legs. I stroked her and she rose onto her hind legs, trapping me on the bed. She licked my face, which tickled, and I giggled like a little girl when she didn’t stop.

  “I get it! I get it! It’s a good morning for you too.” The panther purred and I petted her some more. The sun was already high in the sky. How long had I slept? It didn’t really matter. It was Saturday and I wouldn’t have to worry about school. Anya walked back to the door and flicked her tail. She wanted me to follow her, but first I had to get ready.

  I let her out, closed the door, and headed to the bathroom, avoiding the mirror. All of a sudden I was afraid to look at myself, afraid of the darkness . . . I was afraid of myself. It had been a spine-chilling sensation, staring into my own evil-filled eyes. Fear was starting to become a reality and my unconscious was sending me signals. What if I really didn’t manage to stay myself? More and more often I’d seen evil possess me and had done nothing to stop it. The power that flowed through me was exhilarating. Evan had always been the one to pull me out of the clutches of darkness. But I could no longer ignore the doubt that had begun to hound me: what if evil really did manage to obliterate me?

  I dried my face and looked at myself in the mirror, my heart pounding. My eyes were normal. I sighed with relief. What had I expected to see? In an automatic gesture I let down my hair and put the hair tie around my upper arm. A shudder raised goosebumps on my arms as I remembered the serpent that had crawled out of my mouth. It had been shiny and as black as night.

  He’s inside you. He’s growing, my voice had said.

  I touched the scar on my belly and it throbbed. My fingers felt wet and I looked at them. They were bloody. Like in my dream. Nervous, I checked the wound. A stream of scarlet trickled from it. I hurriedly cleaned it with some washcloths, opened the medicine cabinet, and took out some cotton, pressing it against my skin until the bleeding stopped. I leaned against the sink, still shaken. Where would all this take me?

  I closed the cabinet and jumped at the sight of my reflection. And yet it was just me—not the demon inside me. Was I actually afraid of myself now? I brushed my hair, never taking my eyes off my reflection. I needed to overcome my insecurity, otherwise I would never manage to face my future—it would be too frightening. But the more I stared at my eyes, the more I sank into their depths, as if they no longer belonged to me. Suddenly I thought I saw my lips curve in a little smirk of power. My heart skipped a beat.

  “Gemma, everything okay?” Ginevra’s voice shook me out of those thoughts. “Breakfast is ready. You’d better hurry if you want to find anything left. They’re polishing everything off down here!”

  “Coming!” I put down my brush, casting a last glance in the mirror. I’d battled Subterraneans and Witches. I’d even battled death. I was strong. But that meant that so was she, the other me. Which of the two of us would prevail? The answer wasn’t so easy to see any more.

  The aromas reached the stairs. Festive chatter filled the living room. Simon wasn’t there. He must have been away on a mission too. There were only women in the house. Witches, I corrected myself. “What is this, a pajama party?” I asked, joining them in the kitchen. Irony trotted over to me, wagging his tail, and I leaned down to pet him.

  “Gemma!” Anya called to me. “Have a seat. We were waiting for you.”

  I looked at the girls, whose mouths were all full. “That’s clear to see,” I joked, making them freeze and stare at me with guilty expressions. “Don’t worry, I was just kidding. Don’t let me stop you.”

  Anya laughed. “We’re definitely not short on food,” she assured me. “There’s all you could want.”

  “Oh, fries!” Only Witches would think of having them for breakfast. I immediately ate one, chewing with delight. “Say what you want, but to me this is heaven. It’s still a mystery how you guys don’t gain an ounce, given everything you eat.”

  “Look who’s talking.” Nausyka winked at me. “You should be a blimp by now, given everything you eat, but you’re still in good shape for someone who’s expecting a baby.”

  I blushed. It was a huge compliment, coming from one of them. “You’re one of us, Sister,” Camelia said in response to my thoughts. I smiled at her. It was really nice to have them around. They were so closely knit that, in spite of myself, I felt flattered by the thought of being part of their group.

  Ginevra picked up on my thought and smiled at me. If I transformed, would I love them all as much as I loved Ginevra? The answer was obvious. It was already happening. But I wasn’t going to follow them into Hell. So would separating from them be painful?

  The answer to that was also clear: never as much as separating from Evan and Ginevra would be.

  “Did I miss anything?” Just then, Simon appeared behind me, reminding me that he was also on my list. I would miss him at least as much as I did Drake. I smiled at him and banished my thoughts before the Witches discovered them.

  “Take a seat, if you can get near them, but I’m warning you: be careful. They’re pretty dangerous when someone eyes their food.”

  “More dangerous than normal?” Simon joked, pulling his beloved Ginevra to him. “I missed you,” he whispered to her, resting his forehead on hers.

  I looked away to give them some privacy. A pang in my heart reminded me Evan wouldn’t be back until that evening. Who knew where he was or what he was doing? Was he in some distant corner of the world or only miles away? What kind of Souls did he need to help that it was taking him so long? Whoever they were, I was jealous of the time Evan was spending with them instead of me. He was mine and I wanted him all to myself.

  “He will be, once you claim him,” someone whispered in my ear. I looked at Zhora, surprised she’d heard my thought. Something trembled in my chest. Desire. Deep down, I found the idea enticing.

  The Witch smiled at me and winked, but Devina, at the back of the room, glared icily at both of us. “Evan will always be free to love me,” I told Zhora adamantly. “I would never want him to be subjugated to me.”

  The Witch laughed. Did she not believe it, perhaps? For Simon and Ginevra it had worked. “Hey, Gemma,” Simon put in just then, “I ran into Evan last night. He wanted me to give you this.” He held out a piece of paper folded in two. I took it, trembling with emotion as I opened it.

  I miss you.

  E.

  I sighed, butterflies fluttering in my stomach over those three little words that meant the world to me. I missed him to death. My soul was so entwined with his that being apart was always painful.

  “Couldn’t he have texted you?” Devina said, rolling her eyes. “Did he forget this is the twenty-first century?”

  “I think it’s so romantic!” Camelia sighed, earning a glare from Devina. “What did I say?!” she protested.

  Ignoring them both, I went into the living room, clutching the note to my chest, and stared out the window, where everything was covered with white. It was only one day. What was one day? Still, I missed him terribly. I kept telling myself it would all work out, but actually I was quivering inside. Our future was more uncertain than ever. We had only a few months left. What would become of us?

  “Simon, are you going to see him again?” I asked, hoping I could reply to his note.

  “Sorry, I don’t think so, but he’ll be back tonight. Don’t tell him I told you, but he was pretty excited about your big date,” he admitted, winking at me.

  I smiled. Some time before, at the lakeshore, Evan had asked me to the Snowball Hop and I had accepted, despite having less-than-fond memories of the last school dance I’d gone to. The Winter Carnival games were over, and that night we would crown a king and queen who would officially kick off the dance.

  Simon rested his hands on my shoulders. “Everything will go fine. And I don’t just mean tonight,” he reassured me, reading on my face the fears that tormented me.

  “Thanks for being a snitch, then. I’ll keep your secret.”

  He gave me a peck on the forehead and stroked my belly. As he did, the baby kicked. Simon pulled away, his eyes going wide and his face lighting up with joy. “Did you feel that?”

  I laughed. “Yes, I felt it. He doesn’t do that for everyone, you know—you’re one of the privileged few. If you ask me, he already loves you a lot.”

  “I hope so!” he exclaimed happily. “I intend to teach him all sorts of little tricks.”

  “Um, what exactly do you have in mind?”

  “Being an anxious mother already? Parents can’t always know everything,” he said, teasing me.

  I thought about the little Subterranean boys locked up in the attic and couldn’t help but wonder what would become of my son. Would he have to serve Death, like them? Or would he be human? Would good claim him, or evil? Would he even be able to choose between the two? Only time would tell.

  Simon’s voice interrupted my musings. “Can I ask you something? Why did you ask the Witches for three days after the baby’s birth? Why not five—or seven, for that matter?”

  “I figured that by then we would have come up with a plan to prevent the transformation. I couldn’t ask for months—that would have been too long. Once the baby was born and taken to safety, three days seemed like more than enough time to put our plan into action. Besides, Ariel managed!”

  “Who?”

  “The Little Mermaid. In three days she got her voice back, defeated the evil witch, and won the prince’s love.”

  “You’re forgetting that your evil witch is the devil and you aren’t in a Disney movie.”

  “Right.” I sighed with resignation. “I’m more like an episode of Final Destination,” I joked, a bitter smile on my face.

  “Gemma. I want you to know I’ve never thought what I said the other night. I was being controlled by some power that forced me to say it.”

  “It was me.” I looked down. “That power came from me. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you, Simon. I should run away, but I’m not brave enough.”

  “You could never hide from us.”

  “Sure I could.” A tear slid down my face. If I were dead, they would never be able to find me and they would all be safe.

  “Don’t even think that.” Simon hugged me, stroking my head.

  “No one else should suffer because of me. I’m not worth it.”

  “Do you really not see how special you are? The forces of Heaven and Hell have mobilized to claim you. It’s not all your fault I said those things. It’s partly mine too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I admit that your bond with Ginevra scares me a little. She’s very protective of you.”

  “You all are.”

  “I know. That’s not what I meant. Something in her has changed since she found out about your nature. She feels the Bond.” A shudder ran through my body. “And I’m a little jealous.”

  “What are you talking about, Simon? For her, you come before everything else.”

  “What if that wasn’t true any more?”

  “That’s crazy.” The love between Simon and Ginevra was my benchmark, the rock to which I clung to convince myself the transformation wouldn’t drag me away.

  “I know. I’m sorry. I’m just afraid of losing her.”

  I stroked his arm. I’d never seen him so vulnerable before. “That’ll never happen,” I reassured him.

  “That’s probably true. What I’m saying is that your power wouldn’t have had any influence on me if I didn’t feel the way I feel.”

  “You’re in love, and everything around us is changing. We can’t know what’s going to happen, but the one thing I’m sure of is that you two are going to stay together. Nothing can break the bond between you,” I stated without a shadow of doubt. “It’s normal for you to have thoughts like that, but I made them come out. It’s all my fault. Don’t be mad at me for what I am.”

  Simon hugged me. “You shouldn’t be mad at yourself either. We’ll get through this.” I nodded and sank into his hug.

  “Sorry if I’m interrupting.” Nausyka came over and Simon left us alone. “Gemma, I just wanted to let you know your friend Peter asked me to go to the dance with him.”

  “What did you tell him?” I asked, upset.

  “I accepted, of course.”

  “You what?! You can’t go to the dance with him! Call him and tell him you changed your mind.”

  Nausyka turned her back on me, her expression pleased. “I wasn’t asking for your permission. It was just an FYI.”

  I felt steam coming out of my ears. “What do you want from him?” I growled at her.

  “I just told you: I want to go to the dance with him.”

  I clenched my fists, overcome with anger. “No. You won’t. He’s like a brother to me. Leave him alone.” The window exploded and an icy wind blew into the room. I could feel myself rising off the floor, my fiery eyes locked on the Witch’s.

  In the blink of an eye she was right there in front of me. “Think these little tricks scare me?” she hissed, her ice-colored eyes transforming into those of her Dakor. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.” The serpent materialized from her flesh and hissed in my face.

  “That’s enough!” Anya shouted. The wind stopped blowing and my feet touched the floor. I looked at Anya and she shot me a complicit look. “Nausyka, I challenge you. Choose your competition. The prize will be the boy.” I opened my mouth to protest but she interrupted me. “Only for tonight, that is. If you win, you can take him to the dance. Otherwise he’ll go with me.”

  “Don’t worry,” Ginevra whispered in my ear. “Nausyka’s a wimp compared to Anya. Whatever challenge she proposes, she has zero chance of beating her.”

  I looked at Anya and my heart warmed at how she’d come to my rescue. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I would never have managed to convince Nausyka to change her mind, whereas Anya had been shrewd. I was certain that if Nausyka had gone out with Peter that night, she would have somehow jeopardized his soul, and sooner or later she would have returned to claim it. Anya, on the other hand, I trusted. I knew Peter’s soul would be safe with her.

  “Coming upstairs with me?” Ginevra asked me.

  “Aren’t we going to watch the competition?”

  Ginevra laughed. “I strongly advise against it.”

  “Oh.” I followed her up the stairs, watching Nausyka and Anya turn and walk away, both in panther form. “Where are they going?”

  “The workout room,” Ginevra told me after reading her Sisters’ minds. “Nausyka chose a pretty cool simulation scenario. I bet Peter wouldn’t mind being there with them.”

  “And I bet that’s all I should know about it.”

  Ginevra laughed and opened the door to her room. “You win that bet.”

  “But wait, in the workout room? Aren’t the prisoners there?”

  “No. They’re on another level. That’s how the simulation scenarios work, like parallel realities.”

  “Like a multiverse.”

  “In a way.” Ginevra stopped to look at me. “Have you thought about what to do with your Dakor? Even if the transformation doesn’t obliterate you, he’ll be part of you.”

  “I’m willing to destroy him,” I said confidently.

  “That won’t be so simple. Besides, it’s not like you need to. In any case, you can take your time and decide. Meanwhile, there’s a safe place where you can set him free.” Ginevra deactivated the vault door’s locking mechanism and I gaped.

  “What are you doing, Gwen?”

  She turned to me and smiled. “Taking you into my own personal Hell.”

  Hesitantly, I took the hand she held out to me and followed her. “That’s not very reassuring, as far as invitations go.”

  “Were you expecting a welcome mat?” she shot back as we made our way into the Copse. The door thudded closed behind us and I spun around. “It’s safer this way,” she explained.

  Of course. We couldn’t leave a door to Hell open—not with Simon around. The atmosphere was grim and eerie, like a haunted forest at twilight. Roots twisted on the ground and, farther in, a strange trunk was bent over on itself, its boughs so thick they formed an impenetrable cocoon. Only when I drew close to it did I realize it was a nest: her Dakor’s lair. The last time I’d gone into Ginevra’s secret hiding place the Dakor had been in a glass case, but she must have transformed it. Now the animal was trapped in the tree, but its forked tongue flickered through the branches, making me shiver. Ginevra stood in front of him. When he saw her he froze, as though hypnotized. They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment and suddenly the branches retreated.

  I took a step back, shuddering at the thought of the dream I’d had the night before. The serpent sensed my nervousness and hissed at me, but Ginevra reached her right hand out to him and he penetrated her palm. She let her head fall back, on her face an expression of pain mixed with intense pleasure. When she looked at me again, her eyes were different. They were like her Dakor’s. The pupils had lengthened and the green of her irises seemed to come to life. It moved, as brilliant as liquid jade, spreading over the whites like claws about to seize it.

  I stared at her, as fascinated as though seeing it for the first time. But now there was also another feeling: fear. I raised my hand to my belly, where my scar was. Soon my body would also spawn a Dakor and he and I would be one.

  Just then, Ginevra extended her left hand toward me and the serpent emerged, ripping her flesh. I stared at it in shock. “Don’t be afraid,” she said softly.