“Mmm . . . This pizza’s delicious. Evan, you brought your violin!” Gemma exclaimed, beaming.

  I smiled. “I thought the baby might like a little music.” I rested the instrument on my shoulder and played a new melody, sweet and slow, like a soothing lullaby. Liam stared at me attentively, filling my heart with emotions I’d never experienced before. Pride, mostly. His eyelids soon drooped and he surrendered to sleep. I smiled and walked toward his mother, moving the bow over the strings as I looked into Gemma’s eyes. Notes from the mahogany piano joined mine. I didn’t need to look to know it was Simon accompanying me.

  “It’s beautiful,” Gemma said softly when the music stopped.

  “It’s for you.” I took her hand and kissed her palm, gazing into her eyes. “The love I feel is captured in its notes.”

  “If Drake were here right now, I bet he’d be grousing about all this lovey-dovey stuff,” Ginevra said, grinning.

  “She’s right, bro. You’ve completely lost it,” Simon added with a smile. He stroked Liam, who was in Ginevra’s arms. “But with a miracle like this, I would too.”

  “We’ll all raise him together,” Gemma said. “After all, he’s also a little bit yours. If it hadn’t been for the two of you he wouldn’t be here today.”

  I smiled at Gemma and squeezed her hand. “Come on. Feel like taking a walk?”

  “Outside?” She looked at the baby, her expression apprehensive.

  “Don’t worry, he’s in good hands.”

  “I know.” She relaxed, went over to Liam, and stroked his head. After tenderly kissing his forehead, she joined me by the door. “It’s strange not to have him inside me any more,” she admitted.

  It was still dark out, but the sun was preparing to rise, slightly illuminating the sky.

  “I feel an emptiness inside. It’s like I miss him. I can’t stop looking at him.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. But you kept him all to yourself for long enough. It’s my turn to get to know him.” I winked at her and she laughed as we neared the lake shore, barefoot.

  “You’re right. I can’t imagine being separated from him, that’s all.”

  “No one is going to separate you from him . . . or from me. We’re a family now, and soon we’ll make sure no supernatural force will ever threaten to divide us again.” I rested my forehead against hers and took a deep breath, the water lapping at my ankles. “Sometimes I think it’s all my fault,” I admitted.

  “What are you talking about, Evan?”

  “If you hadn’t gone to get me in Hell, you wouldn’t have been forced to swear loyalty to the Witches, and you and the baby would be able to live normal lives.”

  “There’s nothing normal about my life, Evan. This is my fate. Without you, I’d be lost in the darkness. I made the pact with the Witches because I knew your love would keep me here. There’s hope only if you’re here at my side.”

  “No, hope isn’t enough for me. We’ll do it my way.”

  “I know, we’ve already agreed.”

  I hugged Gemma around the waist. “What are we waiting for, then? Let’s do it now. I don’t want to waste another second.”

  “We still have two days before the Witches come to force me to make good on my promise. Let’s at least wait a few hours.”

  “Why? You and the baby are fine. There’s no reason to wait any longer.”

  “I . . . I’m afraid, Evan. We don’t know what the consequences of our decision will be, and I’m not ready to part from Liam yet. Just a few more hours, okay? For just a little while let’s pretend everything’s normal.”

  I held her tight and stroked her head, breathing in the scent of her hair. “Everything’s going to be fine, Jamie.”

  “I know. As long as you’re with me, I won’t be afraid.”

  “Want to go inside?”

  “No, let’s stay here a little longer.” Gemma took my hands and waded into the lake, her eyes never leaving mine. She immersed herself and the morning light made the beaded water on her face sparkle like diamonds. I stroked her cheek and my thumb lingered on her lip.

  She gazed at me provocatively and guided my hand to her breast, her stiffened nipples peeking through her transparent nightgown. She looked like a water nymph who’d come to bewitch me. I drew her to me and breathed against her neck. “Why are you doing this to me?” I whispered, pressing my arousal against her.

  Gemma bit her lip, smiling. “I want to make sure you still desire me.”

  “I desire you more than ever now that you’ve given me a son,” I whispered against her mouth before kissing her passionately.

  “You’ll have to keep your distance for a while, I’m afraid.”

  “It’ll be sheer hell.” I kissed her again and she laughed, resting her hands on my chest. The dog tag had grown cold beneath my wet shirt. Or maybe it was the contrast with the fire racing through my veins.

  “We’d better get back,” Gemma whispered. How she loved to tease me.

  I blocked her path and lifted her up by the thighs, drawing her against me. “Where do you think you’re going?” I raised an eyebrow and my mouth traced the curve of her chin.

  “It’s almost day, Evan.”

  “No it isn’t. It’s night. The stars are out.”

  Gemma looked up at the sky and laughed. “Where do you see any? There are no stars.”

  I sought her hand beneath the water and squeezed it, gazing into her beautiful eyes. “You’re wrong, because I’m looking at two of them right now.” I kissed her tenderly on the mouth and she responded, biting my lip.

  “I wish I could make love with you,” she whispered, lighting the fire that dominated me. I pulled her hips against mine and felt the heat of her desire. I kissed her more ardently, mingling our breath.

  “Hey, little mermaid!” Ginevra called out. “The baby woke up and is demanding breakfast. And you, Adonis, behave yourself! Can’t you even wait one day? By Lilith! The woman just gave birth!” She went back inside, muttering, and Gemma and I burst out laughing.

  “Looks like the little guy is going to have what I can’t,” I joked, fondling one of her breasts. “He’s already one step ahead of me.”

  Gemma laughed. “I’m sure you’ll teach him all sorts of things, Adonis. As for the two of us, later on we’ll pick up this conversation where we left off. But now, Soldier, at ease.”

  I raised her hand to my mouth and kissed her palm, looking her in the eye. “As you wish.” I waded toward the shore, Gemma behind me.

  “I’d better put something dry on before nursing the baby,” she thought aloud.

  “No problem. Ginevra can get you a change of clothes.” I emerged from the lake and shook the water from my hair, wetting her even more.

  “Evan!” I smiled. I couldn’t help it. I had no idea why, but I loved teasing her. Sometimes it made her mad, but she never held a grudge for long. “Wait!” Gemma called out. I turned around and saw her leaning over, searching for something on the lakebed. “How on earth . . . ? My necklace fell off. Ah, there it is!” she exclaimed, relieved.

  Just then Liam’s wails reached us. “As impatient as his mother when it comes to food. I’ll go on ahead,” I told her as she groped through the sand for her chain. I strode to the door of the hideaway where Ginevra smiled at me, my son in her arms.

  “Got it!” Gemma exclaimed, still in the water. I turned to look at her as she stood up, the necklace clasped in her hand and a smile on her lips.

  A sudden hiss pierced the air.

  Too fast.

  Too unexpected.

  “Gemmaaa!!!” Her eyes locked onto mine. Then they moved down to the large arrow lodged in her chest. I raced toward her but a cold wind pushed me back, turning my heart to ice. “Gemmaaa!!!” I screamed, my chest splintering into shards of pain.

  “Fuck, no!” Simon shouted. “Gin, don’t leave Liam!” He joined me and together we tried to break through the barrier. Gemma raised her eyes and stared at me, devastated. I knew that look—I’d seen it a million times on the faces of mortals about to die. No. Not Gemma, no!

  A tear slid down her cheek. “Liam,” her lips murmured as a patch of red spread out around the arrow. She fell to her knees, her eyes trained on mine. Everything around me vanished as I drowned in the chaos inside my mind. All I could hear was the sound of her heartbeat that grew slower and slower.

  “Gemmaaa!” I screamed.

  A man appeared behind her, a bow in his hand. “Die, Witch.” He grasped her head and snapped her neck. Gemma’s eyes wavered and went blank.

  “Noooo!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

  Anya appeared beside me and froze. Shaking herself out of it, she rushed at the man, but the barrier repelled her. The man raised his eyes, looked at me with a sneer, and disappeared. I raced into the water to Gemma, who was floating face down with the arrow sticking out of her back. Her heart had stopped beating.

  I turned her over and dragged her to shore as Simon and Anya rushed to us. “Simon, help me! We’ve got to heal her!” I snapped the arrow in two and pulled it out of her body. It had pierced her heart. “No, Gemma, no! Don’t leave me now, of all times.” I tried to close up the wound but she didn’t respond. “Come on, Gemma! Fight!” I screamed.

  “No! This wasn’t supposed to happen!” Anya said, leaning over Gemma.

  Simon rested his hand on my shoulder. “Evan, stop.”

  “Don’t tell me to stop!” I shouted. “Keep healing her, Simon! Don’t give up!”

  “She’s dead, Evan.”

  “We’ll bring her back. We’ve done it before. Where’s her soul? Why isn’t her soul here?!” Simon stared at me, devastated, and I covered my face with my bloody hands.

  “Gemma!” Ginevra ran to her and threw herself to her knees. “Gemma, no! How could this happen?” she screamed at her Sister who’d had the task of watching over the Subterranean prisoners.

  “I don’t know. The Subterraneans are all still there. They’re fading, but none of them has died. I don’t understand.”

  “Then why did another Executioner show up?”

  “That wasn’t just any Executioner. I recognized him,” Anya said. “That was Gareth Kreihn. We call him Absolon, which in our language means . . . ”

  “Witch hunter,” Ginevra murmured, turning pale.

  “How is that even possible? He died centuries ago,” I exclaimed.

  “It seems not.” Ginevra grabbed the arrow and sniffed it. “This is poisoned.”

  I clenched my fists. “Why didn’t he take her? Why didn’t he help her cross over?”

  “It’s too late for her soul. Evil has claimed her. By dying, Gemma will now be a Soul damned to wander Hell.”

  “It can’t end this way!” I snarled. I had denied Gemma Heaven, denied her immortality with her Sisters, and now she would be nothing but another of the Damned in Hell? Was this the future I’d promised her? I’d been such an egotist! My love for her had destroyed her.

  I couldn’t accept it. “Transform her.” I looked at Anya, determined.

  “What did you say?”

  “Transform her,” I repeated firmly. There was still a chance. I had to act fast.

  “Evan, think this through,” Simon warned me.

  “Shut up! She can’t die like this! Not now!”

  Anya and Ginevra exchanged glances. “Simon, take the baby,” Ginevra told him. “Take him away. Go back home.”

  “I’m not leaving you here.”

  “Yes, you are! Take him away, now! You have to keep him safe.” She shot him a pointed look and he nodded. She leaned over and tore open Gemma’s nightgown. A knot formed in my throat at the sight of Gemma so defenseless, with a hole in her chest. I bit my fist to fight back the pain.

  “Evan, move back,” Ginevra ordered. “Move back, I told you!”

  I took a step backward as they tried to summon Gemma’s Dakor so it could bite her. Her heart wasn’t beating any more and her soul was lost somewhere in the darkness. There was no choice. I would rather she transform than be dead. Maybe the transformation wouldn’t obliterate her after all. Maybe there was still a chance she would choose me.

  “It’s not working!” Ginevra growled.

  “What do you mean, it’s not working? Try again, damn it!”

  “She has to be alive to transform,” Anya said sadly.

  “This shouldn’t have happened,” Ginevra murmured, leaning over Gemma’s body.

  I crumpled to my knees as my soul slowly died. No. It couldn’t actually have happened. I dug my fingers into the earth and a scream tore my chest in two: “LILITH! You can’t let her die! I’m begging you!”

  A burst of lightning streaked through the sky and Devina materialized in front of us. “Sophìa is preparing to wage war. The Màsala will regret what they’ve done to Gemma.”

  “No,” Ginevra gasped.

  I clenched my fists. “Take me with you. I want to fight.”

  “Evan, what are you talking about?” Ginevra exclaimed. “A war against the Màsala won’t accomplish anything. It won’t bring Gemma back!”

  “She’s right,” Anya said. “It’ll be a massacre. The battlefield will be Earth. Many will die.”

  “I don’t care,” I shot back icily. Gemma had died and my humanity had died with her, leaving behind only the Executioner. I wanted revenge. For months we’d fought to protect my love. Now it was time for me to hunt.

  “Evan, listen to me!” Ginevra shouted. Her voice was distant, as though she were speaking from some faraway place, but she was right there. It was me who was lost. “You’re blinded by rage! Think of the baby. Who’s going to protect Liam? He’s your son. He needs you.” I eased my grip, my fists loosening. Ginevra had managed to penetrate the black shroud around my heart. “Wait. Devina isn’t here just to tell us that—are you?” Ginevra added, picking up on her Sister’s thoughts.

  “There’s still a way to prevent war.”

  “She’s right,” Anya said in a low voice, her expression focused as she read her Sister’s thoughts. “Maybe we still have a chance to save Gemma.” She stared at Devina, who laughed to herself.

  “The Empress gave me this for her. She tore it off her finger before my very eyes. You’d better hope it works.” Devina showed us a small object, black and sharp.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “The Devil’s Claw.”

  “Will it work?” Ginevra asked anxiously.

  “We have to try,” Anya said.

  “Try what? What’s going on?” I asked, apprehensive.

  Anya looked at me. “Ginevra and I can’t awaken Gemma’s Dakor . . .”

  “Only the devil can bring the dead back from Hell,” Devina added.

  “Well? What are you waiting for? Do something!” I yelled. Anya slowly looked up at me. What did that look mean?

  “Evan, Sophìa’s poison will cancel every last trace of Gemma,” Ginevra warned me, voicing her Sister’s thoughts. “There’s no chance she’ll still be herself. Are you sure you want this?”

  I looked at her. “Do it.” Ginevra nodded and Devina smirked at me.

  “I’m sorry,” Anya said softly, looking at me regretfully.

  Devina went up to Gemma, holding Sophìa’s claw. She took her wrist and carved the mark of the Witches into her skin while murmuring an ancient litany whose meaning I couldn’t understand. “Treh. Immuaarimet. Lohe. Keh. Kuta Sih.”

  “Treh. Immuaarimet. Lohe. Keh. Kuta Sih,” Ginevra and Anya echoed. “Treh. Immuaarimet. Lohe. Keh. Kuta Sih.”

  The mark sizzled like seared flesh and Gemma’s outstretched body levitated into the air. The water in the lake churned; the wind blew fiercely. Something rested on my shoulder: a black butterfly. No, not one. They were everywhere, filling the sky, a vortex created by a dark force. All the windows in the lake house exploded. I took a step back as a burst of lightning lit up the sky. Gemma’s head jerked back as though her neck had snapped again. Her eyes were pure black, wide open, and trained on me as they changed form. The darkness retreated from their whites and her pupils lengthened like a serpent’s before returning to normal. A myriad of water droplets rose from the lake and hovered until another stroke of lightning pierced the sky and they crashed down like an explosion. A shriek of pain burst from Gemma’s mouth. I rushed toward her but someone held me back. It was Devina. For once she was right: I couldn’t interfere.

  The wind was so strong it threatened to drag me away as Gemma continued to shriek. Something stirred in her belly, creeping beneath her skin, finally rupturing it to emerge. Her Dakor.

  “It’s black,” Ginevra whispered to her Sisters, as though that were something unusual for them. The serpent slithered across Gemma’s belly and she stopped screaming. Aroused by the power, the animal moved swiftly, longing to feed, longing to be part of Gemma. It opened its fangs and sank them into her wrist. She seemed struck by a jolt of exhilaration mixed with anguish as the serpent penetrated her arm and disappeared inside her once again.

  The wound disappeared. Gemma straightened and stood, keeping her head down for a moment as she avidly gulped in the air. We all held our breath. She slowly raised her head and fixed her gaze on me, her eyes lengthening like her serpent’s and glittering like carbonado.

  “Gemma,” I whispered, and part of me died forever when I realized it was no longer her. Her black eyes, streaked with purple, remained fixed on mine as a challenging sneer spread across her face. She was still disoriented, but one thing was clear: she saw me as her enemy. The new beginning for Gemma was the end for us.

  Anya rested her hands on Gemma’s shoulders, looking sadly at my lost expression. “We have to go,” she said, turning to Devina. “We have a war to prevent.” I looked at Gemma one last time as she disappeared before my eyes, leaving me petrified with pain.

  They had used Sophìa’s own poison to awaken Gemma’s Dakor. While before we’d had some hope Gemma might transform yet remain herself, that hope was now gone.

  Ginevra looked at me, in her eyes her sorrow over the undeniable verdict. “We’ve lost her.”

  THE AWAKENING

  I felt my heart beat wildly as a powerful energy flooded me. My first instinct was to fight it, but instead I surrendered to its power and let it fill me. A hot shiver ran through my body. I opened my eyes. Light was all around me, while shadows gathered inside me.