“I know how dangerous it is for you to come here,” I told her, “and I’m grateful for your help.” The Witch nodded. A painful silence developed between us. “How is she?” I asked. I knew she wasn’t allowed to talk to me about Gemma, but if I didn’t find out I might lose my mind.

  “She’s fine,” was the only answer I got.

  “Is there any trace of us left in her?” Even a little would be enough for me: a memory, an image that had resisted the transformation.

  “None, sorry.” I clenched my fists, letting my defenses down in front of her. “The Devil’s Claw wiped away every last feeling in her. There’s only room for the Bond.”

  “I don’t believe it,” I said, my voice tight with frustration. “I—I can’t accept it. It’s been three months! Why hasn’t she set foot on Earth again?”

  “She’s finishing her training. That’s how it works.”

  “No, that’s not true. You’re trying to keep her away from me.”

  “Evan . . .” Ginevra tried to calm me down, but it was a lost cause.

  “How can I hope to win her back if I don’t even get to see her?”

  “Actually, you can’t. She made her choice, Evan.”

  “No she didn’t,” I snapped.

  Anya gaped as she read the truth in my mind: Gemma had decided to drink Ambrosia. She locked eyes with me. “Sophìa would never have let you two go. In any case, things turned out differently. You yourself asked me to transform her. You yourself invoked Sophìa. It was the only way to save her life.”

  “Give her this.” Anya stared at the diary in Ginevra’s hands. In it were hidden Gemma’s deepest thoughts. “It might help her remember,” Ginevra said quietly.

  “I doubt it,” she replied, looking sorry, “but I can try.”

  “Wait.” I went to Anya and pulled out a letter. I’d written it for Gemma months earlier, just in case she ended up transforming. She looked at it for a moment and slipped it into the diary.

  “Take care of her, please,” Ginevra begged her.

  “I’ll try, though Devina has taken her under her wing.” Ginevra’s eyes widened. “Gemma trusts her and there’s not much I can do about it.”

  “That bitch!” I snarled.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll keep looking out for her.”

  I nodded my thanks and she disappeared. Simon and Ginevra also left, closing the door behind them softly. I wasn’t sure Gemma’s diary or my letter would help much, but at least it was something, though not what I hoped for: I wanted to see her. I needed her and knew that deep in her heart Gemma also needed me and our baby. Maybe I’d done everything wrong. Maybe I should have let Gemma pass on rather than allowing her transformation. I’d battled Subterraneans who wanted to take her away from me, I’d battled the Màsala who had condemned her to death, but I’d been self-centered. I’d spent all that time keeping her from dying so I wouldn’t lose her, but by doing so I’d denied her the peace of Eden. Now all that awaited her was eternity in Hell. And there was no guarantee she would come back to me.

  Her eyes looked out at me from a snapshot of us together. I’d taken it on a snowy day after we’d made love in my car. Beside the framed picture on the dresser were Gemma’s ring and necklace. I’d picked them up from the lakeside when she’d disappeared. I turned the pendant over and read the inscription on the back of it.

  Gevan. Forever.

  The little diamond sparkled as I turned it in my fingers. When she’d transformed, the diamond had absorbed her dark essence and become carbonado. I’d stared at it for a moment as the sun rose over the lake, mocking me. Like Gemma, the diamond had lost its light, surrendering to the darkness. Moments later, though, it had begun to sparkle again. I gripped the pendant in my fist until my palm ached. No, it wasn’t the end. I couldn’t accept it. I would never give up. Like the diamond, Gemma would also find her light again.

  Liam wailed and I went over to the crib. He looked at me with his deep, curious, blue eyes. I was sure he missed his mother too. “I’ll bring her back to us,” I promised, stroking his cheek. He smiled at me. I picked up the violin and played the song I’d composed for him and Gemma the day of his birth. A lullaby. Liam loved it. The sound of the violin calmed him, so every night I would play it for him.

  We were alone, the two of us. A father with his wonderful child. If only I’d purified Gemma immediately after the birth . . . Waiting had been a mistake. But how could I have imagined I would lose her? My whole world had changed in a single night . . . in a single instant.

  Ginevra was leaning against the door, listening. She often did that. I continued to play. She was suffering too. I let the final note linger, sighing as the room fell back into silence. Ginevra waited a moment and then walked away. I looked at Liam, who’d fallen asleep. Physiologically, he was completely normal. Despite our expectations, he was human. He was the sweetest baby in the world and looking at him made my heart ache because everything about him reminded me of Gemma. I had promised to protect him. That was my mission now, the most important one I would ever carry out.

  There was only one way to keep my promise to the very end: find Gemma and bring her back. At all costs.

  DANGEROUS TEMPTATIONS

  I dodged Nausyka’s staff as Sheeva attacked me from behind in the form of a panther. I saw her just in time, did a backflip, landed behind her, and looked up at my Sisters. “I’m afraid you’re too old for me,” I provoked them smugly.

  “Don’t count on it, newbie. You’ve still got a lot to learn.”

  “You’ve taught me everything there is to know. When can I come with you to the Reaping?” I groaned.

  “Sophìa will be the one to decide. You can’t contend with Subterraneans unless you’re adequately trained—otherwise you’ll get yourself killed by their fire.”

  “I didn’t ask to go on Recon. It’s mortal Souls I’m interested in,” I insisted.

  “That would be even more dangerous, because you’d be running not into fledgling Subterraneans but Soldiers of Death prepared to battle for the soul of whomever you want to take possession of.”

  “I’m ready. I can face them if I need to.”

  “We’ll see,” Nausyka said.

  I raised the staff using the power of my mind and spun it through the air challengingly. My Sister looked me straight in the eye and snatched it. I turned and leapt high into the air, climbing barehanded up the black stone of the Castle until I reached the floor where my rooms were. I wanted to take a hot bath. I was dirty and the training had been more grueling than usual. Still, I couldn’t complain—I’d been the one to push myself beyond the limit. I felt like a caged lion. I wanted to fight. I wanted to face our enemies. But more than anything else, I wanted to take part in the Reaping. I thirsted for Souls. It was a desire that had grown in me day after day to the point of being unbearable.

  The moment I arrived at the entrance to my chambers, I froze: the door was ajar. Someone was inside. I blocked off my thoughts and peeked through the gap. Anya and Devina were there. The former was holding a book with embossing on its blue cover. She held it tight, as though it were something important.

  “She’s forgotten him! Get over it!” Using magic, Devina whisked the book out of her hands and set fire to it. It burst into flames and fell to the floor in a pile of ash.

  “No!” Anya gasped, leaning over it. “What have you done?!” She was furious. Her green panther eyes flashed and her Dakor hissed.

  “Do you want to challenge me, by chance?” Devina asked, facing up to her. “Or do you want me to tell Sophìa that instead of working on the Reaping you were playing nanny to a Subterranean’s son?”

  What was going on between them? What were they talking about? Why were they behaving like that?

  “He’s her son too.”

  “That’s not important any more.”

  “She might want him here.”

  I burst into the room, flinging the door open wide. “What’s going on?”

  They turned to look at me, stunned, probably mystified as to why they hadn’t sensed my arrival. I was able to block off my thoughts almost all the time, something that continued to surprise them. They certainly hadn’t taught me how; closing off your mind to the other Sisters was forbidden. Not officially, of course. It was more of an unwritten law. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help it. It was an innate gift, one that not all of them possessed. It was as if I’d learned how to do it in my past life.

  Devina smiled at me as though nothing had happened. “You’re back. We were waiting for you.” She came over and put her arm around my waist. “How did training go today?”

  “As usual. I beat Zhora, Nausyka, and even Bathsheeva. I think I’m ready for the Reaping.”

  “I agree with you. Come, let’s go to the spas. You can take a nice hot bath and then we’ll convince Sophìa you’re ready.” She turned to look at Anya. “If I promise to go along and keep an eye on you, she’ll listen to me.”

  “That’s the greatest thing you could do for me!” I exclaimed excitedly.

  “I’m your Sister. You know that we help each other out.”

  “Anya, are you coming with us?” I turned toward her and noticed she was staring at us with a fiery gaze.

  “I’ll catch up with you.”

  Why was she acting that way? Was she jealous of my relationship with Devina? Like me, she too often blocked her thoughts, so I had no way of knowing what was going through her mind. Devina, on the other hand, was more transparent. Her thoughts weren’t always commendable, but at least she didn’t hide them. She’d been my role model ever since I arrived at the Castle. I wanted to be like Devina.

  The heat could already be felt in the hallways. When Devina and I made our entrance in the Spa Parlor every head turned. Devina was respected in the Castle—almost as much as Sophìa. I admired her for that, though I had to admit I was jealous of her power. I wanted it to be mine . . . and one day it would be. The Subterraneans bowed to us and let us through. I watched them, attracted to their well-trained bodies. They weren’t simple Children of Eve like all the others; visiting the Spa Parlor was a privilege granted exclusively to Champions. Almost all the Witches had one, and maybe soon I would have my own.

  Emayn, my Mizhya, knelt at my feet and undid the laces wrapped around my high-heeled boots. Then she stood up to undress me, but Devina grabbed her hand. “Get lost,” she hissed, then turned to smile at me. “I’ll take care of you.”

  The maidservant bowed and retreated rapidly, cringing, afraid Devina would kill her. That happened often, even for far less. I was growing fond of my maids but Devina considered them chattel, and when she tired of hers she would slay them brutally. I knew that for her the only bond that counted was the one with her Sisters. Maybe she was right, like she was about everything else. I smiled back at her and let her unlace my brown bodice. It fell to the floor, freeing my breasts. Devina also got undressed, revealing her generous bosom.

  We sank into the tub. Devina slowly moved toward me and our breasts touched. She picked up a pitcher and poured scalding hot water over my neck as I melted in its heat. I looked into her amber eyes, hiding a smile. I knew what she was doing. The others’ Champions were watching and she wanted to arouse them. I enjoyed feeling desired; it turned me on. Playing along, I slowly ran a sponge over her shoulders and down to her breasts as she closed her eyes, letting me touch her.

  “Come on. Let’s give them a little show,” she whispered in my mind. I leaned over and kissed her sensually on the lips. “Choose one.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Choose a Champion. Which one do you want to be with?”

  “But they belong to my Sisters. It’s against the rules.”

  “I’ll take care of them, don’t worry. It’s my gift to you for completing your training.” Devina moved her lips to my ear and her voice became a murmur: “Come on, don’t tell me you’re not tempted. Choose one. Which one excites you the most?” I studied the Subterraneans. Their thoughts were a tangle of arousal. “I could give you mine . . . or would you prefer Anya’s?”

  My eyes lingered on a dark-skinned Subterranean. He had a penetrating gaze and sexy creases below his eyes. “Careful, princess—that’s Sophìa’s Champion. None of us can touch him. But if you want him, I can arrange for a secret encounter.”

  “What’s going on here?” Anya hissed with irritation. I pulled away from Devina. How much had Anya overheard? I wasn’t sure how far I could trust her. Loyalty to Sophìa counted a lot for all the Sisters . . . a little less for Devina.

  “We were just relaxing a bit,” Devina replied. She slid into the water, immersing her shoulders. “You should too. You could really use it,” she said to provoke her.

  “Do you want to take a bath with us?” I asked.

  “There’s no time. I came to tell you I spoke with Sophìa about your training. I proposed taking you with me to the Reaping.”

  “Really?” I jumped to my feet, excited by the news. “When can we start?”

  Her lips curved in a smile. Anya’s smile was always sweet and affectionate, unlike Devina’s, which was sharp and most times full of contempt. “You’re ready,” Anya said. “Even today, if you like. But first the Empress wishes to see you.”

  I got out of the tub and my Mizhyas ran over to dry me. “Well? What are we waiting for?”

  “Hang on,” Devina said. “I said I was going to speak to her on Gemma’s behalf. That was my prerogative.”

  “Gemma isn’t your property. She’s as much my Sister as yours.”

  “What difference does it make who takes me to the Reaping? All that matters to me is going. There’s no need to fight over this. In fact, why don’t you both come?”

  “That sounds like an excellent idea,” Devina exclaimed, her amber eyes locked on Anya’s.

  “Let’s go,” she said, annoyed. “The Empress awaits us.”

  “Let’s not keep her waiting,” Devina replied, winking at me.

  I sheathed my daggers and crossbow and followed them, casting one last glance at Sophìa’s Champion. I’d just discovered something important about myself: I was drawn to things that were forbidden.

  THE WHISPER OF EVIL

  “No.” Sophìa stopped us at the entrance to the Pantheon. “Only Naiad.” Anya and Devina looked at each other. I couldn’t take my eyes off the Empress. Her beauty was spellbinding. None of us could hold a candle to her. “Come now. Come forward,” she said.

  I walked toward her and my Sisters stayed behind. Sophìa rose from her throne and I bowed. It was then that a panther attacked me from behind. I leapt back just in time as another two crept toward me, on their guard. She was challenging me.

  I smiled: challenge accepted.

  All three panthers lunged at once, but I managed to avoid their claws and counterattack. In a few quick moves I sent two of them—Nerea and Kreeshna—to the ground. That left only Bathsheeva, who watched me with her golden eyes. I channeled my power and unleashed it on her, generating a shock wave that struck all three panthers, hurling them away. The force of my attack even made Sophìa’s hair fly back.

  It was clear what was happening: Sophìa wanted to see with her own eyes how far along I was with my training. It was a test, and I had every intention of passing it. I materialized behind Sophìa and attacked her. She blocked the blow in time and smiled at me, her gaze captivating. If she wanted war, she would have it. The Sisters were shocked.

  “What’s she doing?”

  “She’s challenging the Empress?”

  “Is she out of her mind?”

  “Go on, Gemma. Show her all you’ve got.” It was Devina, backing me up.

  Smiling, I drew my daggers and tried to strike Sophìa. She was very agile, and stronger than anyone I’d ever fought before, but I wasn’t about to give up. The entire hall became our battleground, our rapid attacks a dark dance. Sophìa smiled, cast me an amused glance, and with a single blow sent me crashing into the wall. The impact was so powerful it felt like it had come from a sledgehammer. I sank to my knees, feeling like every bone in my body was broken. She hadn’t even used her powers—only her physical strength. I saw Sophìa’s feet approach and stop in front of me. “You are ready.”

  I raised my head, surprised, and she smiled at me and held out her hand. I took it, looking into her blue eyes. “You mean I can take part in the Reaping?”

  “We train for two purposes: attacking Subterraneans when we are on Reconnaissance and defending ourselves from Subterraneans during the Reaping. This is the most difficult, most dangerous part. The Children of Eve do not always hinder our work, but when they do we must know how to defend ourselves, and you have proven you are capable of at least trying to do so. It was brave of you to challenge me. I admit I expected it from you—you have war in your blood. I would be a fool to force you to suppress it any longer.”

  “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”

  “Anya and Devina will go along to protect you.”

  I looked at my Sisters, who had joined us. “I don’t need to be protected.” I fixed my eyes on hers to emphasize my confidence.

  “You are very skilled. Not even Devina learned so quickly,” Sophìa said.

  “Thank you, my Empress.” I bowed to her. Though I sensed Devina’s thoughts were in turmoil because of the provocation, I couldn’t decipher them. The competition among us Sisters was always fierce. Sophìa said challenges brought us to life, which was why she constantly stirred up rivalries among us. Despite it all, the Bond among us was solid. Nothing was stronger.

  My Sisters had taught me everything. Every day they trained me in the field and helped me practice using magic. Sophìa had revealed the secrets of the world to me and finally I was ready to discover it with my own eyes.

  Anya rested her hand on my chest and my brown clothing changed, wrapping around me like the skin of a serpent—a black serpent, just like my Dakor. I’d already seen the outfit on my Sisters. It was what they wore to the Reaping. It was exciting to finally be able to wear it. My eyes were aflame, burning with poison. In my mouth I could almost taste the flavor of the Souls I would make mine.