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I can feel him approaching, like the stench of death on the wind. My heart races, my breath is short and sharp. I can’t failnow, but the spell is draining my magic, and I have one more thing to do.

Finally, a woman appears in the mirror. My sister.

At the last second, doubts invade my mind; I don’t want to do this. Then the darkness roars once more, and I harden my resolve. The stone is warm as I pull it from my pocket. A reminder of the man I failed to save. I hesitate, then grit my teeth as I tuck it inside Lilith’s robe. “Keep it safe,” I whisper.

The woman peers into the mirror, shock dawning on her features. “Ravenna?” She shakes her head. “It’s been five thousand years; where have you been?”

“In Hell. But it has not been five thousand years for me—merely ten.” I hesitate, then ask, “What of Lucifer?”

“No one has seen him in thousands of years.”

I close my eyes for a second. So my plan has worked at least in part.

“What do you need, Ravenna? Tell me how I can help you.”

I take a slow breath. I can do this. I have to. “I’m sending my daughter to you, through time, in the hope her father will not find her. Love her, keep her safe, prepare her for what she must do.”

Reaching through the mirror, I hand her my child, and I feel the emptiness engulf me as Lilith slips away.

Hecate clutches the baby to her chest. “Ravenna, come through.” Her tone is panicked, urgent.

But there is no passage for me. “I cannot. I have one more act, and then I am done. But here’s what you need to know…”

I quickly run through what she must tell my daughter. I see the disbelief on her face, the questions forming, but the connection is dying, the image fading, and I stare and stare until my daughter vanishes from my sight. Will I ever see her again? Part of me hopes not.

Then I utter my final spell, the last drops of my magic. And the mirror vanishes from Hell.

Now Lucifer cannot leave.

But neither can I.

I collapse to my knees. I am drained of everything: power, hope, a future.

All that remains is love. A love that damns me to an eternity of pain.

I freeze in place as his presence rolls over me like a wave of darkness.

“Ravenna, my heart, what have you done?”

Chapter 1

Where I Pretend I’m Normal

Earth

My foster brother, Zayne, plonks himself down on the other side of Josh, legs dangling over the edge of the garage roof. “Hey, princess, aren’t you supposed to be doing something important?” he says.

“Like what?” I ask, though I know the answer. Zayne thinks I’m slacking, and he’s probably right.

Zayne is nineteen, the same age as me, and he’s trouble. All bad-boy attitude, quick fists, and that lazy smirk. But he’s always had my back.

Josh is only eight. He joined our not-so-happy little family of misfits eighteen months ago. For most of that time, I’ve beentoo caught up in my own problems to let him in—mainly the problem where I woke from a coma three years ago with no memory of who I was.

But now?

Now I remember. I know who I am. And I’ve stopped pretending I don’t care.

Zayne and Josharemy family. And I love them. No more pushing anyone away.