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Seneca woke gasping for breath as a loud crack of thunder rumbled in the distance.

Normally, she loved storms, but the sound had disturbed her enough to wake her. Sighing, she stared up at the familiar sight of the vaulted wooden ceiling of her bedroom in her parent’s home. What had once been a comforting sight was now a slightly depressive one.

Since she had the entire third floor to herself, it was a massive space, but that didn’t make it any less of a cage. The bedroom area was sectioned off from the rest of the room by an open bookshelf room divider instead of an actual wall. Her queen-sized bed was next to a small sitting area on one side of the room, while the other half had been converted into a workspace. There was a large desk and table where she worked on her various projects, and a telescope was set up in the corner for stargazing through the wide wall of windows.

She loved flooding the large space with the natural sunlight so there were only black lace curtains covering part of the wide windows. There was also a special window film on the top section of the glass that painted rainbows across the gray walls of her bedroom when the sunlight struck it.

Right now, the sky was overcast and gray, making it difficult to tell exactly what time it was. Although she had just woken up safely tucked under the dark purple comforter on her big, comfortable bed, she didn’t feel rested. She struggled to grasp the remnants of the strange dream she’d just experienced, but it faded away before she could make sense of it. The only thing that remained was a sense of urgency that left her feeling anxious and unsettled.

Her mind still clouded with fatigue, she decided to go back to sleep. She never had much to do anyway so she figured she could just stay in bed. If her aunt or uncle needed her, they would pound on her door until she woke up. Glancing over at the clock, she frowned when she saw her phone on the nightstand next to the bed.

That wasn’t right.

She hadn’t had access to her cell phone in months.

Reaching out, she grabbed the phone off the wireless charger on her nightstand. Blinking in surprise, she shot up to a sitting position on the bed and stared down at the display in disbelief. According to the date, it was her birthday, but not the one she expected it to be.

She had just turned twenty-one…again.

The haze that had been clouding her mind began to lift, and her heart began to race. Like a shock to the system, she realized the strange dream she’d just experienced had been real. As absolutely batshit crazy as it seemed, it had truly happened.

Fucking hell, she really died.

Now that she was able to think clearly, the last year of her previous life flooded back. All the grief, heartache, rage, and despair she had experienced hit her full force. It felt like a fresh wound to her heart, and the weight of it made it difficult to breathe.

However, none of that had happened in the current timeline.

Reminding herself of that left her feeling confused and disoriented. Her mind tried to adjust and separate the present reality from what had happened before her death, but it all still felt like a dream. Despite her forced excursion to the Hell Realm, she had managed to cheat death. And now, the gods had really sent her back into the past to the day that had started her downward spiral.

Being back was a blessing, but she still wasn’t sure why she had been given the opportunity to live again and seek vengeance against those who had wronged her. Surely, there were other souls more deserving of a second chance at life.

Whatever the reason, she was damn grateful for it.

Seneca had never been a vindictive person, but the dark desire for retribution was an aching need she couldn’t deny. She wanted revenge. Wanted glorious, blood-soaked vengeance for everything that had been done to her, but she couldn’t do it alone. She would need help, but she had to be careful about who she recruited to assist her.

She tried her best to replay everything that had happened in the Hell Realm since her survival literally depended on it. The gods hadn’t been particularly forthcoming about what she needed to do to remain in the current timeline, but they had made it clear she needed to be cautious about who she told about her situation. She also had to worry about what events she altered so she wouldn’t cause some sort of cataclysmic paradox.

Besides that, she had to keep in mind there could be repercussions for her actions, especially since those who had wronged her hadn’t technically done anything to her…yet. She couldn’t walk up to Whitley Dalkis and stab her in the chest, no matter how much the crazy witch deserved it.

Seneca would end up in prison if she did that, which would be a total waste of her second chance at life. Needless to say, she really didn’t want to die again either. Pushing those worries aside, she focused on the most pressing issue.

She needed to save the people she loved, starting with her parents.

If the timeline was accurate, last night she would have arrived home to discover her mother and father had been out. Thinking they were either on a date or working late at the film studio, she decided to wait until the morning to surprise them.

In her previous life, she had called them once she had woken up to tell them that she was home. Once she discovered they had flown to Canada for the weekend to scout out a site for their upcoming film project, she told them to stay where they were and enjoy themselves. Of course, they hadn’t listened. Since it was a short flight, they immediately changed their plans to fly back to spend her birthday with her.

But they had never made it home.

She lifted her phone to call them. If she could tell anyone about her death experience, it would be her parents. Not only would they believe her strange story without hesitation, they would also have some pretty creative ideas about how to go about getting her revenge.

She lowered the phone again without placing the call when a foreboding sensation swept through her, telling her that it was a bad idea to contact them. Even if she told them what would happen, their concern for her might make them try to head home anyway. If they didn’t fly, they could rent a car and try to drive. Although they weren’t that far away, it would still be dangerous once the storm hit.

The best thing to do to keep them safe would be to have them stay where they were, so she would have to wait to tell them about her trip to the Hell Realm.

She glanced down at her phone when it pinged with an incoming text. She had already gotten several birthday messages from friends that she hadn’t bothered to look at earlier. Tears stung her eyes when she saw her parents had just sent her a video message, and she eagerly pressed play.

Her mother beamed a smile at her. “Greetings to our darling birthday girl from Vancouver! Hope you are taking a break from studying to have some fun with your friends today.”

“Now that you’re finally legal, be careful heading out to the bars tonight with your friends. Make sure you guys don’t drink and drive,” her dad warned. “Isn’t there a free shuttle that runs from the university to the downtown area of Mystic? If you go bar hopping, just take the shuttle. And make sure someone watches your glass if you leave the table. There are too many assholes in the world. No, just get a new drink if you have to leave it unattended. It’s not worth the risk.”

“Good idea. Oh, and have one of your friends whip you up a hangover potion so you don’t get sick. We miss you and love you. Wish you were here with us! Dad and I have a break in our schedule next weekend, so we thought we would head down to visit you. We can have a belated birthday celebration then. Let us know if that works for you, okay?”

“Love you to Jupiter and beyond, baby! Happy Birthday!”

Her parents each held up one of their hands to form a heart with their fingers, and seeing it made Seneca’s own heart swell with love. She wanted to wrap her arms around them and hug them close, but seeing them happy, healthy, and alive was enough for the moment.

Wiping at the tears spilling down her cheeks like waterfalls, she quickly sent them back a dozen heart emojis, then confirmed they had a date for the following weekend. Even though she was glad they were safe, she couldn’t stop herself from telling them to be careful of the upcoming storm. She added a warning that one of her supernatural friends had told her it was supposed to be stronger than predicted to make sure they listened. When they sent back a text telling her they would make sure to stay at the hotel that evening, she sighed with relief.

One problem settled, now onto the next.

The sound of rain pinging against the windows made her glance outside. While it would continue to rain all afternoon, the worst part of the storm wouldn’t hit until later that night. There was still a lot she needed to do before that. She had to save as many people as she could without altering too many things that might attract the wrong kind of attention.

It was a delicate balance, but at least she didn’t have to do it alone.

Tapping her phone, she called to her best friend and cursed when it kept ringing until it went to voicemail. Knowing Shadow, she was still sleeping. Doing what any stalker bestie would do, she called over and over again until her friend finally answered.

“I swear to fuck there better be a good reason you are waking me up at this hour.”

Seneca felt overwhelmed with joy at the sound of her best friend’s irritated voice. She had missed Shadow, desperately so, and being able to speak to her again felt like she had really come home. She had to clear her throat before she could manage to speak.

“It’s two in the afternoon.”

“I was up late chatting with the fam. You know how it is.” Shadow yawned. “Happy birthday, bestie. You spending the day with your parents?”

“Actually, no. They aren’t home this weekend.”

“Well, that sucks. Don’t worry, we’ll go out and celebrate tonight. Since you are finally legal, I’ll take you to dinner at The Manor, then we can—”

“We won’t have time for that. Listen, something pretty fucked up happened to me and—” Unsure where to begin, she simply blurted out, “So, I died, or I will exactly one year from today. I got sent to the Hell Realm, where apparently all souls go after they die, but instead of being recycled or whatever, some gods I met gave me the chance to be reborn.”

There was a long pause. “Is this a storyline for a new novel? It sounds fucking fascinating and slightly unhinged. I love it.”

“Unfortunately, I’m dead serious. I really died. It actually happened. I went to Hell, but now, I’m back again.”

“I’m coming over.”

“Wait,” Seneca hurried to say. “Let me just give you the abridged version for now. Then, I’m going to need your help with some shit.”

Flopping back down on the bed, she laid out everything that had happened over the last year of her life as concisely as she could, ending with her trip to the Hell Realm and her conversation with the gods.

When she was finished, there was a long pause. Then, Shadow exploded into an excited outburst.

“That’s fucking bonkers! Were the gods hot? No, never mind. We can talk about that later. I’m totally down to help you get revenge against your asshole relatives and that fucking bitch of a witch, but I guess that part has to wait. Right now, we just have to focus on not dying. So, me, your parents, and most of our friends are wiped out by the storm? How exactly do we stop that? What do you need me to do?”

Seneca swallowed hard as emotions welled up inside of her. Shadow was a ride-or-die friend, and she was so grateful her rebirth had given the people she loved most a second chance at life as well.

“I don’t think we can stop the storm. That might fall under the do not fuck with anything that might put us on the gods’ radar type of shit. However, we should be able to decrease the damage it causes. Leave that part to me. What I need you to do is go find your brother.”

“Why? What’s wrong with Thane? Oh, fuck. Does he fucking die tonight too?”

Seneca could tell her friend was close to reaching her breaking point by the number of “fucks” she interjected into the conversation. In order to prevent her from reaching critical mass, she hurried to explain.

“No, but he gets injured pretty badly, and that ends his snowboarding career. He is training up on the mountain today. They thought they could avoid the rain, but the storm was larger than anyone predicted. Once it hits, they stop to help some people on their way home, and Thane ends up getting hurt in an accident. I’m not exactly sure what happened, but there were rumors that someone in his group caused the accident, so you have to warn him to be careful.”

“Don’t worry, no one is going to hurt my brother. Dad can do a locator spell, and I’ll drag my mom with me to go get Thane.”

Although Shadow could teleport, it was still difficult for her to visit places she’d never been before. Since her mom was a powerful demon, Seneca felt relieved that she would be accompanying her.

“Once we’ve collected Thane, we can—”

“Contact everyone you invited to my surprise party tonight and tell them to stay the fuck home.”

“You know about that? Duh. Of course, you know about the party since you’ve experienced this day before. Okay, I’ll contact everyone. Should I warn them about the flood or is that too risky?”

“I think that would be okay. As long as you don’t tell them you got the info from a dead girl.”

Shadow snorted. “God, that shouldn’t be funny, but—”

“It is.”

“Yeah, it really is. But I don’t want people thinking I developed the ability to speak to ghosts or something like that. People already think I’m weird enough. I can meet up with you after—”

“No, I need you to stay home tonight. Find your brother, then go home. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if something happened to you again,” Seneca said honestly. “Stay home and keep your parents and brother there with you. That way, I won’t have to worry about any of you. Please. Just…do this for me. Consider it my birthday present.”

“That was fucking tricky of you. Fine. But what about you? What are you going to be doing?”

“I’m going to head to The Manor to warn them about the mudslide and try to convince Arson to weaken the storm a bit,” she said, mentioning the owner of the private club.

As a dark angel, Arson Altera was probably the most powerful supernatural who lived in the area. While there were many people who feared him, he was a close friend of Shadow’s family. Through that connection, Seneca had gotten to know him as well. Calling him wasn’t an option since The Manor was laced with strong magical wards. Technology and magic didn’t mix well, so phones never worked inside the private club, and he rarely ever left the grounds.

“I could teleport over there and warn him for you,” Shadow offered.

She considered that for a few seconds. That would make her life a whole lot easier, but ultimately, she decided against it. “I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel like I need to speak to him.”

“Did you get a vibe? Is this your luck magic? How is this possible if you haven’t gone through your awakening yet?”

That question made her gasp.

Scrambling off the bed, her bare feet slapped against the hardwood floor as she raced toward the bathroom. Turning on the light, she ignored the bright yellow melting smiley face printed on the oversized gray T-shirt that she’d slept in and focused on her own reflection.

Her platinum blonde hair was back to being shoulder length instead of the long, unkempt mess it had been when she’d died, and there were dark circles under her gray eyes. Added to that, her skin had a healthy glow from the hikes she and her friends liked to go on during study breaks instead of the pale, shallow appearance she’d had before her death from lack of sunlight.

After her awakening during her previous life, a tiny birthmark in the shape of a star appeared on the left side of her neck right below her ear. She hadn’t realized it at the time, but the mark was like a physical reminder of the luck she had stored inside of herself.

Sure enough, the star birthmark was there.

The mark was small enough to be overlooked by most people, but its significance was immeasurable. Closing her eyes, she sought out the magical lantern she used to visualize her luck and found it burning bright.

That confirmed she had been sent back with her magic intact.

Relief flooded her. This time, there would be no need to experience a traumatic event to force her awakening. She had her magic and was armed with the basic knowledge she had learned during her previous life. Now, it was time to truly embrace her destiny as the lucky star she was always meant to be.

“Are you okay? What the fuck is going on?”

“My magic is awake already. I’m not sure how, but…”

“Score. Maybe the gods took pity on you and didn’t want to send you back without your magic? Or perhaps it’s a perk of surviving death?”

Seneca had no idea. “Could be. I seemed to be a test case for this rebirth thing, so I don’t think they really knew what they were doing when they sent me back.”

“Right. Well, having your magic is still a good thing. I’ll go wake my parents up and head out to track down my brother now. I’ll call you when—shit, you won’t be able to get my texts if you are at The Manor due to all of the protection wards. Fuck it, I’ll text you with updates anyway. You do the same and let me know if you need me.”

“Will do. Love you, Shadow.”

“Love you too, birthday girl. Don’t die…again.”

She snorted at that. “Same.”

Ending the call, Seneca set the phone down on the counter. She had to get going, but she really needed to wash the lingering memories of death off first. After taking care of necessities, she stripped down and got into the shower. As she stood under the flood of hot water, she tried to plan out everything she needed to accomplish. Luckily, she had hours before the storm would start to increase in power, so taking a few minutes to indulge in a hot shower wouldn’t make much difference.

After she was done, she made her way into the huge walk-in closet that had once been another bedroom. A shiver raced down her spine as she entered the enclosed space. In her previous life, she had spent a lot of time there. Her aunt and uncle had locked her inside that room for days whenever she upset them or whenever they went out of town.

With a couch and access to the bathroom, it had been a far more comfortable prison than being locked away in a storage closet in the basement. When they had first tried to force her compliance, she had spent weeks locked away in the basement. It was only after she agreed to work with them that she had been allowed to return to her bedroom. She had been comforted by the familiar space.

That didn’t make it any less of a cage, though.

Shaking off the past, she tried to decide what to wear for her first official day of rebirth. Half of her closet was filled with designer clothing that suited her goth glam aesthetic, while the other half was filled with swag from her parents’ movies. Skipping the fancy, she went with practical. If she was going to be out in the storm later, she needed to dress for comfort.

She chose a pair of thick black leggings and a black shirt with a knife sticking out of a red heart printed on the front that was the official logo of her parents’ last movie. She also put on a pair of black, water-resistant knee-high boots that would protect her in case she needed to wade through the mud later.

It was a little cool outside, but the temperature was going to drastically drop once the storm hit, so she put on a silver reflective ski jacket with black zippers that she normally wore snowboarding. Heading back into the bedroom, she paused to stuff a few essentials into the various pockets. She didn’t want to bother taking a bag with her, and she wouldn’t need much once she arrived at The Manor.

Although she had felt confident about going to speak to Arson when she had been on the phone with Shadow, that confidence was starting to wane now. She knew him, but they weren’t exactly close. So, what would make him believe her? The only thing she was sure about was that she had to be the one to speak to him.

She just didn’t know why.

But with luck on her side, what could possibly go wrong?