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Main Cast List

Amelia (daughter of Erik and Abby Novalik – vampire)

Eva (daughter of Azazel and Tamara – druid/lamia/vampire)

Herakles (creation of Ta’Zan – Faulty)

Raphael (creation of Ta’Zan – Perfect)

Riza (daughter of Horatio and Aisha Drizan– jinni)

Taeral (son of Sherus and Nuriya – fae-jinni)

Varga (son of Ashbik and Ruby Goode – vampire-sentry)

Family tree

If you’d like to check out the Novaks’ family tree, visit: www.forrestbooks.com/tree

Taeral

"Where could she have gone?"

It was the question I'd asked repeatedly for the past twenty minutes. A question that had been on everyone's lips from the moment we'd reached the double doors of Death's palace on Mortis.

I'd left my father in The Shade, still dead. They should've taken him back to Calliope, with the other fae. With the threat of the Hermessi's ritual nearing completion, it would've been the sensible thing to do. But none of us, not even Derek and Sofia—not to mention my mother or me—could bring ourselves to do it.

There was one aspect of his location and condition that had offered a sense of comfort. The Hermessi had influence over the Supernatural Dimension and the In-Between. Whatever their ritual entailed, the odds that my father's body would be used as a weapon in The Shade were minimal. At best, he'd be just one of the five million the elementals needed to bring about the end of days where they were the most powerful—like a battery lost somewhere far away, still powering their principal apparatus.

I knew Corrine and Ibrahim would've sealed Sherus’s glass house with all the magic they knew, just to make sure it would be safe for the rest of The Shade. And that wasn't even the worst part of this entire situation. Hell, the sanctuaries being up in the air and humming with energy wasn't the worst part, either. No, the worst part was that I had chosen to bring Thieron back to Death, here on Mortis, so she could put an end to it all. And Death was nowhere to be found.

"What's the word from The Shade?" Raphael asked Amelia, who'd just gotten off the comms line with Derek and Sofia.

She shook her head slowly. "So far, nothing. The Hermessi children are safe. The ones who remain loyal to Brendel are secured and restrained. The portal is on lockdown. And Sherus… he's okay, for now. He knows you had to do this," she said, looking at me.