Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked, #1)(33)

If anything happened to her . . .

I took off toward her home, running so fast I almost lost my sandals as my feet pounded uneven stones. I ran harder, focusing solely on getting to Claudia’s house before the demon did. I jumped over baskets laid out, past chamber pots and chickens that ran through the side streets. I dodged laundry lines and managed to only bump into one unpleasant fisherman as I skidded to a halt outside Claudia’s door.

I grabbed the iron knocker and pounded until a candle flared to life upstairs. Claudia poked her head out from the window on the second story.

“Emilia? Blood and bones. You scared me! Hang on.”

I whipped around, scanning the dark street. There was no sign I’d been followed. I also didn’t feel any sort of presence watching, and I hoped that meant Envy was somewhere far away.

A moment later, the bolt slid loudly and the door swung open. Claudia motioned for me to come inside. I rushed in and slammed the door behind me, breathing hard.

“What the devil is wrong, Emilia?”

“Is your aunt home?”

“Not yet. She stayed a little later at the booth tonight. What happened?” She held up her candle, searching my face. “You look terrible.”

I blew out a shaky breath. “Did you find anything out about the spell on the diary?”

“Not really. The magic is old, definitely not of this realm. But there’s something else that’s strange about it. I need more time to really—”

“No!” I reached over and gently squeezed her shoulder to soften the blow of my words. “I want you to forget all about the spell and the diary. Please. It’s too dangerous.”

Claudia narrowed her eyes. “Does whatever happened have to do with the vision I had?”

“Maybe.” I rubbed my temples. A giant headache was starting. “Listen, I—I’m not sure what happened tonight, but the Wicked are here. And I think their arrival has something to do with Vittoria’s diary. Whatever the reason, I don’t want to draw any attention to the book. Or you.”

“Did you speak with one of them?”

I nodded. “The Prince of Envy and I just had a lovely conversation. It started with me almost carving out my heart.”

I expected a sharp intake of breath, or some indication that my friend was completely terrified that the Wicked were indeed roaming around Sicily. Maybe she thought I’d hit my head. She calmly went to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of herbal spirits she’d made. She poured us each a mouthful and set my glass in front of me.

“Sit.” She pointed to one of the wooden chairs. “Drink this. It’ll calm your nerves.”

I plopped into the seat and brought the glass to my nose. It was mint and something citrusy. Maybe lime. I tossed it back, relishing the sharp flavor. “Grazie.”

Claudia drank hers down, and put the bottle away.

“You don’t seem surprised,” I said. “Did you know they were here?”

“I suspected.” She pressed her hip against the table and sighed. “When the murders started and the hearts were stolen, I immediately thought of the curse.”

“You mean the blood debt between the First Witch and the devil?”

“No,” she said slowly, “I mean the curse.”

I drew my brows together. Wrath said the devil wanted to break a curse. “Was the curse placed on witches, or someone else?”

“That’s just the thing.” Claudia moved around the table and dropped her voice. “No one knows for sure. Dark witches believe it was the price La Prima paid for the vengeance spell she cast on the devil.”

That was plausible. Dark magic demanded payment. But casting a spell on the devil . . . I shuddered despite the sweltering summer heat. I vaguely recalled Nonna mentioning it, but she didn’t seem convinced of its validity. “Why did she curse the devil?”

“Old stories claim he stole her firstborn’s soul. From that day forward the devil was trapped in Hell for eternity. His brothers could travel between realms within reason, typically the days before and after a full moon, but he would never set foot outside the underworld. And that wasn’t all. Supposedly he’d only retain his full powers if a witch sat on the throne beside him, wearing the Horn of Hades to keep the balance between realms.”

“The Horn of Hades? Is that a crown?”

“There’s no written documentation on what it is, or how it works exactly. My aunt thinks part of the curse included removing or blocking our memories. She also believes that’s what really happened to old Sofia Santorini; that her scrying session unveiled something about the curse it wanted forgotten.”

“By ‘it’ you mean the curse? Like it’s its own entity?”

Claudia nodded. “It’s strange that no one recalls certain details. Everyone has a slightly different myth or legend, but no one knows the truth.”

“Nonna never mentioned any of this.”

“Not surprising. My aunt said witches of the light don’t believe La Prima would cast such a dangerous spell. It goes against their image of what it means to be goddess blessed. Who knows?” Claudia lifted a shoulder. “Stories twist each time they’re told. Maybe it’s all fiction now. The only way anyone might know the truth is if they had the first book of spells created by La Prima. And I’ve heard tales that the Wicked are searching for it. There may be a spell in it that will allow the devil to break the curse and travel between realms again without needing a witch queen.”