Prologue

It’s the waiting that’s the hardest. Waiting for death because that’s all we have to look forward to. It’s always there, lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce at any second.

The woman’s screams carry through the air on the breath of wind that dances around my face, and I shiver.

A strong hand reaches for mine and grasps it tightly and a deep voice whispers huskily, “It’s ok, Winter.”

Blinking, I try to distance myself from my reality and imagine a different life. A normal life where no demons lurk, plotting your demise. A life full of hope and dreams of happiness instead of a sense of destiny dealing you the death card.

The screams whip around us like the tainted souls of Hell, and I wonder how long she will fight. Last time it took hours for them to die. The wicked, the fool, and the damned. One dies and another takes its place. Business as usual in Hell.

Squeezing my eyes tightly shut, I try to picture a happier place.

Anywhere but here would do, but all I can see is a void of black waiting for me to fall headfirst into it with no safety net.

My past, my future, and my present and if anything, I hope I don’t have long.

It stops and I take my first breath.

Thank God she’s gone.

If I feel anything, it’s surprise that I feel no emotion. Did I really know her at all? A perfect stranger who only ever did one thing for me—give me life.

The soft sigh beside me makes me squeeze his hand a little tighter, and an arm wraps around my shoulders and a soft voice says, “I’ll never let them hurt you, Winter. You have my word on that. It’s just you and me now.”

His words are meant to offer comfort, but they only bring a fresh wave of pain that stabs me on repeat most days because I only have him for as long as my father allows it. A lump forms in my throat along with the pain in my heart because what if…?

“Stop thinking.” His voice is curt and dark, and I nod, beaten already.

“Angelo…” “Listen to me, Winter.” He interrupts me because we both know I am the weaker one and he says roughly, “We will wait and when the time is right, I will set us both free. Trust me, I’m never going to let anyone hurt you.”

Words fail me because how will that happen. We both know the hard life in front of us and we both know the sand timer is running fast and soon our lives will change forever.

We hear raised voices and Angelo sighs heavily.

“We should go before they remember we’re here.”

I don’t want to leave but know I must, because locked in the treehouse with my twin is the only place I want to be in life.

Tomorrow, we will be separated. Two kids who will grow up fast because our fate is already decided. The thought of being apart from the only person I love in this world is too painful to contemplate, and I know I need to deal with what that means for both of us. I already know our story won’t have a happy ending and if I’m sure of anything, it’s that.

Some might think it strange that I don’t cry for my mother. It was just a word, anyway. She was a stranger, a name and a blurred face of a woman who was supposed to do better and I just feel a strangely detached from the whole situation and relief that she’s gone. It’s hard to admit, but my mother scared me and at least half of my problem is now solved. Her death was undoubtedly a painful one. A warning of what happens if you step out of line.

A promise of a bitter end if you don’t play your part in a family that doesn’t know the meaning of the word.

Angelo pulls me up and I regard the bitterness in his eyes as he hisses. “I promise I will kill him one day.”

That statement causes a brief smile to flicker across my face and as his dark eyes bore into mine, we share a moment that blackens souls. Two halves of the same coin that will be separated physically, but our souls are joined forever. Brother and sister until death and my greatest wish is that I die first because without Angelo, I wouldn’t want to live, anyway.