by Sarra Cannon
Solomon held her gaze for a moment longer, and then turned to Franki as she lay dying in my arms.
“My beloved daughter,” he said, “I failed to protect you once. I will not fail you again.”
He reached forward and pulled the soul stone from her chest. She gasped, her hand searching for mine as her eyes opened wide. I laced my fingers with hers, not fully understanding until Solomon spoke again.
“I have made so many mistakes in my lifetime, but my children were the best of me,” he said. “I love you both. Put right what I made so wrong. Hold the Council accountable for what they have done and change the Brotherhood, so that no witch will ever need fear them again.”
He placed his hands over Franki’s heart, filling her body with a warm glow.
“I choose this moment with pride, knowing your life is a worthy one,” he said, reciting the words of a demon at the time of his chosen passing.
It was the greatest honor to receive such a sacrifice, and in that moment, I knew that love was truly the strongest magic that existed in any world.
There was no way for us both to survive this night, and yet love had saved us both.
No evil could stand against it.
“Father,” she whispered.
He smiled down at her as he poured his energy into her body, healing her as his light began to dim.
Franki clutched my hand tighter, her strength returning even as the very last of the Mother Crow’s life faded away.
Solomon met Silas’s eyes, something passing between them that I didn’t understand until Silas dipped his head. Solomon took Franki’s wrist, placing it against his own.
“Et sculpsit signum in Fratrum tenebrarum.”
I carve the mark of the Brotherhood of Darkness.
My eyes widened as Solomon’s mark—a roman numeral I inside a circle—appeared on the wrist of Franki’s right arm.
At the same time, a similar mark with a roman numeral II appeared on my arm. The Mother Crow was dead by my dagger. The throne was mine.
“Why?” Franki asked, finally strong enough to speak. “Why not Silas?”
Solomon smiled. “Because Silas is a scholar,” he said, his voice fading. “But the two of you? You are leaders.”
He turned to the soul stone and placed his hand on it.
“My memories of the Council’s betrayal,” he said. “Proof of their deceit. Burn the Brotherhood to the ground and rebuild it as something new. Something better.”
He closed his eyes as his image turned to pure, dark mist that hovered in the air above us, shimmering with a great light and then disappearing as Solomon passed into the Afterworld.
I pulled Franki against my chest as tears fell from my eyes.
Tears of disbelief.
Of gratitude.
Of joy that reached so deeply into my soul, it changed me forever.
Franki was alive, and our future had been reborn.
Epilogue
Franki
The doors to the castle stood wide open, waiting for us to arrive.
It had taken time to track down the three Council members who had betrayed my father all those years ago, but Abagore, Gideon, and Raum had received their black envelopes this evening, summoning them to a mandatory hearing at the Brotherhood’s castle.
They had already been dragged in by a group of Hollows and were no doubt kneeling before the row of thrones right now as the rest of the Brotherhood of Darkness looked on in confusion.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Rend asked.
I smiled up at him, nerves and excitement flowing through me like a million tiny butterflies.
“I suddenly get the distinct feeling my whole life has been leading up to this one moment.”
“We’re going to change everything,” he said.
I raised an eyebrow. “Starting with the name,” I said, laughing. “It can’t be a Brotherhood with a woman on the throne, now can it?”
“You’re the boss.”
He smiled at me, and I was struck again with a feeling of such overwhelming gratitude I had to catch my breath.
I loved him more with each passing day, and each day was a gift I could never repay. A gift from a father I’d never known, but who had been there for me when I needed him most.
The crows were free now, some working with us at Venom while others had gone to live in the domed city of Harper’s kingdom. Still others decided to make a life for themselves out in the world, making their own choices and raising their children the way they wanted, rather than the way they were told.
Marco had been reunited with his mother who’d had no idea all this time that he’d survived, thanks to Sabine.
Katy had passed all her finals and graduated with honors, while I had barely passed, not that it mattered much to me now. She was also constantly bugging me about that double-date with Marco, especially now that she knew he was a crow like me.
My mother had decided to rent an apartment in Chicago with Mary Krista and Mary Tate, and I planned to visit them as often as I could. For now, they were just having fun living a normal life without having to hide or be afraid anymore.
The staff at Venom had thrown us a glad-you-didn’t-die party after we’d returned from the crow village, and even Azure had hugged me, telling me she was genuinely glad we’d found a way to defeat the Mother Crow and the Brotherhood.
Of course, she also told me not to think that just because I had some fancy number carved into my arm that it made me the boss behind that bar, to which I replied, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Silas had been helping us rewrite the Enchiridion, making new rules and setting new penalties for any vampire who killed a witch or drank her blood without her consent. It was going to take some time to get it exactly the way we wanted it, but he was in his element, studying every major book of law from ancient times to the present, looking for guidance and taking notes.
The nine other demons who had helped me escape from the Devil’s sacrifice had been released immediately when we’d returned from the crow village. They were waiting inside for us now, probably anxious to see the Council sentenced to death in their place.
Along with Dagon, we intended to honor them all for their loyalty.
And Rend and I? We had finally set a wedding date.
In two weeks, we would be married on the dance floor at Venom, surrounded by our friends and family. The ceremony would be followed by one hell of a private party with flowing drinks and lots of laughter.
Afterward, we planned to go to our favorite suite at the Shangri-La Hotel in Paris for our honeymoon, where I doubted we would venture more than a few feet away from the bed itself.
I’d nearly died in his arms, and now I wanted nothing more than to live there, his body next to mine, facing whatever came our way with the strength of a love that nothing—not even death—could tear apart.
There was, after all, still a war to be won. The battle was far from over, and though we both would face many dangers ahead, we had seen the power of miracles. And we had seen true love overcome the most impossible of odds.
Whatever came our way, we would face it together, and that was all I wanted in this life.
I took a deep breath and squeezed his hand one last time as Silas joined us on the path leading up to the castle’s entrance.
“Did you bring it?” I asked.
He laughed and pulled a worn book from his pocket. “The original Enchiridion of Darkness,” he said. “But I don’t understand why you need a copy when you’re about to announce to the entire Brotherhood that you’re planning to rewrite it.”
“I’m using it to make a point,” I said, smiling. “After all, Dad did tell us to burn it down.”
“I don’t know that he meant it so literally,” Silas said, a playful smirk on his face. “Okay, then what are we waiting for?”
I met Rend’s eyes, and he nodded.
With a racing heart, I led them through the doors to the castle.
Past t
he Hollows who now answered to us alone.
Past the rows of thousands of vampires who gasped as a woman entered their sacred space for the first time without chains around her neck and hands.
And finally, past the three vampires of the Council who had tried twice now to sacrifice me.
I marched straight up the steps to the platform of thrones and lifted my wrist so that everyone could see the mark of the Brotherhood.
My father’s mark.
“In case you don’t know who I am, my name is Franki,” I said. “Daughter of Solomon. Daughter of crows. I am a demon, and I am a witch.”
I held the Enchiridion in one hand, and in the other, I summoned a bright, shining flame.
“I am both darkness and light,” I said, setting the ancient book on fire. “And there are going to be some changes around here.”
THE END
Three Free Books
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Demons Forever
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Forgotten Darkness
Beyond The Darkness
After Midnight
A Demon’s Wrath (Jackson’s Story)
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Sacrifice Me Series (A Shadow Demons Spin-Off)
Season One Box Set (Episodes 1-6)
Season Two, Episodes 1-3
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The Spiritwalkers
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Eternal Sorrows
Death’s Awakening
Sorrow’s Gift
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The Trouble With Goodbye*
The Moment We Began
A Season For Hope
The Fear of Letting Go
A Life With No Regrets
The Trouble With I Do
About the Author
Sarra Cannon is the author of several series featuring young adult and college-aged characters, including the bestselling Shadow Demons Saga. Her novels often stem from her own experiences growing up in the small town of Hawkinsville, Georgia, where she learned that being popular always comes at a price and relationships are rarely as simple as they seem.
Sarra recently celebrated seven years in indie publishing and has sold over half a million copies of her books. She currently lives in South Carolina with her programmer husband and adorable redheaded son.
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