Prologue

Galilea Hart opened the door to her clean, modest cabin with shaking hands. It had been fifteen years since she had laid eyes on her baby sister—now a woman of power—and she’d hoped to never need see her again. When her sister had been born, her mother had named the baby Willow. But these days she went by the name Sister Katrina, the name gifted to her when she had been ordained a Sister of the Rising Sun. The once-named Willow was born one of the few to save them all. If the demons came, she would be able to exorcise them. All the Sisters of her order could.

And when Willow had been born, the late Sister Caitlyn had arrived to take her. Their mother never recovered. The Sisters, their saviors, took whom they chose.

Galilea clutched her daughter Celine to her heart. Somehow throughout the whole pregnancy, Galilea had known the time would come when someone would arrive to take away the child she carried inside of her. The baby felt different than her brothers and sisters, as though the power the baby would someday wield soaked through Galilea’s pores and out into the world. They’d never had such a string of good luck. Gold, which was so hard to earn, flowed easier, and during this pregnancy there had been enough to eat.

She hadn’t wanted to follow the signs. Once a Sister was born in the family, more came, as though one girl’s abilities suddenly passed into the family and wouldn’t go away. Galilea couldn’t bring herself to open the door.

Her husband placed his hand over hers. His voice shook as he spoke. “When word came, we could have run. It wouldn’t have mattered. They see all; they know all. That is how they save us. They will bless us for our gift to them. Celine is one of them. She belongs with them. We won’t be able to help her. They’ll see to it we have enough for the rest of our lives.”

Yes, they would. Galilea’s parents had finally been able to feed their family after Willow went away.

“I’m not giving them my baby for a few more rations. I carried her. She belongs with me.”

Her husband moved out of the way, despite her words. It was as though she had not spoken them. Carter was terrified of the Sisterhood. They could save, and they could also destroy.

He stepped back even more, and disgust filled her mouth like a bitter taste she knew she would never lose. What kind of man let someone take his baby?

Sister Katrina glided more than entered into Galilea’s small home. With her came five men—the infamous Guardians whose sole purpose in life was to protect the Sisters as they eliminated demons. Katrina looked around the room once before her gazed fixated on the baby. Galilea’s body vibrated. The air thickened in the room, and the small candles lit in their eating space blew out. Willow had returned home, now as a Sister, and she come to take Galilea’s baby away.

“I presume you were informed we would be here.” Sister Katrina had none of the accent everyone else from their region possessed. She sounded like the nobles, and every word came across as clipped. The music of their area did not flow in Katrina’s voice.

“Yes.” Carter looked down as he spoke to the Sister. “We know you are here for Celine.”

Katrina’s face was covered in the traditional Sisterhood garb. Only her dark eyes were visible through the elaborately decorated hood. The higher up the women was, the more ornate the decorations on the hood became. Katrina’s was a rainbow of colors. The robe covering her body was the same design, and the bracelets peeking out also matched. Every move she made showed off her clothing.

“You must be important.” Galilea spoke before she could overthink it. “I have seen a few Sisters in my life, but none of them looked like you.”

Sister Katrina held out her bottom skirt. “Thank you for noticing.” She turned to her guards. “Take her husband, whatever children are in this house, and wait outside, all of you.”

“Sister—” Whatever the guard would have said ended with a flick of Katrina’s wrist. He nodded once, and the other four rushed through the house looking for anyone in the structure. They wouldn’t find any. She’d sent them all away to neighbors before this horror could take place. Unlike her own experience, she wouldn’t have them see their sister disappear from their lives forever.

The few moments it took for all of the men to leave seemed more like hours. Eventually, she was alone with Sister Katrina. With the final click of the door, Katrina removed her headpiece.

Galilea gasped. To do so went against every rule Galilea had ever heard in her entire life. The Sisters only removed their hoods when they were alone in the sacred homes. It took Galilea an entire second to realize how similar Katrina looked to their late mother. She was a dead ringer.

Only Katrina had none of the lines that had seemed to always adorn their mother’s face. The woman must not laugh, cry, nor yell often. Her hair was pitch black and her skin pale, with no visible blemishes. She didn’t work in the sun. Her eyes were the most striking part of her. Galilea had always heard the Sisters lost their human eyes with every demon they exorcised. Hers were violet, so pale they were almost not visible anymore. Eventually, if the legends were true, her pupils would be pure white.

“I am told you are my biological sister.”

Galilea swallowed. “Yes. Your name was Willow.”

Katrina waved her hand in the air as she had done with the guards. “I don’t recognize that name. I’ve never known it. The only name that matters in the world is the one they gave me when I was born into the Sisterhood.”

Everything about this moment was surreal. “Why did you take off your hood?”

“So we might look each other in the eye this once. I will be leaving here with your baby. That can happen one of two ways. The first is you give her to me. She goes off to lead a different life than yours. We provide you with all you will need for the rest of your days. Celine, as you call her, will be responsible for saving thousands upon thousands of lives. Or you force me to call my guards. They kill you. Your husband and children get nothing. She still has the same life.”

Katrina issued her statement with no detectable emotion at all. It was chilling for its lack of any empathy.

Galilea didn’t know what she would have replied when her once-sister spoke again. “We share the same blood.” Katrina placed her hand on Celine’s back. “Mine is better than yours. Special. So is Celine’s. We’re special. We are the saviors. You are a mere peasant. You wouldn’t be able to raise her were I to leave her here. When she is twelve, her powers will turn on. They will be uncontrollable. Demons will be drawn to her, not knowing she can kill them—or at least the small ones will. Soon, you would all be dead. Now, turn over your, daughter, peasant. Move on with your life. This part of it is over.”