Chapter One

The knife pierced my skin quickly, breaching my ribs and nestling its sharp tip right in the center of my heart. The pain was unbearable, a hot searing slice through the core of my soul, but it only lasted a moment… and then it was gone.

Darkness wrapped around me like a cloak, a veil of cold that soothed like a balm.

So gentle.

So soft.

I didn't even have time to register what happened before I left my body. One moment I was alive, and the next I was dead.

Talk about a bad day.

The sensation of falling rushed through me, a swirl like vertigo, a drag in my stomach. And then, crunch …

My back slammed into the ground, a cold slab of rock that took the last bit of air out of my lungs as I rolled onto my side and coughed, trying to figure out what the hell was happening.

It was the same, but also very different.

I could still feel and move, but my skin tingled like I had pins and needles, and I felt so weightless it was all I could focus on, my mind trying to catch up with events but failing. Confusion exploded behind my eyes, and when I opened them, I saw the empty cave. A cavernous expanse of nothing but darkness seeped closer, thick in the air like fog.

"Urgh," I managed to groan as I pushed myself up, my arms wobbling like jelly and my skin pinging with prickles. "This is not good."

"No, it's not," a deep, masculine voice came from behind me, making me jump.

I spun around, looking over my shoulder and staring into the blackened void. In the shadows, I was sure I could see something moving, a huge shape, a hulk of a creature hiding in the darkness.

"Who is that?" I asked, squinting harder, my brain so tight it felt like it might pop.

The shadow didn't answer, but I saw it move. The sound of hooves moving across the ground echoed around the empty space, and it grew bigger as it began to emerge from the shadows.

A tightness formed in my throat, and I reached up to grip my neck, but my hands met with barely anything, my skin only marginally denser than air.

"What is happening?" I gasped, panic setting in.

I heard a low, rumbling chuckle.

"How sweet," the voice spoke again. "So innocent and lost."

I let my hand fall, and I rose to stand, my legs wobbling so much that it made me look down and stare. They were pale and translucent, like a butterfly's wing, the skin blue and glistening in such a way that it made me nauseous.

I didn't look right.

Not at all.

The shadowy figure took another step closer and emerged from the thick blanket of darkness, revealing himself and making my eyes boggle.

My jaw sagged open as I took him all in.

He was tall and broad with rippling muscles, and wide thighs that were covered in downy fur. His skin was a deep red and looked as thick as leather, and his legs had cloven hooves instead of feet. Although there was much of him that resembled a man, he had huge sharp horns on either side of his head and a pointed tail flicking behind him with irritation. His teeth were sharp when he smiled, pearly fangs that could tear me apart.

I felt the need to scream, but nothing would come. I was trapped, like in a nightmare. Unable to run or scream, a paralysis that was frustrating and sudden.

This monster was like nothing I'd ever seen before, nor could I ever have imagined. A demon so wicked and vile it sent a rush of cold through my veins. I held my hand to my heart and waited to feel it beating wildly in my chest as my fear began to mount, but instead, there was nothing.

Beneath my palm, my heart was stone cold and still.

My eyes widened. I knew something wasn't right. Something I'd known just now but had fallen away as I tried to chase the memory. My brow furrowed.

"Yes," the demon said. "Have you realized you're dead?"