Prologue

Raevyn

" T his is for the greater good, child. Your sacrifice will ensure our power continues for generations to come."

My grandmother was fucking crazy. I pulled at the restraints and screamed behind the ragged cloth stuffed in my mouth. Not that it was doing me much use. I was strapped to the altar, being leered at by my coven as they waited patiently for their next boost of power.

I was so stupid. They'd fed me lies for years and now, at the age of twenty-one, I was the perfect age to sacrifice to the Deathwatch. What a fucking joke. Well, the joke would be on them because I was going to come back and haunt them forever. Hopefully. I didn't know if that was a thing though. I mean, what did I know? Clearly nothing since I was strapped to a fucking stone slab and about to die.

The sisters started chanting in our mother tongue and I could feel the hum in the air as the magic built.

I'd always loved watching the circles, seeing the sisters perform magic was both a blessing and a curse. I hadn't been graced with my own magic, so I'd always sat on the sidelines. Guess being born a witch with no power was what made me perfect sacrifice material. My mother had always said that I was probably just a late bloomer, that it'd happen one day. Guess the coven disagreed because I was here, and my mother was stood next to me chanting away while tears fell down her face. I'd never felt more unwanted than I did right at this moment.

I wasn't even sure if the Deathwatch Revenants existed. To me, they were a ghost story. A tale told to children to keep them in line. If you were naughty the Deathwatch would come for you. Didn't do your chores, the Revenants would steal you in the night. It all sounded like a bunch of hocus pocus to me. Maybe that was why I didn't have power. Our coven was dedicated to the Deathwatch Revenants, and we drew our power from them. We were supposed to be a family of powerful necromancers, but we hadn't seen one in a few generations and that's where I came in. I was the sacrifice they were offering in the hopes that my mother's unborn child would be born a powerful necromancer. She was choosing my sibling over me because I was clearly expendable and worthless.

Well, fuck them. Fuck the coven. And fuck the Deathwatch.

"It's time, child." My grandmother's weather beaten face hovered over me. Her wiry hair whipped around her in the breeze and the candle flames flickered in her eyes. With runes painted on her face in blood, she looked every bit the powerful matriarch that she was. She just wasn't a powerful necromancer and that's what they wanted more than anything. More than me.

She raised her arms over her head, her grip on the ceremonial dagger strong and sure. "Goodbye, Raevyn. May your soul find peace and your death bring us joy."

I doubled my efforts and pulled at the restraints, but it was no use. I cast one last look at my mother and hoped she saw my plea, my hate, and my wrath.

They would all pay for this.

My grandmother slammed the knife straight into my chest, piercing my heart and ending my life. The pain didn't last long and then I didn't feel anything at all.