The Di Carlo family descended from a long lineage of witches, heirs to forbidden knowledge that whispered through the folds of history. In Palermo, they hid their gift beneath the aroma of basil and rosemary in the kitchen of the family restaurant, where their mother prepared recipes that blended magic and tradition.

But magic always comes at a price.

Years later, on a moonless night, Vittoria’s body was found mangled on the floor of a church, a sacrifice to a cause Emilia still did not understand. Her sister’s dark blood soaked the altar, forming symbols her eyes could not decipher. The world froze in that instant, and something inside Emilia shattered forever.

—Who did this to you, sorella ? —she whispered, her heart on the verge of collapse.

The answer came with the stench of sulfur and her grandmother’s words, a warning repeated throughout her life: Do not summon the Damned. Do not play with shadows.

But Emilia had no intention of listening.

In her desperation, she unearthed the hidden pages of the family grimoire and discovered the forbidden ritual. With a knife and a vow of vengeance, she called upon what her grandmother feared most.

The darkness answered.