Especially after what happened when we were eight. . . . I briefly closed my eyes, willing the memory away. My sister broke every rule except that one. We never took our amulets off, not even while bathing. “Did you see if she was wearing her cornicello, Emilia?” Worry lines carved a deep path around her eyes and mouth. “Your sister is foolish to be out.” She stopped, immediately shifting her attention to the little horn-shaped amulet around my neck. If she wasn’t careful, she’d lose a finger. Demons are prowling the streets, searching for souls to steal.” Nonna chopped cloves of garlic for the scampi, her knife flying across the worn cutting board. “Mock me all you like, but it’s not safe. No one left Sea & Vine without sipping the dessert liqueur and feeling the utter satisfaction and bliss that followed a good meal. Thankfully he and Uncle Nino were in the dining room with a frosty bottle of limoncello, pouring after-dinner drinks for our customers. The fact that the moon was not only full but also a putrid shade of yellow had Nonna muttering the kind of warnings that normally made my father bolt the doors. My twin was late for dinner service and our grandmother saw it as a portent of doom, especially since Vittoria was out the night before a holy day. Nonna Maria buzzed around the kitchen like she’d guzzled every drop of espresso in our restaurant. Kingdom of the Wicked Introduction Excerpt.
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