Her mother died when Dina was very little. Her father raised her— they were always close, and she couldn’t even imagine that he might trade his beloved daughter for a new wife. But it happened, and the stepmother turned out as deceitful, cruel, and hypocritical as in the fairy tale about Cinderella… Azalia tried to make the father and daughter quarrel—and she succeeded. Up until the very end of his life, the poor man didn’t even suspect what terrible woman he had married.
After her father died, Dina was left alone with her stepmother. The girl’s life became a nightmare: she was tormented by terrible hallucinations, night terrors, and frightening visions. People thought Dina was grieving for her father and going mad, but Dina was sure: Azalia was somehow involved in her condition—the strongest witch—who destroyed her father and now was trying to ruin her too.