Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 50

Gravel crunched and scattered under Amara’s feet as she landed on the roof of Vee’s apartment. Her wings felt unusually sore for how little she’d flown, but given just how much angelic energy she’d fought through to reach Vee, it made sense. Even now, just holding her close made Amara buzz, their conflicting auras all the more noticeable after such an intense show of power from the angel.

Looking at Vee, Amara’s heart melted all over again. She leaned forward for another kiss before releasing Vee from her grasp, sighing as she watched Vee hop back and forth to find her balance.

I almost lost her.

Vee tapped her feet, subtly adjusting her shoes, before looking up and catching Amara’s gaze. “Everything okay?” she asked.

“Y-yeah, I just… you’re beautiful,” Amara said, blushing furiously.

With a quiet laugh and an adorable smile, Vee did the same. “That’s… wow. I’m still a little shocked that we— I mean, I’ve been wondering for a while if you felt the same way I did, and—”

“Wait, seriously?” Amara asked, stepping nearer. She pulled Vee close, gently rubbing the sides of her arms.

“Well, it hasn’t been that long. At least, I don’t think so? For all I know, it’s been building for a while and I only figured it out when you took me flying the other day, but then there was so much happening with Tessa’s Coven, and I didn’t know if—”

Amara kissed Vee, cutting off her nervous rambling and causing her to melt into Amara’s embrace for a moment.

“Hey,” Amara whispered between kisses. “We’ll have time for everything soon. As wrong as I was to try and take matters into my own hands, we still need to stop Davenport.”

Vee hugged Amara tightly, briefly burying her face into her shoulder before nodding. “Yeah, you’re right. Do you want to text everyone, or should I?”

“I, uh, don’t have my phone on me,” Amara said sheepishly. “I’ve been keeping it on the roof of Lysander Hall to keep it safe.”

“Right, I suppose keeping it with you would’ve been bad. I’ll reach out to everyone, see where they are and where we can meet them.” Vee took a deep breath as she stepped away, pulling out her phone. “What should I tell them about, y’know… us? You?”

Pausing for a moment, Amara absentmindedly wandered around the roof while staring at the gravel. “Maybe keep it simple? I’m not going to ask you to apologize on my behalf. As for us… shit, I don’t know. How about we just focus on the problem for now? I don’t want to say anything until we’ve had the chance to actually figure out what we want this to be. N-not that I think we want different things, or whatever, but, y’know, we should probably just save all that stuff for later.”

“That’s probably for the best,” Vee said, starting to type. “For the record, I would love it if we—no, you’re right, one thing at a time.”

With her thought finished, Amara stopped wandering and looked up again. From their current vantage point, she wasn’t able to see the quad, but it was impossible not to notice the unnaturally black storm clouds that hung low over the center of campus. Underneath them, a sinister red glow clung to the field, sparks occasionally drifting up into Amara’s vision.

Fuck, was that me? Davenport’s magic didn’t do anything with the weather, and the storm around Vee was way more colorful.

How far gone was I?

She tried to think back to her fight with Davenport, but found it difficult. It had only been a few minutes, but the memories felt like they were buried beneath a haze of putrid rage and a bone-deep thirst for blood.

The thought of killing Davenport had been all-consuming. Nothing else had mattered: not her friends, not herself.

Just the violence.

A hand touched her back, pulling her thoughts back to the present. “Hey. You doing alright?” Vee asked cautiously, stepping next to her.

Amara swallowed nervously, forcing herself to nod.

Wait, what am I doing? I can’t start pushing her away already. She deserves to know the truth.

Tears welled in her eyes. She turned to look at Vee, who’d nearly sacrificed everything just to give her a chance at redemption, and broke down. She wrapped her arms around Vee, hugging her tight as she wept into her shoulder. Vee returned the gesture, gently rubbing her back as Amara vented all her frustration with herself.

The pain, the sorrow, the anger, the guilt, it all came out. Unable to process the flood of emotions, she let the memories of her actions wash over her. Flashes of all the harm she’d caused, the terror she’d instilled, and for what? To turn herself into a monster?

The severity of her actions demanded recompense, and she was no longer strong enough to stand against the weight of what she’d done.

Completely unmoored from the flow of time, Amara had no idea how long it took to pull herself together. Vee’s interference was a miracle, one that had pulled Amara back from the brink of a terrible fate, and the thought of what she might have become haunted her. When the tears finally stopped, and she found the strength to return to the present, she found the two of them had slid down to their knees at some point. She was lying in Vee’s lap, arms wrapped around her waist, the angel’s shirt completely soaked with tears.

Sniffling loudly, Amara looked at Vee, who simply smiled in return. She reached up, pushing Amara’s hair from her face, and gently tucked it behind her ear. “It’s gonna be okay, Amara. I’m here for you. We’ll make it through this together.”

Amara nodded slowly before sitting up. She rubbed her face with her hands, a small burst of hellfire dispelling all traces of her outburst. Placing a hand on Vee’s waist, she looked deep into her brilliant blue eyes and leaned in for another kiss. They shared a soft, tender moment before Amara rested her forehead against Vee’s. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Hey, none of that,” Vee said, her tone gentle but strict. “The more you put yourself down, the more you risk believing that you deserve to give in to those instincts.” She kissed Amara again, carefully hugging her and pulling her closer, before continuing. “Back when we were under Lysander Hall, you said you were already gone. Is that what you really believe? That your soul is damned, and nothing you do matters anymore?”

Cuddling up into Vee’s shoulder, Amara responded, “I mean, it has to be, right? My mom told me that demons are born from Damnation. There’s literally no other way I could be like this.”

Vee paused for a moment, her hands tenderly stroking Amara’s hair. She even found Amara’s horns, gently rubbing them as well as she spoke. “What about your mother? We know for a fact she’s Damned, and yet she’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met. Are you saying that she doesn’t matter either?”

“Never!” Amara said, aghast at the mere thought of it.

“Well, there you go,” Vee said, lightly patting Amara’s cheek in jest. “If she matters, then so do you. So how about you accept that you’re worth saving, and we go trust our friends to do what’s right. Sound like a deal?”

Despite every bone in Amara’s body wanting to repeat her earlier thought, that she didn’t deserve Vee, she forced herself to nod.

I’m not alone. Even if I don’t believe in myself right now… she does. And she’s amazing. She’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, and I spit in her face every time I insist I’m a lost cause.

Do it for Vee, Amara. You’ve got this.

“Alright,” Amara said, kissing Vee one last time before standing up. “Where are we meeting everyone?”

“Tessa says she ran into some trouble, and they’re regrouping at her place.”

“Trouble? Is she okay?!” Amara asked, panicked.

“Everyone’s fine, Amara,” Vee said calmly. “Let’s just meet up with them, and we can hear the full story from her directly. Do you want to fly us there?”

Amara looked back at her wings, flexing them a few times to test how much strength still remained. “Maybe not the whole way, but I can definitely get us to the ground.” She held out an arm for Vee, who happily accepted the invitation. The two girls walked to the edge of the roof, held each other close, and Amara stepped off the ledge. Just before hitting the ground, she thrust her wings down to halt their momentum, then released her hold on Vee so they could head out.

They spent most of their walk in silence. At first, Amara was tempted to say something, anything to fill the silence and shake her thoughts loose from all the chaos of the moment, but such aspirations vanished as they passed by the quad.

It looked like it had been bombed in the middle of a firestorm.

Craters, formed from intense explosions, littered the field. Huge swathes of grass were burnt to a crisp, and several trees were missing large chunks of their canopies. Several fires still raged amidst the wreckage, and guilt twisted Amara’s stomach into knots as she took in the full extent of her destructive spiral.

She stopped walking, struck by the horror of the scene in front of her. Flashes of her fight with Davenport returned, but just as the memories started to overwhelm her, she heard Vee step closer. She gripped Amara’s hand, squeezing it tight before leaning in. “Do you want to do anything while we’re here? Something quick?”

“Can I take a moment to put out the remaining fires?” Amara asked. “I’ll only need a sec.”

Nodding in agreement, Vee released Amara’s hand. With a goal firmly in mind, and eager not to waste any more time than was necessary, Amara quickly walked around the quad. Each step brought back flashes of memory, brief moments from her fight with Davenport, and she didn’t bother trying to hide from them. After venting all her grief with Vee earlier, she felt ready to face her prior actions.

The fires around the quad reflected Amara’s grief, and she felt their energy pulse in time with her own as she neared them. Each time she got close, she mentally reached out to connect with the flames and disperse them. Her lap around the quad only took a few minutes, and while she hadn’t fixed anything, she’d at least prevented further damage.

Regrouping with Vee, whose loving smile said more than words ever could, the two continued on.

It didn’t take long to reach Tessa’s apartment. Although Amara got there a few steps ahead of Vee, she couldn’t muster the strength to knock. She had no idea what to say, how to apologize to her closest friends, and the panic briefly overwhelmed her.

Then, for seemingly the thousandth time today, Vee stepped in. She wrapped her hands around Amara’s waist, kissed her cheek, gently whispered into her ear. “I’m with you every step of the way, love. It’s going to suck, and I doubt Tessa is going to pull her punches, but I’m not going anywhere. They care about you deeply, Amara. They don’t want to give up on you, they’re just scared.”

Nodding slowly, and taking a deep, unsteady breath, Amara kissed Vee back. “Can you go first?”

Vee smiled. “Of course.”

Stepping in front of Amara, Vee knocked on Tessa’s front door. In her hands, even such a small action seemed elegant and effortless, and Amara braced herself for what was sure to be one of the most uncomfortable conversations of her life.

When the door opened, Amara saw Nick first. He opened the door slowly, his eyes darting from Vee, to Amara, and back to Vee with a silent question. Although no one said anything, Vee subtly nodded, and her reassurance seemed to release the tension in Nick’s shoulders. “Hey, you two. Tessa’s on the couch, Chloé is… around? She’s here somewhere.”

Vee walked inside first, then Amara, who’s face burned with shame. She avoided looking at Nick as she entered, instead opting to focus on the floor. Walking past the breakfast bar, she only briefly looked up once she saw Tessa, who flinched at her presence and slid back on the couch to put distance between the two of them. Her tattoos flared, the side of her head lighting up as her switchblade floated in front of her, pointing directly at Amara.

Tessa’s neck still had small bruises from where Amara had grabbed her earlier.

Thick, uncomfortable silence hung in the air. The incredibly faint buzz of Tessa’s magic, something Amara was pretty sure only she could sense, rang in her ears as she tried to force herself to speak. When she finally found the strength, her voice was weak and broken.

“I-I’m sorry,” Amara whispered. “I’m sorry for everything. I’ve been a terrible friend, and a terrible person, for weeks now. I let my anger get the best of me, and the instant I found an excuse to let it out, I stopped bothering to pretend I wasn’t just out for blood. I wanted someone else to hurt as much as I did, I was obsessed with the thought that throwing the first punch would somehow fix things. Last night, I… I did terrible things. I hurt a lot of people, including all of you, despite the fact that I consider you my closest friends. What I did is unforgivable, and I have no right to come to you all now, but I want to make this right.”

Amara looked at Tessa. “You were completely justified to tell the Coven about me, Tess. I can’t even pretend to understand your relationship with them, but I should have trusted that you were only doing what you thought was right. You’ve always been incredibly supportive of me, and I can’t possibly express how terrible I feel that I attacked you.”

Although Chloé wasn’t visible, Amara did her best to address the entire room, trusting that Nick had shared the truth about her being here somewhere. “And Chloé, if you’re listening, having you back is a miracle. It’s the greatest thing I could have ever hoped for, and instead of celebrating, I made everything about me. Again. You’ve given us a chance to fight for our campus, and instead of giving you an opportunity to work together with us, I sidelined you because I was more interested in pursuing my own selfish desires.”

Finally, Amara turned to Nick. “Nick. You’ve been here since the beginning, and I was so wrapped up in my anger that I completely blew you off. Somewhere along the line, I stopped seeing you as an equal, and I let myself think that no one, not even you, could understand what I was going through. You’re my oldest friend, yet we’ve barely even talked these last few weeks. You deserve better; you all do. Whatever you think is best, I agree. If you want me to sit this out, I will. As much as I want to help fix things, I’m not the person who should make that call.”

Tears slid down her cheeks as she finished talking, and she looked at all her friends again to indicate she was done. Her words lingered as everyone processed her apology in their own ways, and she hoped desperately that she could continue being everyone’s friend after this.

Tessa’s magic faded, her tattoos dimming as she grabbed her knife out of the air. Folding it up, she slipped it into her back pocket as she stood up, then started walking towards Amara. Her pace quickened, and just before she closed the distance, she clenched her fist and punched Amara, her knuckles digging deep into Amara’s jaw as a deep thud reverberated through the apartment. Amara’s weakened state meant the punch hurt much more than it should have, and she gasped in pain as she stumbled backwards.

“You’re a FUCKING idiot, Amara!” Tessa yelled. She didn’t attack a second time, as Nick stepped closer to hold her back. “Do you know what happened while you were off on your stupid rampage? Coven Head Gautier cornered me and tried to kill me! She pinned me down, sawed the edge off a rusty pipe, and tried to ram it through my heart. If Chloé hadn’t been there with me, and if she hadn’t manifested some fucking incredible new abilities, I would be dead, Amara! Not mysteriously scattered into light, not just injured, dead. And it would have been your fault. You left us alone, you forced us to put together a plan without Vee, because she needed to run after your sorry ass and try to slap some sense into you!”

Tessa was crying now, and she kept going. “You were the first real friend I told about my magic, about being a witch. I’d gotten so used to hiding that part of me, but suddenly, I had a friend who got it. You also had weird magic shit you were hiding, and we got to team up and try to stop idiots from ruining our campus! Yes, it was scary. Yes, we almost died, but we were in it together, Amara! And then… then we lost Chloé. I was devastated, I’d never seen something so horrible, but I didn’t just lose her that day, Amara. I lost you too. You never once consoled me, you never bothered to ask if there was anything you could do to help. I was trying desperately to wrangle all those students, to keep them from freaking out, and you constantly made my life harder. You snapped at them, you blew up at our meetings, you were actively terrorizing the very people we’ve been trying to protect this whole time. When my coven showed up, sure, it was terrifying, but do you know what they did? Miss Bishop comforted me, she asked how I was holding up after losing a friend. She encouraged me to keep fighting, that it wasn’t pointless. So yes, I told them about you because I thought it would help, and I’m not sorry about it.”

“I-I didn’t… Gautier tried to kill you?” Amara gasped, horrified that her rampage had nearly cost her Tessa as well. Her body shook involuntarily, images flashed through her mind of what horrible fate Tessa had nearly succumbed to, and her breath caught in her throat.

She was pulled back from the edge of her panic attack when Tessa stepped forward, burying her face in Amara’s shoulder and wrapping her arms around her waist. “Y-you’re supposed to be my hot, slutty bodyguard, stupid. It’s because of you that I started seeing how much more tolerable this life is when I’ve got other people living it with me.”

“I’m so happy you’re still with us, Tess.” Amara hugged Tessa back. They stood together, quietly embracing for a few minutes as they both silently worked through their feelings. Amara wasn’t used to Tessa being so open, but given how much time she’d been spending with Nick, it made sense. “Hey, when this is all over, want to go flying? I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

“Shit, you can fly?” Tessa asked, pulling away from Amara. Her makeup was smeared and distorted from all the tears, but she seemed genuinely excited about the idea.

Amara nodded. “I’ll even let you make every possible joke you want about riding me.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I’m gonna show up with a saddle and harness just to get back at you for all this shit.” Tessa managed to laugh at her own joke, and Amara did the same, overjoyed that things seemed to be on a better path already.

With the moment over, Amara looked around to see if she could spot her invisible friend. “Chloé? I understand if you’re not feeling great at the moment, but if you want to say anything, I’d love to hear you out. Or, I don’t know, if you want to punch me, go for it. Preferably the other side of my face, though, I’m still a little sore.”

An invisible hand lightly slapped Amara’s other cheek, and she jumped in surprise. Chloé appeared a second later, floating sideways a few feet off the ground. Her body and clothes were faint, almost transparent, and her hair was stark white. “H-hey, Amara,” Chloé whispered, her voice fuzzy.

“It’s good to see you, Chloé. Don’t push yourself too hard, okay?” Amara asked.

Chloé nodded, then went quiet for a moment as her eyes briefly lost focus. She lost herself in thought briefly, then looked back at Amara and started talking. “I’ve always felt safe around you, Amara. Even when I didn’t have my memories, when I didn’t understand that I was alive-ish, that feeling persisted. When I finally pieced everything together, and realized that I’d be able to help you all stop the coven, I got so excited! We were all gonna be a team! But when I told you about their plans… you changed. For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel safe anymore; I was scared. I wanted so badly to help, and I started panicking that maybe I’d messed up by telling you about the coven, and that if you hurt someone it would all be my fault, and I—”

“Hey,” Amara said sternly, “this was never your fault, Chloé. Getting you back was a miracle, and if you hadn’t spied on Davenport, we wouldn’t have this chance to try and stop her. I’m the one that fucked this up. I can never apologize enough for ruining your return, Chloé, and… quite honestly, I think you deserve to be mad at me.”

“I don’t know, being mad isn’t really my thing…” Chloé said with a quiet chuckle.

“Bullshit!” Tessa said. Everyone looked over at her, so she continued talking. “Chloé, you didn’t see yourself when you fought Gautier, but you were a fucking badass! You were flying all over the place, kicking ass, throwing her across the basement, it was awesome!”

“W-well, I was just trying to protect you, and that’s a unique situation, and I—”

“Wait, you threw her across the basement?” Vee asked.

“Um, yeah, I guess I got a little angry… She was about to stab Tessa, and I kinda screamed at her? And it turns out that, whatever happened to me, it gave me cool banshee screaming powers!” Chloé said, blushing with excitement.

“You also made me invisible! And you were able to make me phase through objects!” Tessa said, continuing to shower Chloé with praise.

“Chloé!” Vee shouted, jumping up and down excitedly. “That’s so cool!”

Vee and Tessa both crowded Chloé, who happily recounted the story of how she figured out she could extend her own strange powers to other people. Amara, who briefly let herself get caught up in the excitement, realized there was one person she still hadn’t apologized to. Looking around, she found Nick leaning against the back of a couch, watching everything with a smile on his face. Walking up to him, Amara forced a smile, one that hinted at what she wanted to say.

“Hey, Amara,” Nick said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, Nick,” she whispered back.

“Feeling better?”

“…Yeah.” Amara nodded, and the two kept looking at each other, their years of friendship communicating more than words ever could. He pulled her into a hug, his large frame nearly eclipsing her own as she hugged him back.

“Good to have you back.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you,” Amara whispered into his shoulder.

“It’s alright,” he whispered back. “I’ve been spending a lot of time with Tessa. She’s actually really sweet once you crack through the sour exterior.”

“Nicolas,” Amara whispered, her voice hinting at a scandal, “are you just slowly working your way through all my friends?”

“Vee and I went on one date, and it went terribly! This isn’t like that at all!” Nick said, blushing in frustration as he countered Amara’s innuendo. “And you don’t count, because everything that happened with us was due to latent demon blood.”

“I’m just giving you shit, Nick,” Amara said, smiling as she stepped back. “I’m happy you’re here. I’m happy you’re with us.”

“I’m just glad you’re all safe. I’ll admit, sometimes it’s a little frustrating that I don’t have more to offer, but I’m happy to admit when the situation has escalated beyond me.”

“You’re not jealous that you don’t have cool powers like everyone else?” Amara asked, playfully poking Nick with her tail.

“Fuck no!” he said with a laugh. “I’m happier on the sidelines, Amara. I don’t have the temperament to do what you do. Magic? Glowing swords? Fire powers? That’s too much for me. I’ll still never understand how you took so easily to growing a tail.”

Amara grabbed Nick’s hand, then pulled him closer so they could rejoin everyone else. Together at last, all five of them happily listened to the remainder of Chloé’s story. She talked about messing around with her own intangibility, how she was pretty sure she could see magic, and what other ideas she wanted to test with her new abilities.

Eventually, the time came to turn their attention to more serious matters. Everyone present moved to Tessa’s couches, where they hoped to piece together a plan to defeat Davenport and Gautier.

“Tessa?” Amara started. “This is your coven, so you should call the shots.”

“We already asked Miss Bishop and Miss Tsopnang to get somewhere safe. Palesa was pretty drained after…” Tessa quickly threw an awkward glance at Amara, “um, after last night, and we told them to lay low until Vee could provide some healing. Nick already texted all the students still on campus, asking them to stay indoors. Actually, have you heard from Imani yet?”

Nick pulled his phone out. “I have, but I’m not entirely sure what to tell her. For now, I just asked her to be ready in case something happens, and that something big is lurking on the horizon.”

“That’s better than nothing,” Vee said. “We should also prepare for the inevitable fight. This is too big an opportunity for Davenport to pass up, and I’ll imagine she won’t react kindly to us backing her into a corner.”

“That’s going to be tough,” Tessa said. “Miss Gautier is one of the most powerful witches in the country. Every single one of her tattoos exists to amplify her telekinetic abilities, which gives her an incredible amount of power. As for Headmistress Davenport, I don’t actually know what she’s capable of. In all my years with the Coven, I’ve never seen her do anything more than basic telekinesis.”

“She makes portals,” Amara added, finally speaking up. “She can connect two areas of space, and she’s an expert at using them to move around and redirect attacks. She also had some magically reinforced swords, but I melted most of them. No idea if she has more, but I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Portals?” Tessa groaned. “Fuck. That’s ridiculously high-level shit. Ugh, I always heard she was top tier, but I never imagined that her understanding of planar mechanics ran so deep.”

“How exactly do all those tattoos work?” Chloé asked. She didn’t bother manifesting, but seemed to be floating somewhere next to Tessa.

“It’s… not really a simple process. The tattoos themselves are made from incredibly rare materials, and have to be applied perfectly or they might backfire. Once someone has tattoos, however, they don’t instantly have access to the magic. They need to have a deep understanding of how the runes work, how they interact with other planes of existence, and only then will a witch know which symbols to activate to achieve the desired effects. If I activated all my runes every time I used magic, I’d burn myself out in seconds. The fact that Davenport is able to reliably open portals is astounding.”

“If we ruin the tattoos, does that cut off their ability to channel magic?” Chloé asked.

“Oh, absolutely,” Tessa said. “The tattoos are the linchpin holding everything together. Getting close enough to damage them is another thought entirely, however. Smart witches keep their distance, do everything in their power to stay out of range from knives, swords, anything that might risk damaging their tattoos. Their outfits are also magically reinforced, so even if we can close the distance, there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to disrupt their magic.”

“What about your knife?” Nick asked. “The one you enchanted to take down Brandon?”

Tessa shook her head. “Wouldn’t work. It’s specifically designed to disrupt energy from Purgatory, and I used his blood to make it. If I had enough time, I might be able to puzzle out something that works against witches, but that would take a lot of trial and error. That’s time we simply don’t have.”

“So, unless I’m mistaken,” Vee said, “our next step should probably be meeting up with Miss Bishop and Miss Tsopnang. They can help us put together a plan, and might even be willing to fight with us. If they agree, we’ll have two Coven Heads on our side, and the odds swing dramatically in our favor. The trick will be convincing them to help after…”

“After I attacked them both,” Amara said quietly. “I know, I may have fucked us on this one. Still, it’s worth a shot.”

“No time like the present, right?” Chloé said.

Everyone present looked around at each other, quickly nodding in agreement. With nothing else to do, Tessa texted Elizabeth to ask where she and Palesa were resting. While waiting for an answer, she disappeared into the bathroom to touch up her eyeliner, something that brought a smile to Amara’s face. It was genuinely refreshing to feel like part of the group again, even down to such small, insignificant moments.

Once Miss Bishop texted Tessa back, everyone began donning their winter gear in preparation for the trek across campus. Amara refreshed her illusory clothes, which previously had large tear stains and eyeliner smears covering it, then added a warm-looking jacket to complete the look.

With everyone ready, they left the apartment and locked the door behind them.

—

Coven Heads Elizabeth Bishop and Palesa Tsopnang were, for some reason, camped out in the park next to the Coven Manor. Tessa had kept their text conversation short, and hadn’t bothered asking why, but Amara wondered if it had something to do with the nature of Palesa’s magic. She was capable of restoring plant life, but did that healing ability extend to people too?

She found it much more preferable to think about the possible applications of Palesa’s magic than of the awkward conversation they were headed towards.

When she’d apologized to her friends, she had years of history to draw on. She understood not only how she’d hurt them, but why her actions had cut so deep. Elizabeth and Palesa were complete strangers to her, other than the scraps of information she’d pieced together in her rampage. They were in some kind of relationship, they seemed to be hiding it from Davenport, and… that was pretty much it.

Fuck, I really didn’t lift a finger to learn anything about them, did I? I just saw a target and started punching.

Way to fucking go, Amara. Really great work.

Someone grabbed Amara’s hand and squeezed it tight. Shaken from her malaise, she saw Vee looking at her with a knowing smile. Just looking at her inspired Amara to cast aside her self-deprecating thoughts, and she smiled back before turning her attention back to the world around her.

Tessa and Nick led the way, while Amara and Vee walked a few paces behind them. Amara didn’t know where Chloé was at the moment, but trusted that she was nearby. Snow crunched under their feet as they walked off the street and into the forest preserve, the entrance marked by a large metal arch made of swirling, decorative iron bars. Large trees lined the pathways that meandered off into the park, and the deeper the group walked, the easier it was to find areas further from the paved sidewalks. Amara herself had taken advantage of one such area last night, and the thought of those actions made her squeeze Vee’s hand even tighter as they walked.

Several minutes later, far from the eyes of any potential park visitors, Tessa held up a hand to indicate they’d arrived. At first, Amara didn’t see anything, but then she remembered that Elizabeth was a master illusionist. A second look around the area revealed a faint magical outline, one that Tessa promptly disappeared into after a quick look at the rest of the group.

Surprisingly, Amara couldn’t hear anything from inside the illusion. Her initial hope was that she’d be able to hear whatever conversation Tessa was having with the Coven Heads, but those hopes were quickly dashed as she realized they felt too similar to the abuse of her abilities she’d spent all of last night reveling in. No, they deserved privacy, a chance to discuss the situation free of her presence. Heck, if it made them feel better, she’d even let Vee put her in an Enochian circle again.

When Tessa returned, however, no such dramatic measures were requested. “Miss Bishop and Miss Tsopnang are willing to talk, but… they’re pretty nervous, especially given Palesa’s weakened state. Whatever you did, Amara, it really shook them.”

Amara swallowed nervously. “I know. I’ll do everything I can to make this right, but I can’t change the past. I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to, if not earn their trust, at least make sure we stand a chance at taking down Davenport.” With another look around the group, stopping with a slow, lingering look at Vee, everyone stepped over the illusory boundary.

Inside, they found a small wooden hut made from thick patches of bark and vines. It had clearly been grown with magic, and its various walls seemed to lack any possible gaps that might allow heat to escape. A small entryway on the front of the structure held what looked like a thick green blanket, but closer inspection revealed it to be a thin network of plant roots that had been woven together, then covered over with a layer of moss. From inside, Amara sensed the faint presence of a fire, but it didn’t seem very large. Either they didn’t want to risk damaging the building, or conjuring this temporary home had sapped all of Palesa’s strength, and she didn’t have any remaining strength to keep them both warm.

Tessa went first, pushing aside the moss covering the entrance and walking inside. Vee went next, then Amara, and Nick walked in last. Once everyone was inside, the space felt incredibly cramped, but thankfully it seemed to have been designed with hospitality partially in mind. The inside of the hut was completely devoid of snow, and a small fire sat flickering in the center of the space. Amara wondered if they’d intended for this to become a base of operations, but her thoughts were interrupted once she saw the Coven Heads staring daggers at her.

Palesa lay in Elizabeth’s lap, both of them incredibly tense as they held each other. Amara sensed ambient magic drifting off their tattoos, though most of the power was predictably centered on Elizabeth. As furious as Palesa looked, her fury was clearly a mask that hid how weak she still was following Amara’s assault the previous night.

“You have a lot of nerve coming here, demon,” Palesa hissed.

Her face flushed with guilt once more, Amara quietly sat down opposite the Coven Heads and nodded. Words that had previously been spinning around in her head suddenly coalesced as she took a deep breath, then looked up at the women she’d wronged. “I realize that no apology will ever undo the damage I caused last night. What I did was terrible and abhorrent, and I will make no attempt to rationalize what I did. I’m here to throw myself at your mercy, but also to ask if I can be of any assistance in stopping what Davenport has planned for this campus.”

Vee walked closer to the older women and quietly spoke up before they had a chance to respond. “I’m so sorry, but while you talk, can I help restore your strength, Miss Tsopnang?”

Palesa nodded quietly, and after a very quick silent conversation, the two repositioned so Vee could get to work. The Coven Head reluctantly pulled away from her beloved, instead rising to her knees so Vee could sit behind her and place her hands on Palesa’s back. Seconds later, as Vee closed her eyes, soft Enochian magic began pulsing from her fingertips, and Amara felt a shiver run across her body.

“As witches, we see a lot of terrible things, Amara,” Miss Bishop said. If there was any malice in her words, Amara was unable to detect it. “Our job is to ensure the safety and balance of all things magical and mundane, and we often find ourselves in impossible situations. I’ve seen innocent people lose their lives to supernatural mishaps, but I’ve seen magical creatures injured just as frequently. For every human that loses their life, there’s a werewolf or dryad that’s desperately trying to survive in a world designed without them in mind. I tell you this so you have context for what I’m about to say.”

Miss Bishop looked Amara square in the eyes, and while no magic flared, a chilling presence washed over Amara. “True monsters are hard to find. They exist, without a doubt, but nearly every form of life has hopes beyond terrorizing mankind. Last night? You were beyond monstrous. You attacked the love of my life within the sanctity of her own mind, and you impersonated me to do so. You tried desperately to kill me in the manor, and I’m alive only because of my own wit. I saw the hatred simmering just under the surface, I saw how eager you were to inflict pain for its own sake. Of all the creatures that exist across the planes, demons are without a doubt the most terrifying, and you’ve merely proven my assumptions through your actions.”

“Were it up to me, child, I would turn you over to the Church,” Palesa said, taking a deep breath in appreciation of the healing magic flowing through her. “However, against all odds, you have an angel vouching for your character as we speak. When coupled with the actions of our fellow Coven Heads, I admit I find it difficult to pick apart who is right and who is wrong. It is also our understanding that you worked quite closely with Miss Blackwood these last few months in order to protect the students of this campus. She spared no detail in describing how instrumental you were in stopping the cult of the former Mr. Wellington, as well as how hard you fought to prevent the guardians of Purgatory from killing innocent bystanders.”

“S-she did?” Amara asked, genuinely surprised. She looked over to Tessa, “You did?”

“Well, I…” Tessa stammered. “Just because you’re a fucking idiot now doesn’t mean you didn’t help out back then…”

“We have every right to be furious with you,” Miss Bishop said, redirecting the conversation back to herself. “However, you have just as many reasons to be furious with our coven. Davenport deceived all of you in her pursuit of power, and it would be hypocritical of me not to recognize that Simone tried to butcher Tessa in cold blood for simply associating with the likes of you.”

Vee’s magic began to fade as she pulled her hands away from Palesa, who clenched her fingers in front of her as she tested her renewed strength. Without warning, tattoos across her body lit up, and a thick collection of vines erupted from the ground around Amara. They entangled her arms, pulled her tightly to the ground, and Palesa stood up before walking closer. She knelt in front of Amara, a terrifying glint in her eyes, as she spoke. “I will never forgive what you did, demon. You struck me down in my most vulnerable state, you turned the safety of my mind against me, and you did so with insidious glee. You say you’re here to throw yourself at our mercy, but what will you do a week from now? A month? What promise do we have that you won’t surrender to those impulses again in the future? Your presence here could easily be nothing more than a ploy to earn our support in taking down Davenport.”

“It could be,” Amara admitted, refusing to struggle against the thick plant life binding her. “There’s nothing I can do to prove my intentions, other than action. Although, if you feel there’s an appropriate punishment you can deliver now, I’m willing to face it.”

Palesa went quiet, her eyes brimming with fury as she examined Amara. She raised a hand, briefly making a fist, before releasing it. Instead, one of the vines surrounding Amara broke loose, and from the end grew a long, stiff barb. It looked almost like a small knife, and Palesa’s magic flared once more as she urged it to point at Amara’s chest. Both women looked deep into each others’ eyes, neither blinking as the moment stretched on. Seconds later, emotions flooded Palesa’s face, and she screamed before thrusting the barbed vine forward. Just before piercing Amara’s chest, it veered to one side, instead plunging deep into her arm.

Pain shot through her body, her limbs seizing with practiced malice. Her eyes flared on their own, her body attempting to react to this attack, but Amara refused to give in to the temptation. She forced her body to listen to her, not to her demonic instincts, as she accepted her punishment.

“I live every day in fear of Davenport! She forces me to swallow my pride every single hour I work alongside her, and my only refuge were the dreams Liz painstakingly crafted for me. They were all I had, and you stole that from me! Do you know what it’s like to have someone reach inside your mind and turn your own wishes against you? To desecrate your most treasured thoughts in the pursuit of malice and cruelty?!” The barb painfully ripped itself out of Amara’s arm, then moved to pierce her other shoulder. “Nothing I do here will ever compare to what you’ve taken from me, demon. Every single fiber of my being is screaming at me to end this now, to remove even the slightest possibility of you starting another rampage, but I’m not going to. Do you know why? Because I’m not a slave to my anger, Amara. I’m not you.”

Amara grit her teeth as her shoulder throbbed in pain, blood running down her arm and down her fingers. Another minute of painful silence passed before Palesa yielded, pulling the barb out of Amara’s arm and making it retreat into the ground. “At the end of the day, you’re here asking for forgiveness, and they aren’t. It would be foolish not to accept your help with so much on the line. Before I set you free, demon, mark my words; if we survive this, we’ll be keeping very close tabs on you. We will have extensive plans for how to take you down if you turn on us again.”

Nodding slowly, her arm still throbbing, Amara did her best to keep a level voice. “You have every right to do so, and I agree with your decision not to trust me.”

The vines binding Amara went slack, then slowly retreated back into the ground. Palesa finally turned away, walking back to Elizabeth and sinking into her arms with an emotional gasp. Rather than interrupt, Amara let the two women share a moment together and chose to instead tend to her new injury. She briefly dispelled the sleeves of her jacket, quickly inspecting the wound before closing it up in a flurry of hellfire.

When she looked up, she saw Vee moving closer, and she kneeled next to Amara before speaking quietly. “How are you holding up? Between everything that happened with me, and now that injury, I can’t imagine you’ve got a lot of strength left.”

“I’ll be okay,” Amara whispered back. “I… fed quite a bit last night, from multiple people. I’m a bit weaker than usual, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

The two hugged, then Vee sat down next to Amara while they waited for Elizabeth and Palesa. Once the moment had passed, and the two Coven Heads had composed themselves once more, they turned to face the rest of the group.

“Okay. What’s the plan?” Elizabeth asked.

With everyone now willing to work together, they gathered around the fire and began discussing plans for taking down Coven Heads Davenport and Gautier. They discussed what abilities they had at their disposal, how they might be able to structure a fight to their advantage, and where they hoped to make their last stand. Amara was incredibly tense taking so much time to plan, but she trusted Palesa and Elizabeth’s sense of urgency more than she did her own.

By the time an hour had passed, they were ready. No one present was under any delusions that there wouldn’t be a fight with Davenport and Gautier, but with so many people united against them, Amara felt confident they could defend their campus.

Properly, this time.