Chapter 37

With a burst of magic, Tessa threw open the door in front of her, stormed through, then slammed it shut. She began furiously pacing back and forth, eventually letting out an angry scream as her tattoos flared again, this time hurling a chair across the room. It collided with the far wall, denting it before crashing loudly to the floor. She joined it a second later, collapsing to the ground and running her hands through her hair, locking them together behind her neck and pulling her head down.

The door opened again, much more quietly, and she heard someone step through. “Tess, what’s going on?” Nick asked.

“Here to yell at me? Remind me what a fuck-up I am?” Tessa hissed.

Nick closed the door, then sat down next to Tessa. “What? No, I’m just worried about you. When have I ever yelled at you?”

“ ... Shut up.”

There was a heavy sigh, and she flinched as Nick placed a hand on her shoulder. “Tessa, I just want to talk. I don’t know what’s going on, but it really feels like there’s something you’re not telling me. Which, I mean, I’m used to that, but things are a little different now.”

“Because I yelled at Naomi?”

“And shoved her to the table, and held a knife to her throat,” Nick said, his voice somehow reassuring and accusatory at the same time. “I’ve never seen you blow up like that.”

“We just ... we can’t let this get out, Nick,” Tessa said, finally looking up at him.

“Why? What’s at risk here?” When Tessa refused to elaborate, Nick continued. “Look, we’re all in this together. If you tell us what’s going on, we can help you prepare. If you keep this to yourself, then we’re left scrambling when another threat inevitably lands on our doorstep without warning.”

Tessa took a deep breath, shutting her eyes as she summoned the strength to say something. “It’s my coven. They monitor news sites and social media to look for shit like this.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It is! If they see those pictures, they’ll know that I’ve been keeping them in the dark about the last few months. I’m supposed to report back if anything weird happens, but at first I thought I could handle it myself to avoid dealing with them. Then I learned about Amara, and she changes everything. They’d be furious at me for keeping this all a secret, but it’s not like they’d kill me. If they find out Amara’s a demon ... it wouldn’t go well.”

“Howso? Like, banishment?” Nick asked.

“Maybe? I honestly don’t know. I didn’t stick around long enough to learn what their policies are for demons; I just know it’s considered a huge risk.”

Nick squeezed her shoulder again before letting go. He slid in front of her, leaning forward to try and look her in the face. She reluctantly raised her head to oblige him. “We’re in this together, Tess. You just have to talk to us.”

Tessa averted her eyes, looking back at the floor. Ordinarily she would be trying to figure out what Nick wanted to hear so he would leave her alone, but she couldn’t deny she appreciated the company. She eventually spun around, then fell backwards to lean on Nick.

“Feel free to not answer this, but it doesn’t sound like you get along well with your coven,” he asked as she settled in.

Memories of her time studying magic flashed through her head, and she shuddered before shaking them away. “Nope, but you don’t have enough Boy Scout badges for that conversation yet, sorry. Try again once you’ve mastered knot-tying.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say I’m a master, but I know some basic shibari. Amara once hinted that she wanted to try bondage, though we never got around to it.”

“Seriously?” Tessa craned her neck to look up at Nick. “Huh. Here I thought you were nothing but a lukewarm bowl of vanilla pudding.”

They both laughed, then fell quiet for a few moments. “Look, I know we’re basically living through your worst-case scenario, but we still have work to do. Amara’s unconscious, Brandon is planning something terrible outside, and we have no idea how much time we have before he does irreversible damage out there.”

“Trying to make me get back out there?” Tessa asked.

“If we don’t give them some direction, they’re going to start panicking. Plus, you should apologize to Naomi.”

“Ugh, do I need to write it ten times on a blackboard while I’m at it?”

Nick playfully smacked Tessa’s arm. “Look, if you apologize, I’ll try to handle the crowd. You need to talk with Vee and Amara to start putting together a plan.”

“You drive a shrewd bargain, but I accept your terms.” With a heavy sigh, Tessa reluctantly pushed away from Nick and stood up. She looked around at her surroundings for the first time, and realized they were in some kind of employee break room. A row of lockers stood against the far wall, and there were doors that led both to the cafeteria and the kitchen. The wall opposite the lockers now had a sizeable dent in it, and Tessa sheepishly averted her eyes as she left with Nick.

When they rejoined the crowd, Vee and Amara were nowhere to be seen. Nick pushed Tessa in Naomi’s direction, then started approaching different students to hopefully begin instilling a sense of order.

Naomi immediately tensed up as Tessa walked closer. Another student, the one in the purple jacket that had helped her up earlier, moved in front of her to stop Tessa from coming any closer. “Whatever you have to say, you can say it from there. And if I see those tattoos glow, I’m throwing hands,” the girl said.

“That’s ... I deserve that,” Tessa muttered. “Look, Naomi, I just want to apologize. It’s not your fault you don’t know what’s at stake here.”

“Tess, that’s the shittiest apology I’ve ever heard,” Naomi said.

“At least you’re getting one!” Tessa snapped. She immediately sighed in frustration, then tried to calm herself down. “I’m sorry, it’s just ... I don’t have time to go into details, but there’s a reason the world doesn’t know magic is real, and it’s not because no one has ever thought to reveal it. There are countless organizations that dedicate their lives to keeping magic a secret, and they’ll stop at nothing to keep it that way. If you try to spill the beans, you’re gonna get black bagged by a secret government organization in the middle of the night, if not worse.”

After another angry glare, Naomi responded. “Alright, look, I’ll agree that I’m a little out of my depth here. When this is over, and those things are back where they belong, you and I are going to have a chat.”

“That’s fair,” Tessa said, sighing in relief. “Do you know where Vee and Amara went?”

“Um,” Naomi stammered. “Natalie?”

The other girl, the one with the dreadlocks and the purple jacket, spoke up next. “They’re downstairs in the bistro. Said something about needing a place to rest and recover.”

“Thanks.” Tessa turned to leave, then paused briefly. “I’m glad you’re not hurt, by the way.”

She didn’t give Naomi a chance to respond, and instead walked away to check the perimeter. She circled the inside of the cafeteria, examining windows and doors for any telltale signs of otherworldly magic, but so far everything seemed safe. For better or for worse, the back of the dining hall was one massive window, which gave them an unobstructed view of the quad. The mist was still thick, but it failed to conceal the reapers that now stalked the field, circling a strange glow that had appeared in the middle.

She’d been lost in thought for a minute when another student approached her with questions about what was happening, and she immediately made an excuse to leave the conversation. She instead decided it was time to go find her friends, and started downstairs. Halfway down the steps she crossed paths with Chloé, who was heading in the opposite direction.

“Chloé!” Tessa said, gesturing for a hug. Chloé didn’t turn her away, but she also didn’t return the gesture. “How are you doing?”

“I...” Chloé muttered. “Vee just told me everything. Well, mostly everything. Now’s not a good time, I just ... I want to be alone for a while.”

“O-okay, well, come find us soon, okay?”

Chloé nodded then took off again, disappearing around the corner at the top of the stairs. Watching her leave, a knot formed in Tessa’s gut, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she might be a little responsible for her friend’s bad mood. Unfortunately, she had bigger problems that needed tackling.

Once she’d made it to the bistro, she found Vee slumped in a large armchair. She was sitting next to Amara, who was unconscious on a couch.

Tessa pulled up a chair of her own, opposite Vee, and collapsed into it. A cocky smirk grew on her face; she’d been itching to rub Vee’s hypocrisy in her face, and it would be the perfect way to relieve all the stress from the last hour. When Vee finally looked up, she sighed.

“What is it, Tessa?” she asked, clearly exasperated.

“I’m just remembering how much shit you gave me for fucking Amara. I seem to remember you accusing me of being her thrall? Blind to her control over me because I was too horny, or something like that?”

“Pretty sure those aren’t the words I used,” Vee muttered.

“Yeah, well, close enough,” Tessa said, inching closer. “But look at us now. Two peas in a pod. How was it? She use her tail?”

Vee’s face turned bright red. “We did no such thing!”

“Bullshit! Two days ago she could barely walk, but yesterday she was completely fine!”

“I...” Vee paused, averted her eyes to the floor, then sighed in defeat. “We didn’t fuck. I masturbated and let her feed on me. We weren’t even in the same room.”

“Ah HA!” Tessa said, jumping to her feet and pointing at Vee. “Oh, how the mighty have fallen! I thought all demons were pure evil? That Amara was just pretending to be sympathetic as part of her master plan?”

Tessa would have happily continued taunting Vee, but she was forced to stop when something strange happened. Vee pulled her knees to her chest, her body shook, and she started to cry.

Fuck.

“I was wrong, okay? Is that what you want to hear?!” Vee said, her voice quivering. “I should never have attacked Amara, I should have trusted her from the beginning, but I didn’t. I’m a horrible friend and I ruined everything, I get it!”

Way to go, Tessa. First you attack Naomi, and now you’re reducing Vee to tears? You’re on a roll.

“You think I haven’t been beating myself up over this? That I haven’t been painstakingly reliving every terrible thing I did to her?” Vee paused, wiping her face on her sleeve as she kept crying. “You know what she told me a few days ago? She said that she was happy Derek attacked her, because she thought she was keeping me safe. And what did I do to repay her? I tried to fucking kill her, Tessa!”

Shit. Should I say something? What would Nick do?

“And now we’re back, but Chloé almost got killed by a reaper, and Brandon is trying to invade, and all these people upstairs are panicking and I have no idea what to do! How do I know I’m not going to fuck this up again? What if someone dies and it’s all my fault? I’m supposed to have the power to protect people, to save them from awful things like this, but I’m basically useless. I tried to fight a reaper and could barely land a hit, whereas Amara can kill them single-handedly! How am I supposed to keep her safe?”

Tessa stammered, unsure what to say as Vee continued crying. Eventually she stepped closer, taking a seat on the armrest of Vee’s chair, and awkwardly placed a hand on Vee’s shoulder. “Hey, I didn’t ... I wasn’t trying to upset you. Look, I know I’m not the best person for this, but ... do you, I dunno, want to talk about it?”

“Talk about it?” Vee asked between sniffs. “Who are you, and what have you done with Tessa?”

“Oh, shut up. You two got sucked into Purgatory so I’ve been spending a bunch of time with Nick. Maybe he’s rubbing off on me.”

Surprisingly, Vee reached up and grabbed Tessa’s hand. “A lot happened over there. Amara and I got to talking, and she told me everything. We both apologized and forgave each other, but this is the first chance I’ve had to ... I dunno, process everything away from her? Except now the campus is under attack, and Amara went and almost got herself killed fighting that reaper. I just got her back, Tess, I can’t lose her again!”

“She’ll be okay, Vee. We just have to find some horny idiots willing to fuck next to her and she’ll be back on her feet in no time.” Tessa paused, trying to think of what else she could say to make Vee feel better. “You know, if Amara forgives you, I guess I’d consider doing something similar. Can’t imagine it’s an easy thing for an angel to do. Fessing up to being wrong, I mean.”

Vee chuckled quietly. “Never thought I’d see the day that you learned emotional maturity.”

“I mean, there’s no guarantee we survive this, so what have I got to lose?” With Vee no longer crying, Tessa eagerly moved back to her own chair. “I gotta admit, it’s weird seeing you like this. You two seriously worked through everything in just a couple days?”

“Funny what complete isolation can do for people,” Vee said. She paused for a minute, shifting in her seat as she looked over at Amara again. “She was my best friend before this all started, so finding that again felt surprisingly easy. Now that everything is out in the open, it’s like ... I don’t know how to describe it. When she’s around, everything feels easier. Like there’s a weight that vanishes from my chest and I can finally breathe.”

Vee looked over at Amara, almost lost in her own little world as she spoke. Tessa watched her closely, surprised at how sincere her words were.

Is she...? Nah, couldn’t be.

“I really am sorry, Tessa, for everything. I know I never hurt you directly, but I certainly said some nasty things. You were right to take Amara’s side.”

“Y’know, it’s hard to enjoy saying ‘I told you so’ when you’re being so apologetic about everything. You really know how to kill the mood,” Tessa said, hoping she might get Vee to laugh.

Surprisingly, it worked. Vee laughed quietly as she brushed the tears off her face. “Can you watch Amara for a bit? I need to stretch my legs, and we still have a room full of students up there. Nick asked me to watch them but I needed to get Amara down here so she could rest.”

“Yeah, of course. He’s up there now trying to pull them together.”

“Great, hopefully the two of us can figure something out.” Vee stood up, stretching her back as she prepared to return upstairs. On her way out, she circled around Tessa’s chair and paused to put her hand on her shoulder. “Thanks for listening to me, by the way. I, um, I guess I needed to vent a little. And thanks for getting us home, you saved a lot of lives today.”

With a noncommittal wave of her hand, Tessa gestured vaguely for Vee to leave, and then she was alone.

She turned sideways in her chair, draping her legs over the side, and looked over to Amara. She was still breathing, but the injuries had clearly taken a toll on her. Her explosion in the cafeteria likely hadn’t helped matters. With nothing else to do, Tessa returned to her conversation with Vee, dwelling on just how worried she’d been.

Amara’s status as a demon had always elevated her in Tessa’s eyes. At first this had been lust, a deep-seated desire to fuck something that wasn’t human. Then Amara’s growing strength began to instill a sense of awestruck wonder. After the ritual, there was fear; a realization that Amara’s power was more than just physical strength. At every step of their strange journey together, however, she’d never thought she might lose Amara. Going up against the cult had been scary, but she had trusted Amara to keep her safe. The most she’d ever worried was when Vee had reentered the picture, and Tessa had suspected she might try to banish Amara again.

Now, the only person Tessa thought could go toe-to-toe with Amara was scared for their demonic friend’s life. Was she right in thinking that?

I’ve never seen Amara this hurt before, and that was only fighting a single reaper. There are three more of them out there, and she said that Brandon was somehow strong enough to control them all. How are we supposed to do this?

Tessa tried to turn her attention to the magic side of things, to figure out how Brandon was alive, how he was controlling those creatures, but she couldn’t bring herself to focus. Her thoughts always found a way to return to Amara, bruised and bloodied on the couch.

After what felt like an eternity of stewing in her own chaotic thoughts, she heard footsteps coming from the staircase. She prepared herself for more pesky students, but was relieved to see Nick walking into view.

“Hey, Tess, how are you holding up?” he asked, taking a seat across from her.

She took her time answering. “If nothing else, I’m alive. Thanks to her. Thanks to both of them.”

“Vee filled me in, at least a little bit. Said that being trapped with Amara gave them a chance to work things out. You have any thoughts on what we need to do next? You’re our resident magic expert, and it doesn’t look like Amara’s going to be able to punch her way out of this one.”

“Clearly that’s not going to stop her from trying,” Tessa said, laughing. “Don’t suppose anyone volunteered to fuck next to her?”

“Surprisingly, the random college students that just discovered monsters are real aren’t in the mood for public sex next to a literal demon. Shocking, I know.”

Tessa slid her chair closer, idly tracing her hand down one of Amara’s horns. “I’ve been trying to think of what needs to happen next, but I just can’t pull myself together. I’ve always looked at Amara like some unstoppable force of nature, but seeing her like this ... I dunno. It all feels so real now. Like, if this could happen to her, what chance do the rest of us stand?”

“Hey, she didn’t stop that cult by herself,” Nick said. “Without you and Vee, nothing would have happened. You’re the one that reversed the portal to Hell, and you’re the one that got her back from Purgatory.”

“Yeah yeah, we’re stronger together, and the power of friendship is perfect, and we all just need to hold hands and sing about it,” Tessa said, rolling her eyes.

“You’ve got a lot on your mind, I get it. Lots of distractions floating around.” Nick slid forward out of his chair, settling down on his knees in front of Tessa. He leaned against the couch, briefly looking over at Amara before speaking up again. “Think there’s anything I could do to help you focus?”

Tessa chuckled. “Thanks, but I doubt it.”

“Are you sure? I actually had an idea myself. A way we might be able to kill two birds with one stone.” Tessa flinched with surprise as Nick reached up and touched her, resting a hand on her thigh.

“Wait, what?” Tessa said, sitting up slightly to look down at Nick. “Are you being serious?”

“I-I mean, it was just a thought, we don’t have if you—”

Without hesitation, Tessa pushed herself off her chair. She fell forwards, Nick helping her down, and their lips met for the first time. Tessa sighed as they kissed, and all the anticipation from the last week melted away as Nick held her. His embrace was soft and comforting, and he was strong enough to hold her steady as she scrambled to pull herself into his lap.

As soon as she had straddled him, she moved her hands to his hair so she could pull him closer. His hands began exploring as well, reaching up her back and down her legs while she started grinding against him.

The initial burst of passion faded, and Nick pulled away for a split second. “Are you sure this is okay?”

“Nick, I was the one throwing myself at you all of last week. I think it’s safe to say my feelings haven’t changed.” She moved her lips down, pushing Nick’s head to the side as she kissed his neck.

“Not us, I meant Amara. If we do this, we should assume she’ll be feeding on both of us.”

Tessa sat up again, looking Nick in his brilliant green eyes. “I want her to. She’s our friend, and I want her back. I want to do everything I can to keep her alive and healthy. If that also happens to mean a chance to fuck you senseless, well...”

Nick laughed as they kissed again, and he moved his hands to Tessa’s ass. She gasped in appreciation, running her own hands down his chest as she excitedly traced the various muscles on display underneath his shirt. It wasn’t long before she was pulling at the fabric, lifting it over Nick’s head and tossing it to the ground next to them.