Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 44

Tessa woke to the sound of frantic, heavy pounding. It sounded like someone was trying to break down her front door, and she immediately leapt out of bed while her magic reached for her switchblades. They began swirling around her head, ready to strike at whoever, or whatever, would dare to try to invade her home.

As she raced to the front of her apartment, she heard two feminine voices arguing out in the hallway.

"--you didn't even give her time to respond! It's been, what, half an hour?"

"We can't risk waiting any longer, she needs our help!"

Rolling her eyes, she opened the front door with a scowl. "For fuck's sake, Amara, this had better be important," Tessa snapped.

"Tessa, we need to--" Amara froze mid-sentence when Tessa pointed a knife at her throat, just as she was doing to Vee.

"Wait. What's for dinner?" Tessa asked.

"Hand-seared chicken. Fuck, what's your problem?" Amara asked, batting the knife away and walking into the apartment. Tessa looked over to Vee, whose answer was considerably more apologetic.

"Spaghetti carbonara," Vee said softly.

"Okay, now we can talk." Tessa closed the door with her magic, then set her switchblades down on the kitchen counter before turning to face Amara again. "What's so important you had to nearly break down my front door at six in the morning?"

"It's Chloé! I think she survived!" Amara was now pacing back and forth, sparks of hellfire occasionally drifting off her hair.

"Wait, wait?!" Tessa looked to Vee, hoping for a better explanation.

Vee sighed. "Amara was exploring the Dreamscape last night, and when she returned to her body, she thinks she saw Chloé briefly appear in front of her. She was screaming and clutching her head, like she was in some kind of pain."

Tessa balled her fists as she glared at Amara. "That's what this is about?! You had a bad fucking dream and decide to spin some fantasy about Chloé still being alive?"

"It wasn't a dream!!" Amara shouted back. She spun to face Tessa, hellfire framing her eyes.

"How can you know that?" Tessa asked. "The last few times you fucked around with dreams, you were always stuck inside Derek's nightmares! What proof do you have that this wasn't one of your own?"

"I'm sorry, who's the succubus here?" Amara hissed, jabbing a finger into Tessa's chest. At its tip, a small trail of smoke appeared. "I don't tell you how to do magic, Tessa, so stay in your lane and let me worry about the dreamwalking, okay? I know what I saw!"

Vee walked closer, gently placing a hand on Amara's shoulder to try and calm her down. Their natures briefly collided, and a flurry of angelic sparks leapt into the air as Amara jumped in surprise. "Amara, please. Let's take a deep breath and let Tessa explain her side of things. She's not saying she knows your abilities better than you do, it's just... we were all there. We know what we saw."

Strangely, despite the hostile spark from Vee's magic, Amara didn't get the least bit upset. Instead, she did exactly what Vee asked; she took a deep breath and stepped back from Tessa. She even reached up and briefly grabbed Vee's hand, which Tessa found strange.

Looking down, Tessa sighed in relief. Despite the earlier smoke, Amara hadn't actually burned a hole in her shirt. "Okay, look. Let's say I believe you, alright? Let's say that Chloé didn't die when the portal closed on her. Maybe she's trapped between planes, or her consciousness got scattered, something along those lines. Even then, I still wouldn't be able to do anything."

"How can you say that?" Amara asked. "How can you say it's not even worth trying?"

"This is different than when you two were stuck in Purgatory. It's not like Chloé's trapped in another plane and we need to get her back; she's gone, Amara. We all saw what happened, and there's no coming back from that." Tessa paused, briefly wondering if she should bite her tongue, when she decided that Amara didn't deserve to be coddled. "And don't you dare insinuate that I'm not desperate to see her again. She was my friend too."

Amara went quiet, her eyes glued to the floor. Tessa looked back to Vee, whose tender eyes still seemed to be apologizing for everything.

"How about we let Tessa get back to bed, Amara," Vee said softly. She grabbed Amara's arm and started leading her towards the door. After a half-hearted attempt to stay put, Amara nodded slowly and let Vee lead her away.

"... Sorry for waking you, Tess," Amara whispered.

Tessa didn't bother responding. She vaguely waved towards Amara and Vee as they left, then sighed in relief as the door shut behind them. Now alone again, Tessa collapsed onto her couch with an angry huff. She closed her eyes, hoping she might be able to claw back a few more minutes of sleep, but it wasn't to be.

Stupid Amara. Stupid dreamwalking demon, getting my hopes up. She doesn't care about anyone but her fucking self and her stupid pity party.

Too angry to keep pretending she was trying to sleep, Tessa reluctantly crawled off the couch and walked to her room. She grabbed a change of clothes, reshaved the side of her head, and bundled up in her winter gear so she could walk to the nearest coffee joint.

---

With the campus coffee place closed for the Winter Break, Tessa had to walk much farther than usual to get her morning fix. If nothing else, it wasn't snowing anymore, and the clouds even parted occasionally to let through bits of sunlight. While her initial goal had only been the coffee, it was hard to argue that getting away from campus for a bit was a welcome change of pace.

Pushing into the coffee shop, Tessa was greeted by a small chime and a burst of warm air. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and succulent breakfast confections washed over her, spurring her to pause before approaching the counter. She closed her eyes, losing herself in the aroma as she took a deep breath, then sighed once she managed to find the moment of peace she was looking for. The sound of a coffee grinder echoed out from the kitchen, forcing Tessa back to the present, and she opened her eyes before approaching the barista.

Several minutes later, with a piping hot cup nestled between her hands, Tessa took a seat by the front window. She was a few blocks away from campus, which meant the streets were bustling with people rushing to work. She watched them race back and forth, chuckling to herself as she thought about how different their lives were.

This whole place was almost enveloped by Purgatory, and none of them know a thing. Would more reapers have shown up if we hadn't stopped Brandon? Did he even have the power to continue expanding his portal?

Tessa paused, taking a sip of her coffee. She stared at the lid as she set it down, thinking back to this morning.

They'll never know what Chloé did for them. How many people did she save? If she hadn't stepped in, the Coven would have stopped him eventually, but how long would it have taken them to get here?

I guess the other students would have just fled. They never would have been stupid enough to take the fight to Brandon. Nooo, we had to play hero and charge headfirst into danger, and for what? So I could keep pretending I didn't need the Coven?

Maybe the Headmistress is right. I just ruin everything I touch.

Another chime echoed through the shop, accompanied by a burst of chill, winter air. Tessa grimaced as the outside world dared to invade her bitter sanctuary, and pulled her jacket closed again.

"Tessa? Oh my gosh! What are the odds?"

Shaken from her thoughts, Tessa looked up to see Imani walking over from the entrance. She was wearing a puffy, white winter coat with thick gloves to match, and an equally plush headband covered her ears. Tessa briefly wondered if her hair would even fit in a hat, but bottled those thoughts in favor of saying something more appropriate.

"Oh, um, morning Imani," Tessa muttered, kicking out the chair opposite herself to invite Imani in. "Pretty good I'd say, this is the closest coffee place to campus."

Imani sat down, shivering as she pulled her gloves off. "I guess that makes sense. Though, honestly, I'm more surprised you're up this early at all; you don't strike me as an early bird."

"Oh, I'm absolutely not," Tessa said with a smirk. "Amara didn't give me a choice in the matter, unfortunately."

"Ah, so you're partners? That explains a lot, actually."

"What? No! I mean, we fuck occasionally, but we're not dating or anything. That's not what happened this morning. She decided to nearly break down my door in a panic, that's all."

Imani leaned closer, a soft look of concern on her face. "Is everything alright?"

Tessa rolled her eyes before slumping into her chair. "Ugh. She had a bad dream, and now she's convinced Chloé is still alive."

"She's not taking it well, from what I gathered. I tried to offer my condolences yesterday, but I barely got two words in before she snapped at me and stormed out. I still haven't had the chance to properly talk with her about everything."

"Yeah, sounds like her." Tessa took another sip of her drink, then realized that Imani didn't have any coffee of her own. "You gonna order anything?"

"Oh, I ordered on the app," Imani said, holding up her phone. "Just waiting for them to call my name."

"Ah."

Tessa wasn't sure what else to say. She knew nothing about Imani other than the fact they were in the same coven. Imani's name was called a second later, and by the time she returned with her drink, Tessa still hadn't thought of any good small talk.

"So, we kinda glossed over this in your initial briefing, but how exactly did Amara help out with the cult? Or against Brandon?" Imani asked.

Tessa was in the middle of another sip and nearly choked on her coffee. After a small fit of coughing, she finally caught her breath and responded. "W-well, she's... stronger than she looks. She, um... studied jiu-jitsu when she was younger."

Fuck, Tessa, really? Jiu-jitsu?

"Oh, wow! I meant to ask her myself, but with her temperament the way it is... I'm sure you know what I mean."

Tessa nodded slowly, trying to hide her expression behind her coffee. "Yup. Even apart from her, uh, martial arts training, we also had that knife I enchanted for the incursion."

"That's right!" Imani leaned forward, grabbing Tessa's free hand. "You wouldn't happen to have that here, would you?"

Eager for a change of topic, Tessa pulled out her switchblade and handed it over. "Knock yourself out. It was a bit of a rush job, so don't get your hopes up." She flinched as Imani reached for the knife quicker than anticipated. She began turning it over in her hands, and Tessa had to intervene to stop her from hurting herself when she tried to open it.

Imani's eyes went wide as she saw the full extent of Tessa's handiwork. "This is fascinating! You said you had to incorporate some of the sigils the cult used, right?"

"Yeah, but they didn't know what they were doing. I had to patchwork together their shitty ideas with something a bit more legible."

"That's what's so impressive about this!" Imani said, talking faster and faster. "You clearly had to incorporate that language in, since those were the sigils that allowed Brandon to take command of Purgatory, but the way you integrated it with our more refined techniques... And here, you clearly take influence from the language of the circles on campus, but you did so while preserving the clarity we've gained in the centuries since! Not to mention you were working with such a small canvas; I mean, look at the size of this knife! Without incredibly fine penmanship, this whole thing could have fallen apart, but you were also applying it over dried blood! I can't imagine how that must have changed the application process! Though, on the other hand, you probably could have cut out this rune on the hilt; it's a bit redundant given what you applied here, under the finger groove. Redundancy can be a great safety feature, but in more complex patterns it can generate unwanted magical feedba--WAIT, did you do that on purpose? Trap his magic in a feedback loop to block out the sources he was gathering energy from?"

Tessa had completely forgotten about her coffee and instead watched in awe as Imani ranted about the knife. "Uh, yeah, that was the goal. It's nothing special, really."

"Nothing special?! Tessa, this knife is immaculately well-designed! If I'd made this, I would be bragging about it to every witch in the country! And to think, Miss Gautier said that--" Imani froze, seemingly stopping herself before the sentence could continue.

"Wait, what?" Tessa asked, leaning forward. "What about Miss Gautier?"

"It's nothing, really. She's just not your biggest fan, but you know that," Imani muttered, looking at the table. "It's crazy, isn't it? That you've learned so much in spite of how they've treated you? It's almost like breaking away from them was... No, I shouldn't say any more."

Although it was frustrating that Imani wouldn't spill the beans, Tessa knew all too well how risky it was to gossip about the Coven Heads. "Hey, how about we head back to campus?"

Imani perked up again. "That sounds great!"

The two girls donned their winter gear once more, then pushed out into the crisp air as they started towards the University. They spent the first half of their trip in silence, but after a few minutes, Imani spoke up again.

"You know, it's funny what you said about Amara."

"Yeah?"

"About her being a trained martial artist. She doesn't exactly move like she knows how to fight. Plus, I talked to quite a few students yesterday, and none of them mentioned anything like that." Imani paused for another sip of coffee. "Honestly, there was quite a bit of conflicting information overall. There are a bunch of accounts that both her and Vee were instrumental to stopping Brandon, but the stories diverge heavily when pushed for details."

"W-well, a lot was happening, and with the trees blocking the view from the cafeteria..." Tessa muttered.

Imani kept talking, and it wasn't entirely clear if she was listening to Tessa simply spinning her thoughts aloud. "Not to mention those pictures she posted a few months ago. You've seen them, right? Who am I kidding, there's no way you haven't."

Tessa swallowed nervously. "What about them?"

"She didn't leave much to the imagination, did she? Yet, for a martial artist, she doesn't appear to have much muscle mass. Plus, I doubt I need to tell you this, but she's crazy hot. Like, unnaturally hot." Imani paused to look at Tessa, who swore she saw the faintest hint of a smile.

"She edited the pictures!" Tessa blurted out. "I-I mean, she obviously doesn't have a tail, right?"

"Oh, I noticed the editing. I'm studying to be a Scribe, don't forget; fine details are everything. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear the editing was a smokescreen. Still, I've met Amara myself, I know she doesn't have a tail. I'm just saying it's odd, that's all." Imani stepped closer, her voice growing softer and more intense. "You don't think she's hiding anything, do you?"

Tessa stopped walking and stared into Imani's eyes. "I've told the Coven everything I know, Imani."

"Everything? That's impressive, even I don't tell them everything." Imani reached for Tessa's shoulder, her fingers lightly dancing as they traced the curves of Tessa's jacket. "After all, some secrets are better kept to ourselves, don't you think?"

With no idea how to respond, Tessa stayed quiet. She held her ground as Imani stared back, her eyes framed with brilliant, immaculately detailed white eyeliner. After a second, Imani's stoic face gave way to a knowing smirk, and she slowly stepped back as she winked at Tessa. She playfully tapped Tessa's shoulder one last time before slipping her hands into her coat pockets, then softly laughed.

"I'll see you around, Tess," Imani said. She turned and walked away, leaving Tessa frozen in place behind her.

Another minute passed before Tessa released the breath she'd been holding, and a burst of warm vapor appeared in front of her. She began racing back to her apartment, not quite running, but not quite walking, as she replayed their conversation over and over in her head.

Fuck. Does she know?

---

Amara sighed as she stared out the window. Trees raced by at impressive speeds, as did the occasional field of corn or soybeans. The clouds in the sky stayed frustratingly still, taunting her with their ability to stay aloft. Not only was she stuck on the ground, but for the last few hours, she'd been stuck in Vee's car. She'd heavily reclined the passenger seat, and her feet were propped up on the dashboard, but comfort eluded her no matter the position.

She could barely even remember the last time she'd been in a car. Had they always felt so cramped? Most frustrating of all, Vee refused to tell her where they were going. At first it had almost been enjoyable, Amara had tried pestering Vee into giving up her secrets, but as minutes turned to hours, the exciting mystery turned to boredom.

It had been nearly an hour since either of them had said anything. Vee had music playing to fill the silence, but Amara's thoughts were preoccupied with other things. She kept thinking back to last night, to seeing Chloé screaming out in pain.

"Maybe she's trapped between planes, or her consciousness got scattered, something along those lines. Even then, I still wouldn't be able to do anything."

Uncertainty weighed on Amara as she recalled Tessa's frustrated words.

Is there really nothing we can do? I saw Chloé when I was coming out of the Dreamscape, maybe I just need to go back. What if I'm the only one that can help her because of my abilities? What if she's suffering, and I'm just ignoring her by wandering around the waking world?

The rhythm of the car suddenly changed as Vee slowed down. They traveled down an off-ramp, eventually merging onto a small side street that was completely devoid of traffic. A few minutes later, as they approached a small cluster of trees, the road vanished entirely. The car began shaking as dirt and gravel replaced smooth concrete, and a short while later, Vee parked the car with a huff of satisfaction.

"Here we are!" Vee said with a smile. She smacked Amara's leg before stepping out of the car, holding her hand up to her face to block out the sun.

Amara did the same, eager to stretch her legs after the long trip. "So, are you finally going to tell me what's going on? I wasn't planning on leaving campus today, let alone taking a hours-long trip to the middle of nowhere."

"You'll know it when you see it, I promise." Vee began walking further from the dirt road, her car beeping as she locked it behind her.

With a heavy sigh, Amara followed her friend deeper into the trees. A cool breeze rushed over them, kicking up their hair along with small flurries of dust and dirt. The trees rustled and bent with the wind, and as they walked further away from the road, they found more shade amongst the foliage. The cool air felt nice, and as they traveled down the beaten dirt path, Amara noticed a small railing off to the side. Still trying to figure out where they were, she walked to the railing and gasped as she pieced it together.

Roughly a dozen feet in front of her, the ground vanished completely, replaced with a massive pit nearly a mile wide. The entirety of the man-made pit was lined with incredibly steep cliffs, and Amara saw several places in the distance where thin, winding roads led to the bottom. Trees encircled the entire area, which is how Amara hadn't seen it earlier, and the stiff breeze was likely due to the massive gap in the earth.

Vee stepped closer, taking a deep breath before exhaling with a smirk on her face. "It's nice, isn't it? It's an old quarry that got abandoned decades ago."

"I mean, sure, it's a decent view." Amara turned to Vee, leaning against the railing. "But why are we here? I know you didn't drive us all this way just to show off an old quarry."

With a playful smirk, Vee hopped over the railing and began walking towards the edge of the cliff. "I'll show you! C'mon, it's this way."

"Just be careful, alright? It's a straight drop down to the bottom." Amara followed suit, walking slower as she approached the edge. In front of her, Vee nervously crouched and peered over the edge, holding her hair back as she did. She whistled in appreciation of the view, then looked around one last time.

"You're telling me. That would be a nasty fall." Despite her words, Vee continued standing dangerously near the edge of the cliff. She turned to look back, Amara meeting her eyes as she tried to figure out what was going on.

"So, are we looking for something?" Amara asked, stepping closer.

Vee said nothing, instead staring at Amara while she stepped backwards towards the cliff. Her foot met a small pebble, sending it tumbling over the edge, and she closed her eyes.

"Hey, be careful," Amara said, her voice tense.

Vee took another deep breath, her body shaking slightly as she released it. When she opened her eyes again, a faint smirk appeared on her face, and she jumped.

"VEE!!"

In a panic, Amara ran forward and dove after Vee. It had taken a few seconds to reach the cliffside, and her heart raced as she tried to catch up. Vee was easily a few dozen feet in front of her, her hair billowing in the wind as she plummeted towards the bottom of the quarry. Amara held her arms close to her body, doing everything she could to catch up. She manifested her horns, a familiar buzz returning to her body as she read the air currents, and began reaching out as she closed the distance.

Seconds later, after they'd nearly fallen halfway down the cliff, she managed to catch up to Vee and grab her hand. Pulling her close, she manifested the rest of her true form and tried to catch the wind.

"Vee, you idiot! What were you thinking?!" Amara yelled, the wind dulling her voice. Vee wrapped her arms tightly around Amara's neck, her blonde hair occasionally blocking Amara's vision.

Yet, for some reason, she was laughing.

"This isn't funny, Vee! You nearly killed yourself! You know I can't fly!" Amara growled.

Vee squeezed Amara again, then whispered into her ear. "Oh, can't you?"

Amara stopped talking, taken aback by the statement. She'd been so preoccupied with catching Vee that she hadn't thought about anything else. At Vee's urging, she turned her head to look at her surroundings.

Dozens of feet beneath them, rock and gravel raced by at incredible speeds. They were no longer falling; Amara's wings were fully extended, gliding through the air as she unconsciously made tiny adjustments in line with the feedback she was getting from her horns. They passed through small pockets of differing air pressure, soaring up and down as they did, and Amara gasped.

She was flying.

"I... that's not..." Amara stammered. "I should at least set you down and find a more comfortable position!"

"Don't you fucking dare, Amara," Vee whispered again. "You can figure it out. I believe in you."

Still stunned by the last minute, Amara's mind began racing with possibilities. She barely had time to think about her actions, and it felt like her body was moving purely on adrenaline. Curiosity took hold, and she flexed her wings once, twice, three times. They felt strong, supportive, and completely under her control. With a nervous breath, she pulled them back, then thrust downwards.

She had an idea.

They ascended higher, and Amara repeated herself. Following her own intuition, and the sensory input from her horns, she climbed higher and higher as Vee held tight. Terrified of dropping her, Amara wrapped her tail around Vee's waist as they flew, then set her sights on the clouds above. The air began to cool, and she was forced to adjust the movement of her wings slightly, but was otherwise shocked at how little resistance she faced at this height.

In her arms, Vee began shivering slightly, and Amara extended a small pocket of warmth to keep her warm. They continued ascending in silence as they held each other tight, and other than occasional twitches as Vee looked around, neither dared to readjust themselves.

The higher they climbed, the more intense the wind became, but Amara kept pushing. She was closing in on the nearest cloud, and she desperately wanted to see the other side. As it raced closer, she held out a hand and launched several small bursts of hellfire, puncturing the cloud and giving them a clear path to the sky above. Her heart pounded in her ears as she closed the distance, her eager breath betraying her excitement. Her tail, still wrapped around Vee, pulled her even closer as Amara prepared to break through. Hellfire began to gather underneath her feet, growing hotter and brighter as Amara condensed it, before she finally let it go in one loud burst.

The explosion catapulted her through the cloud, and she felt remnants of water vapor sting her face as she raced through. Vee gasped before yelping with delight, burying her head in Amara's shoulder as they soared above the clouds. Seconds later, as the momentum from the explosion faded, Amara stopped climbing.

She paused in midair, her powerful wings slowly beating to hold them both aloft. The cloud underneath them was moving quickly, and soon gave way to a spectacular view of the countryside beneath them. Amara took a deep breath, then placed her hands on Vee's waist to create some distance between them. Vee took the hint, adjusting her grip so they could look at each other, and they both met each other's eyes.

"Do you trust me?" Amara asked.

Vee said nothing, instead smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, fair point." They both laughed, the sky surprisingly quiet now that they weren't racing upwards. With a small nod, Amara hinted that she was ready, and Vee returned the gesture. Amara swallowed nervously, held Vee even further away, and stopped moving her wings. Gravity took hold, pulling them back down to Earth. Amara held one wing out to turn them upside down, and once they were completely inverted, she pushed Vee away and let go.

They drifted away from each other and, despite the wind rushing past them, Amara heard Vee gasp with excitement. She held out her arms, catching the wind as she closed her eyes, and angled her head towards the ground to keep her hair out of her face.

Amara mimicked her every move, torn between wanting to enjoy the freedom of the sky and wanting to see Vee's expression as they raced through the air. She noticed that Vee was spinning, ever so slightly, and adjusted her wings to stay in front of Vee as they fell. She kept her eyes trained on her friend, watching closely as she beamed with excitement. The sun occasionally passed behind her as they circled each other, and Amara was struck by how at peace Vee seemed.

As she continued watching Vee, she started seeing strange flickers of light appear above her. Confused, she narrowed her eyes and engaged her demonic senses, hoping to figure out what was happening. After another few seconds, she saw that light wasn't simply appearing above Vee, it was refracting through something. Her first thought was that water had somehow gathered ahead of Vee, but that didn't make any sense. The light she saw was splitting too cleanly, creating faint rainbows that seemed to bend and cascade across Vee's body as she fell. Soon enough, there was enough light to see what was causing this strange phenomenon; an ephemeral, invisible disk hovered just above Vee's head, catching the rays of the sun before scattering them around Vee.

Wow.

She's beautiful.

From above them, Amara saw the ground rushing closer, and she decided it was time. She used her wings to adjust her angle, closing the distance with Vee before turning around. Vee reached out, wrapping her arms around Amara's shoulders once again, this time from the back. Amara looked to her side, looked Vee in the eyes, and they both nodded.

Looking forward, Amara flexed her wings in preparation, then quickly opened them. She caught the wind, sharply angling up to stop their descent and level out. Vee's body pushed against hers, confirming that she was safe and secure, and Amara smiled.

"Where do you want to go?" Amara asked, looking back again.

"Everywhere." Vee hugged her tightly from behind. "Show me everything!"

With a wide smile, Amara looked forward again. She closed her eyes briefly, focusing on the feedback from her horns, before angling towards a pocket of warmer air and riding it higher. As her eyes flared, the warm pocket began to expand, giving Amara the perfect conditions to easily climb. Her wings continued working to bring them higher into the sky, and while she wasn't flying straight up this time, she still ascended incredibly quickly. Every muscle in her body seemed designed for this, and all the frustration she'd felt being cramped up in Vee's car vanished in the face of her newfound, absolute freedom.

Within minutes, they'd climbed above the lowest clouds, and the world underneath them seemed to vanish. Amara leveled out just inches above the fluffy barrier, even tilting side to side occasionally to let the tips of her wings skip across the condensed vapor. Vee joined in as well, leaning down to run her fingers through the clouds. She flinched in surprise, likely at how sharp the sensation was due to their speed.

Once she finished, she planted her hands on Amara's back, pushing herself into a sitting position as she took a deep breath. Amara wrapped her tail tightly around Vee's waist and, moments later, felt the angel lift her hands entirely off Amara's body.

A magnificent, triumphant shout filled Amara's ears as Vee threw her fists in the air. Her joy was infectious, and Amara quickly joined in as well, squeezing Vee with her tail to show comradery. Seconds later, Vee stopped to catch her breath and leaned forward again, returning her arms to Amara's shoulders. She was laughing and giggling the entire time, her lustrous voice music to Amara's ears.

She couldn't remember the last time Vee had ever seemed this carefree.

"Let's fly into a cloud!" Vee said excitedly.

"Are you sure?" Amara responded. "We've gotten pretty close, and they sting like crazy at this speed."

"Yeah, maybe for regular people. Come on! Don't be such a buzzkill!"

Amara laughed and started picking up speed, aiming for one of the larger clouds underneath her. As they closed the distance, an idea popped into her head, and she connected with her hellfire to summon two new pieces of illusory clothing. Now holding two pairs of sleek, sporty protective glasses, she handed one up to Vee before donning one herself. A second later, Vee lightly squeezed Amara's shoulder, signaling she was ready.

With a deep breath, Amara angled down and plunged them both into a massive, fluffy cloud. It felt like diving headfirst into a pressure washer; torrents of sharp water vapor struck her body, but due to her demonic resilience, it actually felt quite nice.

She also couldn't see a thing. Her vision extended no more than a few inches, bringing back memories of running through thick snowstorms in her childhood. The water vapor even felt like snow, buffeting her face as if it were sharp hail, and she accidentally got a mouthful of cloud as she tried to take another breath.

After the initial shock passed, Amara turned her attention to how the rest of her body reacted to the change. Feedback from her horns made her intimately aware of where the cloud's temperature fluctuated, but it was also clear that her ability to read air currents was greatly diminished inside the weather phenomenon. Her wings had slightly more trouble holding altitude, and she needed to correct their height a few times, but otherwise she felt just as comfortable flying inside the cloud as she did outside.

Their experiment ended a few minutes later as Amara burst from the cloud back into the light of day. The warmth of the sun felt fantastic compared to the chill vapor of the cloud, and she dispersed the glasses she'd given herself and Vee.

The angel on her back was laughing again, and she leaned close to Amara's ear. "Fuck, I'm absolutely soaked! Can you take care of that?"

Nodding quickly, Amara knew exactly what Vee wanted. However, just before summoning a burst of heat to dry their clothes, a more nefarious thought crossed her mind. She looked up at Vee with a devious smirk, then shouted "You mean a spin cycle, right?"

"Wait, what?!" Vee shouted back. Amara wrapped her tail even tighter around Vee's waist, only giving her a second to prepare before she dove down.

Her wings tucked back as she angled down, and she forced them into a sharp spin as they began to fall. She continued adjusting her wings, as well as the temperature of the air around them, as she tried to accelerate their spin even faster, and found herself screaming with excitement along with Vee, whose iron grip around her neck nearly made it difficult to breathe. She broke off the spin after only a few seconds, and once she'd leveled out over the clouds again, Vee playfully smacked her on the shoulder.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Vee said, her voice tinged with mock anger.

Amara laughed hysterically before responding. "I know, I know... you want me to turn up the heat, right?"

"Yes! Wet clothes are so annoying!"

"Okay, but, how hot?" Amara asked. She was having too much fun messing with Vee, and another thought entered her mind. She held up a hand, manifesting a burst of hellfire a safe distance away from Vee, before throwing it in front of her. It exploded outward before freezing in midair, creating a large ring of purple-tinged fire a few dozen feet in front of them.

"You wouldn't dare!" Vee shouted.

"Hold on tight!"

Vee screamed again, her voice laced with laughter as she held Amara tight, and soon they'd reached the ring of fire. Amara quickly tucked her wings behind her, covering Vee to keep her safe, as she dove through the ring while expertly avoiding the flames present.

Once they'd passed through entirely, she opened her wings again and laughed as Vee hit her again. "You know, two can play at that game!"

She reached out her hand, which was now coated with her own angelic flames, and cast them forward. They exploded outward, just the way Amara's had, and formed a ring of white, glittering flames. This ring was smaller, likely as a form of playful vengeance, but Amara welcomed the challenge. She took a deep breath, picked up her speed, and tucked her wings beside her as she raced towards the angelic target. As they began passing through, she spun them around in a tight corkscrew, marveling at how quickly she'd adjusted to more difficult aerial maneuvers.

Once they'd both had a moment to quiet down their laughter, Amara turned up towards Vee again. "Are we even now?"

"Not until you actually dry my clothes off!" Vee teased.

With no more devilish thoughts in her mind, Amara finally expanded a pocket of thick warmth over herself and Vee. The process wasn't instantaneous, as Amara didn't want to risk burning Vee, and it took several minutes to safely dry them both off. The water in their clothes slowly hissed as Amara chased it away, and while they waited, she settled into a comfortable glide.

"Wow," Vee muttered. "It's so peaceful up here. I could get used to this."

"Oh yeah?" Amara asked. "You make it sound like we're gonna make this a regular thing."

"Why not? Just the two of us, completely above all the nonsense that's been happening at school. There's no Coven up here, no mad cult leaders, no monsters. Just an angel and a demon that somehow ended up as best friends."

Huh. It almost sounds like she's just as worn down by everything as I am. She's been so upbeat these last few weeks, though, hasn't she?

Unless... she's just been hiding it for my sake.

"Where to next?" Amara asked.

"Surprise me," Vee whispered. She hugged Amara tight, even briefly nuzzling her face into the back of Amara's shoulder.

With no more desire to test out her aerial maneuverability, and the two of them now completely dry once again, Amara looked around to orient herself. She checked the position of the sun, picked a direction, and slowly angled towards a new heading. Small habits quickly formed as she adjusted to her place in the sky; checking air currents, watching for birds, occasionally shifting to different heights to take advantage of pockets of warm air.

The higher they flew, the more Amara grew aware of a strong jet stream miles above the ground. The air blew considerably faster, making it much easier for Amara to continue her eastward trip. She made a note of the wind patterns as they traveled, curious how difficult it would be to fly against the jet stream rather than with it.

Leaning further into the strong air current meant climbing even higher, which gave both Amara and Vee a chance to test their natural resilience to the environment. Breathing grew more difficult at a certain point, but they were both able to use their innate abilities to adjust accordingly. Over the course of several trips up and down through the jet stream, they both experimented with their abilities to test how they could alter their bodies for the extreme heights. Amara's changes were a bit more literal, as she was a shapeshifter, while Vee seemed to use her angelic magic to create small pockets of calm, breathable air around her face.

With the wind at her back, Amara made fantastic time. Although the drive to the quarry had taken several hours, they'd returned to the skies above Aurelius University in less than half the time. The campus looked tiny from their current height, and as much as Amara wanted to soar down to tell Nick and Tessa the good news, she had other plans for the day.

Less than an hour later, they'd reached the edge of Lake Michigan.

Amara had known that the Great Lakes were huge, but seeing one from this altitude was an entirely different story. As they approached the shore, flying high above the city of Chicago, the endless blue canvas seemed to have no end in sight. They saw dozens of boats scattered up and down the shore, with only a few dotted through the waters further out.

In another moment of curiosity, Amara began testing just how much control she had over her vision. She knew that her transformation had given her naturally amazing eyesight, but she wondered if her shapeshifting abilities would allow her to amplify her vision even further.

She stared down at the water, focusing on one boat in particular, then engaged her hellfire and tried to alter her eyes. She imagined them being sharper, the boat growing larger, and felt a tingling sensation as her shapeshifting took effect.

What Amara hadn't expected, however, was just how effective her shapeshifting could be. Everything her eyes processed suddenly increased dramatically; the sunlight was now practically blinding, the colors of the water were far too vibrant, and she'd amplified the scene beneath her so much that she'd lost the boat in the process.

"Ah, fuck!" Amara gasped, shutting her eyes in pain.

"What's wrong?!" Vee said, leaning close.

"I'm fine, everything's cool, but I may have fucked up my eyes with my shapeshifting. Can you keep watch for a minute? Make sure we don't hit any birds or anything?"

Vee laughed again, a soft quiet chuckle that filled Amara with warmth. "I would chide you for experimenting this high up, but... I guess I did just jump off a cliff."

"Call it even?" Amara asked, slowly reverting her eyes back to their previous state.

"Deal!" Vee said, squeezing Amara's shoulders. "Of course, this means that if you do anything reckless again, I'm entitled to do the same to even out the scales."

Amara opened her eyes carefully, letting them readjust to the lights and colors of the world beneath her. "If I try again, does that count?"

"Nah, go for it!"

"I'm just trying to see how much I can enhance my vision. I definitely overdid it the first time, though."

"Well, give yourself something to picture!" Vee said.

"I'm trying to look at that boat underneath us, does that count?"

"No, like, you should give yourself a mental framework that helps you understand and measure your abilities. Aren't you a photographer? Use that!"

Amara grew silent for a moment, thinking over Vee's words.

Fuck, that's brilliant. Why didn't I think of that?

Okay, think about my camera. It's got a million different settings; I just need to slowly tweak them one by one.

With a mental image now in place, Amara looked back down at the boat. She thought of her camera, of the fine control she had over its zoom settings, and urged her hellfire to replicate it.

I'm currently at 1X, so let's jump to 2X. Easy enough, right?

After another small flash of hellfire cascaded over her eyes, the boat underneath her suddenly seemed much closer. She could see two, maybe three people aboard the craft, which seemed big enough to hold at least twice that amount.

Pleased with her success, she kept pushing herself. She doubled her vision again, jumping from 2X to 4X, and could now clearly see the people beneath her.

A man with short brown hair and a breezy floral jacket was driving the boat. Behind him, sprawled out on the deck, two women in bikinis were lazily sunbathing. In between the two girls sat a large fire pit, its flames billowing back and forth in the wind. As she continued examining the boat, she noticed three phones had been tossed in a pile of towels near the center of the craft, likely placed there to prevent them from falling overboard.

"Vee, your idea worked!" Amara said with a smile. "I can see everyone down on that boat as if they were just a dozen feet away!"

"That's incredible!" Vee said. She paused for a moment, and when she spoke again, her words were quiet and laced with temptation. "What if we went and said hello?"

"Are you crazy?" Amara asked. "We're supposed to be keeping a low profile!"

"It'll just be a quick fly by!" Vee protested. "Look, even with my boring, normal eyes, I can see there's no other boats this far out. If they don't get a picture, then what's the risk?"

"I guess none of them have their phones at the ready..." Amara muttered.

On her back, Vee started quietly chanting "Do it!" over and over again. After a minute of excited encouragement, Amara finally caved.

"Oh, what the hell."

"Yes!" Vee cheered.

"For what it's worth, you're not doing a very good job being the angel on my shoulder."

Vee groaned at the terrible pun, then leaned forward to redouble her grip on Amara's shoulders. "Come on, let's go!"

Amara took a deep breath, then pulled her wings back and entered a steep dive. She picked up speed at an impressive rate, and as she closed in on the surface of the lake, she quickly shapeshifted her eyes back to normal. They spent several minutes in a controlled free fall, with Amara focusing hard on staying in control of this risky maneuver.

"Hold on tight!" Amara shouted back. "This is gonna be close!"

The closer they got to the surface of the lake, the quicker it seemed to rush closer. She heard the man driving the boat shout something to his travel companions, who both quickly sat up in response.

Seconds before colliding with the water, Amara unfurled her wings and pulled up. Changing directions at such an intense speed nearly threw her off balance, and she was barely a foot away from the surface, but she managed to hold steady. The momentum from her dive meant she was now flying at incredible speeds, and she began angling towards the boat to circle around it.

The girls from the boat jumped to their feet and gasped with shock. The man fiddled with his controls, and as he did, he shouted out to his companions, "Get the fucking camera!!"

On Amara's back, Vee smiled and waved to the confused mariners. One of them waved back, her mouth agape with surprise as she watched Amara circle the boat in a matter of seconds.

Once Amara had completed a full loop, she angled herself away from the boat. She sped off in the opposite direction, eager to avoid any potential leaks, and it only took a few seconds before they were a considerable distance away from the bewildered seafarers. With her enhanced hearing, Amara was absolutely positive that no one had gotten to a camera fast enough.

Both girls began laughing hysterically now that they were safe. Amara held out her hands and playfully angled back and forth, letting the tips of her wings skim across the surface of the lake. Vee joined in the fun as well, leaning forward just like she'd done above the clouds, and her laughter quickly faded to a satisfied hum.

Amara lost track of time as their flight continued. She spent a considerable amount of time near the surface of the lake, enjoying the occasional spray of fresh water as gentle waves crested underneath her.

When the open expanse of the sky began calling to her again, she eagerly created a warm column of air and rode it upwards. Her ability to command the air felt more natural with each minute she spent flying, and she was shocked at how easily she was able to climb above the clouds again.

In the soft embrace of the sky, Amara let the wind take her. She rode the currents up and down, side to side, letting nature dictate where they ended up. Both Amara and Vee said very little as their flight continued. It felt as if they were both more than happy to enjoy each other's company, locked in a constant embrace as they soared miles above the Earth.

Over time, the pastel blue of the sky began to turn, adopting vivid shades of orange and purple as the sun started creeping towards the horizon. The temperature started to drop, and miles away from them, Chicago began to light up for the evening.

After allowing herself a few minutes to enjoy the spectacular view, Amara knew it was time to turn back. Focusing on the distant city skyline, she adjusted her heading once again and started flying with more purpose.

It became immediately apparent that traveling the opposite direction was slightly more difficult. The jet stream above her was flowing eastward, and to avoid its strong headwind, Amara was forced to fly lower than she had earlier. She was confident they were still high enough to avoid detection, and ended up taking a more circuitous route as she focused on finding the pockets of air that hindered her the least.

By the time they'd reached the airspace over Chicago, night had completely enveloped the city, and they were greeted by a spectacular view of the city's skyline. The streets hummed and glowed with the lights of thousands of cars, skyscrapers glowed with vibrant colors and obtuse marketing gimmicks, and Vee hugged Amara even closer as she leaned forward to take it all in.

At the angel's urging, Amara slowly circled the city for a while before returning home. Vee was excitedly testing whether her angelic powers were able to replicate Amara's vision-enhancement, and while the occasional tingle of Enochian magic caused Amara to shudder, it was never enough to knock her off balance. Vee was ultimately successful, though it took some creative thinking on her part as she wasn't actually changing the nature of her eyes. The two of them played an impromptu game of I Spy, finding humorous scenes around the city and daring the other to try and find them as well.

When they finally angled away from the city, heading back towards the University, Vee seemed to be growing tired. She'd been spending more time lying flat on Amara's back, hugging her tight rather than enjoying the view. Amara had, by this point, gotten used to flying without the aid of the jet stream above them, and was able to return them both to campus much quicker than she'd gotten them off the lake.

Still absorbed in the excitement of the night, Amara dared to fly Vee directly towards the roof of her apartment building. Not only did she want to spare the angel any further travel, but she had another idea she was curious about testing.

As they angled down towards campus, starting the steep descent from the sky, Amara's eyes flared as she called up her mastery over illusions. Despite knowing that illusions could be just as solid as a real object, she figured they could just as easily be intangible images. She tried to create an illusory mirage around herself, one that consistently displayed an image of the sky on the opposing side, hoping she might be able to mask her presence completely. It was impossible to know if her efforts were successful, as she kept herself inside the mirage, but she felt confident that she'd successfully created some kind of obfuscation.

Before long, she was pulling back and using her wings to stop their descent completely. She landed on the roof of Vee's apartment, her feet unexpectedly sliding further than she'd planned. The rough landing caused both girls to start laughing, and when Vee jumped off Amara's back, she had a similarly troubled time adjusting to being on solid land again.

Amara, keeping her true form out, tucked her wings behind her and sighed with immense satisfaction as she watched Vee jump around in excitement.

"God, Amara, that was amazing!" Vee said, her earlier exhaustion seeming to have vanished. "The lake, the city, the free fall at the beginning of it all, it was incredible! I have no idea how I'm going to survive not-- Wait. FUCK!"

Vee spun to face Amara, her face wracked with concern. "What? Are you okay?!" Amara asked, stepping closer.

"Yeah, no, I'm fine. I just... we forgot my car. It's still at the quarry!" Vee groaned.

"Oh, that's all?" Amara said. She smiled as she looked back to the sky. "That's not a problem, I'll go grab it and bring it back."

"Oh no, not without me you don't!" Vee started skipping closer, clearly expecting to take another trip with Amara.

Rather than ready herself for another flight with Vee, however, Amara stepped closer and pulled Vee into a hug. She squeezed tight, burying her chin in Vee's shoulder as her massive wings closed around them both. Vee seemed surprised by this, but leaned into the hug just as enthusiastically. After a moment had passed, Amara leaned back slightly, her hands still resting on Vee's arms as they looked into each other's eyes.

Amara immediately noticed how dark it was now that her wings were holding back the outside world, and although she had flawless night vision, Vee didn't. She summoned a small mote of hellfire above them, the light filling the area as she began to speak.

"Vee," Amara whispered. "You just gave me the sky. Let me do this for you."

"Amara, I..." Vee stammered. Her eyes darted down for a split second, and when she looked back up, it was impossible not to appreciate how the soft firelight made her eyes sparkle. "O-okay."

"Go get some sleep, Vee. You've earned it." Amara hugged Vee close again, and with a faint hitch in her voice, she whispered, "Thank you."

Their embrace lasted for longer than Amara expected, the two almost swaying in the moonlight, but after a minute Amara stepped away from Vee. She slowly walked backwards as she waved goodbye, and once Vee returned the gesture, Amara turned towards the roof and jumped.

She summoned her flight mirage again, surrounding herself with demonic illusions as her powerful wings danced with the wind to carry her higher. She heated another column of air, riding it higher and higher, and took a deep breath of satisfaction.

Once she was high enough, she felt the familiar tingle of smoke and ash begin to pull at the edges of her focus. She smelt the wreckage of the Jade Palace, and panicked as she braced herself for another fall. However, when she heard Vee's voice, she wasn't gasping for air, nor was she pleading for mercy under Amara's grasp.

She was laughing.

She was smiling as rainbows danced around, her invisible halo casting her in the immaculate light of creation as she flew through the sky.

The memory chased away every ounce of regret Amara had about their fight, and the sting of ash fell away as she soared higher into the sky. She took a deep breath, summoned a burst of hellfire beneath her, and closed her eyes as she propelled herself above the clouds once more.

She was finally free.

---

Vee watched Amara leap off the roof, happily watching her fly away before she vanished in an illusory mirage. Even though she knew what to look for, Vee found she couldn't follow Amara's movements anymore. She stood perfectly still for several minutes, staring up into the sky. Her patience was rewarded when she saw a tiny burst of hellfire, hundreds of feet above her, and she smiled as she silently wished Amara good luck.

Without Amara's presence, it was suddenly all too obvious that Vee was standing on her roof in the middle of winter. She summoned a small angelic flame of her own to keep her warm, then raced to the stairwell.

Once she was back in her apartment, she kicked off her shoes and walked to her bedroom. There, she fell backwards onto her bed with a gasp of satisfaction. Her mind raced as she remembered everything she'd seen today, and as she played back the memories in her head, she giggled to herself.

God, I can't believe that worked!

She thought back to when she'd jumped off the quarry cliff, completely unsure if Amara would be able to save her. She thought about soaring higher, breaking through the clouds before plummeting back down to Earth, completely on her own. She remembered diving through rings of fire, waving at bewildered seafarers, and holding Amara tight as they lazily floated miles above the world.

Vee turned over, kicked her feet up behind her, and continued daydreaming. She cast her thoughts back to moments earlier, laughing again at how strange it had felt to walk again after spending hours in the sky. She remembered Amara's warm embrace as she reached out to stop Vee from coming with her again, closing her wings around them both to chase away the cold.

There, inside Amara's makeshift tent, the entire world had vanished. There had been no sound but Amara's sweet voice, no light but the fire of her soul, no feeling but Amara's hands on Vee's arms.

They'd been so incredibly close. Vee recalled the heat from Amara's breath, but also how the hellfire had cast her beautiful hair in warm, decadent shades. Her skin had danced under the flame, her eyes glowed like rich topaz as she kept the fire going solely for Vee's benefit. The angle of the light had pulled Vee's gaze down Amara's face, and for just a moment, she'd found herself appreciating the vibrant blush of Amara's cheeks, the rosy allure of the demon's lips.

We'd been so close. What if I'd just stepped closer? What if I'd pulled her lips against mine? Are they just as warm as the rest of her? Would she have kis--

Vee froze; her eyes wide. She jumped up to her feet, her heart racing.

Wait, what am I thinking?!

She began pacing back and forth, a frenzied panic building inside of her.

No, that can't-- I wouldn't have--

But, if I did...

Vee stopped pacing, then stared at herself in the mirror.

Oh.

Oh no.

---

Well, it's been three and half books, but it looks like Amara's finally figured out her flying problem! She sure is lucky to have such a good friend around to help her out. A real gal pal. A nice, simple friend without any complicated feelings she needs to wrestle with.

Do you know what's not complicated? How cool it is to hear from all of you! I promise I read each and every comment, even though I respond somewhat infrequently. It's so encouraging to hear how many of you are enjoying Amara's story, and I can't wait to share all the crazy stuff I've got in store for the rest of this book.

Until next time! Nyx <3