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.