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

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

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

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

Way to fucking go, Amara. Really great work.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Properly, this time.