Green-Eyed Monster

A Court of Chains Story

Rawnie Sabor

Red Ink Caravan Publishing

Copyright © 2025 by Rawnie Sabor

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

Cover illustration by Eleonora North.

Book cover design by Anne Gregersen.

Content Note

The Court of Chains is a series of interconnected stories intended to be read as standalone novels. To assist new readers, a glossary can be found at the beginning of the book.

This book depicts and discusses themes that may be triggering to some readers. For a full content warning go to the author’s website.

www.rawniesabor.com

If you have any questions or concerns about the contents of this book, please contact the author.

For those of us who secretly like being afraid of the dark.

Contents

Court of Chains - Glossary

1. Chapter 1

2. Chapter 2

3. Chapter 3

4. Chapter 4

5. Chapter 5

6. Chapter 6

7. Chapter 7

8. Chapter 8

9. Chapter 9

10. Chapter 10

11. Chapter 11

12. Chapter 12

13. Chapter 13

14. Chapter 14

15. Chapter 15

16. Chapter 16

17. Chapter 17

18. Chapter 18

19. Chapter 19

20. Chapter 20

21. Chapter 21

22. Chapter 22

23. Chapter 23

24. Chapter 24

25. Chapter 25

26. Chapter 26

27. Chapter 27

28. Chapter 28

29. Chapter 29

30. Chapter 30

31. Chapter 31

32. Chapter 32

33. Chapter 33

34. Chapter 34

35. Chapter 35

36. Chapter 36

37. Chapter 37

38. Chapter 38

39. Chapter 39

40. Chapter 40

41. Chapter 41

42. Chapter 42

43. Chapter 43

44. Chapter 44

45. Chapter 45

46. Chapter 46

47. Chapter 47

48. Chapter 48

49. Chapter 49

Join the Sabor Squad

Acknowledgments

Court of Chains – Glossary

The stories in the Court of Chains universe are intended to work as standalone novels. Each one features a different couple and dynamic, letting readers jump in wherever they wish. There may be references to characters and events introduced in previous books, but all the stories are self-contained narratives. You can pick up the series wherever you want to.

For more information about the series, as well as a suggested reading order, go to the author’s website: www.rawniesabor.com

Knowledge of the Court of Chains, the Courts, and all the creatures they house is hidden from the general populace. To most people, vampires, demons, and other supernaturals exist merely as figments of fantasy. Only those initiated know what occurs in the shadows. Only those who have been allowed a peek behind the veil may explore this secret world of monsters and magic.

Some key terms and phrases regarding the world of the Court of Chains have been listed below, offering information for new readers who may not be familiar with the universe. 

The Court of Chains. The Court of Chains is one of several hidden Courts of monsters. This specific one is based in Chicago, Illinois, operating out of a high-rise by the river, and it maintains a public façade as an eccentric-looking nightclub. It is one of several secret Courts that exist in the world; some world-encompassing, some confined to a single city. What sets the Court of Chains apart is that it doesn’t discriminate who it lets in. Any fiend, fae, or fanger subjecting themselves to the laws of Chains would be allowed to pledge for its halls.

The Second Circle. Below the Court of Chains is the Second Circle, a place of Sinful pleasure and delight. Its public face is that of a private, high-end kink club, though its clientele is more supernatural and lethal than most other clubs of its kind.

Iron’s Eve. A monthly evening where the rulers of the Court of Chains hear accusations, pass judgment, and hear new pledges to the Court.

Ribbon Contracts. The Ribbon contracts is a system used by the Court of Chains that allows a supernatural creature to Claim a human in exchange for protection. It is handled through a ceremony called the Claiming, occurring on the summer and winter solstices.

The Ribbons come in different colors. The Pinks and Reds establish a feeding relationship with a supernatural creature, with the Pink living outside of Court while the Reds live with their supernatural partner. The Purples and Blues work the same way, except then the relationship is sexual in nature, and is often used by romantic partners. The Silvers are the highest tier, offering both a feeding and sexual relationship, as well as benefits for the human, including protection from age and disease. Should the Ribbon contract be broken—either by the Claimed human ending the relationship or by the human dying—the Claimant would suffer great pain, acting as additional motivation for the supernatural creature to keep the human safe.

Court Regents. Each Court has a Regent or Regents, typically given the title of King or Queen. The title comes with innate power, making the Regent stronger than any other being in their Court as long as they remain within their territory. Court rulers can be recognized by the flames in their pupils. The Court of Chains is ruled by the King of Chains, a vampire named Aleksander Voronov. His second-in-command is a greater Lust fiend known as Natalya. She rules the Second Circle below the Court of Chains.

Closed/Open Court. The Court of Chains is open to the public only during the latter half of the week. During this time, its members hide their true natures, which allows for uninitiated humans to mingle with the monsters of Chains.

Courts. Many Courts exist, all housing different types or subtypes of monsters, all hidden from the general public. The Court of Night houses vampires, the Court of the Wolf houses lycanthropes, and the Courts of Summer and Winter house a myriad of fae creatures. Many others exist beyond these mentioned ones, and all offer a unique gift upon joining, such as a mind-controlling enthrallment ability for the Court of Night or enslaving name-stealing for the Courts of Summer and Winter. Fiends have no known Courts.

Fae, Fiends, and Fangers. The three major types of supernatural creatures. They are mainly categorized by their weaknesses and how they were created. No supernatural creatures—save for fiends—can enter a human residence without invitation.

Fae. Fae are born into the world free to wander where they will, falling into different subtypes such as the sídhe of the British Isles, the mythics of the Mediterranean, and the ellefolk of Scandinavia (among others). Sirens, nymphs, and trickster fae all fall within this category. They are universally weak to raw iron.

Fiend. Fiends are summoned or born entities of Sin and are often enslaved by magic users. Two categories exist, these being greater and lesser fiends. Greater fiends are beings of pure Sin, being allowed to exist only if summoned by a witch or warlock. Free greater fiends are incredibly rare. 

Lesser fiends are partly human, having a fiend as a parent while the other is human. Greater fiends are summoned with their abilities learned and mastered, while lesser fiends don’t get access to their powers until they turn twenty-five. There are seven types of fiends: one for each Sin. They are weak to sacred sage oil and sanctified salts.

Fanger. These are supernatural creatures who were once human and have been turned, often through violent means. In this group are creatures like vampires and therianthropes. They are universally weak to silver, though different subtypes may have other unique weaknesses, such as a vampire’s sunlight sensitivity.

Feral. Derogative term for a supernatural creature not sworn to a Court. Without the rules and benefits of Court membership, these creatures can sometimes act rather volatile.

Therianthrope/Therian. This is a catchall term for fangers that can transform into animals. Lycanthropes and ursinthropes (wolf and bear shifters, respectively) are among these types.

The Arcane. The secret science of magic usage. The arcane has three branches that all magic falls under, each with three subcategories: Alchemy (trinkets, tonics, and transmutation), Amplification (alteration, restoration, and deterioration), and Authoring (runes, rituals, and relations). The arcane can only be practiced by humans and those who practice the arcane are referred to as witches and warlocks, or simply as arcanists.

Chapter 1

Angela drew out the infernal symbols on the steel disk. She moved carefully, keeping the chalk from crumbling so the marks would stay sharp. A difficult feat, given that the surface she was working on was smaller than a palm rather than six feet in diameter, as was common for a ritual like this. She’d lost count of how many times she’d attempted it that evening, suggesting she should have stopped a long time ago.

But she’d just updated the blood formula. She had to see if it changed anything.

“I’m busy, Mom,” Angela said, keeping her eyes on her project rather than her phone. “Work is constant right now, so I can’t come home this week.”

“We haven’t seen you in over a month,” Molly said.

“I’ve been busy for over a month.” Angela finished another mark, replicated from the parchment lying flat on her desk. “Once this project is done, I’ll have more time.”

“You say that… but you always start something new before we can plan anything.”

Rather than answer, Angela held her breath as she finished the final symbol in the binding circle. She dipped a stirring stick in the small cauldron she had brewing next to her, dripping the tonic on the chalk outline. The dark red liquid flowed over the steel, pooling onto the table as Molly spoke again.

“We miss you, honey.”

It was lucky Angela had just finished the conjuration. The pang that went through her chest as her mom’s voice wavered might have made her hand shake and ruined the experiment.

She leaned back in her chair, pushing up her glasses and taking her mom off speaker.

“I miss you, too,” Angela said, voice less tight now that she wasn’t concentrating on something important. “How’s Dad? Has he gotten around to cleaning the garage yet?”

“You know he hasn’t,” Molly said with a low laugh. “He says he doesn’t want to mess with your old books. It’s an excuse if you ask me. He was really hoping to see you. You and Alex. We haven’t met her yet and since you’ve been together for a while…”

The way her mom drew out the last word made Angela stifle a groan. Alex had been her ‘girlfriend’ two ‘girlfriends’ ago, and Angela had made the mistake of mentioning her name to her parents during one of their concerned phone calls. The Norwoods were very invested in the life of their only child, so much so that they got worried whenever Angela forgot to call them for days on end.

She didn’t mean to do that. She didn’t mean to do most things. Outside of the work she did in her Court of Chains office, nothing could really keep her interest. Including this ‘Alex’ her parents were apparently excited to meet.

“We broke up. Me and Alex,” Angela said, wiping chalk off her navy-blue long-sleeve.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

Angela almost scoffed. She hadn’t thought of Alex since the teary-eyed woman said she felt Angela wasn’t taking their relationship seriously. By how she’d then stormed off, Angela’s response of “You’re right, because this wasn’t supposed to be serious,” was the wrong thing to say.

Angela had an uncanny talent for steamrolling her relationships. Whatever she wanted to happen happened. Whatever developments she wanted were the ones allowed. And whenever she wanted it to end, it ended.

She usually wanted it to end after only a few weeks of trial-and-error testing. She had a preferred type. Masc-leaning women who didn’t want anything long-term and who could fuck her well and often enough that she felt satisfied. But finding someone like that was difficult. People had the annoying habit of catching feelings or whatever.

Angela didn’t have time for feelings. In her twenty-six years of life, she hadn’t put much stake in feelings. Being the most powerful witch in a five-hundred-mile radius came with privileges, and one of them was that no one could make her do something she didn’t want to do. That included prioritizing date nights over working in her office. She had yet to meet a woman who could give her a rush even vaguely similar to answering interesting questions.

“We weren’t really dating. I won’t waste everyone’s time by making introductions unless it’s serious. I’m perfectly fine.”

A faint fiery glow expanded from one of the chalk markings. Muscle memory made Angela put the phone on speaker as she set it down on the desk and leaned closer to the amulet.

“Oh. That’s good to hear.” There was a bit of shuffling on the other end of the phone call. Her mom was probably sitting in the living room under a blanket. It was a late November evening, and the cold made it difficult for her to fall asleep. “Being honest… We’re worried about you, sweetheart.”

“Uh-huh.” Angela stared at the steel pendant as another symbol lit up from the inside, small fires burning within the chalk.

It was working. It was actually working.

“We know you love the research position at the university,” Molly continued, unaware that her daughter’s focus was miles away from their conversation. “But it’s taking up so much of your time. We hardly see you anymore. I read online that working for more than just a couple of hours with no breaks can have serious consequences for your health.”

“Yeah. Totally.” Angela had no idea how long she’d been in her office. It had been light out when she started, however long ago that was.

Another symbol filled with fire. She’d gotten the ritual to this stage before, but only a handful of times and the glowing never lasted for long.

She held her breath, not even daring to blink.

“You will at least come home for Christmas, right?” Molly asked hopefully. “We won’t do anything fancy. No guests. Just dinner. If you have time.”

Angela didn’t answer the question. She barely heard it. More marks were filling with embers, the dark steel humming with arcane energy. The drops of blood that had stained the chalk seemed to flow with the flame, giving it a deeper crimson hue than the usual orange.

The marks were burning into the metal. The binding ritual was activating.

Then the hum changed, turning groaning and distorted. An arrhythmic noise matching the jittery streaks of light that shot through the next couple of drawn marks as short-lived flames, leaving a sooty imprint rather than a burned engraving. As the hum ended, the fiery glow vanished, and the symbols faded to a dull gray.

She’d failed again.

“Fuck!” Angela shoved the amulet off the table. She shot to her feet, hissing curses under her breath as she paced the office.

“Angela?” Molly asked, worried at the other end of the phone.

Angela didn’t answer. She was too busy seething. Too busy hitting her head against the wall surrounding this fucking idea that had been stuck in her brain for months now.

The theory was simple. Engrave infernal marks into an object, connecting the demon they belonged to with said object rather than the arcanist conducting the ritual. As long as it was active, a fiend couldn’t be summoned. They would be bound to an item rather than a person, and that item would be in their possession and under their control. They would be truly free.

Theoretically.

Practically, it was far more complicated. Impossible, if you asked any other witch or warlock for advice. They would look at the parameters of her experiment and point out several glaring errors that even the greenest apprentice could spot.

Infernal marks could only be activated by the untainted blood of an arcanist, not a diluted version. They had to come from a living fiend rather than the dead one whose marks she happened to have. And to combine the arcane properties of crafting charms found in Alchemy with the ritualistic incantations of Authoring simply couldn’t be done.

Crossing the three branches of the arcane was considered impossible. But Angela had already proven that wrong, years ago. People who insisted something was impossible just weren’t trying hard enough, or worse, using the descriptor as an excuse not to try at all.

“Honey? Are you still there?”

Angela sighed, staying silent until she was sure the frustration wouldn’t show in her voice, before picking up the phone.

“Sorry, Mom. What were you saying?”

Angela cringed. She’d failed again. Her frustration was more than obvious.

“Did I interrupt? I can call later if—”

“No. Sorry. You didn’t interrupt.” Angela took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “It’s just been a long day. A recently disappointing day.”

A day she should have ended hours ago. But the power of that logic wasn’t half as powerful as the one pushing her past the point of sensibility.

Being born with a grand well of natural arcane energy meant she had excessive potential for usefulness. Chance had given her that gift. Being inefficient with it would be irresponsible. Stopping her work to explain her process, seek out assistance, or—God forbid—take a break, wasn’t efficient.

But she couldn’t say that. Only the Chains Regents knew what she was doing and for good reason. If it got out that the Court-affiliated witch was experimenting with infernal binding marks, the reaction would be neither kind nor measured. Demons weren’t known for being reasonable.

As for her mom, she was under the impression that Angela was busy with some university research project. Not working late nights in a high-rise full of monsters. Though, very few people knew she did that, to be fair.

But if she didn’t make the progress she needed to tonight, she would have no choice but to involve someone else. Each branch of the arcane had three subcategories. Her chosen field of Alchemy dealt with tonics, trinkets, and transmutations—also known as potions, arcane objects, and the transformation of inorganic material.

Her preferred field was trinkets. Not tonics. Which the artificial blood that was the backbone of her experiment fucking relied on.

“I don’t want help,” Angela said, intercepting her mom’s usual advice in response to hearing her daughter was feeling frustrated. “I can get the information I need from a colleague, but I hoped I could make enough progress tonight that it wouldn’t be necessary.”

“Wait… Tonight?” Her mom’s voice grew stern. “Angela, are you still at the university?”

Angela glanced around the room. Every wall was packed with artwork, animal skulls, and shelves overflowing with books and esoterica. It looked like the early stages of a hoarder’s den.

“I’m in my office.”

“This late?” Molly sounded almost offended. “Honey, it’s nearly midnight!”

Angela stiffened. “It is?”

“Yes! If those professors are making you stay late just because you’re the newest PhD student, then—”

“I have to go.” Angela returned the phone to its usual position—flat on her desk, on speaker—as she fixed her clothes and hair using one of several mirrors hanging around the room. The story she’d told her family, of her working towards a PhD in folklore studies rather than conducting arcane experiments, was still believable.

Especially since she was actually getting her PhD.

“Go? Now?”

“Yes. Now.” Angela was about to end the call out of habit when Molly interrupted.

“Will you come home for Christmas?”

Angela’s finger paused over the red end-call button, another pang going through her chest. Her mom didn’t guilt her, ever. She didn’t make her feel bad about working so much or rarely coming home or about not sharing many details of her life. She just worried. And she hoped. And whenever she hoped too hard, her voice would shake a little and Angela would remember that she missed her mom just as much as Molly missed her daughter.

It was just easy to forget that when you were always busy doing something interesting.

“I will.”

“Really?” The excitement in her mom’s voice was beyond obvious.

“Yes. I’ll put it in my calendar and everything.” Angela picked up her phone and started for the door. “But I have to go. Love you, Mom.”

Molly only just made it through an “I love you, too,” when Angela hung up and strode out of her office. She didn’t bother locking the door. Everyone in the high-rise knew better than to enter the Chains witch’s office, and the few who didn’t… Well, they’d find out the hard way that Angela’s self-proclaimed expertise with arcane protections was entirely accurate. She didn’t believe in lying about her talents, especially since she didn’t need to.

She hurried to the end of the hall, tapping her foot against the floor as she waited for the elevator. No one was with her. The hallways were empty, in fact. The elevator was too, and as she entered and hit the button for the ground floor where the Iron’s Eve was taking place, Angela felt something she never felt.

Anxious.

She crossed her arms and huffed. There was zero reason to be anxious. Even if everything happened as she worried it would, it wouldn’t affect her. No one in the Court of Chains could touch a hair on her head. They literally couldn’t. Angela’s mastery with Alchemy meant she was covered in charms that protected her from every kind of supernatural creature in existence.

She didn’t like thinking about her lack of proficiency in the other two arcane branches. Alchemy with all its crafting was where she was strongest. She was capable at Authoring, and the runes, rituals, and relations found within. But her nonexistent skill with Amplification was frustrating at best and embarrassing at worst. With no skill in its three subcategories of restoration, deterioration, and alteration, she couldn’t heal or defend herself if her trinkets weren’t in play. Hell, she couldn’t even do the party trick of changing her goddamn hair color.

Angela shook the concerns from her head. At least, those concerns. There were others far more pressing, and as the elevator dinged open on the club floor of the Court of Chains, revealing a near-silent crowd of monsters, Angela suspected they were fully warranted, too.

Only fear could make monsters that silent. She had a fine idea who had spawned that fear.

Angela maneuvered towards one of the small stages installed on the club floor. It was filled to the brim, but a corner was unclaimed and when she climbed onto the stage, everyone shifted to make room for her. She was just in time for the big show.

Wonderful.

Angela turned her attention to the main stage. It held two steel thrones, each with a smaller seat immediately next to it. She knew the human women in those seats, as well as the two creatures on the thrones. In the left-most position of power was a gorgeous woman with golden-brown skin and violet, slitted eyes that usually shined with confidence and charm. Now they were hard and her hands squeezed the armrests. Natalya, the fiendish co-ruler of Chains, was tense.

The man next to her looked even less at ease. Aleksander Voronov, the King of Chains, regarded the empty space in front of the stage with burning, black eyes that promised untold destruction if he was challenged.

Knowing who he was about to face, a challenge was all but guaranteed.

“Final pledge of the Eve!” the announcer said. The blonde, beautiful siren who always hosted the Iron’s Eve smiled at the crowd, but when she turned to the empty hollow in front of the stage, she frowned in confusion. She looked around, spotting nothing, before she continued. “The greater fiend known as Vex may approach. Make your pledge.”

The siren stepped back, moving more tentatively than was usual for her. Murmuring started in the crowd as people rose on their toes to see the announced creature.

For several seconds, the hollow by the stage remained empty. Then the shadows lingering in the space coalesced into a flowing black swirl. It rose into the air, spewing out inky tendrils that reached for the crowd like claws looking for prey. Several people stepped back before the shadows drew into a humanoid shape and then fell away. Revealing a woman.

Vex’s appearance brought utter silence to the room. She was tall and pale, with a lean, firm body and short black hair. She was wearing a variation of what she always did. Dark pants and a black, baggy t-shirt that made her look even more boyish than her androgynous features already accomplished. Her face was sharp and mean-looking, with thin lips that never smiled with anything other than mockery or contempt, and when she looked at the Court rulers, her slitted cat eyes glowed neon green in the dark club room.

She looked like a tomboy set on making everyone around her feel uncomfortable. An unknowing observer would see her as just that, but everyone present knew better. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife.

For a long moment, Vex stayed silent. Then she made a slight bow.

“Lady of Lust,” she said, looking at Natalya. She turned to Aleksander. Not bowing. “King of Chains.”

She kept staring at the vampire King, her face as goadingly hateful as always. Maybe a little more so, somehow.

“Lady of Envy,” Natalya said, drawing Vex’s attention away from Aleksander. “I’m pleased you’re finally pledging. It’s been months since I made the offer to you.”

“I wasn’t ready for fresh chains months ago. Not even those donned freely.”

“Is that why you’ve come before us tonight?” Aleksander said, voice dark. “Your attitude about Chains is different now?”

Vex glared at her supposed future Regent. “I abhor them as much as ever. I just abhor yours less.”

A displeased muttering rippled through the crowd. Vex ignored it, keeping her slitted eyes on Aleksander.

“I’m not in the habit of letting creatures that abhor my Court pledge for its halls,” Aleksander said coldly.

“And I’m not in the habit of letting another creature shackle me, King. We all act against our natures sometimes. You can thank your Lady of Lust that I’m even here. It’s her lessons that made me willing to subjugate myself at all.”

Angela sneered, quickly suppressing the expression. Vex had been bound to a warlock not too long ago. That same warlock had sent her into the Court of Chains as an unwilling spy, forcing her to steal Natalya’s binding marks in the process. The two fiends were trapped together for a short time, and Natalya had taken Vex on as a student after they broke their bonds and returned to the Chains.

In the months since, Vex had never wished to join the Court. When it had come out that she was planning on pledging, everyone wanted to see.

If Vex’s pledge was recognized, the shadows in the high-rise would become a lot fuller than they were before. And a lot more distracting.

Angela stopped trying to hold back her sneer.

“You’re not pledging to Natalya,” Aleksander said. “You are pledging to the Chains. Remember that.”

Vex’s lip curled. She glanced at Natalya, who seemed even tenser than before. She looked down at Vex, eyes hard and evidently communicating something only meant for greater fiends, because Vex’s face relaxed a little.

“Yes, King,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Good.” Aleksander leaned back in his seat. “Make your pledge. Present your gift.”

By how Vex held his gaze, Angela wouldn’t have been surprised if Vex damned all propriety and told the King of Chains to go fuck himself before evaporating into darkness again. But then she turned to the crowd.

“I pledge for the Court of Chains.” She didn’t raise her voice, yet it was audible to every creature in the room. An echoing sound that traveled with the shadows. “From its halls I seek tutelage. I seek restraint. I seek control. In exchange, I offer the powers of my Sin.”

The silence stretched as the crowd waited for her to continue. When she didn’t, Aleksander frowned.

“Is that all? You only offer yourself?”

“Not quite.” By how Vex smirked, she had been waiting for the question. “I offer protection. Safety, from the shadows and the beings within them. I offer the deaths of anyone foolish enough to threaten what you love most.”

Vex’s eyes trailed to the two human women sitting next to the thrones. Lily by Aleksander’s side, Evie by Natalya’s.

“Accept my pledge, King of Chains, and the precious humans of the Court Regents will have nothing to fear from the shadows found within your high-rise.”

Aleksander started reaching for Lily, but stopped himself after moving only an inch. Natalya didn’t concern herself with what people might think. She took Evie’s hand, holding it tight.

“I don’t follow,” Aleksander said. “Lily and Evie are already protected.”

“Are they?” Vex’s eyes flashed bright green, and the shadows thickened around her. They rushed forward, spilling over the stage like black smoke and pausing less than a foot from Lily and Evie’s chairs. Everyone on the stage flinched, the rulers relaxing only when Vex drew back the shadows she commanded.

This time Aleksander didn’t hesitate. He took Lily’s hand, but he didn’t look away from Vex. Fire blazed in his black eyes.

“I know better than anyone what hides in the dark.” Vex put on a grin full of very sharp teeth. “I am the dark. It has more dangers in it than you can imagine. But they’re no match for me.”

The shadows pulsed, causing everyone standing near her to take a startled step back. She never took her eyes off Aleksander.

“Don’t forget. I know what you want, Mr. Voronov. Your deepest, darkest desires. Nothing is more important to you than the safety of your little flower.”

Aleksander didn’t look pleased with her words. In fact, he looked enraged. His mouth tensed in a snarl and Angela suspected that if he was to flash his teeth, his fangs would be on full display.

“Aleksander.” Natalya touched his arm. “She’s being unpleasant but sincere. She would never harm Lily. I’d even trust her with Evie’s life.”

That seemed to convince him more than anything Vex had said so far. His posture eased and he let go of Lily’s hand.

“What a kind offer,” Aleksander said, teeth clenched. Vex’s eyes shimmered.

“I am not kind, King. I wasn’t made for Kindness.”

“I see that.” He made a dismissive wave. “Because of what you’ve done for the Court already, and the faith Natalya has in you, I accept your gifts. Time will tell if I was wise to do so. The pledge is recognized.”

No applause followed. Just quiet whispering as Vex walked to the stage, letting the siren announcer clasp a steel chain around her wrist.

Sweat beaded on Angela’s forehead and she wiped it away. She’d been around Vex before. Been spooked by her before. She had a habit of jumping out of the shadows with no warning, wearing a contemptuous glare that seemed fiendishly designed to produce unease.

She wasn’t sure why Vex hated her so much. While Vex hated everyone with a keen intensity, Angela got more of her attention than others. But then again, she got attention from most creatures around Court.

Though she was just a human, among the Chains she was much more than that. There were iron bracelets clasped around her wrists, protecting her from the thieving and luring voices of the fae. She had specially treated silver piercings in her ears and on her chest that made her blood toxic to fangers. Lastly, two crystal vials filled with sanctified salt hung as amulets around her neck. One ensured fiends couldn’t use their abilities against her, the other agony should they touch her. She just had to make fresh salt for them every few weeks.

Most defensive charms were locked to the arcanist who made them. If given to someone else, any powers imbued in them would vanish. They couldn’t even be taken off by anyone other than the person who’d activated them. To the humans in the Court, she represented a safety they could never possess. To the monsters of its halls, she was unattainable and untouchable.

Despite that knowledge, seeing Vex’s now chained hand be raised into the air filled her with an unwelcome nervousness.

Angela had better things to do than worry about a fiend with a hatred for witches. In an ideal world, Vex would ignore her completely, but as the Envy fiend trailed her eyes over the crowd and found Angela—changing her irises from green to crimson—that was clearly a pointless want to have.

She jutted out her chin. If Vex insisted on bothering her, Angela would just bother her right back. She wouldn’t give Vex the satisfaction of being affected by her threatening stares.

She wouldn’t give Vex any satisfaction at all.

Chapter 2

The Second Circle was packed, as it always was following an Iron’s Eve. The dangerous beasties of Chains had finished their monthly evening of revelry and were now milling around the lower floors of the high-rise, looking for something to drink or fuck.

Vex wasn’t in the mood to do either.

She was lying on one of the Second Circle’s many leather couches, alone. A consequence of her nature, as expected as it was pathetic. The denizens of Chains were supposed to be frightening creatures. Scary, murderous monsters who wrapped themselves in whatever metal would hurt them, just for the thrill of it.

Reality didn’t match reputation. The Court of Chains was as afraid of the dark as anyone. Everyone there, no matter how scary, had developed a habit of second-guessing their own shadow. Worried that said shadow might get bored and snatch something precious, such as a childhood memory or maybe the ability to speak.

But Vex wasn’t bored. She was staring up at the ceiling, running a finger over the steel chain bracelet she’d just received. A chain that was supposed to help. Reel her in, offer control, provide rest from the hellish need to ruin that permeated her entire being. Instead, she was suppressing the urge to haunt the high-rise like a violent, vengeful specter.

Because ever since her Chains bracelet was put on, Vex had been thinking about her.

Someone broke away from the crowd, approaching the pocket of tension Vex had made for herself. The space in a ten-foot radius around her was void of people, which made it even more obvious when someone willingly stepped into it.

“You’re brooding,” Natalya said, the tightness of her voice showing exactly how annoyed she was. Vex kept her eyes pointed at the ceiling.

“Not feeling celebratory.”

“No? How surprising.” One of Natalya’s expensive heels tapped against the floor. “You usually sulk where no one can see you, and now your foul mood is affecting my patrons. Who didn’t come down here to feel uneasy.”

“No, they’re here to engage in some fun, consensual corruption.” Vex gave Natalya a smirk. “People are here to fuck, Lust. They want a little danger to sharpen the excitement of it. I’m just adding to the atmosphere.”

Natalya raised an eyebrow. “How sweet.”

“Aren’t I?” Vex said innocently.

Her eyes drifted to the crowd behind Natalya. While there were plenty giving her yearning looks, none of them came from the one person whose attention Natalya actually gave a shit about.

Vex looked back up at the ceiling. “Where’s your precious darling? Since you dragged her to the ceremony for once, I figured you’d want to reward her by being self-indulgent. She should be screaming in one of the private rooms by now.”

Vex didn’t need to look at Natalya to know the comment had poked her effectively. The air felt a little thicker than before.

“Evie went back to our apartment,” Natalya said. “She doesn’t like attending Iron’s Eves, and tonight reminded her of why. Your little show was unnecessary.”

“Wouldn’t call it little. Or unnecessary. By how everyone cowered and the King relented, I’d say it was just what was needed.”

“Angering a Regent of Chains isn’t wise.”

“Neither is pushing a greater fiend.”

“You’re clearly not wise, then,” Natalya said, tightness returning to her voice. The change made curiosity outweigh the desire to be difficult, and Vex glanced her way.

Natalya didn’t look pleased. Nor like she was done acting the part of stern teacher.

“I want you to stay near the high-rise for the time being. You don’t leave the city without permission from either me or Aleksander.”

Vex’s body tensed as though firming against invisible restraints. She pushed up on her elbows, glaring at Natalya, who didn’t seem impressed with her scowling.

“Don’t act surprised, Vex. You knew this was the deal. Until I’m sure you won’t steal the breath out of anyone who annoys you, you’re staying near Court.”

Vex sneered, but kept it to that. She sat up on the couch, crossing her arms.

“Fine. Order received. Lady.”

The corner of Natalya’s mouth quirked up. “A few months ago, you would have shadowed off hearing a command like that. You’re improving.”

Vex groaned. Those words felt like a compliment, which didn’t have the same mood-boosting effect on her as it did on other beings. Affection didn’t fit a creature of Envy, and, horribly, it was what Natalya insisted she practice. But it wasn’t easy being nice when you were literally designed not to be.

For demons to gain control, they had to work against the pure compulsion that was their Sin. For Natalya, a Lust fiend, it meant practicing Chastity. Drago, the only other greater fiend at Court, was of Wrath and had to study Patience. Vex was supposed to seek out Kindness.

Though they could never hope to fully embody their opposing virtues, they needed to draw on parts of them if they wanted to be more than slaves to their infernal purpose. It was what allowed Natalya to not turn every room she entered into an orgy, and let Drago respond to teasing comments with a grunt rather than by concaving someone’s ribcage. But Vex had been free for far less time than them. Not hating or making others hate in turn was difficult. Outside of the Court of Chains, it had been completely impossible.

“Thank you for the compliment,” Vex said through clenched teeth. The words were like bile in her mouth. “You’re not getting more than that. I’ve already been pleasant enough for one evening.”

“That much is obvious.” Natalya narrowed her eyes. “What’s really going on? You knew what tonight would involve. You’ve observed plenty of Eves, even when I made it clear you weren’t allowed to attend.”

“Are you always this invasively concerned?”

“Only with a few people. My two students belong to that group. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Vex looked over her shoulder, through the Second Circle. She wasn’t sure if her gaze was uniquely focused or if her hatred somehow infected the air and made the crowd split, but she had a clear view of the chain curtain entrance to the dungeon. Going through it would lead to the club floor above, where a blonde witch was probably snooping around. A witch Vex suspected had shown up just to provoke her.

When the Chains bracelet was clasped around her wrist, Angela fucking Norwood had been watching her. She was easily spotted, in her preppy cotton clothes among everyone wearing black leather. Head cocked, arms crossed, and brows mockingly raised. As though she was daring Vex to try something.

Oh, Vex wanted to try something. She despised Angela as much as she despised any witch or warlock. They possessed the power and knowledge to summon and bind fiends. Summon and bind her. But her hatred of Angela was much keener than it would be for an average wielder of the arcane.

She reminded Vex of Dominic, the man who’d been her Master before she was freed. They shared several characteristics. Same hunger for knowledge, same refined features, same fucking blonde hair.

With Angela it was long, wavy, and shined when under direct lighting. She never dressed for her office of would-be slaver, preferring prim outfits more fitting an aspiring prom queen than a witch. Her makeup was neutral, her clothing stylish. Her skin was void of scars, her face elegant and symmetrical. The only thing not provokingly perfect about her was her eyes, where heterochromia made one hazel brown and the other a soft, clear blue.

The beautiful witch was the only creature in the entire Court who Vex couldn’t affect. Couldn’t read and thereby understand. Because of that, and everything else about her, Vex detested her.

“I’ve never seen her at an Iron’s Eve before.”

Natalya stayed quiet as she took in the statement, finding the connection between Vex’s words, strained voice, and unblinking stare.

Then she scoffed. “Don’t tell me you’re still obsessing over Angela Norwood.”

“Obsessing is the only appropriate thing to do with Angela Norwood.” Vex stood, stepping closer to Natalya and putting on a smile she knew was all teeth. “Though I get why you’re not doing so. You’re the one who let her into the high-rise in the first place. You’ve clearly lost it.”

“Pretending that Aleksander didn’t have a say?”

“Aleksander is a fanger. They work with arcanists. You’re the demon who’s tempting fate by keeping a witch around. Don’t come crying to me when she decides she’d rather have you as a pet than a Regent.” Vex dialed it up a notch by turning her voice sugary sweet, leaning just a little too far into Natalya’s personal space. “Maybe you want her to. Maybe you’re like Drago and you’re praying for a cute little witch to come around and enslave you again.”

Natalya’s lip twitched, but it was the only sign of irritation she showed. Her eyes didn’t even change color, though they should have. Implying that a fiend missed being under the will of an arcanist should at least produce some sort of angry reaction.

But Natalya wasn’t a slave to herself. Not like Vex fucking was.

“Get your eyes under control,” Natalya whispered. “A good start to you joining the Chains would be to not stare at your fellow Court members like you want to rip them apart.”

Anger must have turned her irises scarlet, or at least partially so. Vex took a deep breath, trying to push down the hate rising in her chest. It couldn’t vanish completely, but dimming it was possible. Sometimes.

“It’s difficult.” Vex shot a brief glare over her shoulder. “I don’t like her being around. I know arcanists. They’re only out for themselves.”

“Angela has worked with the Chains for over a decade. She’s trustworthy.”

“She’s tenacious. There’s a difference. She wants something.”

“You’re being paranoid.”

“You’re being idiotic. You already slipped when that jumpy human you love so much got you smitten enough that you flashed your marks at her. It’s almost as pathetic as putting your trust in a witch.”

Natalya’s eyes flared scarlet. Not much. Just a few strands of red among the violet.

Vex already knew the one button that could undo Natalya’s precious control and summon the demon within. Pushing it was oddly entertaining. The look of dangerous calm on Natalya’s face was not.

“I respect you, Vex. More than you deserve, perhaps.” Natalya leaned in, coming near enough that Vex could feel her breath on her skin. “But if you speak of Evie in that tone again, I’ll boil you in sanctified sage oil specially produced by Angela Norwood. And she makes it potent.”

She stared at Vex until it became clear the threat wasn’t made in jest. The scarlet strands waned, and she leaned away, though Vex had to stop herself from widening the gap further. If you genuinely annoyed Natalya, pain tended to be involved.

She made a dismissive wave. “You’re free to mingle. Just don’t steal anything.”

“But it would be so easy.” Vex flashed a grin at Natalya, who looked far from amused.

“That’s why you’re not going to. I want you to stay out of the shadows for at least one hour. And I want you to speak to someone without taking anything from them. Once you’ve done that, come find me.”

“Got a job for me already?”

“I’ll create a job for you. Leaving Envy to stew in a corner would make the entire building feel uneasy.” Natalya put her hand on Vex’s, and a warm, prickling rush flowed through her arm. The infernal calm that followed softened her annoyance. “Mingle. Now.”

When Natalya left, Vex glared at the crowd. Monsters and humans who did their best to either ignore her or give her as wide a berth as possible.

She had no one she could mingle with. She didn’t have friends, not that she needed or wanted them. People were vile, envious beings who coveted other vile, envious beings. Just by being near them, Vex knew their darkest desires. Their hidden wants. Their most violent cravings.

There was a human man a few feet away, nursing a drink and smiling brightly at the person he was talking to. He wanted to burn his brother’s house to the ground, destroying his signifiers of wealth and success.

Another human stood hunched near one of the stages, looking at a nearby laughing couple with hard, narrowed eyes. She wanted to see them scream at each other, witnessing the love they shared shatter into pieces.

Someone ventured daringly close to Vex, a tiny woman who then ran off towards the private rooms. She wanted nothing more than for someone to fill her body with vamp or wolf venom so she could transform into a supernatural creature, made stronger than what her mortal vessel allowed her to be.

Vex knew what people wanted, and people only wanted selfishly. They wanted the resources, bliss, and power possessed by others. They craved. They coveted. They despised.

They were just like Vex. It made her hate them even more.

Even this dungeon was filled with liars. Vex had spent plenty of time in clubs like this, mainly because it was one of the few places she could have a degree of fun. She knew what people desired, and that included knowing what someone wanted her to do and say. She happened to have the most fun when they wanted her to do or say something cruel.

Natalya had warned her it would be difficult to work against her instincts. That her freedom would come at a cost if she chose vengeance over peace. Vex hadn’t cared. But maybe she should have.

When she’d been freed from her summoner, she’d killed him and, in doing so, she’d bound herself to the mortal world for a millennium. One thousand years where Vex took everything she could without care or hesitation. Without agency or control.

She was of Envy. Made to want, even if her wants could never be satisfied. By donning the Chains, she might stop feeling trapped by her purpose. She might find some relief from herself.

If she wasn’t constantly reliving the moment right after receiving her Chains bracelet. When her eyes had found the one person in the entire goddamn building who could make her see red just by being present. The one person whose wants Vex couldn’t know.

She had to leave Angela alone before. When she wasn’t a full member of the Chains, she could only interact with people if Natalya was around. Now, she could interact with her fellow Court members as much as she liked, as long as it didn’t result in serious bodily harm. What better person to interact with than a witch with guarded desires?

Keeping out of the shadows, Vex aimed for the exit of the Second Circle. Normally, tracking someone down didn’t take her much effort, but Angela wore defensive charms. If she wished to, she could vanish.

Well, as much as the most powerful human in the Court of Chains could vanish. Just like Vex had a pocket of tension around her, so did Angela. Except Vex’s was based on hostile energy and Angela’s came from her making herself toxic to most of the beings in the high-rise.

Everywhere she went, she produced looks, whispers, and wonder. Everyone who saw her would pause and stare, as they considered just how close they could get before the ‘untouchable’ characteristic of the Chains witch came into effect.

So, if she was still on the club floor, she would be very easy to find.

Chapter 3

Angela turned her glass between her fingers, trying her hardest not to chuckle. Laughter wasn’t the reason she’d gone to the bar after the Iron’s Eve concluded—alcohol was—but just because she hadn’t sought out entertainment didn’t mean she wouldn’t appreciate it when it showed up. Especially not when it was in the shape of her awkward apprentice.

“What’s in this?” Sam eyed the pink concoction that had just been placed in front of her. “It looks a bit… plasticky.”

“It’s a mystery.” Maya put on a winning smile and spun a bottle over the back of her hand, seemingly just to show off. “At this section of the bar, getting something on the house means trying one of my experimental recipes.”

Sam shifted on her stool, but she didn’t hunch like she would have done a few weeks ago when she started frequenting Court. She’d even put her dark hair up, showing her icy blue eyes with the signature brown line in one of them.

“I didn’t want anything for free. I just asked for a drink.” Sam sniffed the glass, crinkling her nose.

“Which I suspect this isn’t.” Angela took the glass out of Sam’s hand. “I apologize for Maya’s sense of humor. It doesn’t have your best interest at heart.”

Maya was excellent at making drinks, though she had a tendency to use her gifts for evil and mix up some truly awful creations. The pink travesty in Angela’s hand was no exception. It smelled of rum and what could only be described as an imitation of raspberry.

“Congrats, Maya. This one is a new degree of gross.”

“It can’t be that bad.” Sam took the glass back. “It’s just a drink. A free drink, apparently.”

“Your funeral. But I guess it could have some use. If it hits as terribly as I suspect it will, you can practice burning it off on the way to your car.”

Maya snatched the drink out of Sam’s hand, good humor lost. “She’s driving?”

“She’s driving in half an hour once she’s finished her Amplification lessons and has given her favorite fiend a goodnight kiss.” Angela smirked at Sam, whose cheeks had turned red. “If you want extra credit, you can consider that drink one of your lessons. You can burn off the alcohol in a few minutes if you focus. It will double as a test of your constitution and your restoration proficiency.”

Though Angela was all but useless at Amplification, her skill with research was impeccable. There were no other trained arcanists within the entire state, so if Sam wanted to learn, she was stuck apprenticing for Angela.

Neither of them had any complaints so far. Sam was remarkably talented, and having someone around who knew more than the absolute basics of the arcane was refreshing. Even if it had taken a few weeks of intense tutoring to get Sam to that stage.

Maya kept looking wary until Sam gave her a nod and a smile. Only then did Maya hand her back the glass, flirty attitude restored. She always dialed it down around Sam, despite how fun it was to make her flustered. Maya had a special respect for Sam. Understandable, given that Sam had the decency to save the vampire from a necromancer not that long ago.

But Maya’s casualness wasn’t returned. She made Sam nervous, like she did almost everyone among the Chains. Sam was just nice enough to pretend that wasn’t the case.

“Have you served this to anyone before?” Sam asked, inspecting the glass. Maya’s dangerous smile came back on.

“Nope. I’m expecting a taste report if it makes it past your molars.”

With a glance at both Maya and Angela, Sam tipped back the glass. She squeezed her eyes shut, and her entire face scrunched up as she swallowed. When she started coughing, both Maya and Angela laughed.

“What the hell?” Sam looked like she was fighting not to throw up. “That’s disgusting!”

“So I’m not pitching it for the menu, then?” Maya said, still chuckling.

“Seems like you had to use effort to make it taste that awful.” Sam wiped her mouth. She seemed tempted to wipe her tongue, too.

“Would Maya be that mean?” When Angela eyed the bartender and her shit-eating grin, she rolled her eyes and sipped on her vodka soda. “Ignore that question. Of course she would be.”

Maya was part of the reason Angela was sipping on a drink rather than downing something high-percentage and tasteless. She only got drunk when a project was getting unreasonably frustrating, and then she was effective about it. She took a few shots, enjoyed the buzz, and then buried herself in whatever work had annoyed her. But that had changed after Maya joined the Chains. Rather than getting her alcohol efficiently, she now got it with accompanying conversation.

Maya was a recent addition to the Court, and to say she wasn’t fitting in would be an understatement. Despite her charming words, flirty demeanor, and gorgeous eyes, her supposedly impossible existence meant everyone treated her as though she might burst into flames at any second.

The day-walking vampire was a mystery. An attractive mystery, with honey-tan skin, dark hair, and black eyes with streaks of gold along the outline of the iris. Impossible eyes, that meant everyone avoided her like the plague.

Mostly.

Someone moved up next to Angela; an unusual enough occurrence that it made her glance their way. A lightly tan, dark-haired man with a well-groomed beard was next to her. His bright azure eyes were shining with an otherworldly quality that suggested a more fiendish than human nature.

He’d been among the accepted applicants for the Iron’s Eve. New blood for the Chains. And ignorant blood by how he was smiling at her.

“Hey there, Miss,” the Pride fiend said. His Sin was obvious in the color of his eyes and his non-slitted pupils showed him as a lesser of his type. His gender also afforded only one response to his flirtatious tone.

“No.” Angela turned to the side, hoping that ignoring the problem would make it go away. But rejecting a Pride fiend just made them more persistent.

“Come on… You haven’t even heard what I want. And it looks like your drink is almost empty. I can get you a refill.”

“I can get those myself. Leave.”

“I’d do what she says,” Maya said, smiling. “You don’t want to mess with the Chains witch. It’s an invitation for screaming.”

“Really?” The man leaned closer, heavy cologne infesting the air. “I happen to like making women scream. I’m good at it, too.”

Sam snorted and Maya looked away to hide her grin. Angela glared at both of them.

“Men aren’t to my tastes.” Angela emptied her drink and pushed the glass towards Maya. She turned to the man, giving him an unimpressed look up and down. “The only screaming that will happen if you continue pressing me will come from you. And it won’t be the pleasant kind.”

When he kept grinning, Angela nearly groaned. Fucking men.

“Is that a threat, little lady?”

“A warning.” Maya didn’t sound so amused anymore. “Leave her alone.”

“Don’t need saving, Maya,” Angela said dryly. “As long as he keeps his hands to himself, there won’t be an issue. Let’s hope his infernal nature didn’t fry his brain cells as well as his ability to read the fucking room. Then he might have enough good sense left to find entertainment elsewhere.”

The man’s expression changed from cocky to curious, as though Angela had presented a dare for him to either seize or walk away from. And because this fiend suffered the first Sin, it was obvious what he would do.

Too bad for him.

Keeping eye contact, he brushed his fingers over the back of Angela’s hand. Then he triggered the warning Maya had voiced just a moment before, letting out a wailing scream.

The fiend clutched his hand as he collapsed on the floor. He writhed in place, jolts of arcanely produced agony pulsing through him so hard it looked like he was seizing.

Angela sighed and slid off the bar stool. She’d told him to leave. This is what he got from pushing where there would be no give.

“Can you ease him out of it, Sam? I’m heading back upstairs and even if I wasn’t, I’m not in the mood to deal with dicks.”

“Sure. I’m leaving to find Drago, anyway.” Sam gave Angela a quick sideways hug and Maya an equally quick wave. It only took her a couple of seconds to make the fiend stop wailing, and then a few more to soothe the pain enough that he could stand and hurry into the crowd.

It was lucky Sam was around. Angela’s charms were potent and—as was the case for her touch-protective charm—almost impossible to make. If it hadn’t been for Sam’s gift for healing injuries, the fiend would have been screaming for several minutes. That would have been annoying for everyone.

“Great,” Maya mumbled after the fiend and Sam disappeared. “Another person who’ll steer clear of my section. Just what I needed.”

Angela glanced down the bar. The other bartenders were flurrying through drink orders while Maya’s stretch was barren. Other than Angela, Sam, and the lesser Pride fiend with more arrogance than sense, no one had been by all night.

Angela didn’t like seeing that. How Maya had been planted behind the bar solely because she was good at talking and because no one knew what to do with someone who produced unwarranted fear in everyone around her. People didn’t understand her and that was enough to make her terrifying.

“Are you really that desperate for company?” Angela sat back down at the bar. “He was an asshole. You’re better off talking to yourself than someone like that.”

Maya sighed, her shoulders staying slumped. Then her charms returned, though they didn’t come through as clearly as before.

“I thought you were leaving.”

“I’m in the mood for one more drink. And we were having a conversation before that guy showed up. I don’t like leaving things unfinished.”

“You’re willingly engaging in conversation?” Maya said, refilling Angela’s drink. “For some reason, I doubt that’s why you’re sticking around.”

Though Maya was smiling, it didn’t reach her eyes. Her smile was dangerous enough that it could make you spill secrets and dollars alike, but only when it wasn’t being forced into place.

Angela held out her hand. “Give me a napkin. And a pen.”

“Why?” Maya sounded hesitant, but a glint of amusement shined in her eyes.

“Because I asked nicely.”

Maya shook her head with a grin, then grabbed a pen and napkin from under the bar and handed them to Angela.

“I know what you’re doing and I have to wonder why you’re bothering,” she said, as Angela started folding up the napkin. “Keeping people company isn’t your style. You’re one scowl away from being an elected recluse. If we leave out Sam, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you talk to someone without sneering at them.”

“That’s because I’m busy and people are annoying. I only talk to them if I have to.”

“Oh, you were so close to being pleasant. Based on those words, I’m someone you have to talk to.”

While she did try, Angela couldn’t keep her grin back. Damn this vampire.

“Fine. I don’t have to talk to you, and I do anyway. Bet you feel real special now.”

“And you’re a flirt, too. My dream woman.”

Angela smiled, sipping on her drink before returning her attention to the napkin. It would be a lie to say she hadn’t considered taking her relationship with Maya further than fun banter. It had been a while, a long while, and experience told her she had more professional success when she wasn’t sexually frustrated.

But even though the chemistry was there, starting something that ran a real risk of making these conversations awkward wasn’t worth it. People who got to know her enough that she could call them friends without conflating the term were few and far between. Having two at the same time, in Maya and Sam, was rare. That one of them was a fellow lesbian was unprecedented. She didn’t want to risk losing that.

“We’d never work out.” Angela turned over the folded napkin so she could draw on its underside. “You’re nice. And relationship material. That means you’re not my type.”

“Thank you?” Maya said, chuckling. “For what it’s worth, you’re not my type, either.”

Angela raised an eyebrow. “Wow. Rude.”

“You are, in fact. Which is why you’re not my type. I like my women to have equal parts fun and challenge in them.”

The other eyebrow joined the first one. “Are you saying I’m boring?”

“I never said you were boring. You’re quite interesting, actually. You’re also a hyper fixating nerd—”

“Witch.”

“Witch who prefers arcane doodles to conversation. I’m sure it’s someone’s poison, but it isn’t mine.”

Angela gave her a long look. “I’m going to be pleasant and ignore that you just referred to my incantations as ‘doodles.’”

When Maya winked, her smile almost showed in her dark irises. Not quite, though. But Angela was about to fix that.

Opening one of her vial necklaces, she poured a few grains of salt onto her finger. If she took any more, the protective power in the charm would vanish, but she didn’t need much of a spark to make this work.

Muttering a few words under her breath, she pinched the salt between her fingers and let it fall onto the arcane symbols she’d just drawn on the napkin. The grains gravitated towards the drawn lines, like flakes of iron towards a magnet, and once they’d all settled, she placed the folded napkin in her palm and held it towards Maya.

“Blow on it.”

Maya’s brows knitted together as she eyed the origami crane Angela had made.

“What will happen if I do?” Maya asked carefully. Angela pursed her lips.

“Try it and find out.”

Though Maya still hesitated, she eventually leaned in and blew on the paper.

Right as the exhaled air hit the paper bird, a bright glow burst from its form. It took off from Angela’s hand, flying around Maya’s head so fast it left streaks of light in its wake.

When it brushed against the end of Maya’s ponytail, she let out a surprised laugh, her eyes following the shimmering bird as it soared above the crowd. It made a wide rotation, flying for just long enough that people noticed its presence, before exploding into a rainfall of glittery light.

It was little more than a party trick. A basic animated trinket, given temporary effects from the illumination rune drawn on its underside. The firework show was just a flashy addition, coming from a minor explosive rune timed to delay its activation. Harmless. But effective, given the hoots going through the crowd.

“Didn’t take you for a showoff,” Maya said with a grin. “I figured you were the magic equivalent of a mathlete.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being a mathlete. And it isn’t magic. The arcane is a secret science with established rules and traditions. Anyone can learn it, at least if they’re human. There’s nothing magical about it.”

Maya’s smile was all charm and tease now, the latter characteristic dropping when she looked up at the glittery lights still twinkling in the air.

“Thanks, Angela. Closed nights are always tough.”

The people crowding the bar on closed nights knew of Maya’s reputation and steered clear of her section as a result. But uninitiated humans didn’t even know that Maya was more than human. Whenever Court was open, she always produced a flock of fan girls.

Her smiles came easily then. And now too, it seemed.

“Sure. We had a conversation to finish and I like to work while I talk.” Angela grimaced and took a sip of her drink. “It was actually nice making something that functioned as intended. I haven’t had much luck with that lately.”

“Having trouble?” Maya leaned over the bar, charm being replaced with curiosity. “Working on something interesting?”

Angela only just stopped herself from giving an answer that would go right over Maya’s head. Instead, she chuckled.

“Bad question. I’m always working on something interesting.”

Maya raised her hands in a placating gesture. “Of course, of course. How could I ever insinuate otherwise?”

“Yeah, I honestly don’t know what’s wrong with you. But disregarding that, I actually can’t talk about it.” Angela leaned further across the bar, lowering her voice. “My work isn’t just interesting. It’s secret, too.”

She’d expected Maya to laugh at that. Or at least grin. Other than when she felt the need to protect her patrons either from themselves or someone else, she was jovial to an almost excessive degree—especially considering everything she’d been through.

But she didn’t even smile. Instead, her eyes drifted to the space directly behind Angela. In the silence that followed, Angela noticed the nearby chatting had died and there was a faint scent of smoke in the air. It was also darker than before.

Angela set down her glass a little too hard, making a few drops spill onto the bar top.

Of fucking course this was happening.

Pleasant mood forgotten, Angela turned around. And came face to face with a green-eyed monster.

Chapter 4

“What do you want, Vex?” Angela said, making herself sound more tired than annoyed.

It was harder than it should be. She’d known Vex would be standing right behind her, like a killer in a bad slasher movie, but she hadn’t expected that she’d be so close. Only a foot away, glaring down at Angela as though tempted to lean in further just because it would make the situation more uncomfortable.

“What do I want?” Vex put on a mocking smile. “That’s an awfully provoking question to ask something like me.”

Angela raised an eyebrow, keeping her expression bored and unimpressed. It was how she felt about most things, anyway. Invoking it as a defense mechanism was as easy as breathing.

“Provoking? I was going for insulting.” Angela slid off the chair, putting her and Vex almost chest to chest. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be? Or something to steal? That would be endlessly more useful than bothering people who don’t want to be bothered.”

Angela leaned forward, intending to force Vex back a step. Unlike the Pride fiend before, Vex knew of Angela’s amulets and how potent they were. She probably knew more than everyone in the Court combined.

But she stayed in place. Unmoving, even though just an accidental brush against Angela’s skin would produce untold agony.

They had never been that close for that long before. And Vex was tall, she realized. Angela was tall, too. But Vex was a little taller.

Which shouldn’t annoy her as much as it did.

“I thought you were supposed to be clever.” Vex sounded way too pleasant now. “But apparently not clever enough to know the natures of fiends. I’m not one for doing what others want me to do.”

“Fiends don’t interest me much.”

“Somehow I doubt that. Witches are always looking for new pets to add to their collections.”

“I’m an unusual witch.” Angela cocked her head, narrowing her eyes as she smiled. “And going by this conversation, it seems like you think about me far more than I think about you. Is that frustrating, Vex? That you’re so far from my mind that I often forget you exist, while you never forget about me?”

The few strands of scarlet appearing in Vex’s eyes made it clear the comment was as effective as intended. It was a blatant lie, but due to Angela’s charms, Vex had no way of knowing that.

Ever since Vex had become a frequent blight around Court, she was always there. Not just present physically, though she was that too, with her always hiding in a shadow somewhere. But she had burrowed into Angela’s brain like a parasite, and she had no idea how to excise it.

Part of it was because of reasonable concern. Having a greater fiend pay you malicious attention would worry anyone, so she should be afforded at least occasional consideration, but that wasn’t the only reason Angela had paid almost as much attention to Vex as Vex had to her.

No one would call Vex pretty. That implied a degree of softness to her features, and there was nothing soft about her, with her lean frame and bright slitted eyes. Her almost boyish features, sneering lips, and jawline that could cut glass.

Vex wasn’t pretty. She was just cursedly hot and so perfectly Angela’s type that it was borderline distracting.

“You’re not an easy witch to forget.” Vex leaned closer. Angela moved back without thinking. “Especially with what you were talking about just now. You and the now vanished day vamp.”

Angela glanced over her shoulder, confirming that Maya had, in fact, vanished. Probably to tell on Vex to her violet-eyed teacher.

Angela crossed her arms. “If you’re fishing for information, you’re wasting your time. My work is private.”

“You seemed eager to share it with her.” A slight snarl crept in on that last word. Angela scoffed and batted her lashes.

“Jealous, Vex? Oh, never mind. Of course you are.”

“Are you always this provoking?” A few more strands of red appeared in her eyes. “Or insulting. Wasn’t that what you were going for?”

“Well remembered. It’s unfortunate that you embody your chosen name so effectively. If you didn’t, you might actually use all the information you’ve stolen for something other than being a nuisance.”

Vex let out a laugh so cold it should have chilled the air. “I don’t hide what I am. My name reflects that fact. Can’t say the same for you, angel. Even if you have everyone else fooled, you haven’t fooled me. No witch wards her office until not even an insect can get in unless she’s hiding something.”

Angela’s mocking attitude faltered. Vex would be easier to deal with if the nature of her very being didn’t involve knowing everything about everyone. There was no one in the entire world who had a more innate understanding of someone’s motivations than a greater Envy fiend.

On one hand, Vex would probably revel in knowing that Angela’s research had stagnated so much that she needed outside assistance. On the other, if she knew Angela had spent the past few months trying to create fiendish binding circles in her office, she’d probably want to skin her alive.

But she clearly wanted that regardless.

It was quite easy to see what she wanted, in fact. Both because she wasn’t being subtle, but just as much because of what she was.

Angela hadn’t been honest before. Though there were gaps in her knowledge, she knew quite a bit about demons—including that nothing could obsess an Envy fiend more than being around something they couldn’t have. Angela’s thoughts and intentions were just out of reach.

“And you pointing out my inclination for privacy is supposed to do what? Scare me?” Angela grinned when Vex’s jaw clenched. Making Vex show all her cards was kind of fun. “You know… If you’re curious, you can just ask. Maybe I’ll share all my dirty little secrets.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“But you don’t know that for sure,” Angela whispered. “Not knowing is killing you a little. Isn’t it?”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“I know enough. I know those of Envy like talking more than acting. They prefer to almost do something rather than follow through, because the catching is never quite as satisfying as the chase. Or even satisfying at all. Someone of your sinful disposition wouldn’t be familiar with the concept.”

Angela ran her fingertip along the chain of one of her amulets.

“So, dear Vex… If you want to keep using mean words, be my guest. You’re obviously not going to act any of them out.”

Vex leaned forward so fast it was almost a lunge. Her hands gripped the bar on either side of Angela’s hips, their faces now just inches apart.

Angela maintained her unbothered attitude by sheer force of will. Vex’s furious expression made it clear she’d been efficiently provoked, and those things she would almost do probably involved a great deal of bloodshed.

“It’s very fortunate that I’m not permitted to steal anything tonight,” Vex said, eyes glowing pure scarlet. “I can think of several things of yours I’d love to take.”

“You think it matters if you’re permitted or not? You can’t touch me, or even affect me.” Angela glanced to the side, catching Vex’s hands still clutching the bar. “But, if you’re curious, feel free to give it a shot.”

Vex kept glaring, her eyes shimmering like fluorescent neon. Though the crimson remained in her irises, the fury suddenly left as a chilling smile crept into place.

Then she put her fingers into Angela’s drink and flexed them at her, spraying droplets of alcohol in her face.

Angela gasped, the noise being followed by low chuckling from the audience she hadn’t noticed until then. Everyone nearby was staring at them. Laughing at her.

Shock traveled from her chest up her neck, finally settling in her face as blushing embarrassment. Heated embarrassment that pooled low in her stomach in a way that was equal parts startling, inappropriate, and rage-inducing.

“How’s that for satisfying?” Vex said with a grin. “You look all kinds of pissed now. Seems like I can affect you just fine.”

Taunting all forgotten, Angela only just stopped herself from shoving Vex in the chest and physically forcing her to step back when words wouldn’t do the trick. Instead, she put her hands on the edge of the bar, right where Vex’s was. Or had been. Even though Angela had moved fast, Vex was faster.

“You’re not affecting me for shit,” Angela hissed, redirecting whatever fucked up feeling Vex had just spawned into pure fury. Vex let out a disdainful scoff.

“I found myself an interesting trifecta. An arcanist who’s mysterious, secretive, and a fucking liar.”

“It’s more than what you can manage. You’re defined by what others possess. Not particularly mysterious, or secretive, for that matter. Everyone knows that you’re nothing but a leering shadow, bitter about not being allowed to play as freely as everyone else is.” Angela blew air into Vex’s face, making her black hair swoop away from her eyes. “And if you imply anything else, you’re the fucking liar, Vex.”

Vex’s grip on the bar tightened to the point where the wood creaked. The cruel smile was still on her face, sticking in place like a dreadful mask as she leaned closer.

“You wouldn’t be talking like this if you weren’t wearing those necklaces. Then there’d be no end to what I could do to you. What I could take from you. And trust me when I say everything would be taken slowly.”

Angela matched Vex’s approach, pushing slightly off the bar. “Then it’s fortunate that I never take them off.”

They were so close that Angela could feel Vex’s breath against her skin. So close that a sudden wind would make them touch. So close that neither of them wanted to be the first to step away, and as Angela stared into those once-green cat eyes, she wondered what it would take to get this fiend to back the hell off.

“Vex!” Natalya’s voice cut through the pumping music of the clubroom. Vex tensed as Natalya moved out of the crowd to stand just a few feet away, Maya right behind her.

Natalya stared Vex down. “What is this?”

“Conversation,” she snarled. “You told me to find someone to talk to. I did.”

Her red gaze stayed on Angela, who returned it solely because of stubbornness. It wasn’t smart to challenge a demon, least of all a greater demon, but it wasn’t smart to challenge Angela either. She didn’t have time for whatever vendetta Vex had constructed, and if she couldn’t literally get inside Angela’s head, trying to scare her was the next best thing.

“You’re doing far more than following orders.” Natalya’s voice was eerily calm. “Step back. Now.”

Vex stayed in place a moment longer, seemingly just to be defiant. Just to stare at Angela. Just to seethe at the proximity that she couldn’t close, no matter how much she wanted to.

Then she pushed off the bar. Angela couldn’t help herself. She smirked.

“There’s a good fiend,” she said sweetly. It had the same effect as spitting Vex in the face, as she immediately moved in so close that Angela could see all the nuances of scarlet in her violent-looking eyes.

“Vex.” Natalya’s voice filled with deadly warning. She grabbed Vex and pulled her back, whispering something that made Vex’s eyes snap to Natalya’s and then away entirely.

“You alright, Angela?” Natalya didn’t look away from the fiend she was supposedly training.

“I’m fine.” Angela emptied her drink glass, remembering too late that Vex just had her fingers in it. But it made a point. Vex didn’t affect her, at all, and Angela needed to make that obvious to everyone who’d stopped to witness their so-called conversation. “She’s entertaining. It’s fun to see ‘all bark, no bite’ personified.”

By the fury flashing over Vex’s face, she would bite if she could.

Natalya looked back at Angela and then at Vex. Vex was standing completely still, no longer held back by Natalya touching her arm. She was still staring at Angela, but she wasn’t approaching, her fiendish need for ruin apparently being kept in check.

“Angela.” The anger that had just been in Natalya’s tone was gone. “Are you still going to that meeting tomorrow night?”

Angela removed her glasses, wiping off droplets of alcohol. “Unless I have an unexpected breakthrough, then yes. Why?”

“You usually prefer to go alone.” Natalya’s smile, though pleasant, seemed excessively so. “Would you be opposed to bringing a guard? Consider it a favor if you will. It would calm me to know you weren’t without protection. Given the circumstances.”

If it hadn’t been for the knowing glance Natalya shot Vex, those circumstances would have been missed. Since the Chains had more enemies than ever, protecting their only fully trained witch was wise.

But Angela could take care of herself. Natalya knew that. And this favor of hers wasn’t for Angela’s benefit, but to test someone else.

Angela couldn’t help but grin. Vex had been a distracting nuisance for months. Giving her a taste of her own medicine would probably feel several kinds of satisfying.

“Why yes, Natalya. Given the circumstances, having a guard there to keep me safe seems like an excellent idea.”

Vex frowned in confusion before realization dawned, making her eyes glitter like rubies.

“Are you serious? You want me to guard her?” she bit at Natalya, who returned Vex’s stare with a steely one of her own.

“I want you to be in control of yourself. You’re the one who insists on being around people that test you, as well as sulking about not being allowed to venture out of the city. I’m extending your leash. Be happy about it.”

When Vex opened her mouth, clearly to protest, Natalya grabbed her arm and squeezed.

“Let this be a reminder not to test the rigidity of my orders again.” Natalya’s voice was a near-whisper, almost drowned out by the club music. “You’ll accompany Angela to her meeting, and you’ll do so without complaint. If I find out you were anything less than cordial, there will be consequences. Understood?”

Vex kept glaring, her eyes bright scarlet. They slowly transitioned to green, though the hateful look remained as Vex returned her attention to Angela.

“Yes, Natalya.”

“Good.” Natalya let go of Vex’s arm. “Now shadow off. I know you want to.”

Barely had she said it before Vex faded into black mist, the last part of her to vanish being her glowing green eyes.

“I didn’t need help,” Angela said once Vex was gone, or at least appeared to be gone. She was probably hiding under the bar like a kicked dog.

“I know you didn’t. But she does, and she doesn’t respond well to niceties.”

Angela rolled her eyes. “Perfect. We’ll make a wonderful match.”

“I suspect you will.” There was a knowing glint in Natalya’s eyes that Angela couldn’t place, and which she didn’t really care for. Demonic interest had only brought frustration that evening.

“I need to get back to work.” Angela pushed off the bar, giving Maya a quick wave and Natalya a curt nod. “Don’t use me for lessons again. As fun as it is, I don’t have time for this kind of entertainment. If you have further requests for fiend training, I can dismiss them in my office.”

“Wait, Angela,” Natalya said, making her stop in place. “Don’t push her too much. She’s being tested, not punished. If she causes problems or can’t handle the meeting, send her back to the high-rise.”

Angela cocked an eyebrow. “You think she’ll do anything I say?”

Natalya glanced at the surrounding darkness. It was a little deeper than before.

“No, I don’t. But it’ll give her the option to leave. Whether she does so or not is up to her.”

Chapter 5

Vex leaned against the diner sign, suppressing the urge to break something. The feeling had been stuck in her body since the evening before, when Natalya had gotten an idea for a creative lesson. Punishment was a more apt name, even if she’d insisted it wasn’t that.

It was dark, which was the sole good thing about this bout of responsibility. It meant there were plenty of shadows. Plenty of places to hide and watch, including the roof of the diner where Vex could wait for her charge without anyone witnessing her seething.

The diner itself was a quaint little money laundering business on the outskirts of Chains territory, though she wasn’t sure why Angela had picked it. She’d either done so deliberately, setting her secretive meeting—whose purpose Vex still didn’t know—somewhere the employees wouldn’t listen in on patron conversations. Or she had let whoever she was meeting with choose the location.

But that would be stupid. As much as Vex might wish otherwise, Angela wasn’t stupid.

The location being favorable for both parties was why she was unsure who had picked it. It was outside of Chains territory, but only barely. It was as close to a neutral zone as they could get and suggested that whatever purpose this meeting had, it wasn’t the kind that should be talked about too loudly.

That sort of secrecy was a common theme with the Court’s favorite arcanist. Vex had spent several months in the high-rise, and in that time, plenty of interesting information had come to light, including the story of the talented, untouchable, infuriating witch of Chains.

Whose name was Angela. A name had never been a bigger lie. Angels were good, kind creatures and there was nothing good or kind about Angela fucking Norwood.

A car pulled up in front of the diner and Vex let out a low snarl. She knew that vehicle. She’d followed it from the high-rise enough times to recognize it from sound alone.

Vex took a few calming breaths. A faint red light scattered over the roof and she wasn’t supposed to let her fiendish nature show. Slitted eyes could be explained away as being contacts. Color-changing eyes, not so much.

Sticking to the shadows, Vex slinked off the roof and went to the diner entrance. She leaned against the wall, as Angela exited her car and looked around, an annoyed furrow creasing her perfect fucking face.

Then her two-colored eyes found Vex, and the furrow lessened. Didn’t vanish. Just lessened slightly.

“You’re on time. Shocking.” Angela approached the diner, pushing up her black-rimmed glasses as she gave Vex a cursory look over. The annoyed furrow deepened again. “Really? You want everyone to remember us being around?”

Vex only just kept herself from sneering. This was a perfect opportunity to practice being nice, even though the level of nice she could hope to achieve with Angela was tentative at best.

“Wanted me in a dress, is that it?”

Vex gave Angela the same visual inspection she’d just been subjected to. They were both in outfits usual for them. Vex in dark jeans and a baggy black t-shirt, and Angela in a knee-length skirt and clean, white shirt.

“Or would you prefer I dressed more like I was on my way to bible study, Ms. Preacher’s Daughter? You look fucking ridiculous.”

Angela rolled her eyes before digging into her shoulder bag. She pulled out a pair of aviators and tossed them to Vex.

Vex let the glasses bounce off her chest and fall to the ground. When Angela’s expression changed to something only a few pokes shy of furious, Vex couldn’t resist the smirk that wanted to creep onto her face. Being unable to read Angela, annoying her was the next best thing.

“You’re someone people notice.” Angela picked up the sunglasses lying at Vex’s feet. “I chose this place so we wouldn’t get noticed. Your eyes invite staring.”

Vex was about to say that Angela invited staring too, with her prom queen aspirant outfit and shiny blonde hair. In this middle-of-nowhere bumfuck town, she would get unsanctioned attention from anyone with eyes.

“You worried about me?”

“I’m worried about discretion. I agreed to bring you along rather than go by myself, as I would have preferred, because Natalya requested it and because I figured you could be subtle.”

“Oh? You want me subtle?” Vex flashed a grin. “Does that mean we’ve circled back to that secretive project of yours? You know, the one you didn’t want to talk about?” She pushed off the wall, stepping closer to Angela. “Am I going to ruin your carefully laid plans if I decide to cause a scene?”

“Yes. You will,” Angela snapped. “Despite what you might think, this is important. More important than your need to be irritating. You’re here as a courtesy. Not to make comments.” Angela smirked, the expression enhanced by her pursing her lips. “You actually don’t need to be inside, now that I think about it. You can wait here, or leave for all I care. I’m sure you wouldn’t be interested in my little meeting, anyway.”

The grin died at that comment. Angela knew what she was doing. Dangling the promise of information in front of an Envy fiend, daring them to either seize it or walk away and miss out on whatever mysterious dealings an unreadable witch might engage in.

“I’m not waiting outside,” Vex said tightly. “Or leaving.”

Angela handed her the aviators. “Then put the fucking glasses on.”

With a final glare, Vex accepted the glasses. She was only holding onto the very edge of the frame, making it easy for Vex to take them without their fingers touching.

“Only assholes wear sunglasses indoors,” Vex said, putting the aviators on. Angela gave her a long look before opening the diner door.

“I know.”

The inside was as unimpressive as the outside. Other than a waitress, who was busy scrolling on her phone, the diner was empty. Low music played from a set of scuffed speakers, and cheap light bulbs gave the diner a cold look that didn’t do the dated furniture any favors.

“Who are you meeting with, anyway?” Vex scanned the room as Angela beelined for a corner table.

“A coven-affiliated arcanist,” Angela said, sitting down. “Who isn’t supposed to be meeting with me at all, hence the location.”

Vex narrowed her eyes. Though she had spent little time around covens, she knew of them. And about their feelings towards the Chains and the witch they had employed.

Arcanists were protective of their work. The covens they joined were as much communities as they were a way to police behavior and research. They weren’t keen on sharing information with outsiders, or even with each other, instead working within the boundaries of their covens to excel in their chosen fields of arcane expertise.

They also, universally, despised the Chains. Mainly due to them harboring free fiends and pushing practicing arcanists out of their territory, but Vex knew there was another, simpler reason. A blonde, bespectacled reason, currently tapping a pen against the surface of the diner table.

“I’m surprised you could get anyone to meet with you at all.” Vex sat down across from Angela. She stopped fiddling with her pen, eyes narrowing behind her glasses. “Aren’t you notoriously unpopular with the covens?”

“Do you ever quit with the questions?”

“I usually don’t have to ask them. You’re just that special. Angel.”

Angela’s grip on her pen tightened. Vex already knew Angela got easily annoyed, and calling her angel accomplished it quite efficiently.

“Isaac and I have been familiar for years.” Angela eyed the door, her pen restarting its tap-dance. “He’s also been trying to recruit me for years. But persistence isn’t attractive when it’s based in desperation or idiocy. Telling me that joining a coven would increase my potential became a tired argument years ago.”

“It’s an argument that would be effective for most witches.”

“I already told you. I’m not like most witches.”

“What kind are you, then?”

“The kind who values results over regulations.” Angela waved off the waitress who had just approached the table. “We’re waiting for someone. We’ll order when he gets here.”

The waitress, who seemed like she literally couldn’t give less of a shit, walked away without a word. Vex didn’t look at her, instead staring at Angela and willing those frustrating defenses of hers to wither away so she could know what the fuck she was up to.

Vex mentally ran through all the information she had on this woman, which wasn’t much. She’d joined the Chains just over a decade ago, at age fifteen. Her talent with Alchemy had brought her onto the Chains’ radar, who’d tracked her down and given her a warning that had been close to a threat: take your shit and get the fuck out of our territory.

But Angela hadn’t done what she was told. Instead, somehow, she’d convinced the Chains that her services were better utilized within the Court than outside of it—something Vex simply did not understand.

Though coven-less arcanists existed, they were scarce and rarely alone by choice. Dominic had been thrown out of two covens due to his unimpressive skillset and tendency to slack. And once he’d gotten ahold of Vex, he hadn’t needed anyone else.

But Angela had options. Several covens had tried to fish her away from the Chains since she joined them. It didn’t make sense that she wouldn’t join a collective that was more suitable for growing her arcane abilities.

And it really didn’t make sense that Angela Norwood had become one of the most powerful arcanists Vex had ever seen without any kind of support system. It made it all the more infuriating that there was an arcanely produced bubble around her body, meaning no one was allowed even a peek at the motivations of what might be the most promising witch of her generation.

Angela cocked her head. “What now? You’re staring.”

“And that bothers you suddenly?” Vex said, leaning back in her chair. Angela scoffed.

“It always bothers me. It’s distracting and I’m too busy for distractions.”

“Distracting?” Vex grinned, the expression more sincere than expected. “I was under the impression that you didn’t think about me at all. I shouldn’t be distracting.”

Angela clutched her pen so tightly it nearly snapped. That reaction, and the slight color that rose in her cheeks, told a very interesting story. In the dark of the Court club floor, those kinds of physical responses could be hidden, but not under the unflattering diner light. Even if it wasn’t unflattering on Angela.

Vex was an expert at identifying what others wanted. And Angela was blushing.

Chapter 6

Bringing Vex wasn’t as amusing as Angela had assumed. Even if she hadn’t made a scene yet, she could just be biding her time. Waiting for the perfect moment to bring attention to herself, which went directly against the discreet nature that was a necessity of this meeting.

“Can I at least trust you to keep your mouth shut until we leave?” Angela asked. Vex’s smile grew.

“As long as no one gives me a reason to be chatty, sure. I’ll be sweet as a peach.” Vex raised her brows so high they were visible above her aviators. “Will you tell on me to Natalya if I don’t behave?”

“I definitely will. And I’ll follow it up with several detailed reasons for why you shouldn’t be allowed outside to play.” Angela put on a smile that held no mirth at all. “Don’t test me, Vex. This is a professional meeting, and I intend to keep it as such. So be nice.”

Vex’s lip twitched on the last word, taking the provocation like a fist to the jaw. After all the long-distance scowling and non-veiled threats Angela had been subjected to over the past few months, prodding at Vex was surprisingly satisfying.

“Fine,” Vex said, her voice emanating nothing but frost. She stood only to lean down and put her mouth right by Angela’s ear. “But don’t push your luck, witch. You’re running out of it very quickly.”

Angela rolled her eyes as Vex moved behind her chair. Luck wasn’t real, and Angela didn’t fear things that weren’t real. It was part of why she had stopped going to church the moment the excursion was presented as optional rather than mandatory.

She eyed the neighboring tables, finding them mostly empty. Daisy’s Day Diner was a location chosen partly because of the oxymoron of its name. The clientele consisted mainly of people who skulked around after nightfall and who knew how to mind their own business.

It was better than what she’d done in her teenage years, before she joined the Chains. Then, she had lied to her parents about sleeping over at a friend’s house and left town to buy alchemical reagents from skeevy people selling wares out of the back of their cars. Her current system was more efficient. Rather than meet with strange arcanists in the dead of night, she instead brought those arcanists to her.

Angela had just checked the time on her phone, wondering if the wall clock was running too fast, when the door chime went off. She was about to sigh in relief, when she noticed it wasn’t just one person who’d entered the diner.

Isaac was at the front of a group of three, the forty-something warlock looking the same as always. With his well-oiled dark hair and pale skin void of blemishes, the Vintner was the picture of health—a result of the several tonics he imbibed on a daily basis.

He smiled when he spotted Angela, though the expression looked oddly stiff, and it wasn’t shared by the two women in his company. Or, more accurately, woman and then a frightened twig of a girl who was looking around the diner like she was afraid the non-existent patrons would attack her. She had light freckled skin and brown hair wound into a loose braid, the end of which she kept playing with as though it was a fidget toy.

The other stranger shared the girl’s features and hair color, except her hair was shorter and in a tight ponytail. She was also older. In her early twenties and wearing a white shirt with the sleeves pushed to her elbows, revealing runic scarring on her hands and forearms. Symbols that offered protection as long as they stayed freshly bloodied. A brutal way of practicing the arcane.

Her gaze traveled behind Angela and she stopped, pulling Isaac close enough that she could whisper something in his ear.

“Not what you were expecting?” Vex said. Angela didn’t look at her, standing up from her chair.

“Shut up,” she whispered just before Isaac came within earshot. She extended a hand to him. “Isaac. Good to see you.”

Isaac shook her hand, stiffening when he looked past her. Angela refused to turn around and check, but she imagined Vex was doing something annoying, such as smiling or flipping Isaac off.

Isaac glanced over his shoulder. “I… didn’t realize you brought a guard.”

“Likewise.” Angela looked between the two strangers. The woman was still staring at Angela, and the girl was fiddling with a signet ring that didn’t quite fit her finger.

Isaac was wearing something similar. A ring embossed with a cauldron symbol, signifying membership of the potion-making Vintner coven. The other woman was wearing one too, but unlike her companions, she seemed eerily at ease. The girl kept fidgeting, and Isaac was absentmindedly touching the fiend-repellant amulets he was wearing. Angela had taught him how to make them, years ago. Like her, he never took them off.

“Quinn and Eden are just here as a precaution,” Isaac said, gesturing at the two women. “The Chains have expanded since we met last, and with what happened at the Summit this October… You understand that I might be a bit more vigilant than usual. It even seems like you agree caution is needed.”

That produced a huff from Vex. Giving into curiosity—or frustration; she wasn’t sure which—Angela looked over her shoulder, finding Vex standing a few feet from her chair. Arms crossed, leaning against the window, her sunglass-covered eyes resting on the new arrivals. Though her smile was stiffer than it had been before Isaac arrived.

At least she hadn’t shadowed off. That was something. And since there were unforeseen additions to this meeting, something seemed like it might actually be needed.

Angela sat down, and Isaac followed suit.

“She’s not here to protect me.”

Vex barked out a laugh. “You got that right.”

“Anyway,” Angela said tightly. “Quinn and Eden?”

She looked between the two bodyguards. The first met her gaze without blinking and with a slight twitch at her upper lip. The other was staring at her shoes.

“Friends of yours?”

Isaac’s expression tensed. “No.”

Angela waited for more of an explanation. None came.

Another cursory glance at the two strangers showed more information than had been evident before. They shared enough characteristics that the familial connection was obvious. Sisters, based on their ages, with only the older wearing any protective charms, and then they were pretty basic.

Witches, clearly. But… they didn’t seem like Vintners.

“You’re still with them, I take it?” Isaac shifted in his seat. “The Chains, I mean.”

Angela forced her focus away from the strangers. “I didn’t call this meeting to discuss my Court affiliation.”

“No. No, of course not, it’s just… With everything that’s been happening, I was wondering if you wouldn’t reconsider—”

“Not this again, Isaac.” Angela rubbed her temple. “I’ve told you. Repeatedly. I’m not interested in joining the Vintners, or any other coven.”

“It’s just not smart. Doing all that work and research, in the heart of their Court. It’s dangerous.” Isaac leaned over the table, lowering his voice. “Things are developing, Angela. The Chains are a young Court, and a tiny one at that. They’re only out for themselves. If something happens, they won’t be interested in keeping you safe. Joining a coven would be better for you.”

The sound of shifting fabric behind her suggested that Vex had moved. Angela strummed her fingers against the table.

“I can look after myself just fine. Who I choose to surround myself with while I do so is my concern and my concern alone.”

Isaac’s eyes looked oddly pleading for a moment. It wasn’t the first time he’d all but begged her to join the Vintners. But the Vintners, like any other coven, followed cruel laws and had a limited scope. Neither was acceptable. It never would be.

“Right. Of course.” Isaac lowered his eyes and leaned away. “Sorry for asking.”

With a forced smile, Isaac turned to the spooked-looking girl, making her flinch.

“Eden, can you bring us some coffee? Though, Angela, I don’t know if your companion would prefer something else.”

“She doesn’t want anything.” Angela had to fight not to smirk. “I doubt she wants coffee, at least.”

As Eden hurried to the counter, Angela pulled her bag to her lap. They probably wouldn’t be there long enough to finish the drinks, but it was part of the routine. Whenever she and Isaac met up, they always had coffee.

“Did you bring what I asked for?” Angela brought out two satchels from her bag. Isaac nodded, pulling a large envelope from inside his jacket.

“I got what I could.” He started reaching for the satchels Angela had set on the table. She immediately pulled them back.

“What you could? I thought we’d already agreed what this trade would entail.”

“Well, usually your trades are a little more reasonable.” Isaac glanced at Quinn before handing Angela the envelope. “I got you the fiend marks. More than you asked for, in fact.”

The overhead light started flickering, and the corner shadows deepened. Quinn glanced at the ceiling, brows knitted.

“Inactive ones, I assume,” Angela said as she accepted the envelope. The light stopped flickering.

“From dead demons, yes,” Isaac said. “Only lesser ones. I couldn’t find any for greater fiends.”

Angela stifled a groan as she opened the envelope, leafing through the half-dozen pieces of leather parchment decorated with infernal marks. Lesser marks.

A greater fiend had far more arcane power than a lesser one. While she didn’t know if that was a relevant variable for what she was working on, the only way to be sure was to test it. It was the same for the marks she was currently using. They may be inaccurate or too old or some third frustrating thing.

It would obviously be better to have the marks of a living fiend, but she wasn’t about to use another being’s freedom for her experiments without their consent.

She pushed one satchel over the table and Isaac grabbed it like it was filled with gold. It wasn’t too far off as a descriptor.

“Twenty vials for the marks.” Angela patted the other bag. “Am I going to hand you the rest?”

Isaac took a blood-filled vial from the satchel. He smiled looking at it, actually licking his lips.

Sídhe blood was rare, and very valuable to Vintners. It could only be given freely, and if taken without permission, it would turn to dust in less than an hour. Unless the Courts of Summer and Winter suddenly reneged on their millennia-long hatred of arcane users, Angela was the only witch in the world with a steady supply.

Isaac held the satchel close to his chest. “Your other request was a bit… unclear. Or maybe it’s just the reasoning behind it I don’t understand. I’m not sure what a witch with your specialty wants with a recipe for artificial blood.”

“‘Specialty’ should be pluralized. And I need it for a project I’m working on. I’ve been trying to reverse engineer the recipe on my own, but I’m running into issues and it’s wasting time.”

“Is this something the Chains are making you do? They house a lot of vampires. I’m guessing a project involving blood would be for their benefit.”

“Artificial blood is toxic to vampires. Everyone knows that.”

By how Quinn and Isaac’s brows furrowed, not everyone knew that.

“What I plan on using the recipe for is irrelevant,” Angela continued. “You know I’m willing to pay, and that should be enough. If that personal project of yours is still ongoing, I imagine it would be a valuable trade, too.”

Sweat rose on Isaac’s forehead. They both knew what project Angela was referring to, but based on Isaac’s reaction, his companions didn’t.

Among the Vintners, the idea of creating some sort of health potion had been attempted a few times over the centuries, always with disappointing results. Invigorating tonics existed, but none that could assist with healing bodily injuries. Isaac had a theory that by using the freely given, self-healing blood of the sídhe, he might accomplish it. But it wasn’t something that should be talked about too loudly.

The branches of the arcane were considered branches for a reason. They all shot off the same otherworldly body, but went in different directions. The laws of the arcane stated that they couldn’t, and shouldn’t, be crossed, which was necessary for making the healing tonics Isaac was so interested in. He would have to combine the branches of Alchemy and Amplification, something every arcanist worth their salt considered impossible.

But Angela had already done the impossible. Years ago, in fact. If she could do it, then others could do the same. However, it was a contentious subject that would invite a degree of cooperation between the covens that the old guard wasn’t too excited about. Hence why she and Isaac had only met in person a handful of times.

“You’re asking for a recipe,” Isaac whispered, eyes darting to the side as though to catch a glimpse of Quinn without turning his head. “You’ve only asked for advice and basic ingredients before. Never something that belongs to another coven. The Vintners can’t be found giving that sort of information to the Chains.”

“You’re not giving it to the Chains. You’re giving it to me. Since there are no other arcanists within the Court, I’m the only one who’ll be using it.”

“I heard there’s at least one other arcanist,” Quinn said, cutting into the conversation like it was made of paper and her voice was a sharpened razor. “One Samantha O’Connor. Who caused quite a fuss recently.”

Angela put on a tense smile. “Sam is still an apprentice.”

Quinn leaned forward. “But she won’t be forever. And then the Chains will have more than one witch within their Court.”

That sounded oddly like a threat. Or a warning, perhaps. Regardless of its purpose, the statement wasn’t meant to be calming.

“Who are you anyway?” Angela asked. “If you were someone of importance, I would have heard about you prior to this meeting.”

Angela shot Isaac a stare. He was hugging the satchel of blood, trying his hardest not to look at Quinn.

“I’m just here to ensure everything goes smoothly,” Quinn said. “And to sate my curiosity. It’s not every day you meet a witch who mingles with free fiends.”

Though she kept her voice low, she couldn’t suppress the slight snarl creeping in at the end of the sentence. It wasn’t clear if it was a conscious choice made to intimidate or if it happened unintentionally.

“Free fiends are a problem for you, then?” Angela smiled a little wider than what was polite. Quinn’s shoulders tensed.

“It’s a problem for everyone. From what I’ve heard, the Chains have dozens of them running around. Can you confirm that?”

“Why don’t you come visit? Do your own headcount.”

“I have no interest in visiting. Especially since I heard that there are now three greater fiends pledged to your Court.” Quinn’s eyes grew steely. “Can you confirm that?”

Angela let her smile turn overly pleasant. If Quinn thought intimidation would get her anywhere in this conversation, she’d played her cards wrong.

“I can. But I’m not going to.”

A brief chuckle sounded behind her. Quinn returned Angela’s smile, though hers was far from sweet.

“Your reputation precedes you, Ms. Norwood. I was told you were… difficult. But I hadn’t expected it to involve you delighting so much in breaking our laws.”

“Your laws,” Angela corrected. “In case you missed it, I’m not with the covens. The laws of the arcane are more like guidelines to me.”

There were hundreds of rulesets meant to direct wielders of the arcane down set paths, and they all spawned from three core tenets. Confidentiality, confinement, and conquest.

An arcanist must keep their work confidential from the uninitiated. They must confine their research to only one of the three arcane branches, never crossing them. And they must strive to conquer the vile aspects of humanity, restoring them to their intended positions as extensions of mortal will.

Shut your mouth, stay in line, and hunt down demons and enslave them, was the basic gist. Angela had no interest in doing any of that, but Quinn’s icy stare suggested she was on the opposite side of the belief spectrum. She had the look of someone who enjoyed being part of a collective simply because it let her despise whoever was outside of it.

“Here’s your coffee,” Eden said, her shaky voice breaking the tension. She’d returned to the table, carrying a tray with five cups. She handed one to Quinn, another to Isaac, and set one down for herself. When she turned towards Angela, she stopped, looking between her and the shadow that was probably hovering too close to Angela’s chair.

“I-I wasn’t sure what she wanted.” Eden returned her gaze to the floor. “Sorry, Ms. Norwood. I hope coffee is fine.”

She was clearly waiting for Angela to gesture her closer, but Angela found herself unable to. Not after catching the girl’s eye for the first time since she’d entered the diner.

Isaac was a talented Vintner, his expertise unsurprising after practicing the specialty for decades. Quinn carried herself with enough assuredness that she obviously felt capable with her chosen field. But both of them had plain eyes. Isaac’s were light brown and Quinn’s an impressive dark blue.

But Eden… Eden’s eyes were the same shade of blue as Quinn’s, but only on the outer part of the iris. The inner colors close to the pupil were bronze, giving her eyes an almost gemlike quality.

Though all humans could learn the arcane, heterochromia was a signifier of natural arcane talent. People who had it possessed a vastly bigger well of capability than those with so-called ‘plain’ eyes. A sectoral split, like Sam’s, offered the least additional potential in terms of what could come from genetics, even if it was still significant. Angela’s complete heterochromia, with her eyes being completely different colors, offered the most power.

Eden had central heterochromia. Of the three people across from Angela, she was the one with the most arcane potential. Based on her age, she was more likely to be an apprentice rather than a fully trained arcanist.

Which meant she was in the diner to learn something.

When Angela didn’t speak, Eden extended the tray, producing a light clattering as it trembled in her hands. Then a low laugh enveloped the silence.

“Ms. Norwood is a very important witch.” Vex stepped right in front of Eden. “She’s far too important to fetch her own drink. Let me take care of those.”

Vex picked up the coffees, turning towards Angela with a wide grin. She held out one of the cups.

“For you.”

Everything about Vex’s demeanor made it clear she was planning something that would be either embarrassing or outright problematic. It was extremely annoying that Angela didn’t know which it would be.

After a second of hesitation, she reached for the cup. Only to have Vex turn it over before she could touch it, pouring the contents all over the floor.

“Whoops! I spilled. So sorry about that. But don’t fret. You can have mine.”

She held out the other cup, the grin never leaving her face. When Angela kept glaring at her, Vex let go of it, making it shatter against the tiles.

“Clumsy me. I really do have slippery fingers, don’t I?”

“Are you done?” Angela snapped. “Or do you want to make more of a mess?”

Vex’s toothy grin grew pointy. “Is that an invitation? It sounds like an invitation. And the company is excellent for me to cause a bit of trouble.”

“Just quit it, Vex.”

“But I’m under orders,” she said innocently. “I’m supposed to guard you for the evening. Which includes me acting like your damn servant, apparently. Can’t have you straining yourself by fetching your own fucking coffee.” Vex gestured at Eden, who was doing her best to wipe up the spill. “Though it is a pleasant sight to have a witch clean up after me.”

Eden tensed. It didn’t seem like she was comfortable being addressed, even when she didn’t know that the person doing so was more demonic than what was immediately obvious.

With a scowl at Vex, Angela bent down and picked up the pieces of the shattered cup. Eden cowered at the approach, as though afraid Angela would hit her.

“How old are you, Eden?” Angela said, stacking the shards of ceramic at the edge of the table.

“E-eighteen,” Eden mumbled, not looking up from the floor.

That was doubtful. She looked much younger than that.

“And you’re an apprentice, I’m guessing. How long have you—”

A harsh tug cut her off as Angela was almost pulled across the table. The sudden movement made her yelp and then fall silent as she realized the pain around her wrist came from fingers digging into her skin.

Quinn had leaned over the table, grabbing her arm with a hand that felt like it was made of steel. She glared at Angela, contempt flaring in her eyes so purely it made Angela’s voice catch in her throat.

She was used to people looking at her like that. Monsters looking at her like that. With anger, with envy, with nothing but hatred. But they couldn’t hurt her. That had been a universal truth for most of her adult life. She was untouchable. Safe.

But the charms Angela had become an expert in crafting didn’t affect this woman. Against superior physical strength, she was defenseless.

“Don’t speak to her,” Quinn hissed. “She’s not here to talk to the likes of y—”

Her threat, and grip, abruptly ended when a shadow fell over the table. In a blink, Vex was leaning in front of Angela, one hand resting on the edge of the table and the other on the back of her chair. Smiling in that toothy way she had mastered as a means to produce eeriness in whoever she was talking to.

“Better back off.” Vex’s voice was dangerously calm. “There aren’t many people I’m allowed to hurt, but anyone who threatens this pretty witch is fair game. Move forward another inch and I’ll be tempted to let myself have fun.”

Quinn ran her eyes over Vex. From a glance, they looked to be of similar heights, though Vex was several pounds lighter. Someone who didn’t know better would assume Quinn could subdue Vex without even straining herself.

Quinn clearly didn’t know better. She leaned forward another inch.

“I don’t care what kind of pet the Chains let her bring. Your threats mean nothing to me.”

Vex’s smile turned vicious as she grabbed the edge of her aviators, raising them to reveal slitted green eyes.

“You sure about that?”

Quinn drew in a sharp breath and took a step back. Eden, who had gotten up from the floor, yelped and Isaac reeled back in his seat, grasping his two fiend-repellent amulets.

The silence lasted long enough to fill with tension before Vex lowered the glasses. Then she moved away from the table, presumably to lean against the window again.

Angela didn’t dare confirm it. She was busy trying to get her breathing under control as she stared at the three arcanists whose presence had changed from being an irritating necessity to something far more unnerving.

“You brought an unbound fiend?” Isaac said in a startled whisper. “Are you crazy?”

Angela felt crazy. Or at least unsteady. Her heart was beating too fast, and she was fighting the urge to get up and create as much distance between her and Quinn as possible. It took her a few seconds to realize that all those characteristics were symptoms of an insidious, long-since-felt emotion.

Angela was used to dealing with unpleasantness. Stress, annoyance, and impatience were all things she frequently suffered. But she wasn’t used to being scared. Shock had to be part of the reason it lingered. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had grabbed her like that. Or if it had ever happened.

It was hard to remember anything at that moment. That wasn’t usually an issue she had to deal with.

“I think this meeting is over.” The proximity of Vex’s voice revealed that she hadn’t moved back at all. She was standing right behind Angela’s chair. “Best run along now. Before I start taking things that aren’t mine.”

Isaac clutched his pendants. “You can’t affect me.”

“True. But I’m patient. And by the fear in your eyes, those salts of yours don’t have much potency left.”

Isaac shot to his feet, making the chair clatter against the floor. Quinn had moved to stand in front of Eden, who was staring at Vex with nothing but terror in her eyes.

Quinn was a different case. She was the only one still looking at Angela.

“We’re leaving, Isaac,” she snarled. “Now.”

Isaac didn’t need encouragement beyond that. In a matter of seconds, he had gathered up his things, including the satchel Angela had given him, and was hurrying towards the door. Eden quickly followed, with Quinn lingering for a moment before also exiting the diner.

It got very quiet then. In true Daisy’s fashion, no one approached to ask if Angela was okay. No one even looked at her table, but somehow, it felt like a thousand people were present and all of them were staring.

“Well…” Vex sat down in the chair Isaac had just occupied. With her back to the room, she took off her sunglasses and grinned. “That was fun.”

Chapter 7

It was fortunate that muscle memory could run on autopilot. If Angela had to think about what she was doing rather than let her hands do it for her, she would have been all but useless after getting home. Luckily, the Ribbon contracts were unchanged since the Court first implemented them. Since she created them. They could be written out without her even thinking about it.

The Court needed more of them than ever, and since other projects had taken precedent, their supply had dwindled. With the Claiming only weeks away, writing up the contracts was busywork she’d ignored for far too long.

She was grateful to have it now. If she had spent tonight being distracted as well as unproductive, she would have been fucking miserable.

“Dammit,” Sam muttered as yet another pendant slipped between her fingers. “How the hell do you get it to stick so easily?”

Sam picked up the jewelry, resuming her struggle with affixing a set of silver chains to a Chains pendant. Finger dexterity was an important skill for witches, one Sam clearly lacked.

The Court needed pendants and Sam needed lessons. That’s why Angela had made her show up at her house when she got back from the diner, even though this sort of lesson was better suited for the two arcane branches Sam wasn’t specializing in.

But she still needed to practice the fundamentals. That was all this was about.

“You’re not even doing the hard part. You’re just putting the pieces together,” Angela said. “By how much you’re messing up, I’ll have to redo your work when you leave.”

“Well, I was busy sleeping when you called, so I’m sorry for not being at my best.”

“You should know better than being asleep at midnight. Practicing during the witching hours is—”

“—is the best way to improve your arcane abilities.” Sam smirked as Angela put on what she thought was an effective scowl. “I’ve gotten good at retaining information since first showing up at your office. I kind of had to.”

Angela almost kept her smile contained. To hide it, she flipped her hair over her shoulder, returning to her work.

The witching hours were the best time to do anything related to the arcane. Between midnight and four in the morning, it came a bit easier. A universal characteristic, no matter where you were in the world.

Back in the day, it was treated as something close to holy. A mystical allotment of time where the powerful could grow more powerful. Depending on the culture, the surge of power was often blamed on an otherworldly entity. Spirits, monsters, or even the Devil if you were feeling religious.

The truth was far less awe-inspiring. As it turned out, if several people decided a specific time frame was important and they all did their arcane work simultaneously, the energy produced was potent enough to affect states and countries. The unified actions and beliefs of thousands of people made for a powerful force, as uncontrollable as it was intangible.

And it made it easier to mass-produce arcane contracts without getting a headache.

Crinkling parchment pulled at Angela’s focus, making the scowl she’d just worn come back with a vengeance.

“Sam!” She gestured at the fuzzy gray ball that was chewing on one of the contracts. “No pests on the table.”

“Mouse is just hungry.” Sam scratched the rodent until it stopped acting like the vermin it was. “He usually eats when I get up, but I came straight over. Do you still have those crackers?”

“In the cabinet.” Angela gave Mouse a cool stare as Sam went to the kitchen, looking for the food Angela had bought specifically for the little critter’s benefit.

Mouse sat up on its hind legs and sniffed at Angela’s fingers. Its whiskers tickled her skin.

“Gross,” Angela mumbled, nudging the mouse so it backed away from her workspace. She had to make more ink, and there was something about the way the animal cocked its head that suggested it wanted to interfere. Or that it just wanted pets.

“Here you go.” Sam put a bowl of crushed crackers on the desk. Mouse dove in, chittering with approval.

When Mouse was distracted, Angela picked up a scalpel and pricked her fingertip over her inkwell. She had a scar from the number of times she’d done this over the years. Blood rituals were the norm rather than the exception.

“Are you sure everything’s okay?” Sam asked carefully. “You’re a bit… off. Nothing bad happened at that meeting, right?”

Angela’s grip on the scalpel faltered, making it fall towards the contract she’d just finished. By reflex, she tried to catch it so it wouldn’t ruin her work, accidentally grabbing the blade rather than the handle.

“God dammit!” Pain seared through her hand and forced her to let go of the scalpel. It bounced against the desk, scattering bloodstains all over the text she’d just written and ruining the validity of the ritualistic incantations.

Angela cradled her bleeding hand. Shit, that hurt.

“It’s fine,” she said as Sam reached for her. Though Angela’s teeth-clenching tone relayed the inaccuracy of the statement. “It’s just a scratch. I can fix it myself.”

“No, you can’t,” Sam said sternly. “You can’t even heal a hangnail.”

Angela bit the inside of her cheek. With how well she’d taken to Alchemy and Authoring, it was frankly embarrassing how useless she was at Amplification.

Sam reached for her hand again, moving slower this time. “I’m here to practice, aren’t I? That looks like practice.”

Sam had gotten infuriatingly good at using logic to dismantle Angela’s dismissive arguments. She’d picked up the skill fast, too.

“You have a point.” Angela winced as she gave Sam her hand. She really had gripped that blade hard.

She sighed as soon as Sam focused on the wound, amplifying her body’s natural healing and guiding it towards the injury. The pain lessened in seconds, disappearing in under a minute.

There weren’t many safe ways to practice restoration. It was a hard specialty, partly because the way you improved was by getting your hands wrist-deep in bleeding wounds and that didn’t tend to be a pleasant experience. The high-rise infirmary had a steady trickle of bruises, cuts, and broken bones, and since supernatural creatures were the most frequent patients, the margin of error was wider than normal. Sam had spent enough hours there that she’d made some truly incredible progress.

But Sam’s talent was still unrefined. She had a habit of overexerting herself, which could lead to permanent damage if she wasn’t careful, so the lessons Angela gave her focused on recognizing limits. This glorified scrape wasn’t a planned part of the curriculum.

“What was that about?” Sam asked, wiping blood off Angela’s hand. After healing the injury, there was barely a scar. “You don’t usually fumble with your tools.”

A lot had happened that night that Angela usually didn’t do. She had never sprung lessons on Sam before. Or woken her up in the middle of the night. Or insisted that she help craft necklaces, when Angela had always deemed it unnecessary before.

“It’s nothing.” Angela withdrew her hand. “I’m just… distracted.”

Distracted was the entirely wrong word to use. Being distracted was a consequence of suffering an impractical crush or having a neighbor doing yard maintenance using the loudest tools possible. No, what she’d felt ever since leaving that damn diner was something far worse than simply being distracted.

Angela rubbed her wrist, a sense of utter powerlessness simmering awake in her chest. It had spawned when Quinn grabbed her, and now it wouldn’t vanish. The feeling had a recursive effect, infecting her memories with hindsighted dread, as she realized how much chance had been involved with getting her where she was.

She had never liked chance. Or fate, or luck, or any of those infuriating abstractions. She’d told herself that with enough persistence and hard work, she could maintain control over those intangible concepts.

All it had taken was one person physically reminding her of how frail all of it was, and then all the calculated risks she’d taken in the past seemed horribly riddled with luck.

A light scratching at the window saved Angela from Sam’s concerned inspection. She turned in her seat, spotting a pair of slitted green eyes staring at her from behind the glass.

Angela shot to her feet and twisted her way through her living space. Books were stacked on every even surface, random trinkets balancing on top of those stacks. Crossing the lower floor of her house was a precarious endeavor.

Muttering a low curse, she opened the window, letting in the late November chill, but it wasn’t the only thing that entered. A small, four-legged shadow sat perched on the outside sill. It purred and rubbed against Angela’s arm as it went through the window.

These visits had developed into a pattern over the past month. Animals followed Sam like some unknown eleventh plague, which might explain why the black cat had been hanging around Angela’s backyard for weeks. Because it was always there, she’d put out a water bowl for it. A food bowl too, recently. And since the snows were coming in, keeping the cat outside didn’t seem wise.

“Flea-ridden beast,” Angela muttered as the cat entered the house. It stepped on the windowsill salt line, breaking it as it jumped to the floor. Angela quickly pushed it back into place.

“No, she isn’t.” Sam smiled as the cat spotted her and let out a sharp hiss. “She’s gained weight since last I saw her.”

“Of course she has. All she does is eat.”

As if on cue, the cat’s eyes fixed on the desk. Forgetting about its dislike of Sam, it jumped on the table, causing Mouse to sprint for refuge in Sam’s shirt sleeve.

The cat had made it clear early on that being personable wasn’t something it was interested in. Not even Sam—who was beloved by seemingly all animals—had been graced with its affection. But the cat still found Sam intriguing. Or, rather, the little mouse she had as a familiar.

Angela had never wanted a familiar, despite the obvious benefits. They made the arcane easier to practice, let you work longer than you should be able to, and they could stay with their chosen witch or warlock for as long as they wished, even beyond the animal’s natural lifespan. They were also messy, unpredictable, and fragile. Her crafted trinkets were none of those things.

But the cat was just a cat. An annoying cat, whose nightly visits had turned into a reluctant routine.

“No hunting inside, Midnight,” Angela said, picking up the animal. It mewled in protest but did nothing else to show its displeasure as Angela carried it into the kitchen.

Sam turned in her chair. “You named her?”

“‘Monster’ was getting old.” Angela dropped the cat on the floor, and it started walking in circles around her feet as she prepared its food. The expensive kind. Which meant it better be appreciated.

“Isn’t Midnight a little on the nose for a black cat?” Sam asked. Angela gave her a long look, placing the food bowl on the floor.

“Your mouse is named Mouse. You don’t get to critique how people name their pets.”

Sam gave her a knowing smile. “So, she’s your pet now?”

Angela’s long look turned into a glare. “Shut up.”

Though Sam did do that, the grin she wore spoke volumes. The shy, awkward woman who had shown up at the high-rise a couple of months before had made herself scarce in the time since.

But Sam was nice. That meant the teasing grin, which was almost easy to deal with, didn’t stay for long.

“Are you sure nothing happened at that meeting? You’ve been acting weird ever since I got here. Was it because of Vex? Drago mentioned she went with you.”

“It was not because of Vex.” Angela’s eyes flicked to the nearby window. Her fiend-repellent salts were securely in place. “Nothing I do is because of Vex. Though, she would probably love it if that was the case.”

“Then what?”

“Nothing.” Angela sighed and rubbed her temple. She had a sudden urge to bury her face in a pillow and stay like that for a week. It beat trying to deal with these unwanted thoughts hammering against the inside of her skull. “Nothing I can tell you, at least.”

“Right. That secret project of yours.”

“It’s secret for a reason. Things are tense enough as it is, and they’ll only get worse if word gets out about what exactly I’m doing. I already feel like I have a target on my back. I don’t want more unnecessary attention.”

“Target?” Sam frowned. “What do you mean, target?”

Angela stiffened, crossing her arms and squeezing her wrist against the crook of her elbow.

“It’s just a bit of paranoia. It’ll pass.” Her eyes caught on the little gray face peeking out of Sam’s sleeve. Mouse yawned, his sleepiness more obvious than what Sam was willing to show. She had shadows under her eyes.

“You can go home,” Angela said dismissively. “It’s getting late, anyway. I need sleep.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Will you, though?”

Angela was very vocal about her opinion that sleeping was a waste of time. If she could have a superpower, it would be not having to bother with it.

“You need sleep,” Angela said. “I woke you up, clearly. Pointlessly too, given how little work we did.”

Sam gave her a soft smile. “Sure. Pointless.” She stood, earning herself another hiss from Midnight. “I don’t mind staying. If you want company.”

Part of Angela wanted to accept that offer, while another part—the logical part that had driven her every move since she was a teenager—wanted to dismiss it. For once, it wasn’t easy figuring out which would win. Her house didn’t usually feel this dark or empty.

Angela took off her glasses, cleaning them with her shirtsleeve.

“I appreciate it, Sam. But it isn’t needed. I’ll see you tomorrow at the high-rise, anyway.”

Sam obviously wanted to argue, but though her confidence had blossomed over the past few weeks, her distaste for awkwardness was still prominent. Staying silent was more effective as a dismissal than actual words.

“I’m always up for more lessons. If you think it’s necessary.” Sam gave Angela a quick hug. She knew Angela wasn’t one for lengthy displays of affection, but for once, she wished it would last a few seconds longer than it did. Sam gave good hugs.

Fucking hell, she was getting sappy.

Once Sam left, Angela checked her phone clock. It was in the middle of the night, so there was still plenty of time to get work done. Plenty of perfectly acceptable ways she could distract herself until this foreign unease that had settled in her chest would realize it wasn’t welcome and leave her alone.

Instead, she hugged herself and circled the lower floor of her house for the third time since she’d gotten home. Making sure her defenses were still securely in place.

Angela had bought the tiny two-story a couple of years before, when the money the Chains paid her had justified the investment. It wasn’t big, or even impressive, but she didn’t need it to be either. She just wanted somewhere to store all her stuff, and which didn’t have too many windows.

It was a safe space. Her safe space. But for the first time in years, safety didn’t feel particularly assured.

Angela sat down at her desk again, but without the distraction of Sam clattering next to her, her thoughts were too loud for her to focus. She was used to her mind being noisy. To ideas and theories unwinding like countless ever-spinning balls of yarn. But she could usually keep up with them. She wasn’t used to her thoughts running away from her.

She almost reached for her phone, thinking better of it. Being a night owl was a natural consequence of her lifestyle, and it meant there were certain people she couldn’t call. Such as her parents. Like Sam, they would worry. But maybe hearing her mom’s voice would calm the buzzing in her head.

Angela rested her forehead against her desk. Just as with luck, she didn’t care for ‘maybe’ as a concept.

A loud meow interrupted her dreary thoughts. She tried to ignore it, failing when Midnight hopped on the table and butted her head against Angela’s.

“You’re such an attention-seeker.” She straightened, absentmindedly scratching the cat between the ears until it jumped off the desk. It hurried to the bottom of the staircase, sitting down with its tail curled around itself.

Angela groaned. The cat had gotten it in its head that relaxation was better conducted upstairs, and, for some reason, it needed Angela around to do it efficiently.

Though… it wasn’t the worst idea. Her wandering thoughts meant work wasn’t happening, but some wine and trash TV might make her brain stop feeling like it was stuck on a swivel. It had worked as an emergency failsafe before.

“Fine. I’m coming.” Heeding the will of the cat that had invaded her personal space, Angela shut off the lights and walked upstairs, nearly tripping as Midnight ran between her legs.

The upper floor was the complete opposite of the lower one. The intention was to have a living room below with office space above, but Angela had flipped the two simply because there were more square feet downstairs, and she had a lot of things.

The upstairs had a landing which she used as a small living room, containing just a couch and television, and doors leading to a bathroom, bedroom, and what was meant to be an office. Angela used the latter as a glorified walk-in closet. She also had a lot of clothes, and she didn’t like throwing things away.

“You know that won’t work,” Angela said, as Midnight scratched at the bedroom door. Angela pulled off her shirt and threw it on the back of the couch. “No sleeping in the bed, you little demon.”

Midnight meowed, staring at her with eyes that had grown to the size of saucers. Angela hurried away before whatever supernatural power cats clearly possessed undid her steadfast principles. No matter how cute the feline looked, she wasn’t getting cat hair on her bedsheets.

Removing her makeup and taking off the last of her clothes, she slipped into the uniform she usually wore when upstairs. Oversized t-shirt, holed sweats, and her hair in a messy bun. The only thing she kept on from before were her protective charms, and that was just because she never took them off.

Realizing she’d forgotten the wine, she was about to head back downstairs when her eyes traveled to the windows. And stilled there.

Maybe her paranoia was to blame for the intense inspection of the darkness. It was certainly to blame for the way the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Though the night held plenty of monstrous dangers, they weren’t dangerous to her. Her house was as protected from supernatural influence as she was. Nothing could get in that she didn’t let in.

But these shadows didn’t need to get in to be every kind of infuriating.

She strode through the room, aiming for the window with the darkest backdrop, and pulled it open, careful not to break the salt line strewn over the sill.

“I know you’re out here,” Angela yelled. “What do you want?”

The night remained quiet, the only noise coming from the faint hush of wind toying with fallen leaves. Then the shadows drew together. A little whirlwind of black smoke, dispersing to reveal a green-eyed woman sitting on the outside windowsill.

“I want to talk,” Vex said. “Is this a bad time?”

Chapter 8

Vex had expected to find more satisfaction in seeing Angela Norwood scared. Scared people panicked and panicked people made mistakes, and there were few things Vex wanted more than to see Angela’s mask slip and reveal the cruel witch hiding beneath it. To see her true colors under that thick blonde hair and smooth complexion, which still looked annoyingly appealing even after she’d cleaned her makeup off.

Other than a few freckles, she had no blemishes, and those weren’t exactly a blow to her appearance. If anything, they made her look cute.

Angela crossed her arms, scowling. “How long have you been here?”

“The Chains witch is curious, is she?”

“The Chains witch is pissed. Answer me.”

“I don’t give people what they want without good reason. You really should know that, angel. If you’re as smart as people say.”

Angela’s scowl got an accompanying lip twitch and a brow furrow. Vex couldn’t help but grin. She really didn’t like that nickname.

“I am completely within my right to call Court and make Natalya regret ever letting you go outside,” Angela snapped. “I might decide not to, if you tell me what the hell you’re doing at my house.”

“I had a job. Guarding you for the night. The night isn’t over, and given that you’re still scared, you obviously need guarding.”

Angela scoffed, but her shoulders stayed tense. “I’m not scared.”

There was at least one thing Angela had in common with other humans. She was a liar.

“Unwise of you. Any witch in possession of fiendish marks should be scared.”

Angela raised an eyebrow. “They’re marks from dead fiends. No one’s going to come around and get angry about me using them. Present company excluded.”

Vex’s mocking expression stiffened. It was hard to act unbothered when Angela had the uncanny ability to make everything she said and did bothering.

“What are you using them for, then? Since most people wouldn’t get pissed off about it?”

The corner of Angela’s mouth tilted up as she leaned against the window frame. Only half an inch of salt separated them. It might as well have been an ocean.

“Will you conspire to skin me alive if I don’t tell you?”

“No. I’ll do that regardless. It’s a fun way to pass the time.”

“Well, unfortunately for you, you’re not answering my questions. I’m not going to answer yours.”

She clearly said it to be provoking. To prod at Vex further or even annoy her enough that she left Angela alone to wander around her house, acting like what happened back at the diner hadn’t turned her into a nervous wreck.

Because of her job for the night, Vex had to stick around. Make sure Angela was okay. She was just following orders, even if no one had voiced them.

“Fine. A deal, then. I like those,” Vex said, making Angela narrow her eyes. “Something for something. I answer your questions. You answer mine.”

“And why would I agree to that?”

“I know a lot that you don’t. Like most things, I bet it annoys you greatly.”

“It does. Especially since I already asked you a question which you refused to answer.” Angela put her hands on the windowsill, leaning forward enough that she almost crossed the salt line. “How long have you been outside my house?”

“Aww, that’s an easy one.” Vex ran a finger along the edge of the window. “Since you got home. Shadowed your car, too.”

Angela’s cheeks pinked, as she realized what exactly Vex had seen in that timeframe. Everything from her cursing at the road on the way back to Chicago to her walking around the upper floor of her house wearing only a skirt and a lacy white bra.

An interesting response, though. Angela had a talent for appearing bored with everything and everyone, but she couldn’t control the rosy color rising in her cheeks.

Vex knew how to give people what they wanted—the darker and more depraved the better—and though she couldn’t know for sure, she had a feeling about Angela. Despite her prim and proper appearance, she reacted to Vex’s comments in ways that were neither prim nor proper. Maybe her tastes aligned with those reactions.

Confirming it wouldn’t be easy, or quick. Not with how guarded Angela was. But Vex didn’t struggle with patience. She could wait for the perfect time, like a viper watching prey. A time when Angela didn’t look like she was one loud noise away from jumping out of her skin.

“What were you working on just before? When Drago’s little witchling was still around?”

Angela smirked. “Ribbon contracts.”

“That’s all you’re giving me?”

The smirk turned into a grin. “Is that another question?”

This fucking witch. “We’re not playing that game. If you want more than cursory information out of me, you need to provide it in turn. It’s only fair.”

“Right. Fair.”

Angela rolled her eyes, but when she spoke again, it wasn’t to spout more goading back-and-forth.

“Though the arcane power in the contracts is activated by external parties, the outline still needs to be written up by a witch. They take trinket crafting from Alchemy and ritualistic empowerment from Authoring, crossing the two. Which most arcanists, incorrectly, believe to be impossible. But the results speak for themselves.”

“And the price is so low,” Vex said. “If I recall correctly, the fine print of the Silver contracts mentions something about the human being under the will and whim of whatever creature they’re Claimed by. Doesn’t sound particularly innovative. Most Courts have systems of slavery written into their laws.”

Angela’s cocky expression turned into a glare. “The Silver contracts grant the human involved immunity to natural afflictions, including disease and aging. Those sorts of benefits are costly. They can only exist if a suitable price is paid and if they can pull energy from something powerful, like the life force of a supernatural entity.” She shrugged. “Not that it matters. The fine print may say one thing, but it’s rarely upheld anymore.”

“But it could be. And the human would be powerless against it.”

“Who do you think added the agonizing pain clause to the fine print? If a member of the Chains, ever, treats someone they’ve Claimed with anything less than perfect respect, they’re the snap of a necklace away from writhing in pain on the floor and they’d have no one to blame but themselves. Plus, the Regents wouldn’t be happy. They’d probably incur some screaming of their own.”

There wasn’t much to be said against that. Despite their symbol being steel, the Chains were nauseatingly soft. At this point, the most possessive thing about the Claiming was its name.

Unlike most other Courts, safety, consent, and control were the principles most revered by the Chains. Though equality between members and rulers wasn’t a concern, since literal Regents were involved, they weren’t above their own laws. And it also meant punishment could be doled out bloodily and efficiently if anyone stepped out of line. If they endangered other people.

In most places, Regents would abuse absolute power like that. Another trait that made the Chains stand out.

Angela pursed her lips. A challenging glint appeared in her eyes. “How do your shadow powers work?”

“That’s a complicated question only few people know the answer to.”

“Why do you think I’m asking?” Though Angela was trying to present an uninterested attitude, she didn’t sell it well. The excitement in her eyes at the prospect of learning something no one else knew was too genuine. Or maybe it was just the excitement of learning something in general.

“Be more specific, then,” Vex said. “I’m not in the mood to give an hours-long lecture.”

Angela’s gaze darted down, resting on Vex’s chest, before making eye contact again.

“Your clothes. It makes sense that you can vanish, since you’re entirely supernatural. Your clothes aren’t. How does that work?”

Vex smiled innocently. “Don’t you know I’m a thief? I can transform smaller objects, as long as it isn’t a living thing. That includes clothes. Wouldn’t be very safe for me to shadow around otherwise.”

Angela’s eyes went to her chest again, resting there a bit longer than a second. But it wasn’t a leering look. More like a knowing one. Maybe even somewhat pitying.

“My turn,” Vex said. “Once activated, the Chains pendants sometimes glow. What’s that about?”

Angela’s sudden grin was every kind of satisfied. “No one knows that. Not even the Regents.”

Vex leaned closer to the window. “Why do you think I’m asking?”

For a moment, Angela’s smile stopped being provoking. Instead, it just looked amused.

“It signifies whenever the Claimant is thinking about their partner. If they miss them.”

Vex frowned in surprise. “What’s the point of that?”

“Makes it easier to see if someone might be taken advantage of. And then I can suggest the Regents look into it.” Angela adjusted her glasses and shrugged. “And it’s cute. Or whatever.”

That wasn’t at all what Vex had expected. She’d thought it was a tracking device or maybe a way to siphon energy from the wearer. Though, given how Lily and Evie’s necklaces glowed whenever they were away from their partners, she had to admit it made sense. And it didn’t seem like Angela was lying.

Still… It was an odd addition to an already complex invention.

“It’s your question,” Vex said when Angela stayed silent.

“Oh, because you care about being fair?”

“Is that your question?”

“Funny,” Angela said with a sneer. She considered for a moment, brow furrowed in contemplation rather than annoyance. It was how she’d looked when she was working at her desk earlier. Focused and thoughtful.

Then tense. Her hand went to her salt-vial necklaces, touching the pendants.

“What did Quinn want?”

So the witch admitted to being rattled. Or at least got close.

Vex could lie, too. But that wasn’t the game they were playing, and if she broke the rules, Angela might shut it down entirely. There had to be a little give before you could take. Trust needed to be built before it could be broken.

“She wanted you. And not in the fun way.”

Angela scowled. “What fun way are you referring to?”

“You know what way I’m referring to.” Vex held back her smirk when Angela’s cheeks pinked. Making her blush was delightfully easy. “She was wearing a protective charm, so I didn’t get a good feel beyond that. But I don’t need infernal trickery to spot what people are so plainly longing for. Quinn wasn’t subtle.”

“Oh. I didn’t know it worked like that. And it makes sense, I suppose. That Quinn would want me, I mean. The Vintners have tried to recruit me for years. Persuasion hasn’t worked, so now they tried using fear instead.” Angela touched her necklaces again. “But… they haven’t threatened me before.”

A low meow sounded from below. Glancing down, Vex spotted a black cat moving in figure-eights around Angela’s ankles. She shifted her feet so the animal could move more freely.

“Your turn.” Angela cleared the unease off her face by faking a yawn. “And make it count. I’m done being your evening entertainment and I have a date with a bottle of wine.”

Vex considered for a moment. Then she moved in as close as the boundary of salt allowed. If there was only one hidden facet of this witch she could reveal, she knew which one it would be.

“What are you using the binding marks for?”

Angela inspected her nails. “Something secret.”

“That’s not an answer. And we just talked about the importance of being fair.”

“I can’t give you an answer. Only Aleksander and Natalya know about what I’m doing. I don’t even bring it out of my high-rise office. No one else is allowed near it.”

“I was. I was allowed to guard it all night. Listen in on all that talk about fiend marks, lesser and greater, as well as discussions about recipes for artificial blood. Strange things for a witch to request.”

Angela’s jaw clenched. Her hands did too, tiny fists filled with borderline adorable annoyance. If it wasn’t for her reputation, she would be far too sweet-looking to be seen as intimidating.

Then she sighed and leaned against the window frame again. Though, it was more of a slump than a lean this time.

“You have a point.” Angela bit her lip, thinking for a moment, before squaring her shoulders. “When an arcanist captures a fiend, it’s only possible if they have their marks. The longer the fiend lives, the more likely that is to occur.”

Vex grimaced. She knew that well enough. She’d stolen enough infernal marks to be intimate with the process.

When a greater fiend was first summoned into the world or a lesser fiend’s nature was activated, infernal symbols seared into their skin. A parallel set, one on each side of the body. A true name, capable of binding the demon’s will and robbing them of agency. Fiends always kept their marks covered to avoid accidental recordings.

But time was the enemy of all. While most arcanists relied on finding and recording infernal marks, rituals existed that could spawn them without ever needing to lay eyes on a fiend. They just took decades and several costly ingredients to complete.

It meant fiends were never safe. Not even if they stayed in complete isolation. There was always a risk of capture, no matter what you did.

“I came up with a solution,” Angela continued. “At least, a hypothetical one. The only way to ensure a fiend can’t be summoned is if they’re bound already, thereby blocking any other uses of their marks.”

The light of a nearby lamppost flickered, and a red glow fell onto the wall.

“If this is going where I think it is, I suggest you stop talking.”

Angela didn’t look the slightest bit unnerved. Just irritated.

“I’m not looking to bind all the fiends among the Chains to me, if that’s what you’re thinking. As safe as you’d be from being summoned, you wouldn’t be free to do anything other than what I permitted.”

Vex frowned, the scarlet fading. “And that’s not of interest to you?”

“Are you going to let me finish or will you just keep interrupting?” Angela stared Vex down until her silence provided enough of an answer. “I hypothesized that if you could bind a fiend to an object, then it wouldn’t matter how many arcanists possessed their marks. They wouldn’t be able to use them, since the fiend was bound already. To a charm rather than a person. I’m not trying to trap all the demons at Court or anything like that. I’m trying to make protective amulets for them.”

She let out a huffing sigh. “But I’m running into issues. I can’t use my own blood to make the damn thing, since that kind of defeats the whole point of no arcanist being involved. I’ve been diluting it, but it’s not working, and given that no fiend among the Chains—not even Natalya—would ever hand their marks over to a witch, I’m only working with what I can get from dead demons. That’s slowing me down, too.” She ran her hand over her face. “I think it is, at least. There are several problems with this project.”

Vex narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“Not sure. I’d need to test the issues in isolation to figure out what exactly—”

“Not that. Why are you working on this? What’s in it for you?”

There was no end to the power an arcanist of Angela’s caliber could amass. She had the intelligence, drive, and talent to go further than any other arcane user Vex had ever met. Yet, she was working on something that brought her no direct utility.

There had to be an angle to this. A benefit beyond the fuzzy feeling of doing a good deed that meant she’d been holed up in her office for months working on this secret project. With someone like Angela, it wasn’t enough to know what she was doing. Vex needed to know what she wanted.

Angela shrugged. “The Chains are stoutly against slavery. Isn’t that enough?”

“It might be. If you’re loyal to the Chains.”

“I am. I have been for over ten years. Far longer than the few dozen hours you’ve been pledged to our halls. Believe it or not, I follow the laws and tenets of our Court as much as anyone in the high-rise.”

“So the Regents told you to do this.”

“No one tells me what to do. Especially not what to work on. And I’m done with this question game, fun as it was. It was at least more informative than I thought it would be.”

Angela pushed off the wall, ready to get back to whatever diversions she wanted to employ that evening. Since she wasn’t scared.

Vex couldn’t see past the defenses Angela had erected around herself. She might never be permitted to see into her mind, but getting to look over her shoulder as she worked was the next best thing.

It was the only option Vex could see. And since Angela’s thoughts had become a white whale for her to chase, there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do to get a glimpse at them.

“I can get you active marks.”

Angela paused with a hand on the window, ready to close it. “I can get those myself. I haven’t because it draws unnecessary attention, and unnecessary attention is an efficient way of getting yourself killed.”

“I’m not talking about random marks.” Vex patted the right side of her chest. “Greater fiend marks. My marks.”

Angela frowned, letting go of the window. “Why would you do that?”

“I wouldn’t be doing it out of kindness, witch.”

“Right. Something for something.” Angela jutted out her chin, crossing her arms over her chest. “What do you want?”

Such a provoking question. But, for once, it seemed to be asked sincerely. For once, Vex had a single answer ready.

“I want access to your office.”

“As long as I’m working on this project, I don’t let anyone other than Sam and the Regents into my office.”

“That’s my price. Take it or leave it.” Vex leaned back, tracing her fingertip as close to the salt line as she could. “If you’re not interested, that’s up to you. I can’t force you to accept something no one else in the world has access to.”

Angela stood in place, staring at Vex as though looking for trickery behind her words. A wise, if somewhat unwarranted, act. The offer she’d made was as genuine as her desire to know what the fuck Angela was doing when she thought no one was looking.

“Come downstairs.” Angela closed the window before spinning on her heel and hurrying down below. Vex slinked off her perch, fading with the shadows to sit at the windowsill close by Angela’s desk.

“I’m in,” she said as she opened the window, all but thrusting a pen and a blank piece of parchment towards Vex. Vex accepted them with a scoff.

“Don’t get too excited. You’re only getting my summoning marks. I’m not stupid enough to give you more than that.”

Fiendish marks came in pairs—one to summon and one to bind. Having the first without the second was close to useless, since summoning a fiend without locking it in place meant you’d likely get your head torn off for your trouble.

The hungry glint in Angela’s eyes made it obvious she was fine with only having half of something as priceless as the marks of a greater fiend. When she reached for the filled-out parchment, Vex snatched it back.

“If you ever act like your esteemed colleagues and use my marks outside of this secret project of yours, I don’t care how much Natalya vouches for you. I will kill you. Got it?”

Angela hesitated before carefully grabbing the edge of the parchment.

“Got it.”

Vex let go. Angela opened the parchment—Vex clearly forgotten—and ran her eyes over the marks. Where suspicion had played in them before, now only eagerness was present.

It made the delivery seem more like a gift than a transaction. The way Angela stared at the symbols, it was like her most primal desire had just been fulfilled. Like she was happy.

That was not the purpose of this. And it was risky, for more reasons than the obvious. The laws of your existence had a tendency to get revised under the Chains. The impossible happened with disturbing frequency within their borders. Including greater fiends bonding with humans.

Natalya had done it. Drago had done it. Both times, neither the fiend nor the nauseatingly sweet humans they’d fallen for had been aware it was happening.

The possibility of accidentally creating such a pairing with the witch drifting away from the window made Vex forget the power of a well-kept secret.

“Are you familiar with infernal bonds?” Vex asked, recapturing Angela’s attention. Even if she looked a bit surprised.

“Somewhat. An elected relation between a demon and a human, allowing the fiend to establish a connection that couldn’t otherwise exist. It lets greater fiends be with a human without risk of ruining them. But I only know the phrasing for Lust and Wrath.”

“The ones for Natalya and Drago, you mean.” Vex turned her back to the window. “I know all of them.”

“You do?” A bit of excitement slipped into Angela’s tone.

“Of course I do. Who do you think enlightened the queen and the brute?” Vex closed her hands into fists. “A want kindly fulfilled, and a want freely relinquished.”

“What does that mean?”

“That’s the one for Envy.” And it was impossible, too. No greater Envy fiend could fulfill someone’s desire only out of Kindness. In return, no human could give it up if granted. Not when they’d already benefitted, or when envious corruption made them want to keep it for themselves.

That was the cruel nature of all infernal bonds. They were entirely valid. A way to experience the peace greater fiends were never supposed to have. But their parameters made them unattainable. The bond was a promise of sanctuary, always kept just out of reach.

“Okay…” Angela said after a moment. “Why are you telling me that? I didn’t ask.”

Angela wasn’t the only one around here who had theories. Impossible as they were supposed to be, Vex suspected that infernal bonds being formed accidentally was a key part of the process. That the ‘freely’ wording universal to all of them could only be enacted if the human involved wasn’t aware that there was something to gain. If they knew of the bond, every freely done act wouldn’t be free at all. It would be tainted from knowing it might bind them to a demon.

Given how much impossibility infected this place, setting up personal assurances was wise. If Angela knew the bond, it couldn’t be formed.

Besides, no matter how wretched a person hid behind all her pretty charms, no human should suffer the fate of being bound to a greater Envy fiend.

“Consider it a freebie,” Vex said, slipping into the shadows. “I’ll be watching you, angel. Don’t forget that.”

Chapter 9

The smell of cinnamon had completely taken over the kitchen. Since Molly and Joel embraced the holiday spirit with a certain competitive edge, the Norwood household was always a few steps shy of looking like a tinseled warzone whenever December rolled around. That evening, it meant Molly was busy making decorations while Joel worked on an absurdly large batch of Christmas cookies.

Surprising no one, Angela wasn’t helping. This type of craftiness she did not possess. She could barely boil pasta.

“Taste test!” Joel appeared next to Angela, offering a cookie fresh from the oven.

“I’ve taste-tested about twenty different things since I got here,” Angela said, but she still bit down on the cookie. And rolled her eyes with a smile. “I’m shocked. It’s still delicious.”

“I was just making sure!” He pinched her cheek. “You’re skin and bones, sweetheart. You better be finding time for meals inside your busy schedule.”

Angela shook her head with a chuckle, returning her attention to the notepad she’d been drawing on. Though she’d told herself it was practice, it was just glorified doodling at this point. But it was relaxing.

Her hand floated over the paper, drawing out the curves and points of the marks she’d been recently granted. A unique symbol, more like a piece of a soul than it was a name, and though this was the tenth time she’d drawn it since she’d sat down at the dining table, she’d yet to actually finish the whole thing.

Unless part of an active circle, fiendish marks could only live in flesh or memory. If she finished it, then it would set the notepad on fire. If they needed to be used, fiendish marks were usually written on leather parchment and then copied from there.

She didn’t need the parchment, which was safely tucked away in her high-rise office. Over the past couple of weeks, ever since Vex gave her the marks, Angela had drawn them so many times that she could do it with her eyes closed.

“What are you working on?” Her mom’s cheery voice cut through the focus-induced haze. Angela blinked, straightening in her seat.

“Nothing. Just a project.” It was a shorthand response she’d used since she was a teenager. It was rarely ‘nothing’ or ‘just a project,’ but explaining the intricacies of what she was doing slowed her down. And she wasn’t about to test her parents’ sympathetic natures by being honest about what she was working on.

Molly looked up from the wreath she was assaulting with ribbons, adjusting her glasses. Her mother had the same poor eyesight and blonde hair as Angela, though she wore hers in a short, wavy bob rather than long and loose.

“Oh, that’s so pretty! What’s it for?”

The marks were twisted into a circular shape, with off-shooting tendrils that looked a bit like barbed vines. Though meaningless to most, these marks were one of the rarest things in the world. People would kill to possess them.

They were pretty. If you were into that sort of thing. Which her parents obviously wouldn’t be. They’d accepted a lot about their daughter, but that acceptance wouldn’t survive learning that she was interacting with demons on a daily basis.

Angela cleared her throat. “I’m just drawing. It’s nothing special.”

“Well, I think it looks very nice,” Molly said. “Don’t you agree, Joel?”

Her dad immediately stopped what he was doing—setting heart-shaped cookies on a tray to cool—to inspect Angela’s work.

“Wow! That looks great. Is it for one of your projects?”

Angela smiled at him. “Yeah. It’s for one of my projects.”

‘Project’ was an often-used synonym for ‘whatever obsession was currently taking up all of Angela’s free time.’ Her parents had lost the ability to keep up with her interests years ago, and most of the world had followed soon after. If Angela didn’t stay focused, she would lose that ability, too. Her mind had always been moving at an unwise speed.

She’d tried to use that speed efficiently. Stayed busy, stayed working. If her thoughts insisted on maintaining a dangerous velocity, she might as well let them sprint in a useful direction.

They hadn’t really been useful lately, though. While she had made some progress with the fiend-binding amulets, it didn’t mean she was closer to success. There was still so much wrong with this experiment. So many things she could do better.

She had to do better. If she didn’t, these past several months would have been a complete waste.

“Honey?”

Angela flinched at her mom’s voice right next to her. She’d abandoned the wreath, inspecting Angela with worry shining in her hazel-brown eyes.

Angela shook the fog from her head. “Sorry. Got lost in thought. Did you ask me something?”

Molly glanced into the kitchen, where Joel was fluttering around while humming Christmas tunes.

“I know you don’t like this question, but… is everything alright?” she said, voice low. Angela put on a smile.

“Yeah, of course. Everything’s a little stressful, but that’s normal.”

“Right. Normal.” Molly’s brows furrowed. “You know we love when you come home, and we would never imply otherwise. But you don’t usually have time. That’s what you always say.”

Angela’s smile, and lie, clearly hadn’t worked. Though context obviously didn’t help.

She’d spent more evenings at home over the past couple of weeks than she had in months. The visits were never really planned things either. Sometimes, evening would just creep in and rather than be alone in her office, Angela would drive to her parents’ house and stay there for a few hours before returning to the frightening world she’d built her life in.

It hadn’t really been frightening before. Or, at least, it hadn’t felt frightening.

Molly took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Did something happen?”

“It’s fine, Mom. Really. I don’t want you to worry about me.”

“I’m your mother. Worrying is part of the job.” The brow furrow lessened. “Did someone happen?”

The heat rising in Angela’s cheeks was both unwarranted and entirely unacceptable. The grin spreading on her mom’s face even more so.

“What’s going on over here?” Joel stepped into the dining room, wearing a smile that was a perfect mirror of his wife’s.

“Angela has a girlfriend,” Molly said.

“I do not!”

She looked between her two smiling parents. They had a habit of taking a grain of information and turning it into a ludicrous narrative. She quickly returned her attention to her drawing.

“I don’t want to talk about this.”

She was way too hot in the face for what parental teasing could usually accomplish. And there was nothing to tease her about, besides. She wasn’t even seeing anyone. Or interested in anyone.

And she definitely hadn’t spent the past few days falling asleep after indulging some highly inappropriate thoughts about an even more inappropriate individual. Whose eyes would probably turn neon green if she ever learned about the newest addition to Angela’s bedtime routine.

Her mom giggling made Angela glance up, and she immediately rolled her eyes.

“You two are ridiculous,” she said as her dad swiped his thumb on Molly’s cheek, leaving a streak of powdered sugar before kissing it off her skin.

“Couldn’t help myself,” Joel said. “It’s how I won her heart. You know, I realized she was my soulmate when—”

“—when you were making gingerbread houses together down at the community center. You brushed powdered sugar off her cheek, and that’s when you knew you loved her. I’ve heard this story more times than I can count.”

Her parents exchanged glances, a blush still solidly stuck in Molly’s cheeks.

“Well…” she said, pushing her hair behind her ear. “It worked like a spell. I was in love the second his thumb touched my skin.”

Angela had to fight not to groan. Her parents’ love story was nauseating enough to be right out of a romantic comedy.

As teenage sweethearts, they had been each other’s firsts, in everything, and had bonded over a shared love of cooking, board games, and taking long walks in the park. A simple, sweet, happy couple who were staples of their local community and who went to church every Sunday. That Angela was their only child was outright hilarious.

They’d had no idea what to do with her. A child who attacked any academic problem presented to her as though it had offended her personally, with her usually coming out as the victor. Who made it clear, early on, that she didn’t share the religious beliefs her parents found so much comfort in. And who was a lesbian.

The weeks leading up to her coming out was the only time Angela had felt any doubt about her parents’ love for her. She hadn’t done any dating in her teen years, seeing it as a waste of time. She felt nothing for the boys who’d paid her interest, so she just assumed romance wasn’t for her. But then a college party had involved a few too many drinks and a revealing game of truth or dare. A bit of sober testing had provided answers she couldn’t ignore, and for the first time in her life, she had been afraid of her parents. Of their reaction, specifically.

All they’d done when she told them—or blurted it out, was the more accurate term—was hug her and say they’d always love her, no matter what. It was a promise she had never doubted again; especially not since every June their garden got covered in rainbow flags, and every visit home involved them asking about any nice girls Angela might be dating. They were supportive to the point of excessiveness.

“I’m not seeing anyone,” Angela said when her parents kept smiling at her. “Nor am I planning to. I’m way too busy for that sort of thing.”

Molly’s teasing expression softened. “You’re always too busy, sweetheart. People aren’t meant to be constantly working.”

Angela had been ‘constantly working’ since she was in high school. Between extracurriculars, studying, and honing her arcane abilities, she’d barely had enough hours left over to sleep.

Her parents had tried to help, but they didn’t understand what she was doing. And she didn’t want to pause and explain where her thoughts took her, wasting time that could be better spent chasing solutions everyone else considered impossible.

No one could help with that. She didn’t need them to, besides.

“What I’m doing is important. I need to focus on that.”

“You’re important, too.” Her mom put her arms around her, pulling her into a soft hug. “To your father and me, you’re the most important person in the world. You know that, right? You know we love you?”

She did know that. She just forgot sometimes, like she forgot everything when she was so deep in a flow state that the world faded away.

But that state had vanished lately, and it only sort of came back when she was at home. After what happened at the diner, it was like her focus had a handbrake attached that got pulled at random intervals. When she was alone, doubt weaseled its way into her mind and fed on her confidence like a parasite.

So it wasn’t exactly difficult to lean into her mom’s embrace.

“I know, Mom. I love you, too.”

Joel kissed the side of her head. “Are you staying for dinner again?”

Angela was about to answer in the affirmative when her phone buzzed. She pulled it out, reading the message that had popped up.

UNKNOWN NUMBER

Daisy’s tomorrow at midnight. I have what you want. One chance. We both come alone.

– I

Angela stared at the text. Cryptic messages were par for the course when working with Isaac. He was jumpy, and with good reason. If the Vintners found out he had been meeting with Angela, he’d be lucky if all he got was excommunicated.

“I… can’t.” Angela gathered up her unfinished sketches. “Something came up. At the university.”

“This late?” Joel asked, good humor gone.

“Yep.” Angela hurried to the living room fireplace, tossing the papers on the embers. “An opportunity came up. I need to talk to someone and make sure we can make it work.”

With things being so tense, any excursions Angela wanted to go on had to be approved by the Regents. And Isaac, nervous as he was, needed a fast reply.

“Love you,” Angela said, giving both Molly and Joel a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll call you later. Promise!”

She was out the door before her parents could as much as respond, jacket halfway on and once again regretting her choice of outfit. She preferred skirts, even when the season didn’t, making the short walk to her car freezing.

Expediency allowed her thoughts to sprint as they willed it. Figuring out solutions, be they easy or supposedly impossible, was what she did best. What her brain had always loved to do.

Right then, the immediate question was simple. Which Regent would be most likely to approve this little jaunt to the edge of Chains territory?

One Regent was easy to motivate regarding this experiment, and she was also easy to find. Even though Angela was not in the mood to visit her domain.

Angela sighed as she got into her car and started towards the high-rise. She was making a big deal out of nothing. How bad could a brief visit to the Second Circle be, anyway?

Chapter 10

Tap. Tap-tap. Tap.

The barstool clicked against the floor, barely audible above the club music. It was the weekend, meaning the room was packed with people enjoying the sinful air found within the Court of Chains. Even if they didn’t know why that energy was so potent.

Tap. Tap-tap-tap. Tap.

Vex let her eyes glide over the crowd as she continued her instrumental. She was sitting on the bar, feet rocking a stool back and forth, so the legs struck against the ground. She didn’t stick to a rhythm, making the noise whenever the brick wall of a being standing next to her looked a bit too relaxed.

“Would you stop that?” Drago shot her a glare. The huge demon was as scantily clad as usual, wearing only long fingerless gloves and black slacks. His olive skin was covered in tattoos, his reddish hair matching his irises.

“What? This?” She made the stool tap against the floor again. “Being quiet isn’t part of this lesson.”

“It’s a preference. You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”

“Maybe that’s the point. Did you consider that?”

By how Drago growled, he hadn’t. The Wrath fiend was built for tearing things apart. Talking and thinking were both secondary to that purpose.

It was an interesting lesson, Vex had to admit. The two greater fiends of the Chains had been tasked with moving around the club floor amidst a crowd of uninitiated humans without causing a ruckus. Though their slitted eyes pulled attention, plenty of others were doing the same thing. Some of the wilder looking individuals on the dance floor were entirely human.

The two of them were supposed to keep their ruining influences in check. Drago would have succeeded if no fights had broken out by the end of this. Vex would have succeeded if…

She didn’t know how the fuck this lesson applied to her. Maybe she was just there to make it more difficult for her fellow infernal student. Or maybe she’d get a pat on the head if she managed not to scowl at Drago more than once per minute, since he had recently been allowed to wander where he wanted while she was still stuck within the confines of Chicago.

Natalya had plenty of those creative lessons. Plenty of nifty ideas about how to control infernal compulsions. How to satisfy fiendish cravings.

She slammed the stool against the floor. The temperature increased when Drago stared Vex down.

“Hey!” The breathless voice cut down Drago’s growing anger. He turned, a slight twitch at his mouth, as Sam broke free of the crowd.

“I just finished up at the infirmary, so I came to find you.” She smiled at Drago. Her hair stuck to her sweaty forehead. “Are you busy?”

Vex rolled her eyes, turning her attention towards the bar rather than keeping it on the second-grossest couple in this bloody building.

Though she was a witch, or at least in the beginning stages of being one, Sam didn’t bother Vex like a certain other arcanist did. Unlike her teacher, sweet Samantha was easy to read. Her motivations were as basic as they were harmless. Help her family, care for the scared and injured, blah blah blah.

As Sam and Drago whispered to each other, Vex scanned the bar. It was more bearable than listening to the lovey-dovey couple. At first.

A group of women had flocked around a usual empty section of the bar. A bartender with golden-black eyes was flirting with the lot of them. Effectively too, by the generous tips flowing her way.

Vex sneered, only just keeping the tension in her chest from turning into scarlet-eyed hatred. Ever-charming, always-flirting, rare-as-fuck-and-attractive-in-addition Maya wasn’t a welcome sight.

It had been that way for a while now. Whenever Vex saw the day-walking vampire, a tightening loathing rose in her chest, the feeling more focused than the baseline dislike she carried towards everyone else. An innate, familiar feeling that grew every time it appeared.

“You sure Vex can handle that?” Sam asked, pulling Vex’s attention back to the conversation.

“You sure you want to talk about me like I’m not here?” Vex glared at Sam, who didn’t react beyond putting a hand on Drago’s arm when he stepped towards Vex, fists clenched.

“An outsider snuck onto one of the upper floors a few hours ago. Saw something he shouldn’t.” Sam tugged at Drago’s arm, making him step backward. “Drago said you’d be able to help.”

“Help?” Vex grinned, but the humor died when she noticed how smug Drago suddenly looked. “Wait… Was this planned?”

The Wrath fiend grunted. “This hour was my lesson. It’s time for yours.”

Vex only just stopped herself from breaking the barstool. Supernatural creatures could somewhat withstand fiendish abilities. They weren’t immune, but they were resistant enough that they could keep secrets unless Vex used a lot of energy to reveal them. A surprise lesson in helping was a pretty valuable secret.

“I hate Natalya.”

“You hate everybody.” Drago paused his scowling to receive a light kiss from Sam.

“I’m going home to shower.” Sam cracked her neck, wincing. “I’m exhausted, and my shoulders are killing me.”

When Drago’s eyes started sweeping over Sam’s body, she grinned at him.

“It’s just muscle soreness. You can come by when you’re done here. A bit of infernal heat will probably help the ache.” She rested a hand on his waist, nails pushing lightly into his skin. “Hurry, okay?”

A twitch pulled at Drago’s lips, the muted smile making Sam grin like an idiot. She gave him another light kiss, which seemed to have become the most priceless currency to the violent demon. One touch of Sam’s lips and he turned into a puddle.

“You know you’re pathetic, right? You and Lust both,” Vex said as the two of them moved across the club floor. “And I hate these fucking lessons.”

Drago side-eyed her, but there was no sign of anger. The insult should have made him furious, but provocation had no use now that he’d had his precious witch around.

Vex didn’t understand how that worked. Romance and the peaceful love it preached were just shortcuts towards heartbreak. At least, that was the case for her. She wasn’t meant to be settled, especially not with another person.

The only use she had for romance was as a tool. A way to tempt people down dangerous paths, making them chase something they could never catch.

Though what she’d done before joining the Court couldn’t be described as seduction, it got close enough. She’d mostly done it to manipulate or because she’d been ordered to, feeling nothing but contempt doing either.

She’d only felt earnest desire a handful of times, and it had always ended in misery. Either because people were only interested in her as long as she gave them what they wanted, or because she couldn’t stop herself from yearning for more. Even when there was nothing left to take.

Vex started walking faster. Drago matched her speed.

“It’ll get better. Natalya and I have been free longer than you, so we’ve had more time to practice. It’s easier for us.”

“It’ll never be easy,” Vex muttered as they entered the elevator. “Our existence is destruction and torment. Unless you accidentally break the rules, like you and Natalya did, then it can’t be easy.”

That was something that took up more space in her mind than she wanted to admit. From what she knew, there were only around twenty greater fiends worldwide, and almost none of them were free. The three in the Court of Chains might be the only ones, and somehow two of them had broken the laws that molded their very existence.

They were pure Sin, and Sin didn’t invite peace. They shouldn’t even fantasize about wanting it. But it was hard not to fantasize when loving examples of it got shoved in her face on a daily basis.

When the elevator dinged open, Drago was still looking at her. She narrowed her eyes.

“What, Wrath?”

Another lip twitch. It even lingered as a hint of a smirk. “Nothing.”

Rather than question Drago’s odd behavior, Vex just gave him a shove before following him to the designated interrogation room. She looked inside the one-way glass embedded in the door, finding the catalyst for this hidden lesson. A man in his early twenties, who—by his cocky smile—was used to problems going away on their own.

But he was the only person in the room.

“Where’s Natalya?” Vex asked.

“Down below.”

Vex waited for more of an explanation, getting nothing. “She’s letting me do this by myself?”

The lesson happening here was simple. Stealing was at the core of an Envy fiend’s very being, but it wasn’t literal riches they were interested in. Fiends were extensions of the most sinful aspects of humanity. Being of Envy, Vex was made to find the coveted advantages possessed by others and steal them for her master’s use. This included beauty, knowledge, literal lifespan. It included memories.

They were extremely difficult to excise. It took focus, a lot of time, and unless she was close with the person being robbed and thereby knew the path of their thoughts, finding and extracting what she was looking for was risky. Stealing one memory had ripple effects, and could cause headaches, memory loss, and even brain death.

Like with a Wrath fiend and killing, once you got started, it was difficult to stop. And Natalya was letting her do it unsupervised.

Drago crossed his arms. “Would you like me to fetch her?”

“No,” Vex said quickly. She cleared her throat. “No, I got it. I was just keeping myself from gagging over how trusting she’s being. She’s getting soft.”

When Vex yanked open the door, the young man looked her up and down, his grin widening. It stiffened when Drago followed her inside. His huge, half-naked frame appeared more obviously threatening than Vex’s.

“What’s the deal?” the man asked. “I was just looking for the bathroom and suddenly I’m in an episode of a crime show. I’ll tell my father about this.”

Vex and Drago exchanged glances. Either this man was overly confident or just stupid. Or perhaps some unfortunate blend.

“You saw something you shouldn’t,” Vex said. “That means you’re mine to play with for a bit. Unlucky you.”

The man snorted. “I don’t need to waste my time talking to a girl. Get one of your bosses in here, will you? And my phone. I need to make some calls.”

Keeping her eyes on the man, Vex jumped on the table he was sitting at. He frowned as she sat down right in front of him, legs crossed, and leaned way too close for what was appropriate.

“Sit really still.” Vex flashed a too-wide grin. “Otherwise, I might take more than I mean to, and I’m not good at giving things back.”

“What do you—” A surprised squeak cut the man off when Vex grabbed him by the jaw and squeezed hard enough that it came close to breaking the bone. He flailed in his seat, but he couldn’t get up. He couldn’t even scream. She wasn’t in the mood for sniveling, so the first thing she stole from him was his voice.

“Relax…” She smiled, staring into his frightened eyes. “This won’t hurt. Just tickle a little.”

“You’re being flashy,” Drago grumbled.

“I can be for once. He won’t remember anything when I’m done with him.”

Recent memories were the easiest to handle. Them being fresh meant they weren’t interconnected with the rest of the mind and could be easily cut out. Once Vex had found what she was looking for, this man wouldn’t remember anything about what had happened in the interrogation room.

Memories weren’t like pages in a book, neatly numbered and sorted into chapters. They were a jumbled mess that you had to approach carefully if you wanted to get anything out of it. But impatience wasn’t one of Vex’s many vices.

She could spend hours looking through the dark recesses of someone’s mind and not get bored with it, even though that kind of focus wouldn’t be needed here. A lack of intelligence made memories far less risky to extract. Finding and stealing thoughts was easier if a person didn’t have a lot of them to begin with.

Though this man’s thoughts weren’t particularly interesting, they were still valuable to the Chains. Giving up whatever she happened upon wouldn’t be easy. That was the point. But frankly, it was a waste of time to go through the meaningless observations of this random guy. There were other people around with far more interesting minds that she’d love to get her hands on.

“Does your sweet Samantha ever talk about her?” Vex said, eyes still on the struggling man. Drago stepped closer.

“Who?”

Sometimes Vex forgot that she was the only one in this building smart enough to give Angela the obsessive attention she needed.

“The Chains witch.”

Drago paused. Then he huffed. “Samantha talks about her a lot.”

“And what does she say?”

“That Angela’s impatient and strict, but that she’s nice beneath it all. She doesn’t push too hard, or set unreasonable expectations. At least not for anyone but herself.” Drago let out a considering hum. “I like the Chains witch.”

Vex shifted in place and rolled her shoulders. “Well, you’re a moron.”

There was a beat of quiet, followed by an acknowledging grunt. “I see.”

Vex paused her current project of caressing over the man’s childhood memories so she could glare at Drago.

“What do you see, exactly?”

“More than you. For once.”

That was the absolute worst thing he could have said. It made it feel like there were insects crawling around inside her fingertips; a feeling that could only be lessened by alleviating the obsession still flaring through her chest.

It should have lessened. She’d spent the past three weeks searching Angela’s office from floor to ceiling. Every note, every trinket, every thing got inspected, because as much as Angela might want the entire fucking Court to believe otherwise, she wasn’t perfect. She had made a mistake, somewhere. An error that scratched the paint off, revealing the true colors beneath her preppy presentation.

But Vex hadn’t found anything. And even worse, the upper hand she’d briefly gained by invading Angela’s personal space had withered in less than a day. When Angela was working, she was supremely good at ignoring her surroundings, including the heavy shadows that had taken up residence in her office.

She just sat at her desk, blonde hair pushed behind her ears, and her blue and brown eyes focused on whatever project was afforded her attention. She had a habit of bouncing her leg against the floor whenever she got frustrated about something, just as she tended to play with her hair when considering how to most efficiently write out an incantation. Sometimes, when she was reading over her notes, she would run the end of a pen over her bottom lip, tapping it against her teeth.

What an infuriating fucking witch.

“You’re not making me more inclined to share whatever interesting things I find in here.” She patted the man on the cheek, though the force behind it turned it into a slap.

“It’ll make for a better lesson then.” Drago nodded at the man. “Anything?”

“Nothing he knows how to use. His family owns some low-performing nightclubs nearby. He’s not impressing as much as he should be and thought sneaking around the high-rise, spying on the competition, might net him some goodwill. He caught a vamp and a human having some bloody fun in one of the nightrooms, but he didn’t put it together as anything supernatural.” Vex grinned when the man stared at her, terrified. “He mainly wants to impress his daddy.”

She let him go, causing him to reel back. He touched his throat, mouth opening and closing.

When she kept his memories of the high-rise, she’d forgotten to release his voice. Whoops.

“Vex,” Drago rumbled. She groaned.

“Fine.” She walked along the edge of the table before dropping to the floor, waving her fingers and giving the daddy’s boy his speech back.

“What the… How… How did she just—” He shook his head, looking around the room. “Where am I? Who are you people?”

“Awesome lesson.” Vex grimaced against the sour taste in her mouth. Coaxing a human down after getting their brain prodded wasn’t on her evening itinerary. “I’m headed downstairs. Our Lady probably wants a report.”

“I’ll get him escorted out.” Drago gave her a long enough look that she paused halfway out the door.

“What now? If you think I kept something, I didn’t.”

Not too long ago, it would have been almost painful to not keep something that others wanted. It wasn’t exactly easy right then, but it wasn’t difficult either. It just took effort.

It might be because her mind had wandered again. Whenever she thought of Angela and all the secrets in her head, everything else became background noise. Nothing was half as valuable as whatever information hid behind her eyes.

Drago let out another grunt. “You did well, Vex.”

An odd feeling followed the compliment. It wasn’t pleasant—compliments couldn’t be pleasant—but it wasn’t as prickly as usual. And the feeling didn’t feed that innate hate that was a mandatory part of who she was. Just like Drago’s fury never vanished, unless he was thinking about the witch who’d captured his heart, Vex could never be satisfied with anything. She couldn’t not hate the world and everyone in it.

But she could hate it less, evidently.

“Whatever,” she muttered, leaving the room before this weird reaction decided to linger. Before it infested her mind and made her forget that she didn’t yet understand this place and that she shouldn’t rest in the impossible control it offered.

This entire goddamn building was filled with idiots who had forgotten that trust wasn’t something to rely on. Trust got you killed, robbed, or enslaved. Trust was for the weak and the foolish, and trust had let a witch into their halls who had to be working an angle that she had just become an expert in hiding over the years.

Angela represented everything that was wrong with the Court of Chains. Every weakness it had, condensed into an unreadable package that everyone assumed had good intentions when there was nothing but evidence against that fact.

There had to be a way to get behind her defenses. A way to tilt her balance so when she stumbled, it would reveal those selfish desires that were a mandatory characteristic of the human condition.

Vex would find it eventually. But not now. Now, she needed to find Natalya and report how nice and compliant she’d just been.

Vex suppressed the urge to gag. This place was getting to her in a way it shouldn’t. But she could be annoyed about that later.

Right then, she was needed in the Second Circle.

Chapter 11

“It’ll be fine, Natalya,” Angela said. “Seriously. You’re worrying over nothing.”

Natalya leaned back in her red-leather throne, regarding Angela with a contemplative stare. Maybe even an annoyed one.

“You’re awfully confident after what happened the last time you met with him.”

“The last time was unusual for everyone involved.” Angela crossed her arms, trying her best to ignore the distracting soundtrack that always played in the Second Circle. The place was never busier than after nightfall. “This is important. I was sure Isaac had gotten spooked enough that he would never even talk to me again. I need to go.”

Natalya’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not usually this insistent on accepting outside help.”

“Which speaks to how crucial it is that this meeting goes well. I’m not making the progress I want on this project, and by meeting with Isaac, I might find a solution. I might get it to work.”

By how hard Natalya’s eyes still were, that logic wasn’t as swaying as hoped.

“Whether or not you can make it work doesn’t matter if something happens out there and we can’t assist.”

“There’s nothing to worry about. Isaac’s even more of a hermit than I am. If he tried to start something, he wouldn’t know how to finish it.”

Natalya strummed her fingers against the armrest, looking far less convinced than Angela had expected. After what had happened to her just a few months prior, Natalya should be eager to get the amulets made.

“It was good that I had a guard last time,” Angela assured. “But that was different. Isaac is showing up alone, and if I don’t do the same, he’ll take off. I can’t risk it. We can’t.”

There weren’t many people who could get away with demanding things from the Chains Regents, but Angela’s leash was so loose that she often forgot she was wearing it. Both Natalya and Aleksander had stopped looking over her shoulder within her first year of working with the Court and had stopped interfering with her research long before that. She hadn’t had to deal with them questioning her plans for almost a decade.

Natalya hesitated. Then gave a single nod. “Alright. On one condition. We send out scouts to survey the area around the diner, ensuring Isaac is as alone as you will be. They’ll be discreet, and they’ll leave before the meeting starts.”

Angela breathed a sigh of relief. “As long as they’re not spotted, that should work just fine. Thank you.”

Natalya being this concerned was an odd characteristic, but since she had recently used Angela as a lesson-proxy, that might explain it. Her most recent student might be whispering things meant to seed doubt about Angela’s loyalty.

The thought made her jaw clench. It was one thing to get distracted sometimes, but if that distraction started directly messing with her ability to work, Angela would get pissed.

“How is Vex?” she asked. The sternly worried look faded from Natalya’s eyes, a surprised one replacing it.

“She’s improving. Slowly, but steadily.”

“Has she been talking about me at all?”

Amusement took over the glint in Natalya’s eyes. “No more than usual. Is there a reason you’re curious? Do you want her to accompany you tomorrow night?”

“Absolutely not!” Angela said a bit too loudly. She cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses. “No, that’s… That’s not why I asked.”

A slight smile curled onto Natalya’s face. “Then why?”

“I was just… wondering.” Why did her face suddenly feel like it was burning? “I have work to do. So I’ll leave. Thanks again, Natalya.”

Angela was about to make a break for the exit when Natalya stopped her by standing from her throne and moving closer. Even with arcane defenses in play, the violet-eyed fiend was imposing, and the effect wasn’t exactly lessened by proximity.

“I know there are other things you could be working on,” Natalya said, lowering her voice. “You’ve focused on this for a long time, with little progress. While your diligence is admirable, you should know that no one would be upset if you quit this project.”

Angela frowned. “Why would I want to quit?”

“We both know there are countless other things you could be working on. Things more useful to you. Things that are easier, perhaps.”

That didn’t really explain anything. And going by the understanding look in Natalya’s eyes, it apparently should have.

“There’s nothing I’d rather be working on.”

Angela’s confused frown was now mirrored on Natalya’s face. “Nothing at all?”

Angela slowly shook her head. “No. Why would there be?”

Natalya’s eyes flicked between Angela’s, noticing… something. Something she clearly didn’t feel like sharing. Like all other fiends in the high-rise, Natalya’s infernal powers were useless against Angela, but she didn’t need demonic trickery to read body language. Angela was evidently communicating something she wasn’t conscious of because Natalya let out a considering hum.

“No reason. We’re lucky to have you with the Chains, Angela.” Her eyes snapped to somewhere else in the room. Someone might be having fun in the wrong way. “I’ll send out scouts at nightfall tomorrow. For my sake, if not yours.”

Then Natalya strode off to deal with whatever issue she’d spotted, leaving Angela alone and sighing in relief. She’d come down below thinking she was just fulfilling the courtesy of asking for permission to leave. She hadn’t thought she’d needed to pitch the idea.

Natalya was just overly worried. After the diner, it made sense. Even if the decade Angela and Isaac had known each other suggested the last meeting was an outlier rather than a trend.

Then her eye caught movement. Usually, ignoring movement was the wise thing to do when visiting the Second Circle. Usually, Angela could do it with ease. But given how long it had been since she’d done anything even vaguely related to what went on in Natalya’s domain, her ability to ignore her surroundings was weakened.

Her attention drifted to one of the stages installed in the main hall. Elevated platforms designed to summon onlookers. To let people watch as whatever depraved acts happening on them were put on graphic display.

On the stage were two women. Not really unusual down here. Pairings of all kinds frequented the Second Circle, as patrons across the spectrum of gender and sexuality alike came down below to writhe in a realm of Sin before returning to their real life responsibilities. Everything about what she was seeing was normal, for the circumstances.

But Angela’s mouth still went dry.

On the stage, a naked woman was on her knees, facing the crowd and with her hands tied behind her back. Her skin was red where a flogger had struck her, and a blindfold covered her eyes. But that wasn’t what had made Angela’s gaze fixate on the scene.

It was the person leaning over her. A woman with dark hair in a tight ponytail, wearing a look of pure mockery as she held her partner by the throat.

“Does my little slut like this?” she asked, snapping the flogger over the kneeling woman’s thighs. “How does it feel? Wanting to get fucked in front of an audience?”

The woman whimpered, her legs twitching as she was struck again. Rather than stay at her throat, the ponytailed woman seized her by the hair and pulled her head back, spitting the kneeling woman right on the lips.

“If you beg well enough, I might fuck you like the whore you are.”

Angela spun around so fast she got lightheaded. Since she’d joined the Court of Chains, she had obviously been aware of the Second Circle, but she hadn’t visited it all that much. One reason was that it didn’t make for an efficient working environment, so she only went down there if she had business with Natalya.

Another reason was that it was highly distracting.

It hadn’t taken many impressions of the place to realize the effect it had on her came from more than just basic curiosity. There was a yearning underlining it all. A yearning she had tried to introduce to several relationships over the years, all with awful results. Finding a woman who could be trusted with choking you in the bedroom was difficult, as it turned out. Especially if you were after a ‘no strings attached’ kind of arrangement.

There was an obvious solution to the itch. The Second Circle was open to members of the Chains, and there were plenty of people down there willing to give her what she wanted. With Natalya in charge, it was arguably the safest place to have sex in the whole bloody country.

But that could not happen. Angela had a reputation and the ‘untouchable’ part of it would be kind of tainted if she started spending her weekends making use of the high-rise sex dungeon. When it came to gossip, the Court of Chains was no better than a knitting club. Mere seconds after she’d shown up as an active participant, the entire state would probably know about it.

It was a fantasy. A persistent, loud, beyond exciting fantasy, but that was all. Something she could indulge in the future. When she wasn’t as busy.

With a steadfastness she didn’t at all feel, she forced her breathing to even out. She needed to prepare for when she had Isaac’s recipe in hand. There were plenty of things she could busy herself with before going home and relieving some of the tension this impromptu visit had created in her body.

Angela turned, intending to leave, and stopped when she nearly knocked into someone. A tall, lean, green-eyed someone, who was wearing a loose black t-shirt and a knowing smile.

Vex was right in front of her, slitted eyes resting on Angela’s before flicking to the stage she had just been staring at. Then she grinned, mocking delight shining in her bright green eyes.

“Your attention is telling, angel,” Vex said, keeping her voice close to a whisper. “I know what you want.”

Oh, this was a welcome surprise.

For weeks—months—Vex had been haunted by this provoking mystery of a woman. A powerful witch with a guarded mind and unknown motivations. No matter what Vex did and how much she taunted her, she could only do so from a distance. She couldn’t get under her skin.

That was the case. But then the diner had happened. The admittance of Vex being distracting and the telling blush that followed had scratched at the paint Angela hid behind, and then this unusual visit to the Second Circle had stripped parts of it away completely.

Angela’s motivations for being in the Court of Chains were still unknown. The true reason for why she was working on projects that benefited others far more than they did her was still a mystery. But in that moment, her most primal, envious desire was laughably obvious. Stolen glances revealed hidden wants clearer than lying voices ever could, and Vex was made to spot those glances.

This pretty witch, who excelled at basically everything she deigned to focus on, just wanted someone to grab her by the throat and tell her what a pathetic whore she was. And given that her face had turned beet red, she did not want others to know this fact.

Vex kept looking at her, smiling. Angela stared back at her, mortified by the implications of her gaze. But she didn’t let out a snappy comment. Instead, she side-stepped around Vex and left—no, fled—the Second Circle.

She was either running to her office or her car. Depending on which she chose, this evening had just gotten a lot more interesting.

“Vex…” Natalya’s warning voice cut through the countless ideas that had taken over Vex’s mind, but even her teacher’s stern tone couldn’t make her grin go away.

She turned towards Natalya, twisting her smile to appear overly pleasant. “Yeees?”

Natalya had appeared right next to her, brows furrowed and eyes hard. She’d been checking in on a stage when Vex showed up, but now she looked ready for a lecture.

“What was that about?”

“Nothing,” Vex replied cheerily. “I was just having a conversation with your house-witch. Why? Did you notice something?”

She obviously had. No one could hide their desires from Natalya. She was just polite enough to keep whatever she spotted to herself.

“You know consent is the primary law of my domain. Don’t you?” Natalya’s voice was just as hard as before.

Vex narrowed her eyes, even though her grin remained in place.

“Yeah. You’ve mentioned plenty of times.”

“If you forget, there will be consequences.” A few strands of scarlet appeared in Natalya’s eyes. “Is that clear?”

Vex didn’t stop smiling, even in response to the threat. Fantasizing about all the ways to hurt Angela Norwood had been a fun pastime for the past few months, but those fantasies were so far from her mind at that moment.

From the beginning, all Vex wanted was to figure out what Angela’s deal was. Since her thoughts were vaulted up, the only way to reveal it was to find out what made her tick. And Vex had just discovered a way to make her explode.

“It’s clear. I’ll be on my best behavior.” Vex backed towards the exit of the Second Circle. “Unless she asks me not to be. Don’t worry, Lady of Lust. I’ll make sure she asks a lot.”

Natalya’s eyes stayed narrowed for a moment. Then she turned away, effectively condoning what was about to be a very fun night.

Vex had gone down below, wanting to know the reasoning behind her earlier lesson and carrying a faint hope that she’d get an answer she might, impossibly, find satisfying.

This was better. Far, far better.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fucking hell!

Angela gathered up the things she’d left in her office. Stupid really, given that what she should have done was sprint to the garage and then flee the damn building.

She eyed the corner shadows in the room. Though she hadn’t seen Vex in her office, despite their little deal, that meant literally nothing. If Vex didn’t want to be spotted, she wasn’t. If Vex didn’t want you to like her, you didn’t. With Natalya and Drago, you could sometimes forget they were demons. Vex made sure you never fucking forgot.

She had been there, though. There were plenty of times when Angela had shown up at the high-rise and found that her office was off. Something had been moved, or turned slightly, or her books arranged in a different order than when she’d been there last. As though a disorderly poltergeist had snuck in while she was gone, intent on being annoying since being murderous was off the table.

But her office wasn’t the only thing Vex was haunting. She’d known what she was doing that night outside Angela’s window. She’d wanted to get noticed. Wanted to be caught acting creepy while Angela walked around her house half-naked.

If the salt hadn’t been in place, she might even have come inside.

“Fucking shit!” Angela had knocked over her purse, scattering the contents over the floor.

Vex knew. She knew, and though she would probably hoard the information like a dragon did treasure, she wouldn’t hesitate to remind Angela—over and over and over again—that she knew exactly what Angela was aching to experience and which was just out of reach. An itch she couldn’t scratch. The few times she’d tried to make something work of the caliber she was interested in, it had never been delivered with anything but half-hearted enthusiasm.

With Vex, it would probably be delivered with nothing but enthusiasm.

When she finally returned everything to the confines of her bag and started for her office door, the relief of escape didn’t last for more than a second. The darkness was deeper than it had been a moment before.

Angela stopped halfway through the room as the shadows drew together, revealing a still fucking smiling Vex leaning against her office door. She’d probably been there the whole time, enjoying the show of Angela scrambling around in embarrassed panic.

“Heading home this early?” Vex said. Angela glared at her.

“I am, yes.” Angela forced herself to stand up straight, while Vex seemed perfectly comfortable lounging against the door. “Move.”

She didn’t. She stayed right where she was, staring Angela down with bright green eyes and wearing that mocking, awful smile.

Vex slowly pushed off the door. She crossed the room, not stopping until they were less than a foot apart. The smoky scent that clung to her increased, enveloping the air like heavy perfume.

“Why do you want me to move?” Vex’s smile widened. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“Yes,” Angela said through clenched teeth. “I’m leaving. Get out of my way.”

A shine rose in Vex’s eyes. It cascaded greenish light onto her eyelashes.

“Make me.”

She could, so easily too. One poke, one graze, and Vex would be immobilized. But Angela was the one who was frozen in place.

“You aren’t leaving.” Vex’s voice was hauntingly melodic. She stepped forward. Angela stepped back. “Has fear stolen your sense, sweet witch?”

Angela scoffed. And then gasped when her heel hit the wall. “You don’t scare me, Vex.”

“Don’t I?” Vex let out a low chuckle. “Lie to me again, angel. I liked it.”

“I’m not lying!” Angela lunged forward, stopping less than an inch from Vex’s face. But she didn’t move back. She didn’t even flinch, and her slitted eyes were still glowing bright neon. “You can’t do anything to me. You can’t even touch me. There’s nothing about you that I should be afraid of.”

“That’s true.” Vex moved forward, making Angela retreat the space she’d just claimed. “I can’t touch you. Can’t hurt you. And I certainly can’t fuck you against the wall like the dirty whore you so want to be treated as. At least, not while you’re wearing that fancy necklace of yours.”

Vex leaned even closer, making Angela withdraw further. Her head hit the wall and her breathing turned shallow as Vex stared at her.

“I have a feeling you’re tempted to take it off.”

The words flared through Angela with startling efficiency. Just like the time at the bar where Vex had sprayed alcohol in her face and this hot, vibrating feeling had surged through her chest. She’d pivoted it into anger at the time, spurred on by the dozens of witnesses overlooking their conversation.

There weren’t any witnesses here. Just glowing eyes and Vex’s voice letting out those words Angela had secretly been craving for years, and which were now said with nothing but malicious confidence.

“If I take the necklace off, you’ll kill me.” There wasn’t as much bite in her tone as there had been before.

“No, I won’t,” Vex said sweetly. “I’ll want to. I’ll be very tempted, in fact. After all, there’s no end to the things I could do to you if I had you completely defenseless. A mortal, frail thing who I could break into pieces if I squeezed just a little too hard. Who’s entirely powerless.”

Vex’s eyes left Angela’s, trailing down her body. Seeing her labored breathing, the sweat coating her skin, the flush undoubtedly creeping up her neck.

“Does the thought of it excite you?” Vex lowered her voice to a whisper. “Being powerless? Being a desperate plaything who gets treated like a slut and fucked until she’s crying, and her makeup is running down her face?”

Angela’s breath hitched. Vex’s smile widened.

“You can lie all you want. Your eyes tell a different story than the one your tongue is currently working on. So go on. Indulge yourself. I’ll fulfill your desires. All you have to do is admit to them.”

“I don’t believe you,” Angela managed. “You’ve wanted to kill me ever since you met me.”

“True. But given there’s a certain Lust fiend in the building who’d rip me to pieces if I did so, I’ll keep my urges in check. I’ll even stop, if you act like a good little whore and beg me for Mercy. But until that word leaves your lips, I’ll do everything in my power to ruin you, Angela Norwood.”

Angela stared at her, frozen in place. What was she doing? What the fuck was she doing? She should stop this. Say no, shove Vex away, or run downstairs and snitch to Natalya about the completely inappropriate behavior her precious student was engaging in.

She did none of it. Because as much as her brain was yelling at her to put an end to this, her body yearned for something else. Just a taste. Just a hint of what it would feel like so her wondering could be confirmed, and then she could do the smart thing and find someone else to give her what she wanted. Someone nice and sweet. Someone who didn’t exude dark, dangerous energy and who didn’t look at her like she was a meal they wanted to consume.

But her thoughts betrayed her. Her fantasies betrayed her, as each and every one now involved Vex, and her glowing green eyes and mocking tone. Her gorgeous face and that knowing look she had first worn at the diner, then at the windowsill, and now down in the Second Circle.

She glared at Vex. Why did it have to be her, and not someone who didn’t bother her so much? Who hadn’t acted like an infuriating nuisance for the past several weeks? Who wasn’t so fucking attractive that she seemed tailor-made for her dirtiest fantasies?

Why couldn’t Angela be smart and walk away instead of accepting a challenge she had almost no chance of winning?

“You want to ruin me?” She grabbed one of her salt-vial necklaces. The one that protected her from fiendish touch, and which would produce otherworldly agony for any demon who so much as brushed against her skin.

She undid the clasp and threw the necklace on her desk.

“By all means. Give it your best shot.”

Chapter 12

Barely had Angela finished the sentence before Vex’s hand was around her throat. She squeezed— hard—and slammed her against the wall, lifting her slightly so she had to stand on her toes to avoid dangling.

Angela’s hands shot up, pulling at Vex’s fingers to make her let go, but the reactive panic only lasted for a second before Angela realized she could breathe freely. Vex was pressing in on the sides of her neck instead of the front, and though her grip was tight, it wasn’t too tight. Just tight enough to feel dangerous.

Just tight enough that Angela whimpered.

“I like that noise.” Vex’s eyes shined like they were filled with neon. “Make it again.”

Vex tightened her grip, pulling another whimper from Angela’s lips without her having any control over it whatsoever.

They were so close now, the scent of smoke prickling in Angela’s nose. Vex’s eyes shimmered, her lips twisted into a sick grin as though having Angela struggle against her harsh hold was the most entertaining thing she’d ever seen.

They’d never touched before this moment. Not once, and the realization presented a startling contrast to her vice-like grip. Her skin was so soft.

Angela’s eyes flicked downward. They rested on Vex’s usually sneering lips, now stuck in that attractive smirk that had an equally alluring and frustrating effect on Angela’s mental faculties. When her eyes stayed on Vex’s mouth, Vex let out an outright cold laugh.

“You think you’re getting a kiss? Fuck that. There’s tenderness behind a kiss and there’s nothing tender about the things I want to do to you. All I want is you bruised, crying, and humiliated. All I want is to treat you like a slut passing out her wares for free. That doesn’t involve my lips touching that pretty little mouth of yours.”

“Is this all it’s going to be?” Angela snapped back. “All empty threats, still? Big promises with no payoff? Way to play into your design.”

In an effortless motion, Vex spun Angela around and pushed her against the wall. Her cheek pressed against the wallpaper, and she yelped when Vex leaned against her back. One of her hands was in Angela’s hair, the other gripping tight around her wrist. Her hips pressed against Angela’s ass and her mouth was right by her ear.

“Sweet, sweet witch… Breaking you is a long-form project. I could ruin you right now if I wanted. Make you whimper, writhe, and scream, so easily. But it’ll be much more satisfying when you beg me to treat you like the whore you are.”

“In your fucking dreams.”

“Admit it. The thought is turning you on.”

“No, it isn’t.”

Vex ran her tongue along the shell of Angela’s ear. Such a light touch, and it took every ounce of desperate focus not to moan in response.

“Want to know a secret?” Vex dug her nails into Angela’s scalp, making her wince. “I fucking love liars.”

Vex let go of her hair, though her body and the grip on her wrist kept Angela pinned in place as Vex trailed her hand down Angela’s back. Over the side of her hip. Down to her thigh and then under the edge of her skirt.

Angela struggled to get away, her resistance wholly pointless as Vex moved towards her inner thigh. Towards the horrible evidence waiting there.

“Don’t do that,” Angela said sharply. “Let me go.”

“Say Mercy and I will. I’ll vanish. Leave you alone to wonder what could have happened if you stopped acting like such a brat and embraced that you’re really just a hole that needs to get fucked.”

Angela’s thighs clenched, and she closed her eyes as sudden heat gathered between her legs. Wanting, throbbing, and aching to the point where it overpowered the defiance she so wanted to maintain, but which was being torn away with every expertly spoken word.

She hadn’t really admitted this part of her fantasies before. The name-calling, sure. The roughness, absolutely. The thought of both could get her in the mood faster than anything. But it was the mocking that summoned sparks under her skin. That degrading, coaxing voice in her ear, setting her body on fire.

But she wouldn’t let Vex know that. Fuck no. Fuck her for reading her like a book and then playing her desires like they were a winning hand of cards. She wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of giving in this quickly.

“I’m not asking for Mercy,” she hissed. “I can handle your threats. Do your fucking worst.”

Vex laughed again. And Angela had to bite her lip to keep from moaning again.

“I’ll make you regret that request.”

Vex’s hand went under Angela’s skirt and grabbed the edge of her underwear, pulling it down enough to give herself access.

“You clearly want this.” Vex’s hand moved between Angela’s legs, fingers brushing over her slick skin. “Your body does, at least. It’s all ready to get bent over and used until I get bored with it.”

Pinching her lips together, Angela tried to control her sudden rapid breathing into slow sighs. Something made completely impossible when Vex shifted her hand and then thrust two fingers inside her, drawing a strained moan from her mouth.

“Did that hurt?” Vex curled her fingers, making Angela dig her nails into the wall. She could hear the smile in Vex’s voice. “Be honest now. Like a good girl.”

“No. It didn’t hurt,” Angela said through clenched teeth.

It was the truth. The only thing that hurt was her pride and the tensing muscles near her groin, making her secretly hope that Vex would make good on her earlier threat.

The realization was as embarrassing as her reaction, as another finger curl summoned a stifled groan. Vex nipping at her earlobe didn’t make it any easier to keep the volume down.

“Your body knows what its purpose is,” Vex said. “Tell me what you are and I’ll give you exactly what you want. It won’t happen until you admit it.”

Angela shook her head, whining as Vex started ruthlessly curling her fingers. It was an effective move for this type of torture—though Vex probably didn’t know just how effective. Penetration couldn’t get her further than to the edge. It couldn’t get her over, no matter how long it lasted.

But she still liked it. That overwhelming point right before falling apart. She liked it so much that with some of her previous partners, she hadn’t told them that it couldn’t get her all the way. Because then they would keep going, thinking it was getting her closer when, in reality, it just kept her writhing right on the edge.

Maybe Vex knew that, somehow. She at least knew exactly what to say to unravel Angela’s diminishing resolve.

“I don’t… want this,” Angela managed between sharp moans.

“There’s that lying tongue again.” Vex’s nails dug into Angela’s wrist. “You’ve glanced over at your desk enough times to tell a very interesting story. That, what you really want, is to be pushed down on that table, held in place, and fucked raw until it starts to hurt. Until there’s no longer a difference between your moans and your sobs.”

Vex withdrew her hand from between Angela’s legs to place a stinging slap on her thigh. “All you have to do to get that disgusting dream of yours realized is admit how much of a dirty whore you really are.”

Though the yelling moan Angela let out technically came from Vex moving her hand between her legs again and flicking hard over her clit, she would have let it out regardless after hearing those words.

This was so fucked up. Why did that make it better? Why did that make it harder to stay composed? To keep the words Vex so wanted to hear from escaping in a pleading shout?

“I hate you,” Angela said, the sentence ending in a moan as Vex thrust her fingers inside her again. She had figured out the perfect angle in a startlingly short time.

“The way your cunt is tightening around my fingers disagrees with those words. Or maybe hating me turns you on.” Vex chuckled when Angela whimpered again. “Oh, it definitely does.”

This was awful. Awful because she was reading everything exactly right. Saying all the right, humiliating things, and now that her dirtiest fantasies were presented as actual options, refusing them was growing more and more difficult.

Vex wanted to ruin her. And Angela was so close to letting her succeed. Let her do whatever she wanted. It would feel so good to let it happen. To be ripped into a headspace where all she had to do was take it. She just had to make a single admittance that she would have never considered voicing in Vex’s presence just a few minutes ago, but which was now resting on the tip of her tongue.

Angela bit down on her lip, hard. She wasn’t doing this. Wouldn’t do this. What came after would be awful. The knowledge of what she’d done would follow her around like a literal shadow, reminding her of how easily she’d given in to Vex’s tempting demands. As though fingering her against the wall of her office was enough to make her do whatever humiliating things Vex wanted.

Even though it felt fucking fantastic. It would probably feel even better if it was happening in a place where there was a significant risk of bruising.

Angela pressed her forehead against the wall and squeezed her eyes shut. Her determination was withering. If this went on for just a little while longer, she was going to do exactly what Vex told her to do. She was going to beg for it. Like the dirty little whore she was.

“Oh… Fuck…” Angela’s voice cracked in a moan when Vex started circling her clit. Moving so gently now, as though she knew just a slight amount of pressure would make Angela fall apart in an instant.

“Come on. Give in.” Vex’s mouth was right by her ear. She wasn’t even holding onto her wrist anymore. Barely pinning her in place. Yet Angela didn’t move away. “Tell me what you are. There’s no need to be embarrassed. Unless you’re into that sort of thing.”

“Fuck… Yes. Yes.” The words escaped as sharp, loud moans. If anyone was on the same floor as them, they’d probably hear her. “I’m close. Just… I’m close.”

“You think I don’t know that? There’s nothing I’m more familiar with than the moment right before you get what you want. I live in that moment. And I can see it all over your pleading face.”

Vex lowered her hand away from her clit, pushing her fingers inside her once more. Angela yelped, fists curling as the release she had been close to grasping was yanked away.

“Tell me what you are,” Vex whispered. “Just say it. And then I’ll let you come.”

This situation was every kind of twisted. Every kind of wrong. Every kind of forbiddingly hot, and all Angela wanted was to drown in that feeling. Let it consume her until the sting of humiliation and embarrassment turned into searing pleasure.

All she had to do was say a few words.

“I’m—” She stopped mid-sentence when Vex pushed her against the wall so hard that it knocked the air out of her. She whined as Vex’s fingers stopped moving and silence filled the office.

And then… Vex laughed.

“Too easy.” She withdrew her hand, stepping back, and without Vex pressing against her, Angela nearly collapsed. Determination only just kept her standing. Gasping, but standing.

The tension between her legs was near throbbing and it took great amounts of willpower to not press her thighs together. Instead, she leaned against the wall as her senses slowly returned, letting her realize what had just happened. What she’d let happen. What she’d almost said.

She spun, finding Vex standing in the middle of the room. Smiling.

“You barely put up a fight. Where’s the fun in making you beg for it if I can get you to do so with no effort at all?”

Whatever bizarre headspace Angela had just been in was well and truly gone. Just a minute before, she’d been ready to beg this woman—this demon—to fuck her like a whore and she would probably have thanked her for it.

Feeling like her face had caught fire, Angela snatched up her necklace from the desk, quickly putting it back on. Vex grinned at her.

“What the fuck was that?” Angela’s voice was a little shaky. “You really are all talk.”

“Am I?” Vex kept eye contact as she licked her fingers clean. “Everything I just told you was a promise. Getting you to give in this quickly wouldn’t be very satisfying. The chase is too fun. And you’re easy prey, given that you want to get caught.”

Angela stared at her, feeling more humiliated than she had ever been in her life. Because Vex was right. She had wanted to give in just now. Overcome with the energy of the moment, she’d been so willing to let go of every smart thought she’d ever had and let herself be treated like someone else’s property.

“Fuck you, Vex.” Angela picked up her bag and barreled towards the door, intending to shoulder check this awful fiend if she didn’t get out of the way. Vex moved to the side before Angela could make contact.

“By denying me, you’re only denying yourself,” Vex said, making Angela stop in place. “People want things all the time. They want things selfishly more than anything, and everyone pretends that isn’t the case. When you get home tonight, you can curl up in bed and forget all about what just happened. Go back to being your pretty, perfect self.”

She moved right in front of Angela. Even though she couldn’t close the distance, it still felt like they were touching, somehow. The memory of fingers tightening around her throat was still present on her skin.

“Or you can let me in, and I can finish what I started.”

Angela clutched her bag. “Why the hell would I do that?”

“Because now you know how it feels afterwards. And you’ll want it anyway.”

Angela’s breathing quickened. Out of anger. It was anger making her stare at Vex this intently. Fury making her heart feel like it was thundering. Nothing else.

“I don’t.”

Vex’s eyes glittered. Then she smiled. “Prove it. Angel.”

And with a final mocking laugh, Vex vanished into the shadows.

Chapter 13

The evening had turned into an unmitigated disaster. Opportunities, distractions, and then perfectly constructed frustrations had mixed into a vile concoction of unproductiveness.

Usually, Angela was busy working at this time of night. There was always something to do, be it research, studying, or crafting resources for the Chains. And none of it involved what she was currently doing. Sitting at her home desk, glaring out of the window.

She was a grown ass woman. She didn’t get flustered. Didn’t get tongue-tied. And she never let her mind wander miles away from the path of logic it was supposed to be shackled to. She had bigger things to concern herself with than what had happened in her high-rise office a few hours before.

Vex’s hand on her throat. Her voice in her ear and dangerous energy drowning out the world in seconds. Trying not to beg for her touch and then slipping into a headspace where resistance took a backseat to the present. Where all Angela wanted was to give in to temptation.

She closed her hand into a fist. She shouldn’t be this pissed, still. Her body shouldn’t be this tense, this wanting. The effect should have waned with distance and time, but Vex’s words had crept into her mind, playing on repeat at an ever-increasing volume.

A promise, she’d called it. Meaning this twisted game wasn’t over. A game Angela had no intention of participating in. Even if her body disagreed with that decision.

A raspy meow brought Angela out of her head. Midnight had finished her dinner, and she always felt the need to announce that fact to the world. She trotted over to the desk, tail cocked in a question mark as she butted her head against Angela’s leg.

“I know what you’re doing, you little monster,” Angela said. “You’re just here for the food, but you’re not getting any more servings. Don’t think I haven’t figured you out.”

Midnight ignored the admonishment, walking in circles around Angela’s feet. It lasted a few rotations before Midnight decided she needed more attention than human feet could provide and jumped onto Angela’s lap. The cat spent a minute kneading her thighs and then curled into a tiny black ball.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” Angela muttered and gave the cat a gentle scratch. “You’re still not getting in my bed.”

Midnight purred, tail curling around her body. Her looking that cute made it hard to remember that she was supposedly a grumpy little beast.

Angela purposefully avoided thinking about pets. They required a lot of time, and she had a thousand things to better spend that on than an animal. Her parents had once given her a hamster, and in the week after, she’d read every single book at the local library about taking care of the rodent. It ended up living for almost three years, which just meant it sucked more when it eventually died.

She might need to get Midnight a vet checkup if these visits persisted.

Angela returned her attention to the window. The darkness beyond seemed a little deeper than usual, but that could just be her imagination making a fool out of her. It kept bringing up all the twisted possibilities of what might have happened if she accepted the offer made to her earlier. If she just let Vex inside.

She would be insufferable after this. Always gloating, always smirking. It would be every kind of distracting and Angela didn’t need any more of that. Not with the meeting with Isaac happening less than twenty-four hours from then.

With active fiend marks at her disposal—greater fiend marks, no less—she had never been surer that this project was achievable. When she wrote out the marks on the amulets, they filled almost all the way now. The only thing that nagged her was the damn blood.

An infernal binding ritual was completed by a witch or warlock spilling their blood on the chalk circle they had drawn out. Before this, they would have to consume sanctified salt, which would enter their bloodstream and then arcanely bind the demon being summoned.

But that part of the ritual bound the fiend to the circle and the arcanist, which was exactly what Angela didn’t want. If she could dilute that binding agent with another energy source not connected to any living human, that could be a solution, and then fiends would be safe from a life of slavery.

Then Vex would be safe.

Angela almost kicked her desk. Infuriating was the only suitable word to use about that fucking demon. It at least explained how she could slither into her thoughts so goddamn easily.

Midnight’s head shot up, eyes locked on a nearby window. With a speed usually abandoned as soon as she entered the house, she leaped off Angela’s lap and jumped to the nearby windowsill. She stared into the night, making those little chittering noises signifying she’d seen something that needed to be chased.

“What have I told you?” Angela said, following the cat. “No hunting inside. And if I let you out, I don’t want you bringing any gifts when you come back. They’re nasty.”

Midnight looked up at her, eyes wide and pleading. Whatever she’d seen, it was obviously crucial that it got tracked down and shown how grave an error it had made in coming into Angela’s backyard.

She opened the window, letting the cat sprint into the night. She would come back soon enough, but Angela still felt a twinge of worry when she vanished in the dark. It was dangerous outside. Part of why Angela preferred keeping Midnight in the house was because it ensured she wouldn’t eat something poisonous or get hit by a car.

But she’d come back. She always did.

With a last look at the shadows, Angela closed the window. The winter chill crept in quickly, and just a few seconds of keeping the window open sucked out plenty of heat. That’s what had happened when Vex had visited last. When they’d talked at the window.

That brain-invading, fucking fiend…

Then Angela froze. She had been more than ready to berate herself for getting distracted, again, but what she’d just spotted made her every sense fixate on the present.

When Midnight had jumped out of the window, she’d stepped on the windowsill salt line. Leaving a gap no wider than a finger.

It wasn’t dangerous, really. Just a tiny weakness in an otherwise impenetrable defense. Angela simply needed to push the salt back into place, and then it would be fixed. Even if she hadn’t spotted it, it wouldn’t have significant consequences. Most fiends couldn’t do anything with an opening that small.

But the fiend she was dealing with differed from most. If you gave this devil an inch, she would take far more than a mile.

Though… it wasn’t like it was obvious. Angela could have easily missed it. And maybe closing the window would be enough to hide it. Maybe Vex wasn’t even outside. Her goal might be to mess with Angela further, and the whole idea of ‘letting her in’ was just a way to play more mind games.

But perhaps it wasn’t a trick. She might really be outside. Watching. Waiting.

Angela spun away from the window. She didn’t even know what would happen if this went as had been promised. Just that letting Vex in would result in her ‘finishing what she started.’

What did that mean, even? More of what had happened in the office? More empty threats? Or perhaps more perfect words. More harsh, possessive touches that echoed her hidden desires so expertly it was like Vex had excised them from her brain.

This was so stupid. But in this one moment, Angela really wanted to be stupid.

Taking extreme effort to appear composed, Angela walked upstairs. She went through her bedtime routine as calmly as she could, though she wasn’t sure she was selling it well. The usual steps of brushing her teeth, cleaning her face, and changing into sleeping clothes were much longer than normal, since she paused every ten seconds to check the nearby shadows. To see if they had darkened.

Turning off the light and running for her bedroom—like you’d do after watching a horror movie and fearing the dark had suddenly turned into a living entity—Angela shut the door behind her and pulled the curtains closed.

She got under the covers, pulling them up as though they were a shield that could protect from lunging shadows. Her breathing had picked up at some point, and it only lessened when she literally held it in, hand hovering over the pendants resting against her chest.

Then she exhaled and took off one of the salt-vial necklaces, leaving it and her glasses on the nightstand. She never took the necklace off when she went to bed. Unless she needed to refill the vial with salt, there was no reason to remove it.

But Vex didn’t know that. And… were the shadows a little darker than before?

She waited. Barely daring to breathe. But nothing happened. The shadows didn’t move. The stairs didn’t creak. No mocking laughter came out of the dark.

Angela couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Then embarrassed. And then she pivoted into the safer response of just getting angry.

The more she thought about it, it was obvious that there was no way to win this. She’d lost when temptation had taken over back at the high-rise, and now she was screwed.

If Vex came inside, which the passing time suggested she wouldn’t, Angela lost. If she didn’t come inside after part of Angela had just hoped she would, she lost. And if Vex hadn’t even followed her home, letting Angela stew about this for far longer than Vex would, she fucking lost.

Angela turned over on the mattress, stopping herself from punching the pillow. She could have gone downstairs and fixed the salt line, but she had some pride left.

If it turned out Vex was actually outside, watching, Angela going downstairs would confirm she’d left it broken on purpose. This way, she could at least deny that she’d ever considered letting Vex in at all.

As long as no one questioned why she hadn’t put her necklace back on. But Angela did her best not to think about that. If Vex did the expected thing and smirked around the high-rise after this, content with having rattled Angela enough that she was acting completely senseless, Vex wouldn’t fucking question it either.

Sleep came slow. Stubbornly, even. Angela was used to only shutting her eyes once it was no longer time-efficient to stay awake, so her falling asleep came about only because she refused to give up on her attempt at rest.

Even if it was useless in this case. Her rest wasn’t restful. She tossed and turned, her sleep disturbed by unwanted dreams filled with black shadows and glowing green eyes.

Then they grew more enticing. The threatening promise of her being bent over her desk with her skirt hiked up was the first to make an appearance. Then another scenario slipped in; one where she’d escaped Vex’s grip and was running down an endless hallway filled with dark corridors, all of them haunted by mocking laughter that got closer and closer.

She could imagine what would happen when it caught up with her. Soft fingers brushing over her skin, tightening around her throat. A goading voice, whispering all those things she had never admitted she wanted to hear. Claiming, harsh hands running up her body and her being physically unable to keep them off.

She rolled over on her back, the dream slipping away just enough that she could feel the sheets bunch under her fingers. Her eyes remained closed, her mouth open to let out quiet sighs, as those hands traveled upward. From her thighs to her hips. Then along the sides of her waist. Cupping her breasts over her t-shirt and squeezing so hard they ached.

“Yes… Please…” The words came out as sighs. Another element of this dreamlike fantasy. One brought out by the dark of the bedroom, the hands traveling over her body, the scent of smoke in the air.

Wait… Smoke?

The thought knocked her into consciousness. There was a reason this felt so convincing. That it felt so good. It wasn’t because she had suddenly learned how to do lucid dreaming. No. She wasn’t fucking dreaming at all.

Angela opened her eyes. And stared right up at Vex’s smiling face.

Chapter 14

Since their meeting in the Second Circle, Vex had already conjured up a dozen invigorating ideas for how this evening would go. Since offering a tease of someone’s deepest desire and dangling it just out of reach energized her like nothing else, she could have been content with what they’d done in the office.

But contentment wasn’t the goal. Ruination was. Angela had been walking a tightrope over this past decade, shielding her true intentions with lies and pretenses, and after this evening she would be distracted enough to make that tightrope shake. Distractions caused mistakes, and after tonight, it would be laughably easy to make this woman stumble. To prove that she was just as conniving and selfish as everyone else.

That getting her there happened to be fun was just an added bonus.

“Hello, angel.” Vex smiled down at the witch she had pinned in place. Angela stared back at her, shocked into silence before she remembered she was supposed to resist this.

“Get off me!” Angela struggled to get away but found herself unable to. Vex’s knees were on either side of her hips, her hands gripping Angela’s wrists.

“You know how to make me let go,” Vex said, unable to keep her grin contained. “But you’re not going to say it. Not after what I just witnessed. You moaning and whimpering in your sleep, dreaming about someone touching you in all the ways you’re too embarrassed to ask for out loud.” Vex let out a low laugh. “You don’t need to ask me. Even though you’re still wearing your one defensive necklace, I can easily read all those disgusting fantasies of yours. Your body is basically screaming them at me.”

Angela glared at her, anger twisting at her features. They looked softer when she didn’t have her glasses on. They gave an angular framing to her face; a sharpness that was removed by sleep and only somewhat brought back by the fury shining in her eyes.

This reaction was the most telling thing of all. If she’d had to brave her way through the evening without breaking down in tears, it would mean they had gone way past what she could handle and the humiliation she craved had struck a tender insecurity. But Angela wasn’t insecure. If anything, she was too confident, and other than the night of the diner meeting, Vex had never seen her even slightly shaken.

She wasn’t ashamed about what had happened in the office. She wasn’t scared, either. No, she was angry. Because all she wanted, still, was to see what would happen if she actually gave in to this. By inviting Vex inside, she couldn’t deny that she wanted this, and they both knew that was the real point of this little dance.

Angela was too smart and far too driven by logic to contest the facts. And the facts were, clearly, pissing her off.

“Go fuck yourself, Vex,” Angela snarled. Vex tightened her grip on her wrists.

“I don’t think I will. Not when I have such feisty entertainment writhing beneath me.”

“I’m writhing because I’m trying to get you off me, you fucking asshole!”

Angela twisted in place, trying to get away, but she’d robbed herself of the defenses that would have protected her from this treatment. Her necklace was off, her homestead salt line broken. Not by much, but still broken.

Vex had been hovering in the dark just outside when it happened. Seen a thousand considerations flash over Angela’s face as she stared at the gap in the salt before turning away. Pretending she hadn’t seen it.

If she was so keen on pretending, they could pretend. Acting was just an advanced form of lying, and Vex had a lot of practice with that skill.

Pushing Angela’s wrists together, Vex held onto them with one hand before pinning them above her head. The move made Vex lean forward, pressing her hips against Angela’s and putting the two of them face to face. Angela’s eyes widened.

“You’re putting up a decent fight,” Vex said, taking advantage of Angela’s stunned silence. “A pointless one, sure. But decent. It’s only prolonging the inevitable, after all.”

Angela stared at her as though she hadn’t heard a word Vex said. Which made sense, given that Vex pressing against her body revealed something Angela clearly hadn’t noticed until that point.

“You’re wearing my strap-on,” Angela said quietly.

Vex grinned. Investigating Angela’s house while she was sleeping had been an illuminating experience. Especially when she started looking through the bedroom and had found a box of neatly sorted toys inside the closet.

“Your strap-on?” Vex pushed her hips down, making Angela draw in a sharp breath. Though Vex was still wearing clothes, she had put the harness and the impressively sized toy on before getting onto the bed.

There had only been one size available. Telling.

“If you can honestly say that you’ve worn this thing once, I’ll let you go right now.”

Angela didn’t need to answer. Her aggressive blushing did it for her.

“Fuck you.” She started thrashing again. “Now get off!”

“As entertaining as this struggle is, I know it’s all for show.” Vex moved her free hand to the side of Angela’s waist, easing under her shirt. The light touch made Angela still in place. “I know you remember how to stop this. I know how you’ve gotten yourself to sleep these past few days. And I saw you in your office, too. You were scrambling around far longer than necessary, packing things you usually never bring out of the high-rise.”

Vex hovered her lips right over Angela’s. Her breath hit Vex’s skin in a gasp. Warm and infused with a hint of minty toothpaste. It momentarily overpowered the floral scent clinging to her hair.

A nice scent. If it didn’t belong to this frustrating fucking witch.

“Maybe you lingered on purpose,” Vex whispered. “I think you wanted to get cornered. You wanted me to come inside your house. And, mostly, I think when you were getting ready for bed and kept eyeing the shadows, you only did so because you wanted me to pin you in place and threaten to fuck you. Like the starving whore you are.”

Angela tried to lunge upward, but with her hips pinned and her hands over her head, she could barely move. But she could still seethe.

“Don’t call me that.”

“What? Whore?” Vex moved her free hand lower, easing a finger under the waistband of Angela’s underwear. The touch killed a bit of the defiance in her eyes.

Though this shouldn’t be as invigorating as it was, since no one knew Vex was even in Angela’s house, vitalizing flares still licked up her spine. A cloud of Envy whirled around Angela’s body, sweeter than any perfume.

Thousands of people envied what Angela had. What she could do, what she had access to. Thousands of people, states and countries away, coveting her skill and accomplishments from afar and generating a constant flux of sinful energy. The spiteful look in Angela’s eyes only made it better.

She hated that she wanted this. She hated that all she wanted in the world right then, even more than her precious research, was to have someone treat her like a slut and fuck her until she screamed. And she especially hated that the person she wanted to do that most was Vex.

Understandable hatred. Vex would hate Angela too if the opposite was the case. But she hated Angela for completely different reasons than attraction-based ones.

“I can call you whatever I want.” Vex cupped the outside of Angela’s underwear. They were soaked through, and Angela hissed at the touch. “Whore. Cunt. Fucktoy.”

Each word got punctuated by Vex pressing her fingers against the underwear. By Angela gasping.

“I can call you all of that and you can’t do shit about it other than stifle those pretty moans of yours. The trick is to get you to say it. To get you to admit, out loud, exactly what you are. Only then will I give you what you want.” A faint green glow fell onto Angela’s face. “And, I think, fucking you like the slut you so want to get treated as is a grand way to get us started.”

This was so wrong. It was inappropriate. Infuriating. A little scary, on top of all those other things. Who wouldn’t be afraid, having a greater fiend grin down at you with glowing eyes, the pupils slitted so narrowly they looked like they belonged to a viper?

Angela scowled at Vex, forcing the intoxicating energy her words had summoned into something more manageable. Like fury. Not want. Definitely not that.

“I’m not playing this game,” Angela said, though her voice cracked on the last word as Vex pressed her hand between Angela’s legs again.

“That just means you’ll be an unwilling participant.” Vex bit her lip, chuckling. “But… you aren’t really unwilling. We both know that.”

She really was a fucking snake. It was one thing for another person to call Angela all those derogatory names. Saying them herself was completely different. Especially since Vex would love if she did so. That was sufficient motivation not to do it.

Or… at least try not to. Her resolve was drifting somewhat.

Moving with frightening ease, Vex yanked at Angela’s panties, tearing the fabric and tossing the ruined underwear on the floor. The hard strap brushed against her inner thigh. Her wet inner thigh.

She twisted her hips to the side. “Get off!”

“Then say the word.” Vex made Angela still in place when she tightened her grip around her wrists. The rest of Vex’s body stayed completely still, her smile filled with victorious satisfaction. “Tell me to stop. Say Mercy. Or you can give in and admit you’re my dirty little slut, and then we can have some of that depraved fun you’re secretly longing for.”

The scent of smoke had filled the air. It tingled in Angela’s nose, enveloping her like a warm embrace and muting every reasonable thought that told her this was a bad idea.

The damage was already done. Even if Angela forced her tongue to utter that one word she had zero desire to voice out loud, Vex had already gotten under her skin. From now until the end of time, Angela wouldn’t be able to even look at her without remembering this night. Speculating about what could have happened.

She might as well provide some certainty to that speculation. Turn her fantasies into memories. But no one said she had to accept those fantasies without putting up a fight.

Even if it was pointless, provoking Vex was always fun.

Angela stopped struggling. Instead, she put on the same type of grin Vex was wearing. Mocking and challenging.

“You want me to admit to being something I’m not?” She raised her head slightly. It was the only way she could move, with her being pinned in place and her wrists being pushed against the mattress. But it was enough.

Enough for her to stick out her tongue and flick the tip over Vex’s lips.

“Make me.”

Vex immediately let go of her wrists, grabbing her jaw instead.

“Sweet angel… I have never been given an easier task.”

With startling speed, Vex got off the bed to stand at the end of it. She grabbed Angela’s hips, pulling her closer until her ass was resting on the edge of the mattress. All of it happened so fast that she didn’t even have time to struggle before Vex guided the strap between Angela’s legs. Pushing in slightly.

Angela tried to move back, but she couldn’t fight Vex’s hold. She couldn’t do anything but moan when Vex dug her fingers into her skin and pulled her onto the strap entirely, sending a spike of tightening pleasure up her spine.

She’d been fucked with that strap before, but it had never gone in that fast or that goddamn easily.

“You’re dripping all over the sheets.” Vex pulled out until only the tip of the strap touched her before pounding inside again, moving so hard that Angela yelped. “Imagine how much better it could be if you just gave me what I wanted.”

“Fuck… you…” A moan cut in between each word as Vex pulling out slow and then thrusting in fast caused her muscles to tighten.

“Maybe a change of uniform would help.” Vex pulled at the bottom of Angela’s t-shirt. “Take this off. Or I can be nice and do it for you.”

“You aren’t nice,” Angela snapped, the statement being confirmed by Vex pressing down on her clit so hard it was almost more painful than pleasurable.

“You’re right. I appreciate the reminder.”

Rather than pull off the t-shirt, it was torn to pieces. Just like her underwear, it got discarded on the floor, letting Vex stare down at Angela’s naked body. A green glow shined from her eyes.

“What’s this, angel?” Vex ran her hand over Angela’s breast. “Are these for protection? Or do they have multiple uses?”

Angela whined as Vex tugged on the silver barbell piercing. She had one on each nipple, and while Vex had the right of it—since they were for protection—they were also there for the reason Vex was making use of right then. To make it hurt. Just a little.

The light pain burned through her, drawing out a quivering moan. This whole situation had already gotten her so goddamn close. If a part of her mind wasn’t still fighting this, that slight tug might have been enough to pull her over the edge.

“Please…” The word escaped without her wanting it to. She’d thought she could keep her composure for at least a little longer than this, but being thrown headfirst into a fantasy she’d entertained for years wasn’t exactly helping her resolve.

Vex squeezed her breast so hard that Angela whimpered.

“Begging already? That won’t give you any fucking release. You should know that by now.”

Vex let go of her breast and stopped the slight stimulation that might have gotten her further than moaning herself hoarse. But that would have been too easy. And when Vex grabbed her hips again and started thrusting into her, much faster and harder than before, it became obvious that maintaining her composure enough for her to provoke Vex would be much harder than expected.

Angela turned her face to the side, closing her eyes and letting out sharp, unstifled moans. They started even, but quickly turned ragged as Vex kept fucking her at that impossible pace. A pace that was only possible for a creature who didn’t get tired. A pace she could stick to for hours if she wanted to.

She clearly wanted to. Angela would have to give up long before Vex did. Her stubbornness couldn’t withstand the ever-tensing pleasure that seemed able to grow forever without ever cresting over.

Her hand sought between her legs. A desperate, subconscious way of releasing some of the pressure. Vex stopped her by grabbing both her wrists, holding them together like her hand was a shackle.

“How interesting. It can’t get you there,” Vex said. “And you insist you’re not a whore. Dying to take a cock, even knowing it can’t get you over. Fucking pathetic.”

“Stop,” Angela whined, needing this impossible tension to cease. Needing a push to get over the edge. This constant, amazing fucking edge that she’d been teetering on for what felt like hours.

“No. Not until you give me what I want.”

Angela cried out and her back arched off the mattress. She wrapped her legs around Vex, pulling them closer together. Her body trying to take more. To get fucked deeper, because that might finally make her fall apart and release her from this delectable agony.

She kept begging for it to stop. But that was all she did. Though she knew the one word that could actually end this torture, her tongue stuck to the synonyms. Stuck to all the terms that fed the fire of this fantasy. Pleading and moaning against the forceful, overwhelming feeling of being taken.

“Fuck… Fuck…” Angela started writhing again. Not to get away this time, but simply because she was a mere brush of stimulation from convulsing and right then, she’d do anything to get it.

“You look fucking perfect like this. Covered in sweat, and still trembling for more.” Vex slammed the strap into her so hard that Angela yelled out. The rattling moan that followed only made Vex’s grin wider. “You want more of this cock. Don’t you, you little slut?”

“Yes!” Her legs were shaking now, and her spasming muscles were the only reason they stayed in place around Vex’s hips. It felt like her body was vibrating from the waist down. “Yes. More. Please.”

Vex pushed her wrists down on the mattress, one on either side of her head. She didn’t stop thrusting. Didn’t stop pounding into her so hard that it produced a shivering moan every time. But Vex made them much louder by closing her lips around a nipple and pulling on the piercing with her teeth.

Holy fucking shit. If that persisted for even just a few seconds longer, it would be enough. Which obviously meant Vex stopped right before it would have given her what she wanted.

“Fuck!” Angela dug her nails into her palms. “Please. I can’t… I can’t take it anymore.”

“Then say it.” Vex bit at her nipple again, and Angela let out a breathless curse.

“Vex… Don’t—”

Her voice tightened in her throat, moans trapping it before it could escape. A horrible cycle where this constant, harsh edging rattled every thought from her mind other than the singular need to get release.

“Please,” she said, and the word shook on the way out. “Don’t… stop. Do it… harder.”

“Give me what I want.” Vex sucked at the skin on her chest and neck. It would leave marks. A lot of marks. Angela didn’t care in the slightest. “Say what you are. Whose you are.”

Obliging her would have been unfathomable just a few hours ago. Angela wouldn’t have even considered giving her the satisfaction. But back then, she hadn’t been edged for so long that she was close to going cross-eyed.

She was already so close. And they were just words. What did it matter that the thought of saying them nearly made her moan again?

“Say it.” Vex’s command came out as a snarl, the noise vibrating against her skin. “Say it and I’ll let go of your hands. Let you get yourself off while I fuck you. I have a feeling that’s what you really want.”

“Yes!” Angela yelled, though the word was mostly moan. “I’m a whore! Please. I am. I’m a dirty… fucking whore. And I want you to fuck me harder.”

Vex released her wrists and Angela didn’t hesitate for a single second. She put a hand between their bodies, circling her clit as Vex continued fucking her at that grueling speed that should have been impossible to maintain. Vex kept herself raised by gripping the mattress with one hand, the other going around Angela’s throat.

“Wrong. Right now, you’re my fucking whore.”

Those words worked like a damn spell. A twitching spasm surged through her, causing her legs to shiver and uneven moans to escape her mouth. The bedroom vanished as her eyesight went spotty and she clenched around the still pounding strap.

“Please… Don’t stop…” Her voice was barely audible. It was more sigh than speech. More plead than request. When Vex just laughed, Angela would have cursed at her body if she had any energy left to do it. That mocking laugh was the world’s most powerful aphrodisiac.

“I have no plans to do that.” Vex squeezed her throat tighter, cutting off the blood flow to her head and making her woozy. “Whores are meant to be fucked. This cunt is mine to abuse until I get tired of it. By how you’re whining, you still have a few hours of use in you before I get bored.”

Angela wasn’t sure just how much of this was genuine and how much was pretend. How much was just Vex and how much was her consciously, expertly saying the exact words that would make Angela’s body go feral with need.

She closed her eyes, giving in to whatever bizarre sensation washed over her. The powerlessness. The feeling of being used, of being possessed, of someone treating her as though she wasn’t a person at all.

She kept touching herself. Kept moaning, then whimpering. Kept twitching as she came until her body was so exhausted that she couldn’t continue on her own.

Not that it mattered. When Angela could no longer bring herself over the edge, Vex did it for her. Forced her to come, once—twice—more than she thought she could take, resulting in the last orgasm being accompanied by an actual scream.

It was the last noise she made before it finally ended. Before her head fell back against the mattress without her being able to raise it again. If Vex wanted to keep going after this, Angela wouldn’t be able to tell her to stop.

Her eyes drifted shut, and the world fell away. The last thing she sensed before her mind shut down was a sudden lightness, followed by a faint ache as Vex pulled out of her.

This feeling wasn’t exactly unknown. She had a tendency to pass out after sex, at least if it was good sex. Once she started drifting off, she couldn’t stop it from happening, though a part of her wished she could.

Because, before the world went dark, only one thought lingered in her mind. A faint, frail hope that Vex might act against her own interests and not leave Angela alone after this.

When Angela went slack, Vex immediately stopped moving. A grin slipped onto her face as that final pleasure-induced scream fell from her lips and trailed off into the most delightful, trembling sigh.

This was just perfect. Despite her arcane defenses, Vex had gotten so far into Angela’s head that she’d made her admit things she never would have considered saying out loud. It would unnerve her. Produce unsteadiness that would result in her fucking up enough that her true motivations could be revealed.

Vex didn’t even have to hurt a hair on her pretty little head to do it. This had gone better than she could have ever imagined.

But then, why did she feel so… off?

That wasn’t what she should be feeling. Seeing Angela this exposed should have made her feel accomplished. Instead, seeing her slack limbs and hearing the panting gasps she let out made Vex feel something else entirely. Something foreign.

Vex got off the bed, making Angela whimper, but she didn’t react beyond that. Didn’t open her eyes. Didn’t even stir.

Grabbing her by the jaw, Vex turned her head, so they faced each other. Angela’s only response was a brief fluttering of her eyelids.

“Angela?” Vex shook her, and that foreign feeling showed itself in her voice. She’d heard the tone from Natalya before. Whenever she’d been away from Evie for too long.

Vex inspected Angela in more detail. Splayed out on the bed, pale skin covered in a sheen of sweat, drawing in shallow, shaky breaths. Her eyes were closed and even when Vex shook her again, she didn’t open them.

She was shivering, too. The winter chill had crept in from downstairs, and while Vex’s infernal nature meant she didn’t feel it, Angela was human. A powerful human, normally, but a rather helpless one in that moment. If left like this, she’d get cold.

They’d gone for a long time. She’d be thirsty too. And her blood sugar would be low. That might explain why she looked like she’d gotten fucked into a coma.

Vex got herself disentangled from the harness and pulled Angela further in on the mattress. She mumbled something incoherent but didn’t respond other than that as Vex tucked the sheets around her and hurried downstairs to the kitchen. She found some cookies and a glass of water, moving back upstairs where she placed them on the bedside table.

Only then did she pause. And then backed away until her back slammed against the wall.

Why had she just done that? What the hell was she doing? Was it consideration? A degree of kindness, maybe? It couldn’t be. Those things were difficult, and this wasn’t difficult. This was just… obvious.

This was not what was supposed to happen. This wasn’t the fucking plan. Vex was there to get under Angela’s skin. To unnerve her. The whole point of this evening was to rattle her enough that she would mess up, revealing just what a vile witch she really was.

Instead, she’d passed out and in doing so, had made Vex… worried.

That wasn’t possible. Being worried came close to caring, and Vex couldn’t care about others. She was made to hate. Made to make others hate. She wasn’t meant to be a fucking nursemaid.

This evening had gone from triumphant to confusing in a heartbeat. And that confusion increased tenfold when Angela mumbled something in her sleep and turned over on her side, making the sheet slip off her shoulder.

Vex was next to her in less than a second, pushing the bedsheet back in place. It happened by pure reflex. By the time she’d told herself she shouldn’t, she’d already done it.

Angela really insisted on being frustrating. Even when Vex had created the perfect scenario for her to gain the upper hand, this woman could still make a greater fiend uncertain of its very purpose. And she didn’t even need to be awake to do it.

Before more caring acts could occur, Vex stepped into the darkness. She couldn’t stay, even though a big part of her wanted to. Angela still hadn’t opened her eyes and there was a primal urge in Vex’s chest that wanted to steal the life out of a thousand people if it meant this woman would briefly regain consciousness. So Vex could make sure she was okay.

That realization—confusing as it was—was what allowed her to exit the bedroom. It was a sliver of familiarity that pulled at her like an anchor, letting her return to the shadows where no one could see her have these unnatural reactions.

After all, not getting what she wanted was something she was more than used to.

Chapter 15

Angela tapped her pen against the table. Normally, the click-click-click of the pen came from either impatience or irritation, or even a mix of the two. Normally, it was a fast-paced sound, matching the speed of whatever speculations took over when she was given time to sit and think.

Now, it was a slow, arrhythmic beat there mainly so she could have something to do with her hands, since Daisy’s didn’t offer any other avenues of entertainment. The empty diner didn’t exactly make it easier to ignore the confusing thoughts whirling around her head.

That was the thing. They were confusing. Not rage-inducing. Like they should be.

The door chimed, followed by a well-groomed Vintner entering the diner. Alone this time, which siphoned a bit of tension from her shoulders.

“Angela,” he said, giving her a quick handshake as he sat down. He’d stopped by the counter on the way, placing an order for their usual coffees.

“Isaac.” She glanced at the empty space behind him. “Glad to see it’s only us tonight.”

Isaac swallowed, touching his fiend-repellant amulets. “Yes, that’s highly preferable.”

He opened his bag, bringing out a vial and a small bowl.

“Do you mind?” he said, looking over his shoulder at the dark outside. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but…”

Angela raised an eyebrow. “You don’t trust the Chains.”

“I don’t trust that fiend you brought last time.”

The mention of Vex—unnamed as it was—made Angela stop tapping her pen. Not wanting to call attention to the reaction, she started spinning it around her fingers instead.

“She’s not here. The Chains were, though.” She shrugged when Isaac clutched his bag. “I wasn’t the only one who brought surprise company last time, Isaac. They wanted to ensure nothing untoward was waiting around in the shadows.” She nodded at the bowl. “Feel free to do the same.”

Isaac continued to look tense for a moment before setting the bowl on the table and shaking the vial.

“They keep you on a tight leash,” he muttered.

Angela was about to correct him and say they kept her well-protected but didn’t bother. Trying to convince a tradition-driven Vintner that the Chains weren’t a threat to his very existence was a lost cause. The covens had decided to hate them a long time ago.

Isaac emptied the vial into the bowl, white liquid coating the inside. A thick mist flowed over the edge and dissipated against the surface of the table, not unlike what would happen with dry ice.

It was a detector test; the color of the mist showing if there were supernatural creatures in the area. Red for fangers, green for fae, and black for fiends. Less talented potion makers could only make detectors capable of checking a room or a small building for supernatural entities. With Isaac’s expertise, its radius probably reached over a mile.

The mist stayed gray. No fiends around.

Something tightened in Angela’s chest. She wasn’t sure what the feeling was exactly, because it couldn’t be disappointment. She was the one who had insisted on going to this meeting alone. But apparently, part of her had hoped the darkness outside wasn’t as empty as Isaac’s test had just revealed it to be.

She shouldn’t have been surprised that Vex had vanished the night before. It wasn’t like their interactions invited them snuggling in bed after fucking through whatever tension had been building between them these past few weeks.

Vex had made it clear what last night was about. Making Angela admit what she wanted and then humiliating her. Ruining her, was how it had been phrased. That didn’t involve Vex sticking around and making sure Angela was alright afterwards.

She was alright, besides. She was perfectly capable of separating real life from what she wanted in the bedroom. What had happened didn’t make her feel dirty or ashamed. Just frustrated, annoyed, and… dejected.

Stupid things to feel. Everything Angela knew about greater Envy fiends fell exactly within the parameters of what had happened last night. Nothing about it was unexpected. Nothing about who and what Vex was involved her showing any caring or kindness.

It just involved her tucking Angela into bed. Setting out cookies and water on the nightstand. Even cleaning everything away and then leaving the downstairs window open long enough that Midnight could come back inside. When Angela had woken up, the cat had been curled up next to her. So she hadn’t been all alone.

But it didn’t mean anything. It was just another mind game. An exhausting one that shouldn’t make her feel as miserable as it did. That shouldn’t have made her honestly believe that Vex wouldn’t just… leave.

“Smoking isn’t allowed. Not even the sciency kind.” The waitress had appeared at their table, chewing gum and holding a tray with two coffees like she was equally inclined to serve them or just drop them on the floor.

“It isn’t smoke.” Angela passed the woman a twenty-dollar bill. “I think I heard your boss calling from the kitchen.”

The woman paused her chewing for a second before she set the coffees on the table, took the money, and headed for the kitchen, where she’d probably stay until this meeting was over.

“Did you bring what I asked for this time?” Angela said, returning her attention to the matter at hand.

“I did.” Isaac held his bag a little tighter. “Did you bring payment?”

“Of course. Fair dealings and all that.” Angela went through her own bag until she found the satchel of vials. When she straightened again, Isaac was sipping on his coffee, having placed her cup on her side of the table.

She pushed the satchel his way, accepting the envelope Isaac handed her. Isaac smiled at his spoils while Angela frowned at hers.

“Are you sure this is the right recipe?” There were a lot of the same things as she’d put in her own reverse-engineered formula, but some of the listed requirements were plain odd. It called for use of belladonna, as well as several rarer ingredients.

“Recipes are complicated.” Isaac sounded a little offended. “The Vintners have spent centuries refining them. You can’t expect to achieve the same results we can.”

That was true enough… for more complex recipes. Artificial blood was pretty basic to produce. That it used so many rare components was odd.

As annoying as it was to admit, she never would have tried this combination of ingredients. It at least meant she wouldn’t waste her time tinkering with a recipe she’d never be able to recreate on her own.

“Right. Makes sense.” She scanned the paper one last time before slipping it into her bag. With it in hand, she knew what she would be doing when she got back to Chicago.

The thought stung, and she silently cursed the fact that she’d agreed to keep her fiend-amulet research to the high-rise. Her work was sensitive and it could be better protected if kept within Court. But her high-rise office wasn’t as private as it had once been, being filled with mocking shadows dead set on distracting her.

She shouldn’t stay. Even though the Chains had made sure the area was safe, that could change. Especially given the proximity to the borders. But just the thought of driving back to Chicago right then made it feel like her insides were tying into knots.

Staying for a few more minutes couldn’t hurt.

“I really do appreciate it. I have high hopes for my current project, and this roadblock was outliving its welcome.” She picked up her coffee, taking a long sip. “Thanks, Isaac. I know there was risk involved with this transaction.”

Isaac smiled, a slight twitch accompanying the expression. He glanced over his shoulder at the darkness outside.

“There was significant risk, yes,” he said, adjusting his shirt collar. “But innovation always has risk. I can handle a little danger, if it means getting the ingredients I need. You have to be familiar with that mindset, since you insist on working with the Chains.”

Angela couldn’t help but smile, though she kept the scoff and eye roll internal. “You try this angle every time. When will you learn that berating my choice of residence won’t make me more inclined to switch loyalties? If your goal is arcane innovation, then the Chains are better than any coven in existence.”

Isaac’s mouth fell open. “You can’t possibly believe that. They lack decency and morals alike. They’re savages!”

“Sure we are.” Angela ran a finger along the edge of her cup before taking another sip. “The Chains aren’t as bad as their reputation. There are plenty of people who’d prefer if the Court didn’t exist at all, and spouting nonsense about their apparent savagery is a great way to sow doubt about the competition. Not that it’s really working, with the numbers we’re pulling in.”

She smirked at Isaac. There weren’t a lot of people she could have these types of conversations with. In addition to being intellectually fulfilling, it was always fun to see Isaac’s flawless skin turn red with frustration. He’d never won a single one of their debates.

“Aren’t you too old to be listening to gossip, anyway?” She grinned when Isaac set down his cup so hard the coffee nearly spilled.

“If the same conclusion is drawn by everyone, then it isn’t gossip, Angela.”

“No, no, you’re right. Then it’s just a reflection of twisted collective morals. If everyone agrees on the same misinformation, then it simply must be correct.” Now she did scoff. “The covens are far too set in their ways, and their ways involve dividing our community into tiny pieces so they can be more easily monitored and policed. They involve cracking down on collaboration between different specialties because allowing it would make controlling arcane research a lot harder. And they involve enslaving other people.”

Disgust caused Isaac’s lips to tense. “Don’t be ridiculous. They aren’t people.”

Though Angela’s smile stayed in place, it wasn’t humorous anymore. She and Isaac weren’t friends, and this was the exact reason why. He was a product of his environment, which resulted in him having inherited an unfortunate set of beliefs. Arguably, he couldn’t be blamed for that.

But he could be blamed for being presented with new information and rather than use it to question what he already knew, he just dismissed it because engaging with it critically would unravel too many of his precious assumptions. There was no getting through to someone like that. Not when they refused to consider that a group of people should be treated as equals rather than inferiors.

“Innovation is easier to accomplish if you have the freedom to pursue it,” Angela said. “Hence why the people I’m working for know I’m here. And yours do not.”

Isaac swallowed. “I don’t think that’s entirely fair.”

“Isn’t it?” Angela said innocently. If Isaac’s main argument would be a call for niceties, he wouldn’t have a chance in this discussion. “Challenging impossibility is innovation, but the covens are far too reliant on tradition to ever consider that idea. You have to agree, at least somewhat. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be conducting seedy deals with me.”

Before Isaac could pop a blood vessel, she decided it might be better to end the meeting on a non-mocking note. She nodded at the satchel.

“Why are you so focused on that experiment, anyway? The healing tonics?”

Isaac stared at her for a few seconds, still slightly red faced, before his posture eased.

“It’s been attempted hundreds of times, with nothing but failure to show for it. Succeeding would be a tremendous achievement.”

Angela nearly groaned. She’d assumed Isaac was interested in this because of personal motivation—a sick family member, perhaps—but it was far less altruistic than that. He just wanted attention of all things.

“Then I wish you best of luck.” Angela gathered up her things, putting it all into her bag. “Thank you for the coffee. I don’t know when we’ll see each other again, so—”

The room tilted as soon as she stood, making her drop back down on the chair. Her vision had gone blurry, her head heavy as though filled with gravel.

Angela grabbed the table to keep her balance. Her foggy vision refused to clear, and shaking her head only made it worse.

“What is… What’s happening?” She looked around the diner, but it was like her sight followed a second later than her head turned. Nausea rose into her throat, making her grip the table tighter.

She managed to focus enough on Isaac that she hoped it communicated a need for help, but he didn’t move. He wasn’t concerned. Or surprised.

Though everything was happening extremely slowly, she managed to connect context with whatever blurry vision she was allowed. Isaac refusing eye contact, the insistence on no guards coming. The empty coffee cup in front of her.

“What did you do?” Angela tried to stand, but the attempt was pointless. It was like her muscles were made of sand. She couldn’t move them in any way that wouldn’t result in her immediately collapsing.

“What I had to. You gave them no choice, Angela.” Shrillness crept into Isaac’s voice as he clutched the bag filled with blood. “You could have made this much easier, you know. If you didn’t insist on working with those mongrels. If you hadn’t flaunted all your accomplishments right in our faces—accomplishments you shared with outsiders—then maybe it could have been ignored.”

“Flaunted? I don’t flaunt—”

She tried to stand again and this time she couldn’t save herself by dropping back down on the chair. She slipped to the floor, the sudden movement leaving a lurching feeling in her stomach. Whatever was affecting her, it was far more debilitating than what a common drug could cause.

“I didn’t want to do this.” Isaac moved in front of her, voice weak and uneven. “They made me. I know you won’t believe me, but I didn’t have a choice in this.”

Angela didn’t know what to believe. What to think. There wasn’t enough information available to understand why this was happening. All she knew was the how, and it proved just how insidious this setup actually was.

Her many defenses didn’t just protect her from supernatural creatures, but from arcane influence, too. Tonics were in that category, including whatever sedative Isaac must have slipped into her drink when she wasn’t looking. But that defense was only active against forceful arcane influence. If willingly consumed, it worked just fine.

No one had made her drink the coffee. Just years of habit and a belief that this man was one whose company she could trust. It also explained why the recipe that was her entire reason for showing up seemed so odd. It was fake. It had just been bait, there to lure her to the edge of Chains-protected territory.

“Why?” she asked, staring up at the fuzzy shape that was Isaac’s body. It smeared further when he pulled her to her feet.

She tried to struggle, but she could barely move. She couldn’t even walk, meaning Isaac had to drag her through the empty diner. His answer was the last thing she heard before her hearing gave out.

“Because you chose the wrong side.”

Chapter 16

Icy water hitting her face ripped Angela back into consciousness. She gasped, then coughed as the intake of air pulled water down her windpipe. Her throat and chest burned, and her eyes refused to focus enough to make out her surroundings. All she could see was the source of her brutal awakening.

“‘Morning, Norwood!”

The greeting came from a grinning man standing right in front of her. He dangled an empty bucket back and forth, the glow of a cigarette marking where his mouth would be. Other than him being huge, bald, and covered in black tattoos that stood out starkly against his pale skin, she couldn’t make out his features.

Nausea turned her stomach, and she coughed again as a sour taste shot into her mouth. She tried to raise her arms, but she couldn’t move them. Only then did she realize she was on a rickety chair, hands cuffed behind her back.

Understanding dawned with frightening speed. She darted her eyes around the room, spotting concrete walls, a stained floor, and a narrow window near the ceiling.

You didn’t need clear vision to recognize when you were in a cell. And you didn’t need to be good at reading body language to know that the man in front of her was far too excited about her presence.

“You have quite the reputation.” The man dropped the bucket, kicking it away. “What’s that moniker they like using for you? Untouchable, isn’t it?”

He wiped the water off her glasses before grabbing her by the jaw and giving her head a shake. He let out a gravelly laugh when she tried to wrench free.

“Stop playing with her, Titus.”

Angela froze a second before the man let her go. That voice she knew. Its owner had seeded an uncanny fear in her last time she heard it. Now that her glasses weren’t covered in water, the speaker was easy to spot.

Quinn was standing at the only door to the room, arms crossed and leaning against the frame, and with Eden huddled by the wall next to her. The girl’s head was turned away, so she wasn’t looking at Angela. At what was about to happen.

Captured. Tied up. Unable to get free, and even if she somehow managed it, she couldn’t escape. The only person in the room she could physically overpower was Eden. She was no match for Quinn or Titus.

They’d hurt her. Torture her. Probably kill her.

The walls started shrinking, shifting closer as the room spun on a tilting axis. Her breathing turned rapid, then shallow, then close to gasping. Her mouth felt like it was filled with cotton and her heart started racing as that dreaded fear clawed into her mind, stealing every active thought beyond the single, panic-inducing realization that she wouldn’t leave this room alive.

No! Stop it, Angela.

Using the one skill that was so innate it led her every waking move, she seized the terror before it could fully fester. Facts became her safety net, catching her before she fell into a dread-filled abyss.

She wasn’t dead yet. As long as that was the case, she had options, and that meant she couldn’t panic. Though her mind told her the situation was hopeless—that escape was impossible—it was only fear making her believe that.

Her mind insisted that nothing was impossible.

She forced her breathing to slow, stifling the panic by drowning it in questions. Where was she? Why had she been taken? Who were these people? They gave her thoughts something to focus on, and she was more than willing to let them sprint towards those problems if it meant keeping that awful terror at bay.

She started with the three people in front of her. Eden was the youngest by far, and she was hunching in on herself so much it was obvious she would rather be anywhere else than here. Titus was brutish, big, and going by the slightly unfocused look in his eyes, more of a blunt tool than a sharp one.

Quinn stood out. Unlike Eden’s reluctance and Titus’s giddy excitement, she was eerily at ease. Calm and collected, even if the icy look in her eyes could rival the winter cold outside.

Angela let out a long exhale, willing her voice to stay even. “You’re not Vintners.”

Quinn’s status became more obvious when she moved into the room. Eden cowered and Titus moved a few feet to give her space. She stopped in front of Angela, staring down at her with pure contempt in her dark blue eyes.

“No, Ms. Norwood. We’re not.”

She raised her hand, showing off a coven affiliation ring. One embossed with the symbol of a writhing flame rather than the Vintner cauldron she’d worn last time they saw each other.

That made the fear a lot harder to control. Angela knew that symbol. She knew the insignia of every coven in the world, but that flame was the lone mark every witch and warlock had good reason to fear.

All covens had a specialty. Be it with brewing potions, crafting charms, or healing injuries, each of them had a primary focus honed by centuries of tradition. Arcanists who wore that flame were experts in their own right. A collective of witches and warlocks with several morbid skills honed towards one single subject, and carrying a title that had instilled fear for centuries.

Inquisitors. And what they did, better than anyone, was capturing and killing arcanists.

But that wasn’t all. The flame on Quinn’s ring had a sword piercing through it. The mark of an Inquisitorial knight; the highest position among the Inquisitors, only outranked by their chapter commanders.

The coven had plenty of specialists. Interrogators, researchers, diplomats, but knights were above them all. Master hunters, only sent after the most dangerous of criminals, and afforded extreme respect due to the ruthless schooling they went through. People who caught their attention rarely lived long enough to panic about it.

Rather than grovel and beg, like her stupid instincts told her to do, Angela took a deep breath. Reactions were information, and she needed information fucking yesterday.

“I see,” she said, relieved that her voice was only a little shaky. “Is there a pyre being readied for me outside?”

“That comes later.” Quinn’s upper lip twitched, her voice matching the chill in her eyes. “You have made some truly stupid decisions, even when given a chance to make wiser ones. During that first meeting at the diner, you were told rather directly that sticking with your chosen allies was a bad move. Yet you remained. The covens don’t take kindly to witches sharing protected knowledge with beings meant to be nothing more than tools.”

She gestured Eden forward without looking at her, holding out her hand as the girl gave her a rolled-up piece of parchment. Quinn unfolded it, reading over the contents.

“State your name and affiliation.”

Angela glared at her. “Fuck you.”

Quinn gave her a hard stare, then nodded to Titus, who plucked the cigarette from his lips and pressed the lit end against Angela’s throat.

She drew in a hissing breath and it immediately turned to coughing when Titus picked up a fresh bucket and doused her in more icy water. The first bucket had just been thrown in her face. This soaked her clothing, making it cling to her skin.

“I’ll just presume our current information is correct.” Quinn returned her attention to the paper. “Ms. Angela Norwood of the Court of Chains. You have been charged with the following crimes: attempting to cross the three arcane branches, sharing knowledge of the arcane with outsiders, collaborating with known enemies of the Covens, and conspiring with unbound fiends.” Quinn folded up the paper. “Do you reject any of these charges?”

“Charges?” Angela scoffed, teeth clattering now. “So you’re just following the law, is that it? There isn’t some gold-hoarding alchemist somewhere, motivating you to hit the Chains where it hurts?”

While the official role of the Inquisitors was to keep the covens in line by hunting down so-called criminals and stopping arcane secrets from being shared all over the internet, they weren’t above focusing on something specific in exchange for payment. With enough money, most principles could get rocky.

But going by Quinn’s cold, cold stare, that wasn’t the case for this crew of torturers.

“You really are arrogant, if you think you’re the one asking questions here.” She took a few steps back and leaned against the wall. “Don’t break her jaw.”

In the next second, pain seared over the side of Angela’s face as Titus’s fist connected with her cheek. One, twice, thrice. Pain throbbed through her skull, causing her eyes to water and a groan to escape her mouth.

“Eden,” Quinn snapped, making the young girl flinch. “Stay focused. And don’t feel bad for her. She brought this on herself, with the company she keeps.”

Eden hugged herself. “It’s just… You’re going very fast.”

“We have limited hours before the truth serum runs out, so we have to be efficient.” Quinn nudged her arm. “Stand up straight. And pay attention.”

Eden obeyed, but when she looked back at Angela, her eyes locked on the wall behind her. By how Quinn took a few seconds to frown, she’d picked up on that distant look too, though her silence suggested that unfocused attention was better than none.

But a few seconds was all Angela needed. Quinn had said she wasn’t allowed to ask questions, but the information she’d just provided answered a few crucial ones.

It wasn’t just a sedative Isaac had drugged her with. Torture was an infamously shitty interrogation tactic, as the person being questioned would say whatever they could think of to make the pain stop. But torture turned highly effective if the victim of it lost the ability to lie.

Truth serum of the quality Isaac could make stayed active for about a day or so. Angela had no idea how much of that duration was left, but if it stopped working, these Inquisitors would have to wait until her defensive charms went inactive before they could force another dose on her. That wouldn’t happen for weeks. Or for however many fingernails she could stand getting pulled off before she caved and removed them herself. Active charms couldn’t be removed by anyone other than the person wearing them.

Her options were clear. Suffer torture now and likely break under it, or buy some time by forcing these people to either wait or change tactics. Truth serum was hard to make. Maybe they didn’t have any more available.

Angela bit the inside of her cheek, dulling the reignited fear in her chest. She fucking hated maybes.

Quinn gave Eden a final stern look, ensuring she was watching, before returning her attention to Angela.

“That fiend from last time wasn’t with you tonight. Why?”

Angela’s stomach clenched. Everything would have been so much easier if Vex had ignored her orders of staying in Chicago and followed her to the meeting. Part of Angela had been convinced she’d do it. She’d been facing the window back at the diner for a reason.

Just to attempt it, Angela tried a lie, feeling it catch on her tongue as though the muscle had cramped. Silence was an option, but silence wouldn’t get her what she wanted.

“I asked to go alone.”

Quinn’s eyes narrowed. “And the Chains just let you do that?”

Angela smiled. It probably looked more mad than genuine, but that was actually fine.

Rather than look at Quinn, she turned to Titus. A theory needed testing.

“I’m allowed to have all kinds of fun. I have the mind for it, unlike big boy here. Seems like he outsources the burden of thinking to whoever happens to be closest.”

Titus’s stupid grin dropped, twisting into a snarl as he grabbed Angela by the hair and punched her directly in the face. A crunching sound rippled out from her nose and pain fired through her head with such intensity that tears sprang into her eyes.

Theory confirmed. Titus was easily provoked.

“Titus,” Quinn said, stopping the man right as he reeled back, ready to hit her again. “She needs to be able to talk.”

Titus grunted and let Angela go. She blinked until tears were no longer pooling up in her eyes, though she couldn’t do anything about the blood flowing out of her nose.

“What work are you doing for the Chains?” Quinn asked, tone more curt now. Angela scoffed, making drops of blood scatter over her chest.

“Why do you want to know?”

“What did I say about asking questions?” Quinn nodded at Titus. He pulled a collapsible baton from his belt, extending it with a flick of his wrist. As a near perfect extension of the movement, the baton struck Angela’s shin hard enough that she screamed. She squeezed her eyes shut as her breathing turned shallow.

Focus. Focus, for fuck’s sake. You can’t lose it now. He needs to hit higher than that.

“What work are you doing for the Chains?” Quinn’s tone was the same as before, showing not even a hint of impatience. They might be on a deadline, but they still had hours. Quinn was clearly of the opinion that Angela didn’t have the constitution to withstand this treatment for that long.

Angela had to agree. Eventually, the pain would make her answer their questions whether she wanted to or not, so this hypothesis she’d developed better be proved accurate.

She gritted her teeth. “None of your business.”

Quinn nodded again. Angela braced herself as well as she could when the baton went high. It struck her ribcage, making her scream again. She hadn’t been sure with the leg, but that hit definitely broke bones.

It was too high that time.

“Answer the question,” Quinn said, as though Angela was being the unreasonable party here. “What work are you doing for the Chains?”

A taste of copper filled her mouth. Either she’d bitten her tongue, or the blood from her nose had gone past her lips.

“I’ve been —” She groaned as a burning pang shot through her chest. Just breathing hurt. Talking was even worse.

“You’ve been what?” Quinn asked, a hint of eagerness in her voice.

“The Chains… They…” The words came out stuffy. She could barely hear them herself, though that might be because of the blood rushing in her ears. Titus leaned forward, as though to hear her better.

She closed her eyes. This would hurt.

“What, Norwood?” Titus said.

Angela breathed in as deep as her cracked ribs allowed. Then she glared at Titus and spat blood right in his face, making him stumble back a step.

“The Chains aren’t afraid of short-cocked slavers, you fucking asshole.”

Titus wiped his face, bafflement filling it before rage took over. Dropping the baton, he reverted to old habits and punched her. In the stomach this time. And without holding back in the slightest.

It shoved at the nausea that had been lingering ever since the diner. She didn’t fight it as it rose into her mouth, leaning forward as much as she could before emptying her stomach onto the floor.

It burned her throat. Pulled at her broken ribs. It was one of the most painful things she’d ever experienced, but the relief that followed made it bearable enough that she didn’t immediately lose consciousness.

“You fucking idiot!” Quinn shoved Titus in the chest, making him stagger back despite him being half a head taller than her. “What the hell, Titus?”

“You saw her!” He wiped blood off his lips. “Bitch spat me in the face. What was I supposed to do?”

“How about not remove the one thing that could expedite this goddamn job?” Quinn gestured at the vomit on the floor. “You made her throw up the truth serum. Nice fucking work.”

For a moment, Titus looked confused. Then sheepish. He scratched the back of his neck.

“Sorry, Quinn.”

“Of course you are. You’re always apologizing for something.” She shot Angela a venomous look. “I’ll go get more serum. We don’t have any left in storage, but given that we recently struck a deal with a Vintner, I should be able to get some quickly.”

“Now?” Titus asked.

“Yes. Now. We need expedient answers. God knows our client has waited long enough for them.”

Angela’s attention caught on the word ‘client’ before Quinn gesturing at her made it fixate on the present again.

“Get her sorted,” Quinn said, making Titus’s eyes widen.

“But I—”

“That wasn’t a question, Titus.” Quinn’s voice was so calm it almost transitioned into sounding enraged. “Get. Her. Sorted.”

Then she strode from the room. She wasn’t gone for long before Titus let his destructive urges take over again. He roared out a curse, kicking Angela’s chair so hard that it toppled over. With her hands cuffed behind her back, she couldn’t catch herself as she fell off the chair and slammed against the floor. Her glasses skittered across the concrete, out of range of her now blurry vision.

“You motherfucking Chains bitch!” He kicked the chair again, and Angela curled in on herself. “Couldn’t just make things easy. Had to be a fucking weakling.”

He paced back and forth, muttering swears that Angela didn’t really hear. The concrete was cool against her face, and right then that coolness was close to divine. Despite being drenched and freezing, her skin felt like it was on fire.

Seemed like she had a fever, too. Lovely.

Titus pointed a trembling finger at Eden. “You deal with her.”

The girl recoiled, clearly not used to the man addressing her.

“Me?” She squeaked out the word. “But… Quinn said—”

“And now I’m telling you. You’re an apprentice and you will be for a fucking while. I have better things to do with my time than tend to traitorous filth. So apprentice, dammit.”

Then he followed Quinn’s lead and walked out of the room, swearing the whole way until his voice grew too distant to be audible.

Angela barely noticed him go. Both because she literally couldn’t without her glasses, but also because relief had taken away her ability to do anything other than breathe. Even if it was hard to do, given that every inhale felt like she was getting stabbed.

She’d gotten what she wanted. Time. Now she just needed to figure out what the hell to do with it.

Light footsteps echoed through the room. Then the sound of water sloshing over stone. A few moments after, there was a careful tugging at her shoulder.

Angela flinched away from Eden. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

“You need to drink some water.” Eden was crouched next to her, holding a bottle. “It’s easier if you’re sitting up.”

“How considerate. Unlike the brute you have employed, I’m not stupid. You laced it.”

Eden hesitated a moment before bringing the bottle to her lips and taking a long sip. Even with her shoddy eyesight, Angela could see the water level in the bottle lowering.

“I promise it’s just water. There isn’t anything else in it.”

She wouldn’t have been able to lie about that if there was actually truth serum in the bottle. It worked fast.

“Not interested in your prisoners getting dehydrated?” Angela said with a smirk, though it transformed into her clenching her teeth as Eden helped her into a seated position and made her lean against the wall. The pain in her side was significant enough to be worrying.

“Just in you not passing out. Or dying.” Eden put Angela’s glasses back on her face. It cleared her vision, even if the crack now splitting one of the lenses meant there was still a slight blur to the room.

“Yet.” Angela accepted a small sip of the water, using it to clean the taste of blood and bile before spitting it out.

“Right. Yet.” Eden’s voice was little more than a whisper and she kept her eyes mostly on the floor, even as she held the bottle to Angela’s mouth.

This close, Angela could take in her features better. Her small frame, round face, and big eyes.

“How old are you? Really?”

Eden gnawed at her lip. “Fourteen. As of a few weeks ago.”

Now Angela was the one to look away. She had been around that age when she started dabbling in the arcane, but her studies involved hiding alchemical reagents under her bed and reading books written entirely in Latin. Not witnessing someone get tortured.

“Sorry you had to handle that.” Angela eyed the spot she’d thrown up on. Eden had cleaned it up before bringing her the water.

Eden shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ve dealt with worse.”

Angela didn’t like thinking too hard about what worse might entail.

“You’re a legacy, I assume. Your sister seems pretty experienced with all of this.”

“Quinn thought it would be good for me to get started early. Our dad wanted to wait, but he’s… Quinn said waiting would waste my potential.”

She gestured at her eyes and then stiffened when she realized she’d overshared. But when Angela just smiled at her, she stopped looking nervous.

“There’s a strong family resemblance. And covens don’t take apprentices as young as you unless they’re a legacy. It’s not a difficult puzzle to put together.”

By how wide Eden’s eyes were, she disagreed. She glanced over her shoulder at the floor she’d just cleaned.

“You planned that, didn’t you?”

Angela offered a shrug of her own, regretting it when it pulled at her injured ribs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Surprisingly, Eden smiled. “Well… It clearly worked.”

She sat back on her heels, turning the near empty water bottle in her hands. Her eyes drifted over Angela’s body, and Angela couldn’t help but do the same thing.

She was soaked and her clothes were stained with blood. There was a dark patch on her tights where Titus had hit her leg, and the pulsing pain still emanating from it suggested a severe enough injury that she wouldn’t be able to run.

That was probably intentional. A precaution.

“You should just answer their questions,” Eden mumbled. “It’ll be easier that way.”

“What will? How they end up killing me when they’ve gotten what they want?”

Eden’s silence was telling. Death was the one guaranteed outcome of staying in this cell. If Angela cooperated, it might come quickly and painlessly. If she didn’t, the Inquisitors had centuries of practice in making people wish they were dead.

Angela looked around the room. Other than the chair, it was completely empty. Not a lot of variables to work with. Or a lot of information.

She swallowed, trying to ignore the guilt forming in her chest. Manipulating a fourteen-year-old for information wasn’t the most noble thing she’d ever done. But there wasn’t anything noble about dying in a torture chamber either.

Angela wetted her dry lips. Blood was still trickling out of her nose. “Feels like I’m getting the prime treatment. Or do you care for all your prisoners this nicely?”

“You’re kind of… special. You’re notorious, if you didn’t know. Because of your affiliation. Most people see you joining the Chains as a direct insult.”

“That wasn’t why I joined them. Just an added bonus.” Angela chuckled, immediately wincing. “I guess there’s no end to the amount of people who want me dead.”

Eden shot a glance at the still open door. Then she surprised Angela by giving her a knowing smile.

Huh. She was sharp.

“I know what you’re doing. Fishing for information,” Eden said. “You’re wasting your time. I don’t know who ordered this job, only Quinn does. All I know is that she’s supposed to find out what work the Chains have been making you do.”

“Yeah, I caught that part.” Angela groaned. Despite sitting still for a while, the pain in her side hadn’t lessened. “She won’t like the answer. The Chains aren’t making me do anything.”

Eden leaned back. “No?”

“They sound scarier than they are. Despite their name, they don’t keep you prisoner, or enslaved. They don’t force people to do things they don’t want to do. As long as you follow the laws, you’re free to act as you please.”

“Their laws are brutal.”

“More brutal than making a fourteen-year-old take notes on effective torture methods?”

Eden’s mouth clamped shut. If Angela wasn’t already hurting all over, she would have kicked herself. Eden was her best way of getting information, and asking provoking questions wasn’t a good way to get results.

“The Inquisitors do noble work.” Eden’s voice was even, speaking the words as though reciting them. “The purity of the three arcane branches must be maintained, and the secrets of our hidden world protected. Tradition is our greatest strength. Defending it is a great honor.”

Angela sighed. By the sound of it, she’d already lost the girl to fucked up scripture. Might as well drive in the final nail herself.

“Did you have any choice in receiving that honor?” The silence that followed made Angela scoff. “Thought not. Freedom isn’t one of the covens’ many traditional values.”

Eden stayed silent for a few more seconds, staring at Angela, even though Angela couldn’t look back at her. She might be nervous and morbidly young for her position, but that didn’t change her allegiance in this grand game. She was there to keep a prisoner alive. Not to offer actual respite.

“Quinn will be back soon.” Eden stood up so fast she nearly tripped. She’d stuffed one hand in her pocket, and the other held onto the water bottle so tightly the plastic creaked. “If there’s someone you want to reach out to, you should probably do it now.”

Before Angela could make sense of that statement, Eden had hurried out of the door, shutting it behind her. It clanged as a heavy latch was put in place on the other side, leaving Angela alone in the cold cell.

What the hell now? She’d bought herself time, but there wasn’t anything she could do with it other than reflect on how truly fucked she was. Quinn would be back with more truth serum soon. Eventually, be it through torture or just patience, they would force it down her throat and then they’d ask awful questions she could only respond to truthfully or with silence.

Eventually, she would give in. Maybe not right away, but eventually she would. She’d give them whatever they asked for. Everything she knew about the Chains, all the research she’d done, even things they didn’t want to know at all. If she had to endure what she had just experienced for any prolonged period of time, she’d say anything to make it stop.

It was a problem that needed to be solved. If she stayed in this cell, she’d sell out the Chains. Put the entire Court and everyone within it at risk. And with no options for escape, she could only see one way to guarantee that wouldn’t happen.

Angela looked around the room, but it was empty save for the overturned chair. The tiny window near the ceiling was barred and even if it wasn’t, it was so narrow only an arm could get through.

She could have broken the glass and used the shards to rob the Inquisitors of the answers they so wanted, but the bars ruined that plan. There were precautions in place to stop prisoners from making early exits.

It was hopeless. She was trapped.

Then her eyes fell to where Eden had just been sitting, and her heart leaped into her throat. The despair was momentarily overtaken by shock, then confusion, and finally disbelief as she stared at the piece of chalk lying on the concrete.

Eden’s parting words made immediate sense. To non-arcanists, that chalk was useless for the current situation, but not for a witch. Sending messages through runic chalk writing was common, but similarly to tracking and illumination runes, phones had lessened the skill’s usefulness.

Eden had given Angela a way to contact the Chains, or anyone she wanted. To tell them what had happened. To say goodbye, perhaps.

Angela would do neither. Eden couldn’t have known just how obsessive her mind was when focusing on something important. That little piece of chalk wasn’t just an act of mercy, given to her by a girl trying to be nice amidst circumstances that shouldn’t allow her to be.

It was an escape hatch.

“I fucking hate luck.”

Lying down on her back, Angela wriggled her cuffed hands under her hips. She tried to do it quietly, but her broken ribs and aching shin took control of her tongue, making her let out a shrill cry when she finally got her arms out from under her legs.

She quickly hid the chalk in her hands, just in case someone came to investigate why she was screaming. When no one did, she got herself into a sitting position, and then onto her feet. She couldn’t put weight on her injured leg, so she had to hobble through the room, leaning against the wall as she moved.

Pulling the chair to the window, she clenched her teeth and pushed herself up to stand on the seat. She had to briefly rest all her weight on her injured leg, and when she finally made it onto the chair after an embarrassing number of tries, she had to press her forehead against the wall for a moment before she could do what she needed to and look out the window.

Snow covered most of the glass, but the few clear spots showed a pitch-black night beyond it. A lone house with light in the windows could be seen about a courtyard’s distance away. Some random homestead in the middle of nowhere. With no neighbors to file noise complaints.

But that didn’t matter. What mattered—what was crucial—was that the windowsill didn’t have a salt line.

Sitting down on the chair, she grabbed one of her salt vial necklaces. Taking a few tries, since her hands were both cuffed and shaking, she undid the sealed cap and tipped the contents into her mouth. The salt wouldn’t need long to enter her bloodstream, meaning she could begin the arduous task of measuring out a six-foot diameter circle on the concrete floor.

She hadn’t actually done this ritual before, but she knew the theory. That had to be sufficient, at least enough so that these Inquisitors and whoever hired them didn’t get what they wanted. The thought guided her hands, keeping them steady as she drew out the infernal marks on the floor. Marks she’d drawn so many times she could do it from memory.

When it was done, Angela collapsed against the wall. The shaking had grown to take over her entire body, but this last step didn’t require precision.

Normally, you’d cut open your hand when spilling blood on a summoning circle, but she didn’t need to. She just swiped at her still-bleeding nose, dapping the blood onto the chalk line she’d drawn.

It wasn’t a great plan. There were far too many uncertainties for it to even be considered good, but it was the only one she could come up with. If the circle activated, there would soon be a fiend in the cell. A fiend who’d made it very clear what would happen if Angela ever used her marks outside of authorized experimentation.

Worst-case scenario, this ended with her getting killed by a demon. Best case, she got rescued by one.

As the symbols started glowing, Angela found herself hoping against hope that Vex might act out of character and go with the second option.

Chapter 17

Vex peered into Angela’s living room. With the salt lines restored, her house had returned to its usual fortress-like quality, so Vex couldn’t enter. Though she needed less of an opening than most, she still needed an opening, and after last night Angela had closed them all. What was left was a dark building with most of the curtains drawn, completely empty of life.

“She isn’t here, Natalya.”

“Are you certain?” Natalya’s sharp voice reverberating out of the phone made it clear details were needed fast.

“I’m sure. Her car is gone and the lights are off. If she was here, she’d be working, and that’s hard to do in the dark.”

Though it was nighttime, that wasn’t a hindrance for witches. They did their best work under the glow of moonlight, and Angela was no exception. Vex had seen her work tirelessly over her desk whenever she’d spent an evening spying on her from the yard.

“She should have been back hours ago,” Natalya said tightly. “She hasn’t been at the high-rise either. And she hasn’t contacted Court.”

Vex already knew that. She’d crept around Angela’s office ever since she left for her meeting, assuming she’d come back there when it was over. When she hadn’t, Vex had crept around Natalya instead until she either caught the hint or got fed up with Vex’s presence and sent her to check on Angela’s house.

Vex leaned against the wall, crossing an arm over her chest. “What are you thinking?”

“That I don’t like this, that’s what I’m thinking.”

Natalya muttered a curse, a light clacking in the background suggesting she was tapping her nails against a hard surface.

“I’m sending a patrol team to the diner. If her meeting is just running late and she neglected to mention, she’ll have to deal with the consequences of us interrupting.”

“You should check her parents’ house, too.” Vex shifted in place, moving a hand through her hair. “She’s been going there a lot lately. Since the last meeting with that Vintner warlock, she’s been visiting them basically every day.”

“And you know this how?” Natalya asked, voice stern. Vex sighed.

“Just send someone over there, alright?”

The sudden quiet was worse than any angry reply Natalya could have shot after her. Those could be responded to. This silence was just calm before what would likely be a devastating storm.

“Be honest with me, Vex.” Natalya’s voice was still stern, but it seemed to be so out of habit rather than because she was in a violent mood. “Do you know why she might be late coming back?”

Vex had had no lack of ideas regarding that issue. Not only had Angela not come back yet, but she’d left for her meeting hours before she needed to. She hadn’t even gone by the high-rise before leaving Chicago.

The evening before had gone exactly as planned. Despite it, nothing was as it should be. Vex should have been gloating over this reaction. Not suffering this impossible feeling of guilt, which had been there ever since she witnessed Angela wake up and saw her eyes filling with dejection when she realized she was alone.

It had been the goal. Somehow, it felt like a loss.

“We didn’t talk much last night,” Vex said.

“Didn’t you?” Natalya was back to sounding threatening.

“Relax, Lust. Nothing happened that Angela didn’t want to happen.”

There was another long silence. The kind that suggested something had been noticed, though Vex wasn’t sure what her dear teacher had spotted.

“Check everything again, just to make sure, and then come back here.” Natalya’s voice was now cold as well as sharp. “I think the two of us need to have a discussion about the safe practices involved with giving people what they want.”

The call ended with a click, and Vex rested her head against the wall of the house. She could imagine what that discussion entailed. Knowing she had a lecture from Natalya waiting would usually have made her annoyed, but right then it didn’t. In fact, it felt like she needed it.

She knew better than anyone that getting what you wanted was rarely a good thing. It never resulted in what you were hoping for. It just left you disappointed, craving more, or in Vex’s case, fucking miserable.

Yearning for something was far easier to deal with than the aftermath of getting it, especially if the yearning had been driving you forward. What was left to guide you when the chase was over and the prize collected?

What was the point of tormenting Angela when it didn’t even feel good to do it?

Vex was about to do that last pointless sweep when a small, furry shape slipped out of the shadows. A black cat sauntered through the garden, ending at the window Vex was standing next to. Ignoring Vex, the animal jumped onto the windowsill and pawed at the glass.

“She’s not in there,” Vex said, making the cat turn towards her. It stayed at an inspective distance for a moment and then eased closer.

“I can’t let you in.” Vex held out her hand, letting the cat sniff her fingers before scratching it under the chin. “We’re both stuck out in the cold.”

She started frowning halfway through the sentence. Vex had been shadowing Angela for months and had become familiar with her routines as a result.

Every night, for months, Angela made sure to be home no later than a few hours after midnight. To let the stray in, feed it some bizarrely expensive cat food, and then let it sleep somewhere safe and warm while she either worked at her desk or relaxed upstairs. Even when she was busy at the high-rise, she always went home at a set time so she could take care of the cat she’d been adopted by.

Based on how it was pawing at the window, it hadn’t been let in that evening. And by the increasing volume of its meows, it was as confused about that fact as Vex.

The cat suddenly spun, staring at her with needle-narrow pupils. It arched its back, tail puffing out, and all the cuddliness from before vanished as it bared its teeth and hissed.

It didn’t entertain Vex’s presence for even a second after that, jumping off the windowsill and running into the dark. Maybe the animal had just realized late that it was snuggling up against a demon. But then she noticed a subtle change in the air.

The smell of smoke. Followed by the sudden feeling of flesh being seared.

Vex looked down right as fiery symbols lit up her chest, glowing so brightly that they shined through her black t-shirt. Her marks were lighting up, burning into her skin in a way that was horrifyingly familiar.

She knew this feeling. Knew this pain, this light, this tugging in her chest. She’d spied on countless people for her previous Master and whenever her task was done, this was how she was brought back to his clutches. Through a portal made of chalk, blood, and arcane fire.

But it wasn’t just any arcanist activating her marks. Only the right side of her chest was glowing, and there was only one witch in the whole world who had easy access to those symbols.

Everything made sense. The spontaneous meeting with the Vintner, Angela’s insistence on not bringing any guards, her being hours late returning to Chicago. The conniving witch had finally found a prize valuable enough that she could shed her Courtly allegiances, and now she was summoning Vex into a trap.

She should have known this would happen. To think Vex had been worried about her. That she’d been concerned about Angela somehow being hurt by what she’d done and that she’d lingered outside her bedroom window all night just in case something was wrong.

When the flames vanished, Vex would be facing a group of arcanists standing around a specially designed fiend trap and applauding themselves for their ingenuity. Angela would be there too, front and center. Her perfect smile satisfied and mocking. Her blue and brown eyes glinting with that provoking mischief she was so damn fond of, the image of which always burned itself into Vex’s mind after she’d witnessed it.

Fire whirled around her body. Snow turned to steam and orange light cascaded onto her surroundings. As the inferno swallowed her vision, she vowed that—even if it was the last thing she’d do in her life—she would kill Angela Norwood.

The flames dissipated. And Vex found herself staring at a concrete wall.

There were no celebrations, no cheering, no congratulations. There wasn’t even talking. Just quiet, raspy breathing that could only be picked up because no other sounds were present.

Frowning, Vex looked around. She was in a barren cell, the only furniture being a spindly chair pushed against one wall. The floor was covered in dark stains and other than the summoning circle, there weren’t any decorations. There weren’t any people.

Except for a shivering woman leaning against the wall, sitting with her head lowered and uneven breaths producing white clouds in front of her lips.

Fury immediately forgotten, Vex kneeled next to Angela. She took her face in her hands, tilting it up, and whatever words she had been about to say got stuck in her throat.

Angela looked like she’d been in a car crash. Blood covered most of her mouth and chin, and one side of her face was marred by early bruising. Her eyes were unfocused behind cracked glasses, and she was ghostly pale. Blonde hair clung to her skin, drenched mostly by water, but also by sweat and a few spots of red where the strands had touched her bloody face.

“Huh.” Angela smiled, showing scarlet teeth. “It worked. Great.”

Vex didn’t know what shocked her the most. The relief in Angela’s eyes, the evenness of her tone, or the fact that a painful tension had started in her chest the moment she’d seen Angela sitting on the floor and hearing her speak made the feeling lessen in an instant.

“What happened?” Vex had to force command into the question. “Who did this to you?”

“Inquisitors.” Angela coughed, wincing and hugging her side. “The meeting… It was a trap. They drugged me and brought me here. Broke my ribs when I wouldn’t talk. My leg, too, I think. Not sure, to be honest.” She clenched her teeth and leaned forward. “One sec.”

Tensing in pain, she slammed her cuffed wrists against the floor. It wasn’t until she’d used the steel cuffs to chip away at the summoning marks that Vex realized what she was doing.

Unless part of an active circle, infernal marks could only live in flesh or memory. Like all things arcane, only humans could manipulate them. With the circle broken, the marks that had burned into the concrete would crumble into gravel in just a few minutes.

“There…” Angela sighed and rested her head against the wall. “Now… get on with it.”

The words took a moment to register. Confusion had briefly stolen Vex’s sense, making the last few second play on a slow loop in her head.

With the summoning circle broken, so was the connection between fiend and arcanist. Envy fiends could sense every want and motivation of their summoners, making it easier for them to fulfill their Master’s needs.

With barely any focus, she could have known Angela’s deepest, most secret desires. What Vex had been fantasizing about for months. Not only that, but they had been touching. Angela had swallowed the salt in her touch-protective amulet to activate the circle, which was the only reason Vex wasn’t writhing in pain on the floor.

But Vex hadn’t noticed that when she first cupped her face. It hadn’t occurred to her to look for this woman’s secret motivations. She hadn’t thought of anything except making sure there was still life in Angela’s eyes.

“What are you talking about?” Vex made Angela look at her again by gently pushing her chin. “Get on with what?”

“Killing me,” Angela said with a wheezing chuckle. “You’ve wanted to. For a while. You have justified reason now, since I summoned you. We agreed that wasn’t allowed.” She coughed again and a bit of blood scattered over her ruined shirt. “They didn’t bother salting the window. Once you’re done, you can leave. And the Inquisitors won’t get any information about the Chains.”

More stunned silence followed, as Vex put together the reasoning Angela had come to in her head.

The Inquisitors wanted information on the Chains and had captured Angela to get it. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to stand against their centuries of expertise with torture methods, she’d reasoned that the only solution was for her to die before they could get what they wanted.

She’d summoned Vex not as a rescuer, but as an executioner. Had even checked the window to make sure Vex could escape once the deed was done.

She didn’t even seem scared. It was like the suggestion was the most obvious thing in the world, and she had already resigned herself to this fate. Like she was just waiting for Vex to act it out for her.

But Vex wasn’t inclined to give people what they wanted.

“How many?”

Angela blinked, her brows furrowing. “What?”

Vex cupped her face again, being careful not to touch the bruising on her cheek. “How many are there, Angela?”

Angela’s eyes slowly widened. To this woman, logic was as much a weapon as a shield. Using it to keep from losing her mind with fear when trapped in a den of witch hunters was understandable, but when presented with the possibility that this cell wouldn’t be the last she saw of the world, the resolve she’d wrapped herself in fell away.

“I don’t know.” Her voice, so even a moment before, was shaking. “I only saw three, but one of them left. There’s a house, too. With lights on, so there are probably more around.” Angela’s breathing turned shallow. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m getting you out of here.” Vex looked around for possible exits. She could go with either the window or the shut steel door. Both were impossible for a human to get through, but shadows didn’t need much space.

“They could capture you,” Angela whispered, drawing Vex to look at her again. There was a sudden pleading in her eyes. A hope that, despite the logical risk, Vex wouldn’t use it to rescind her intentions.

“They can fucking try.” Vex yanked at Angela’s cuffs, breaking them to pieces. They’d left red marks around her wrists. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

“Wait!” Angela grabbed Vex’s hand, nails digging into her skin. “Remember Eden? The apprentice from the diner? She’s here, somewhere.”

Angela was clutching a piece of bloody chalk, Vex noticed. The tight hold made it snap between her fingers.

“She’s just a kid. Please don’t hurt her.”

Her eyes were even more pleading than before. More worried about the life of a random girl than her own. But rather than argue that the only good kind of coven-bound arcanist was a dead one, regardless of age, Vex nodded.

“Okay. I won’t hurt her. Promise.”

The words were barely out before she transformed from solid into shadow. She drifted towards the door, and the last thing Vex saw of the room was Angela shivering all over, though it was far more intense than the creeping cold could account for.

It was fortunate the glow of Vex’s eyes didn’t show when she was incorporeal. Otherwise, the entire cell would have lit up red.

She slipped through the miniscule gap above the steel door, finding a narrow hallway made of the same concrete as Angela’s cell. There were several other doors like the one she’d just passed through. All of them were open, all of them showing empty rooms.

The way out was a small staircase leading to a closed wooden door. Laughing could be heard beyond, and as Vex slid along the dark ceiling, she had to use every ounce of control she had not to burst through it and rip whoever was on the other side to pieces. But though they deserved to be squashed like insects, they were still arcanists. Unlike the witch she’d just left behind, they wouldn’t be above using traps.

She drifted through the gaps in the door, entering a poorly lit workshop. One with a rather morbid purpose. Tongs, pliers, blades, and hammers hung in neat rows on the walls. A few centuries before, the place would probably have been filled with racks and breaking wheels, but other than a few thumbscrews sitting on a shelf, the Inquisitors had modernized over the years.

The source of the laughing also showed itself. Two men were sitting at a table, playing a hand of cards. One was older with a poorly kept beard, the other young and gangly. Empty beer cans stood lined up on the table, the older man puffing on a cigarette.

Just a couple of guards. Who didn’t expect trouble based on their laid-back attitudes and the fact that their handguns weren’t properly strapped into their belts.

The light above the table flickered, making the men look up. The older man was wearing a basic fiend-repellant amulet, meaning demons couldn’t use their abilities on him. But they could still touch him.

The shadows thickened, turning the corners of the room nearly black. Both men shot to their feet, fumbling for their weapons, when the younger man stiffened. His hands went to his throat, and his legs gave out.

He’d barely hit the floor before Vex surged out of the shadows. Red-tinted darkness spilled forward, filling the space like thick smoke. Vex grabbed the older man before he could even think about reacting, and she squeezed his throat so he couldn’t scream. Either for help or for mercy.

Her fingers transformed into claws, their points digging into his skin, before she slammed the man into the wall so hard his skull shattered on impact. His body didn’t even twitch. It just slid to the floor, leaving a red streak where the mess that was once his face pressed against the wall.

Seconds. It only took seconds. Even if the guards had been able to draw their weapons, they couldn’t have stopped her. Their fates were sealed the moment they pulled guard duty for this hour of the night.

Vex turned to the choking man writhing on the floor. He stared up at her, trying to speak but being unable to. Not after she’d stolen his breath.

A part of her wanted to extend his end. Make it last. Make it loud. But there were things she wanted more than to hear a warlock scream.

“You got lucky.” With a snarl, she brought her foot down and stepped on the man’s neck hard enough that a crack rung through the room. He stilled, the severing of his spine killing him in an instant. Leaving the room dark, silent, and smelling of smoke and blood.

Vex hurried to the window. The house Angela had mentioned could be seen, outlines of people moving around inside.

She flexed her fingers, claws tapping against the wall. This was turning into a night filled with tests, and the hardest one so far was to keep herself from entering that house and making every single person in there think they were stuck in a torturous nightmare. But the building looked residential. Unlike prison cells, arcanist homes tended to be protected against supernatural threats.

If Vex got caught, the punishment Angela would face would make her beg for a pyre.

Vex drew back her fiendish appearance and pulled out her phone. She got a signal after a few seconds, even if what it revealed only made her curse.

They were in the middle of fucking nowhere. Far outside Chains territory, hundreds of miles from Chicago. Vex could cross that distance faster than any vehicle, but she wasn’t human. She wouldn’t suffer under the winter chill, and even if she moved as fast as she could, the journey would still take hours.

Contacting Court would have to wait until their surroundings were safer. Hurrying towards the stairs, Vex only paused to grab one of the two winter jackets hanging on the wall. The jacket was too big, but it would be warm. That was all it needed to be.

Downstairs, she opened the latch on the steel door and reentered the cell, making Angela flinch. She hadn’t moved at all since Vex left.

“What happened up there?” she asked, voice shaky. “Were there people?”

“I dealt with it.” Vex put the jacket around Angela’s shoulders, but she didn’t seem to notice. She was staring straight ahead with an odd, contemplating look on her face.

“I think I’m passing out.” She sounded more confused than frightened, even if her breathing mainly consisted of gasps. “I feel dizzy. I’m shaking and… I started hyperventilating and now… now I can’t stop. I don’t know why.”

“You’re having a panic attack, that’s fucking why.” Vex put Angela’s arms through the sleeves when it became clear she wouldn’t do it herself. Her hands barely poked out of them.

“Oh.” Her bottom lip started quivering. “That’s bad. Isn’t it?”

She tried to take a deep breath, but the attempt only resulted in more gasping. Whatever focus had guided her through the steps of coming up with this plan, checking the window for salt, and drawing out a summoning circle—from memory and with a broken fucking leg—had abandoned her the moment she realized Vex wasn’t going to kill her. Even if she wasn’t too injured to walk, she probably didn’t have the wherewithal to even leave the cell.

“It isn’t good.” Vex hooked an arm under her thighs and the other around her back, lifting her from the floor. She tried to be careful, but it didn’t matter how much she tried. Angela still screamed.

“Close your eyes,” Vex said, moving out of the cell. Angela’s teeth were clattering.

“W-why?”

“Stop asking questions and just do it, Angela.” She had been through enough that night without adding the memory of bloody corpses. Knowing her, it would fuse to her brain and once it was there, it would never leave. Forgetting things wasn’t one of the many skills this witch possessed.

For a few more seconds, Angela kept her eyes somewhat focused on Vex. Then she did what she was told, squeezing them shut.

Vex moved up the stairs, past the mess she’d made. She shoved open the door with her shoulder, breaking it off the hinges, and rushed into the winter night.

“Put your arms around me.”

With only the slightest hesitance, Angela obeyed, putting her arms around her neck and leaning her forehead against Vex’s shoulder.

It made her wieldier to carry as Vex sprinted away from the homestead, though that wasn’t the reason she’d told Angela to hold on to her. It was freezing outside, and Angela was already shivering. Vex ran hotter than most, and by touching as much of her body as possible, there was less risk of her getting hypothermia.

It was a long way home. Angela needed all the warmth she could get.

Chapter 18

The journey to Chicago happened in a pain-ridden haze. Angela was fairly sure she lost consciousness a few times, though she couldn’t be certain. The world was a smear of dark trees and white snow, and since it was going by too fast for her to register any details, she struggled to stay focused.

Besides, Vex was warm. So warm. With how bone-chillingly cold the cell had been and the outside being no better, holding onto her and breathing in her smoky scent seemed to heat her up from the inside.

The hush of winter winds died, being replaced with the whirr of car engines. Then the familiar quiet of a residential neighborhood where everyone other than her turned their lights off before ten PM. And a sharp voice.

“What the hell happened!”

A key clattered against a lock. Floorboards creaked. Her nose filled with the calming smell of herbs, incense, and old books.

Home. She was home. The realization made her want to laugh and cry at the same time.

“Put her there,” Sam said, her commanding tone a little surprising. She couldn’t even make eye contact just a few months ago, and now she was barking orders at a greater fiend.

Focus returned as Angela was slowly lowered, a whimper escaping when the jacket Vex had given her got taken off and the movement pulled at her ribs. The pain dulled when she got settled on something soft. A couch.

She opened her eyes, recognizing the upstairs of her house. The landing, the picture frames, the quilted blanket her mom had made for her years ago.

Sam was crouched next to her, examining the injuries on her face. The crease between her brows brought focus to her gaze that almost hid the fear beneath it. She spun on Vex, who was pacing right behind her.

“What the hell? Why did you bring her here instead of taking her to the high-rise?”

“Ask her.” Vex gestured at Angela. “She insisted. She’s been repeating the words ‘call Sam and take me home’ at least a hundred times since we started towards Chicago.”

Angela knew she’d said the words once, when they’d stopped to contact Court, but she thought the other times had just been voiced internally. Something sensible to focus on when everything was unraveling into chaos.

She was injured and needed healing. Sam could do that. She had a target on her back and was being hunted by people specializing in capturing witches. Her house was one of the most protected places in the city. The sentence was an answer to immediate problems, as well as a desperate need that wasn’t at all based on logic.

Her home was her stronghold. Impenetrable and safe, where nothing could get in. Even though there were people in the high-rise who could protect her, it didn’t feel like they could. In that moment, nothing felt safer than the house she’d come to consider her sanctuary.

Sam pushed her hair away from her face. “Angela, I need you to say something.”

Angela clenched her jaw. Time hadn’t made it any easier to talk, or breathe, without agony shooting through her chest.

“Something.”

“Her ribs are broken,” Vex said, still pacing. “And her leg, too.”

When Sam stayed silent, Vex grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to her feet. She moved in so close that her proximity couldn’t be read as anything other than a threat.

“You fix her, witch.” Vex’s voice was dangerously low. “Or you’re fucking dead.”

“Excuse me?” Sam leaned back, staring at Vex as though she’d spoken a foreign language. When Vex looked like she was about to spout more stupid threats, Angela touched Sam’s hand.

“Ignore her, Sam. That’s just how she talks.”

“I can’t ignore her,” Sam said flatly. “I need to focus, and that’s hard to do with a fiend hovering over me.”

Vex’s irises turned scarlet. “Try to see it as motivation. That might help.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “I need you to leave.”

“You can’t tell me—”

“I can and I will.” She wrenched free of Vex’s grip. “I have work to do, and you being here is distracting. Not motivating. I’m sure you’ll be of better use elsewhere, such as at Court, reporting what happened.” Sam eyed Angela. “Yeah?”

Angela almost smiled at the question. She nodded instead.

Vex kept glaring at Sam. Her fingers curled and uncurled, reminding Angela of a panther who was considering if it should kill its prey before or after it started eating.

Then her eyes flicked to Angela. The red waned, and she stepped back, evaporating into shadow and moving like a wave across the landing before vanishing down the stairs.

Some, if not all, of the assertiveness left Sam’s face when Vex was gone. She kneeled next to the couch, face paler than before.

“What hurts most?”

Angela shook her head, stifling a cough. “Check the lines.”

“Angela, you’re bleeding and—”

“Sam,” Angela snapped, ignoring the pain tightening down her side. “Check. The fucking. Lines.”

Danger didn’t need much of a gap to get in. Her house was covered in defenses, but they needed to be maintained to be effective. She couldn’t make sure they were that herself, and just the thought that something might come inside caused a dizzying fog to slip over her vision.

Rather than pointlessly argue, Sam did as she was asked. When she returned a few minutes later, she was carrying a pair of scissors, a cloth, and a bowl filled with water.

“Everything’s in place,” she said, sitting next to the couch. “Redid the line by the front door, too.”

Angela breathed a sigh of relief. Relief that didn’t make any logical sense, but which was there anyway.

She hadn’t even thought to redo the door. There was a salt line under her doormat, something Sam knew about and must have broken so Vex could carry her upstairs.

Why hadn’t she thought of that? She should have. But her ability to think was waning again. Reason might do the same if she didn’t get herself under control.

“Ribs,” she whispered. Sam paused, the cloth already going towards Angela’s face.

“What?”

“My ribs. They hurt the most.” She coughed, squeezing her eyes shut. “Be careful. Don’t overexert yourself.”

Sam scoffed, using the scissors to cut off the ruined shirt. If she’d tried to pull it off, it didn’t matter how much Angela wanted to keep it in. She definitely would have screamed.

“Are you seriously trying to teach right now?”

“I’m just being efficient.”

“You don’t need to be efficient. You need to shut up and let me work.”

Angela couldn’t argue with that. Both because it would hurt too much and because the consequences of getting drugged, tortured, and then planning her own death had instilled such pure exhaustion in her bones that she would have passed out if pain hadn’t kept her conscious.

“What are these from?” Sam gestured at Angela’s chest. She’d tended to her injuries and was now cleaning away the blood to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. “The bruises. They’re all over your chest. And on your neck.”

It took a second to put the pieces together. Angela had covered up the hickeys before going to Daisy’s, but the concealer she’d used evidently couldn’t withstand two buckets of ice water.

“It’s nothing,” Angela said, looking away. “Just ignore them.”

Sam’s brows furrowed. But she stayed quiet, helping Angela into a seated position and putting the quilted blanket around her shoulders.

“Good job.” Angela closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths. “You did really well. You stayed focused. Stayed on task. You didn’t panic, and you remained calm, even when—”

“Please stop teaching.” Sam sank down on the couch, taking deep breaths of her own.

She was doing a better job than Angela. Her breathing was steady only because of conscious effort. But if she did what she wanted, she would break down in tears, if for no other reason than to let out some of the dread that had settled in her body.

The other thing she wanted was to pass out. Restoration amplified the body’s natural healing and always brought fatigue with it, especially if the injuries were extensive. And she was exhausted. Everything felt so heavy. Her arms, her thoughts, and especially her eyelids.

She also felt dirty. Not just on the outside, but in the very depths of her soul, as though something cold and slimy was in the process of constricting it. An incorporeal monster that had first shown itself weeks before and since she was now too tired to keep it at bay, it was gorging itself on her resolve.

Angela stood up. Carefully, to avoid swaying too much.

“You can go, Sam. I’m just going to shower and go to sleep, anyway. You don’t need to be here for that.”

Sam stood too, expression stern. “I don’t think that’s a good—”

“I’m fine!” Angela bit her lip, closing her eyes until she was sure she wouldn’t snap at the person who’d just shown up in the middle of the night to fix her injuries.

Sam was still so new to all of this. She shouldn’t have to play caretaker for the person acting as her teacher.

“I’m okay, Sam. I just want to be alone right now. And I seriously doubt Vex is interested in being helpful, so I need you to go to Court and make sure the Regents know what happened. They shouldn’t do anything rash.”

“You don’t want to talk to them yourself?”

“I will.” Angela pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. “Later. When I’m not close to passing out.”

She’d already been told off for that decision earlier. When they’d called Court on the way back to Chicago, Natalya had asked all sorts of questions, but Angela couldn’t focus enough to answer them. She just wanted things to be like before. To feel assured, to feel safe.

She didn’t know how Natalya had understood that from a hyperventilating phone call, but she had sighed, and then told Angela to go home and rest. Though she clearly hadn’t been happy about it.

Sam wasn’t either. But the pleading look Angela gave her must have done the trick, because she forced on a smile.

“Call me when you wake up. Just so I know you’re okay.”

Angela nodded. “Sure. And… thank you.”

Sam stayed in place a second longer, perhaps hoping Angela would change her mind, before she sighed and headed down the stairs. Her footsteps creaked against the wooden staircase and then the click of the front door opening and closing killed the noise.

The silence that followed was deafening enough that it almost summoned those tears Angela didn’t want to indulge.

She instantly regretted telling Sam to leave. Part of her wanted to rush downstairs, yank open the door, and yell for Sam to come back, just so she wouldn’t have to be alone. With the quiet or her thoughts that were anything but.

Until that point, she hadn’t fully realized how close it had been. She’d taken all the fear and shoved it first behind layers of reason, then circumstance. While they were running towards Chicago, they weren’t safe. Until her injuries had gotten healed, she was still in pain. But now…

Now she was alone in a dark house, the realization that luck was the only reason she wasn’t in the process of getting whipped bloody drowning out everything else. It felt like there were a hundred eyes on her, watching from beyond the windows and just waiting for her to let her guard down so they could get in. So they could get her again.

Paranoia. Agoraphobia, arguably, as just the thought of going outside where her defenses were no longer in play made her breathing shallow.

Needing to do something, she went into the bathroom, taking a shower that was so hot it hurt her skin. She put on clean clothes and threw out the blood-stained ones before moving through the steps of making fresh sanctified salt.

It happened by pure muscle memory. Fortunate, since her brain couldn’t focus on anything but the potential dangers waiting outside, and she needed to refill her vials. Needed to plaster herself in incanted steel and silver if it meant this sudden, unwelcome terror would do what it was supposed to and fuck all the way off.

More than anything, she wanted to not be alone with that feeling. To call Sam and ask her to stay in the house. Or her parents, even if it was in the middle of the night. But her phone had been taken somewhere between the diner and the cell, meaning she was stuck in this solitary fortress she’d made for herself.

Her hands were shaking when she refilled her vial necklace and she had to lean against the door frame when she went to enter her bedroom. Cool and eerily quiet. Like the concrete room she’d just been in.

She drew in a shuddering breath, a tear spilling down her cheek.

A light tapping sounded behind her and she let out a startled scream. She spun, looking at one of the upstairs windows with her hands already raised to protect her face when she saw what had caused the noise.

Vex was on the other side of the glass. Sitting on the sill, leaning against the window frame. She hadn’t been there a second before. Or, she hadn’t been visible a second before.

Sighing out the tension, Angela wiped her face before walking over and opening the window. She hugged herself against the cold, the memory of how warm Vex had been shifting in front of all the frightening ones. She hadn’t even been chilly when they made it to the city.

She was chilly now. A little.

“Hey…” Angela said, the rest of the sentence, whatever it was, dying on her lips.

“Hey.” Vex’s eyes flicked to Angela’s crossed arms before returning to her face. Looking at her as though trying to read her thoughts by inspecting the details in her irises. As though Vex was… worried.

Angela couldn’t make sense of that stare. So many things didn’t make sense. That Vex was still there, that she’d carried Angela all the way to Chicago, that she hadn’t killed her.

What was she supposed to do with those absurd facts? Say thank you? Or just demand an explanation for why she’d spent months intent on being a nuisance and then, tonight, the first thing she’d done when she appeared in the cell had been to cradle Angela’s face like it was made of cracked glass.

But as it turned out, Angela didn’t need to say anything at all.

“You know French.” Vex smirked when Angela’s brows furrowed. “Correction. You know bad French.”

Angela blinked, staring at Vex for several seconds before she managed a confused, “What?”

“Fiends automatically learn the languages of the people who summon us. Allows us to better communicate with them. And your French is fucking awful.”

Angela stayed quiet for another long moment before smiling. “I took a few classes in high school, but I didn’t really enjoy it. Ended up switching it out for Latin.”

“Of course you did.” Vex looked off into the dark, a slight smile playing on her lips. She didn’t seem inclined to leave. But it also didn’t seem like she was there to say, or do, something irritating.

Angela leaned against the inside windowsill. “Why, Vex?”

“You ask a lot of questions, you know that? They’re usually a bit more precise, though.”

“I don’t need to be precise with you.” Angela’s voice, though quiet, was unwavering. She willed her gaze to be the same as she stared at Vex’s bright green eyes, hoping an answer to all the unknowns in that single ‘Why’ could be found somewhere inside them.

Why hadn’t she killed her? Why had she saved her, despite the risk? Why had she stayed this time when she hadn’t just the evening before?

Vex’s expression tensed, her lips threatening to slip into either a mocking smirk or disdainful sneer, like usual. Instead, she just shrugged.

“I stayed outside because I had a feeling you’d act like an idiot and send your sweet apprentice away. Even though you’re still scared.”

Angela scoffed. And hugged herself tighter. “I’m not scared.”

Vex didn’t respond to the lie. Didn’t smirk, didn’t taunt, didn’t do anything other than keep eye contact.

“As for saving you, I did that because I had to,” Vex continued. “You were my summoner, even if it was only briefly. If I kill you, it locks me to this world for a thousand years. I’m already stuck here for one millennium, and I don’t feel like adding another one to it.” A hint of a smile eased onto Vex’s face. “I guess I’m a little less inclined to kill you now.”

“Is that the only reason you saved me?”

The smile dropped. Vex crossed her arms, looking away from the window. “Of course it is.”

There was something hidden in that response. Something that would have been so much easier to understand if it was literally any other being sitting on Angela’s windowsill, watching over the yard like a green-eyed gargoyle. If it wasn’t someone who had every reason, good and bad, to hate her.

Angela had never envied other people their abilities. She had always found her own projects too interesting to waste time feeling jealous. But right then, she would have given anything to briefly possess the gift of mind reading. Just so she could know what was going on inside Vex’s head.

A loud meow saved her from coming up with something to say, when Midnight suddenly appeared on the sill. The cat immediately pressed its face against Angela’s stomach, letting out such a loud purr it could be felt through her shirt.

“How did you get up here?” Angela hadn’t thought Midnight capable of scaling the house, but the cobwebs in her fur suggested that was exactly what she’d done.

Angela picked the cat up, at first just to move her, but then to hold her close. Midnight didn’t usually tolerate being held for longer than a few seconds, but now she didn’t struggle at all.

Then Angela noticed Vex’s attention had drifted. Rather than watching over the yard, she was looking at the windowsill salt line.

The line an excited Midnight had kicked up when she’d climbed the outside wall on a quest for attention.

Vex gestured at the salt. “Plan on fixing that?”

She should fix it. But her hands were full. And Vex wasn’t moving.

Angela held Midnight closer to her chest. “We’re not doing anything like last time.”

“Obviously.” Vex’s eyes flicked to her necklaces and then back up again. They were both in effect. Vex couldn’t touch her. Couldn’t hold her. Couldn’t do anything to her. Other than being in the house, so she wouldn’t be alone.

Angela looked away. “Then I’m not fixing it.”

Vex’s form distorted into shadow. Darkness coasted over the windowsill, slipping through the gap in the salt, before reforming into physical shape less than a foot from Angela. Vex tilted her head, and that small act added an impossible softness to her sharp, slitted eyes.

“Couch or bedroom?”

Angela bit her lip, trying to make her tongue spit out a curt reminder stating that was not why Vex had been let inside, when Vex continued.

“You’re basically asleep on your feet. Do you want to pass out on your couch or in the bedroom?”

Angela’s shoulders fell. It took no small amount of effort to not have her gaze do the same.

“Couch,” she whispered. She’d known the answer immediately, even if the reason came a little late. “Bedroom is too quiet.”

She closed the window and hurried to the couch, turning the TV onto a channel showing some reality program. It didn’t matter what it was about. Just that the house wasn’t all silent.

She looked around for the blanket she’d been using before, but before she could search in earnest, Vex was handing it to her. Angela accepted it, taking care not to touch Vex’s fingers.

Wiping her eyes one last time, she lay down on the couch and pulled the blanket over herself. Midnight crawled under it, settling against Angela’s chest. The cat indulging her need for warmth was appreciated, even if it wasn’t the same as the warmth she’d experienced just a little while before.

A frighteningly big part of her wanted to tear off her necklace and cling to Vex, like she’d done when they were running back towards Chicago. Just so she could drown in the unreasonable safety her proximity afforded.

But Vex wouldn’t let her. Angela wouldn’t be conned into relying on someone who didn’t really care about her. Even if the facts seemed to dispute that conclusion.

If Vex didn’t care, she wouldn’t be in her goddamn house. But if she did care, she would do something other than sit in silence at the end of the couch, staring straight ahead as though her attention was somewhere far away from the present.

If she cared, she wouldn’t have left the night before.

“You could have stayed,” Angela mumbled. “Afterward. It’s not like I was expecting us to cuddle up in bed or anything like that, but… you should have stayed.”

Vex’s jaw tensed. Even without proper context, she knew what Angela was referring to.

“Yeah. I should have.” She closed her hand into a fist, resting it against her thigh. “I did, though. Sort of.”

“What do you mean?”

“I stayed outside. Right until you left. Wanted to make sure nothing was wrong. You were kind of out of it.”

Why did that make the confusion worse? Why did that make all these sudden, frustrating feelings endlessly more complicated? Why was she suddenly acting this way, instead of the hateful demon she was supposed to be?

Another night, Angela could have given the questions proper consideration. She could have reminded herself of the facts. That Vex was cruel. Conniving. Mean and selfish and that she’d made her ruinating intentions clear only days before.

But that night, she didn’t. She just hugged Midnight close and curled in on herself.

“Wake me up if you decide to leave.”

A familiar sneer pulled at Vex’s mouth. “Yeah, whatever.”

Angela took a trembling breath. “Will you?”

“Wake you up?” Vex looked back at her, eyes hard. They softened when Angela responded, though her voice was far smaller than she’d meant it to be.

“Leave?”

Vex’s irises let off a faint shimmer so deeply green they looked like dark emeralds. So far from the sheer neon they usually were.

“No. I won’t leave.” Vex pointed her gaze forward, hand closing into a fist again. “Go to sleep.”

For once, Angela didn’t argue. Instead, she breathed in the warm, smoky scent lingering in the air, letting it warm her from within as she closed her eyes and drifted into sleep.

Chapter 19

Grimy water dripped down from the ceiling, pooling on the stone floor. A consequence of necessity, since Vex had put a small electric radiator in the corner, so the room stayed heated. As a result, the snow packed around this fuck-off placed shed melted into its crevasses, dripping into the impromptu cell.

It was better than her prisoner deserved. But cold was a silent killer, and she needed him alive. For now.

“Please…” Isaac whimpered. “I didn’t do anything. Please, you have to believe me!”

Begging again. Like he did every time she stopped by to ensure he wasn’t about to die of exposure or dehydration.

That day, she’d stayed. The pleading had grown louder and increasingly desperate as a result.

“I will believe you,” Vex said, looking at her nails rather than the sniveling warlock. “Once those salts of yours run out, I’ll believe your memories, at least. Revealing them won’t even sting. Assuming they match the whining you’ve done for the past few days.”

Isaac cowered as though her words physically hurt. His protective necklaces meant he was safe from her touch and influence, but that wouldn’t last.

Technically, she was supposed to have brought him to the high-rise. The Chains had reacted both swiftly and publicly when they’d heard the details of Angela’s kidnapping. The people involved were considered direct enemies of the Court. If they were found within the territory, they wouldn’t be walking out again.

But the laws of Chains didn’t matter here. Regardless of how they were written, they were far too soft for what these people deserved.

“I have money. A lot of money.” Isaac crawled closer to Vex. The wall-embedded chain attached to his steel collar went taut when he was only a few feet from her. “Please, I… I know things! The internal workings of the Vintners. That would be valuable to you, right?”

Vex crouched down to his eye level. If he reached his arm out, he’d be a few inches shy from touching her face.

“That would be valuable, yes.” Vex put on a too-pleasant smile. “Go on. If you know anything that might be of interest to me, please share.”

Part of what made waiting so sweet was that it could be filled with entertainment. Hearing Isaac babble out incriminating information on people he’d been friends with for decades was very entertaining. The action of someone who knew that if Vex got to look inside his head, he’d be royally fucked. No one was this scared of having the truth uncovered unless they feared what it would reveal.

Catching him had almost been too easy. Though the Vintners disliked the Chains, that didn’t mean they were interested in getting malevolent attention from them. Isaac had been out on his ass in less than twenty-four hours.

In addition, Isaac had made bad decisions, including wandering around within Chains territory after the Court had issued what was effectively a kill order. That is, he’d been on the wrong side of their borders after Vex spent two days tracking him down and had threatened some random people into throwing him into this shed she had found for the purpose, and then stole the memories of their involvement.

No one knew he was there. Not even the Regents, and especially not Natalya. If she found out about the plan Vex had come up with, then she’d have to act all Queen-like, and order Vex to let it go. For her own safety.

Well… Fuck safety.

She flashed her teeth in a grin, letting them grow fiendishly pointy. The blood drained from Isaac’s face, and he crawled away from her until his back hit the wall. Vex stood, following him.

“Please…” His voice was more sniffle than speech. “Don’t hurt me. I’ll do anything—anything you ask. I didn’t have a choice. Please, I’m innocent!”

Vex tapped her foot against his leg. No pain followed, and she crouched in front of him. He recoiled when she caressed his cheek, breathing so rapidly that strings of spittle shot out of his mouth.

“Your salts have run out, Isaac.” Vex all but sang the words, and a dark stain formed on Isaac’s pants. “Bet you regret not refilling them sooner. Then you could have spent weeks pissing yourself with fear rather than just a few days. But don’t worry. I’ll just take a peek. If I like what I find, then there won’t be any trouble.”

She grabbed him by the jaw, and he struggled against her, pulling at her wrist and kicking at her legs. He did everything he could to get away, but without their defenses, arcanists were wonderfully human. And humans were very fragile creatures.

It was bad luck that he was even there. Natalya had extended Vex’s leash further. She could wander as she wished within Chains territory, with the caveat that she’d swiftly lose this privilege if it was abused.

Vex didn’t care if it was lost or abused. As long as it got her a few arcanists to torture, she’d gladly spend the next decade bound to the high-rise if that’s how Natalya felt like disciplining her.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions,” Vex said. “Kindly stay awake. If you start drifting off, I have several creative ways to get you re-energized, and I doubt you’ll like any of them.”

“Please,” he gasped, clawing at her wrist. “This is about Angela, right? I never wanted her to get hurt, but they made me—”

Vex squeezed his jaw hard enough that he shut up.

“You don’t need to speak for this part.”

Her questions weren’t for his tongue, but his thoughts. When he heard them, his mind would automatically focus on the answer, and the memories associated with it would be easier to locate.

Looking through Isaac’s memories was an onerous affair. He was a warlock, and a fairly clever one at that. His memories were interlayered like billions of interconnected spiderwebs. Tugging at one wrong strand could sever access to a million others.

Inspecting memories wasn’t at all like mind reading. Thoughts were reactive, and they couldn’t be catered or controlled. Lying to a mind reader was impossible. Lying to a memory thief was the norm. If someone had lied to themselves for long enough, there were only slight differences between a genuine memory and a fabricated one.

“What was your role in the kidnapping?”

Several pathways illuminated, appearing like strands of silk needing to be carefully unwound. She had to fight not to unravel them all, just as she had to combat the urge to hunt down every person even vaguely involved with this situation and make them suffocate in a void of nothingness.

That urge had spawned back at the homestead, but it hadn’t formed into a plan until later. Not until they’d gotten back to Chicago and she’d seen Angela curl in on herself as though she were a frightened child and the quilted blanket she was hiding under an impenetrable shield.

Vex had never seen her like that. Overwhelmed, terrified, and so exhausted that she couldn’t hide being either. She hadn’t thought someone as assured and capable as Angela could look so uncertain. Could look so broken.

It made it even more difficult to accept the facts provided by raking through Isaac’s mind. It seemed like his role in this had been minor. All he’d done was play lure, and he’d had little choice in taking on that role.

But there was more. There was always more.

“Who hired you?” Vex picked through Isaac’s recollections, seeing both familiar faces and one she only knew from description.

A big man covered in tattoos and wearing a stupid grin. A young girl with gemlike eyes and a nervous disposition. And finally, a woman with a cold, calculating gaze who oversaw torture sessions with the same clinical neutrality as a dentist did a tooth extraction.

Titus. Eden. Quinn. Names and faces distracting enough that she almost missed a few stray memories. Ones hidden by shame and embarrassment.

Vex’s grip tightened. Though the art of inspecting memories was a difficult one that she had spent decades practicing, this would have been clear to even a newly summoned demon.

Every Angela-centered memory had lit up bright green.

“Why did you help them?” Her voice was a whispered snarl. Isaac whimpered in response.

“I didn’t mean to. I didn’t… I swear.”

Lies. Cowardly fucking lies.

When he’d met the young witch in her teenage years, he’d been impressed by her. Then worried when he saw who she spent her time with. And then, when she’d surpassed him first in knowledge and then in skill, he’d been hatefully envious.

He’d wanted her talent. Her resources. Her drive and focus. When it became obvious that he couldn’t get it, he’d hated her instead. And when the Inquisitors had presented their plan of kidnapping the Chains witch, he’d been eager to assist.

As hopeless as Isaac had felt when he delivered Angela to people he knew would torture and eventually kill her, it hadn’t been a lasting feeling, even though he’d done his best to convince himself that was the case. Instead, the main thing he had felt about betraying a woman who’d trusted him was fucking satisfied.

Vex drew back her focus. Scarlet light shined down on Isaac’s face.

“I beg you…” he whispered. “Please don’t kill me. I didn’t hurt her. I promise I didn’t.”

“I know.” Vex kept her voice even and her smile far too sweet. “I know you didn’t hurt her. Other than when you dragged her outside and threw her into the back of your car, you didn’t even touch her. You didn’t threaten her, or injure her, or tie her to a fucking chair to get tortured. When you did nothing but what others told you to do, punishing you would be very unfair.”

Relief rose in Isaac’s eyes. It vanished when Vex’s smile dropped.

“Unfortunately for you, I don’t care about being fair.”

He started crying as she began her time-staking punishment. Death was too easy for someone as pathetic as this man. Someone who’d betray a person he’d known for a decade and who’d seen her talent as something that needed to be snuffed out. Not because he was afraid she’d use it for wickedness, but because he wasn’t the one who possessed it.

If it hadn’t been for him, Angela wouldn’t have been taken. She wouldn’t have been hurt. She wouldn’t have been so terrified that she hadn’t been able to fall asleep after getting home without Vex being there with her, despite being so exhausted that she hadn’t even removed her glasses before passing out.

Vex had eased them off her face when she’d fallen asleep, being careful not to touch her skin. It would have produced agony if she did, and Angela shouldn’t be woken up by screams.

Evening had crept in when she was finally done. She removed Isaac’s restraints and opened the door to the shed, leaving him be while he looked around the space. Bleary-eyed, as though seeing it for the first time.

Memories could be stolen. Keeping them was trickier, especially if Vex didn’t give a shit about them, and she was more than happy with letting them vanish into the ether where they could never be reclaimed.

Memorized arcane recipes. Knowledge of the hidden world and all the denizens in it. The faces of his friends and family.

What was left was a shell of a man who didn’t remember how to speak. Who didn’t even remember his own name.

When he stumbled outside, he looked around at the dark winter landscape before wandering down the path leading away from the shed. He’d find a town if he kept going that direction, assuming he wouldn’t get distracted by a funny-looking snow pile and walk off into the wilderness.

Maybe some gentle soul would see him and help. Maybe they wouldn’t and the elements would take him instead. Either way, there was one person on her newly made list who’d gotten what they fucking deserved.

Vex leaned against the shed, sinking to the ground. She closed her eyes as she drew in deep, supposedly calming breaths.

It wasn’t that she’d thought this would help. Nothing helped. No matter what she did, it would never be enough. And no matter how many people she ruined, it wouldn’t undo what had happened in that torturer’s cell.

She wasn’t sure what had made her focus shift so suddenly. Why she’d hovered around Angela’s office ever since the kidnapping, growing more and more worried when another day passed with her not having returned to the high-rise. Another day where Vex hadn’t had to endure her provoking presence and snappy comments.

Some strange part of her would sell her own sight if she just got to hear Angela’s voice again. Her voice how it had been. When it was curt, impatient, and brimming with confidence. Not trembling with fear and exhaustion.

A few weeks ago, her main pastime had involved figuring out all the ways to wreck and ruin Angela Norwood. Now…

Now the only thing she could think about was how to destroy every person who’d even thought about touching the witch of Chains.

Chapter 20

Angela stared out of the window, tracking the snowflakes falling past the glass. It was an unnerving routine that had developed. Waking up whenever, eating whatever, and then sitting by the window alcove in her childhood bedroom for however long she could be left alone before her parents got worried enough to interfere.

She’d loved that alcove when she was younger. The deep-set window was right next to her bed, having been turned into a reading nook by padding it with pillows. Whenever she’d stayed up late studying, she’d done it there. It was a place synonymous with flow and focus.

Now, she only had the memory of those things.

A hiss alerted that someone was approaching. Midnight was curled up on her lap, facing the open door so she could scare off potential intruders. The cat had shown up at the Norwood house less than a day after Angela did, loudly annoyed as she all but forced her way inside.

“Angela?” Molly said, tapping a knuckle against the door. “Dad is about to start decorating. Do you still want to help?”

The church her parents went to were hosting a charity Christmas market a few days from then, and they had volunteered to make baked goods. Naturally, it had gotten out of hand. The house had smelled of sugar and cinnamon since dawn.

Angela didn’t look away from the window. “I’ll be there in a second.”

There was a moment of quiet before Molly sighed and her footsteps came closer. She didn’t enter Angela’s periphery until she climbed onto her bed and then sat at the opposite end of the alcove.

“It’s been almost a week of this. You barely leave your room unless we coax you outside.”

It was warranted concern, unfortunately. Angela had done little else but sit and stare for the past several days. She couldn’t remember when she had last taken such a long break from working, and ‘break’ was the only right word for it. It was like something inside her had snapped into pieces and a bunch of them had been left in that cold cell she shouldn’t have escaped.

“Did you have trouble with someone at the university? Since you haven’t been working?” Molly asked. When Angela stayed quiet, she drew in a sharp breath. “Were you… assaulted? Or something like that?”

Angela sighed and closed her eyes. Learning that her mom’s thoughts had gone there of all places made a pang of guilt cut through the numbness.

“It’s nothing like that.”

“Well, something clearly happened.” Molly put a hand on Angela’s arm. “You can talk to us. If you want to.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d made an offer like that. What parents wouldn’t be worried when their daughter showed up on their doorstep and asked through barely contained sobs if she could stay with them for a few days?

She hadn’t told her parents anything. They weren’t initiated into what really went on in the world, but even if they were, there wasn’t a point in talking when she couldn’t provide any satisfying answers. So when her silence had persisted, they let her be. Staring into space because that was all she could bring herself to do.

There wasn’t anything else to do, not with everything being as messed up as it was. Not when all the things Angela usually filled her time with had been ripped away after she’d done her duty and reported every morbid detail of what happened to the Chains Regents. Not when her focus had been left somewhere on the road between the Inquisitors’ homestead and Chicago. Not when just thinking about leaving made it feel like a fist was tightening around her innards.

“I don’t want to talk, Mom,” Angela said, her tone even. Or dead, might be more accurate. “And I promise I wasn’t assaulted.”

Not in that way, at least.

“Then what happened? You’ve never acted like this before. You usually get antsy if you don’t have some sort of project to devote your attention to.”

Molly lightened the comment by smiling through it, but it didn’t help the way she’d intended. Angela had tried to work, obviously. She’d forced herself to do it every day, but even researching—something she considered an energizing activity—was too much. Though she could read the words, her mind did absolutely nothing with the information they provided.

She’d expected there to be some kind of response to what happened. That she’d suffer from nightmares or maybe get jumpy in response to loud noises. A new phobia might have developed, making her fear small spaces, or being alone in the dark.

Instead of any of those expected things, her brain had just shut off. Where before she could ask herself a question and have her mind be entertained with countless potential answers, now there was just… static.

“I can’t work. Not right now.” She looked over at Molly, catching the view of herself in the wall mirror behind her. Her hair was unwashed and in a messy ponytail, and there were deep shadows under her eyes.

She certainly looked like concern was warranted. She put on a small smile, hoping it would lighten how wrecked she appeared.

“But staying here helps.”

“You can always stay here. For as long as you want to.” Molly put an arm around her, ignoring Midnight meowing in protest. When Angela responded to the touch by leaning into it, her mom fully hugged her. “I just can’t stand seeing you like this. Talking to someone might help. Maybe those friends of yours from the university?”

Those ‘friends’ were Sam and Maya, who had come by the house almost every day. And they’d been sent away every time.

If she tried talking to them, then Angela would just run into the same problem as always. People didn’t understand. Not without her having to stop and explain herself every two seconds.

Just thinking about the effort that would take made her want to curl up into a ball and close her eyes, so she wouldn’t have to deal with the world anymore.

The ringing doorbell made Molly lean back. When it rang again—making it clear Joel was too busy in the kitchen to get it—she gave Angela a kiss on the forehead and hurried out of the room. Leaving Angela to stare out of the window again.

It was a new kind of misery to feel scared as well as unproductive. The fear had side effects, making events that should be isolated to a single, awful night extend to have a far longer shelf life.

Her mind was everything to her. It was the one thing that gave her purpose beyond wasting air. Using it was the only way she knew how to be helpful. How to be useful.

Now it was gone. And she had no idea when, or if, it would come back. It was equivalent to a pianist who’d dedicated their whole life to their craft getting all their fingers cut off.

“Those are some impressive contacts!”

Her mom’s voice, though muted from being down the hall, cut through the haze. It briefly cleared the brain fog, her mental faculties being restored just enough that Angela put together who had apparently shown up at the front door.

She scrambled down from the window, much to Midnight’s annoyance, and rushed down the hall, skidding to a halt in the entryway.

Vex was by the doorstep. In her dark jeans, baggy black t-shirt, no jacket, and no sunglasses. She was wearing an attempt at a pleasant smile, though the strained expression vanished when her eyes found Angela’s.

Silence followed, with them staring at each other. Molly looked between them, clearly surprised.

“Do you know her?” Molly asked.

“Yeah, we—” Angela cleared her throat. “We’re familiar. Through the… the university.”

A smile eased onto Molly’s face right as Joel barged in from the kitchen, wiping his hands on his apron.

“Are they early? They weren’t supposed to show until—” He paused, looking Vex up and down. “Are you from… church? I thought you weren’t going to pick up the food until this evening.”

Vex’s smile tensed further. “No. I’m not from church.”

“She and Angela are familiar,” Molly said in a mockery of a whisper.

“Oh?” Joel’s brows furrowed and then raised. “Oh! Oh…”

“I think something’s burning in the kitchen,” Angela said tightly. “Why don’t you go check on it? Both of you?”

Going by their painfully obvious smiles, her parents had already come up with countless stupid stories. They didn’t even try to hide their expressions, or the glances they shot at Vex, as they returned to the kitchen.

The moment they were out of sight, Angela rushed to the front door.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she whispered. “Do you want my parents to drown me in questions?”

Vex’s brows furrowed in surprise. Then she smirked and, unlike the stiff expression from before, there was nothing but sincerity in it.

“I assumed you were so sweet and proper that you wouldn’t lie to them about how you spend your time. My bad.”

“I’m not lying. I’m protecting them, you asshole,” Angela snapped. “They don’t know anything, and I want to keep it that way. For their sake and mine.”

A meow made both of them look down. Midnight was leaning against Angela’s leg, whining for attention. Then she looked up at Vex and—with a lazy swish of the tail—walked outside, circling her feet a few times before returning to the warm house.

“Sounds like you’re doing better, at least,” Vex said. “A bit of distance from everything did you good.”

That was the last thing Angela had expected to hear. Actually, nothing about this situation made any sense. Not Vex showing up, not this conversation, not how hot she felt despite the door being open and the winter chill being in full effect.

“Honey, you’re letting the heat out!” her dad yelled, bringing Angela back down to earth from wherever the hell she’d just gone.

“We can talk inside.” Angela lifted the doormat and cleared away the salt. She frequently warded her parents’ house and hiding salt lines was part of that process.

“Don’t do anything too… fiendish,” Angela said as she closed the door behind Vex. Amidst all the Norwood family paraphernalia and homemade Christmas decorations, she stood out as starkly as a razorblade among flower petals.

“Are you worried I won’t be nice?” Vex asked.

Angela was about to say that she was, actually, when Joel called her name from the kitchen. Her promise to help had mainly been to dissuade parental concern, but now it transitioned from being appeasing to impractical.

With a sigh, Angela took off one of her vial necklaces and stuffed it in her pocket. She grabbed Vex by the hand, dragging her out of the entryway.

“I’m putting it back on if you try anything. And you still haven’t told me what you’re doing here.”

Vex didn’t answer, busy taking in the house. Her sneer intensified with every cozy bit of homemade décor she spotted.

“Who’s this, Angela?” Molly asked when they made it into the kitchen.

“An acquaintance.” Angela was already pushing Vex into the dining room.

“Colleague. Of sorts,” Vex said over her shoulder, putting on a tight smile. “You can call me Vex.”

“Vex?” The delighted grin Joel shot Angela was anything but subtle. “What an unusual name.”

Vex’s smile twitched. Politeness wasn’t exactly in her wheelhouse. That she was even trying was as shocking as her presence.

“I’m pretty unusual, Mr. Norwood.”

“You don’t need to talk to her,” Angela said, pulling Vex towards the dining table. It was covered in baking trays. “She won’t be here long. She’s leaving as soon as she tells me why the fuck she’s here.”

She spoke the swear under her breath and with her face turned so only Vex saw it. Her tight smile turned more teasing in response. Unsurprisingly, Vex responded better to animosity than pleasantries.

Before Angela could snap at her about what that expression might be goading towards, Joel sauntered up next to them and set down a plate of sugar-coated cookies.

“You can eat these while you work,” he said, inspecting Vex in a way that was painfully far from subtle.

“Thanks, Dad,” Angela said through gritted teeth. Once he’d returned to the kitchen, Vex grinned and sat down at the table.

“Your parents are lovely. With family like that, how did you end up being so unpleasant?”

Angela glared at Vex, taking the chair next to hers. “I mirror my surroundings.”

It looked like Vex was holding back a laugh. But the tilt of her lips might also be from surprise, because her eyes narrowed a little.

“Huh.”

Angela pulled over a tray of cookies. She might be hopeless at cooking, but her decorating skills were unmatched.

“Huh, what?”

“You’re still in there.”

Angela paused with her hand hovering over the piped frosting. Vex’s presence had, for some literally godforsaken reason, made her forget everything that had happened. For a few seconds, it had all gone away, and she’d been able to think as clearly and quickly as normal.

But things weren’t normal.

“I’m not so sure about that.”

She touched her cheek. Right where there had been bruising not that long ago. She straightened and returned her attention to the pine-tree-shaped cookie in front of her.

“Why are you here?”

“To bother you. Mainly.” Vex picked up a cookie from the batch meant for decoration rather than consumption. Angela snatched it out of her hand before she could bite into it.

“I’ve told you that you’re someone people notice. My parents are very much people, so I need to get you out of here quickly. Tell me what you’re doing here.”

“I’m giving you an update.” Vex cracked her neck, using the movement to hide her glancing into the kitchen where her parents were whispering excitedly to each other. But they were out of earshot.

“They’re being dealt with.” Vex picked up one of the sugar-coated cookies, turning it between her fingers. “All the people involved with what happened. They won’t be able to hurt you again.”

“That’s an absolute that can’t be guaranteed.”

“Yeah, it can.” Vex’s eyes hardened. “I’m making sure of it.”

Angela paused her work, giving Vex a more inspective look. Taking in how bright green her irises had turned and how taut her shoulders were.

Then she ran a hand through her black hair and the predator glint vanished from her eyes.

“We still don’t know who paid the people that went after you, but after the statements the Regents made, they won’t dare cross the borders. It would be suicide, or something close to it, so… it’s safe. To go back to the high-rise, I mean. And away from this nativity scene. Didn’t take you as the believing type.”

She used the cookie to knock over a stack of song pamphlets. Molly had made them for when she was going caroling later that week.

“I’m not.” Angela restacked the pamphlets. “But my parents are, and I don’t bother them about it. Just as they don’t bother me about being an atheist.”

“Am I not living proof that that’s an incorrect thing to be?”

“Don’t even start. When shared by millions of people, faith can be a formidable force—formidable enough that it can literally will concepts into existence. What those concepts are depends entirely on the faith that spawned them. Not factual accuracy.” Angela shot Vex a look, raising an eyebrow. “Which I’m guessing you already knew.”

By her smirk, she obviously did. Like all supernatural creatures, fiends were a global phenomenon, but their natures changed depending on the culture they were summoned in.

They were sin incarnate, but sin was a nebulous concept. What was considered degenerate in one part of the world or period in history was seen as ordinary in another. Unlike fae, who reflected the archaic powers of nature and had been largely unchanged for thousands of years, fiends were reflections of human vices. Without unified, condemning cultures, they wouldn’t exist.

“You really are wasted working on all of this.” Vex gestured at the copious amount of cookies. “You must be dying to get out of here. Back to all that secret research you love so much.”

Angela’s shoulders stiffened. She turned away, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“I can’t do that yet.”

“Why not?”

Angela didn’t answer. There wasn’t an answer. Just a profound amount of uncertainty that she’d never had to deal with before. One night had taken all the assurance she’d wrapped herself in over the past ten years and scattered it to the winds.

She didn’t want to entertain all the hows and whys that surrounded her still being like this. Right now, she wouldn’t even be able to, anyway.

Vex nudged her arm and Angela flinched. With Vex’s question, her hands and mind alike had stopped working, and the realization was like getting kicked in the stomach. Questions were her everything, with her spending all her time either coming up with new ones or looking for ways to answer them.

They were supposed to drive her forward. Not stagger her.

“You do know they were fucked from the beginning, right?” Vex said, making Angela frown.

“I don’t follow.”

“Inquisitors are good at what they do. The best, probably. They have centuries of experience in dealing with witches, but you aren’t just a witch. You’re Angela Norwood. No one knows how to deal with you.”

Angela’s grip on the cookie tightened, nearly breaking it.

“You’re giving me too much credit. I just got lucky.”

There were way too many factors regarding what had happened that she hadn’t been in control of. If any of the variables had been even slightly off, everything could have fallen apart. Success had been entirely circumstantial.

“I’m not giving you enough credit,” Vex said. “If it had been anyone else in that cell, even with the exact same resources available, they wouldn’t have been able to escape like you did. You got out, even though you were in an impossible situation.”

“Nothing is impossible,” Angela said automatically. And Vex smiled. A brief smile. But a smile nonetheless.

“I think you’re the only person in the world who can say that and have it not be a lie.”

There was that sincerity again. A tone of assured honesty that had crept into the conversation and which blew through the mist filling up Angela’s brain, momentarily making it operate how it usually did.

She could be working an angle. There was always a risk of that with Vex, but after the night of the kidnapping, it felt different. Perhaps… caring, even. Maybe.

Useless fucking maybes.

“Is that why you came by?” Angela asked quietly. “To tell me all that?”

Vex’s jaw tensed. “No, that… That isn’t why.” She snapped the cookie between her fingers, dropping it on the plate. “Court sent me. You haven’t been by the high-rise in close to a week, so I was sent to give you the update and to… check on you. Make sure everything was okay.”

Angela stared at Vex, not blinking. Not speaking. Because even though she said the words assertively enough, that didn’t change the fact that they were obviously untrue. If Court really had sent someone by her parents’ house, they would have contacted Angela first to let her know they were coming. And they would have sent someone else. Not Vex.

An hour ago, Angela might have missed the full implications of this conversation. Now she saw them clearly. By how Vex was looking at her, she did too. But neither of them said anything, because that would mean acknowledging that Vex wasn’t there because she had to be.

She’d shown up simply because she wanted to.

“You have something on your face,” Vex said. Angela hesitated before wiping at her chin.

“Where?”

“To the right.”

Angela wiped her face again, and Vex rolled her eyes.

“Your other right. Just let me do it.”

She leaned closer, her proximity making Angela still by reflex. Her thumb brushed over her cheek, but despite the touch being light as a feather, it still electrified every cell in her body.

“There…” Vex paused, her eyes falling on Angela’s and her finger resting against her cheek. They both stayed unmoving, gazing at each other as the silence filled with… something. Tension. Electricity. The faint, warm scent of smoke.

Angela couldn’t make sense of her reaction. Why wasn’t she breathing? Why couldn’t she look anywhere else than at Vex’s eyes? Why did her heart feel like it had pole-vaulted into her throat? Flustering responses she didn’t know how to correlate to the present situation.

Then Vex drew back, revealing a bit of white dust on her finger. She cleared her throat and wiped her hand on her thigh.

“Powdered sugar.”

Oh. Oh, no…

Angela stared at her, the memory of Vex’s finger caressing her cheek searing into her mind. It burned away the fog that had haunted her, not just since the attack, but for weeks before that. That one gentle touch had somehow gathered up all the confusing thoughts she had about this woman and provided such startling clarity she could never unsee this dreadfully illogical conclusion.

She had a fucking crush on Vex.

It was an awful crush, too. The filling, fluttering kind that stole your reason and focus, meaning Angela usually smothered it as soon as she’d identified it to prevent the cursed thing from becoming too distracting.

But this, somehow, did the opposite. It heightened everything. It hit like an academic breakthrough did, making her stomach surge and her heart rate set off.

She wasn’t the only one who had a reaction. Her parents were in the kitchen, and their excited expressions made Angela’s face feel like it had caught fire. She spun away, returning her attention to the cookies on the table.

“Thanks for… for fixing that.” Stop thinking about it. And stop replaying the moment in your head, you fucking idiot. “And for stopping by. I’m really okay, I just… I need some time. Before I come back.”

“You know how long it’ll be?” Vex scratched the back of her neck. “In case Natalya asks or something.”

“I’m not sure. Everything is so… It’s not working as it should.”

She shot a glance into the kitchen again, finding that her parents were all but silently cheering. Angela leaned closer to Vex.

“I can’t discuss this in front of them. We can talk about it later.”

Vex narrowed her eyes. “Later?”

Angela only then realized what she’d said. But she also realized she had no interest in rescinding it.

This was just typical. Her brain finally turned back on and all it did was make moronic decisions. But they were decisions. After days of being unable to even pick what clothes to put on in the morning, she was more scared of losing them than indulging this unwise direction they wanted to go.

Besides, she’d dealt with crushes before, even if they hadn’t felt as… intense as this. Her attraction to people was usually inquiry based, meaning that when her curiosity about them waned, so would her feelings.

This was the same. Totally the same.

“Yeah. Later.” Angela adjusted her glasses, focusing on the cookies with far too much intensity. “Maybe tonight? I’ll remove the salt from my windowsill in case you want to come in and… talk.”

Vex stayed silent for a moment, eyes still narrowed. Then a miniscule smile took over.

“Sure, angel. Tonight.”

After Angela nodded in dumbfounded acknowledgement of what she’d just offered, Vex stood up from the table. She made a quick wave at Molly and Joel, her face twisting into a nauseated expression.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Norwood.”

If hormones hadn’t overtaken her bodily functions, Angela might have been able to keep her attention on her work. Instead, she only kept her eyes lowered for a few seconds before she gave in and looked over her shoulder, catching Vex step out of the front door. She paused at the threshold, glancing back at Angela, and the brief eye contact unleashed a million butterflies inside her stomach.

Yep. Definitely just a crush.

The door closed and Vex disappeared into the winter night. Angela tracked her form through the window, seeing it being swallowed by darkness far faster than should be possible. Leaving Angela flustered, confused, and—unlike what had been the case for the past several days—with a thousand thoughts whirling through her head.

Chapter 21

Angela paced back and forth in her room, like she had done for the past hour. It was almost midnight, and the house had been quiet for a while since her parents went to bed absurdly early. Another trait Angela hadn’t inherited. She had been a night owl since she was a child.

They had also been awful after Vex left, asking questions like ‘Who was that young lady?’ and ‘Is she a close friend of yours?’ Angela had excused herself as soon as she’d helped clean up after dinner, rushing to her room so she could be alone with the hurricane of considerations she suddenly had to deal with. Midnight wasn’t around either. The cat liked exploring the house during the evening, finding dust bunnies in need of vanquishing.

Now the house was quiet, inviting any sensible person to seek the refuge of sleep. But Angela couldn’t do that. Not with how loud her thoughts had been since Vex left. After a week of having them on mute, their presence was like a cacophony of noise.

Unfocused noise. Even though her mind was firing on all cylinders, it was still just idling. The only time it hadn’t felt like that was when Vex was sitting next to her.

It was a problem that didn’t require any research to solve. Muttering and pacing sufficed, both of which Angela had done plenty of as she tried to figure out what exactly had pulled her out of the fog she’d been trapped in since the kidnapping. Though it was obviously tied to Vex showing up, that wasn’t good enough. Just her presence couldn’t help that much.

It might be because Vex had saved her. It would make sense that she’d feel an innate safety because of that, even if Vex wasn’t someone you should feel safe around. It could also be because of how infernally clever she was. Her mind worked faster than mortal ones, so Angela didn’t have to explain anything when they talked. Vex got it, even with minimal context.

But it could also just be because Vex had nailed the bad boy aesthetic, making Angela’s desires sidestep every other appropriate feeling she was supposed to have. It wouldn’t be the first time it happened with Vex. Or the second.

She groaned into her hands. This was the exact reason she hated feelings. They couldn’t be prodded at until they made sense, and in addition, they also made you fucking stupid. Relying on the compassion of a greater Envy fiend was basically the definition of stupid.

She turned on her heel to continue her pacing, only to flinch instead. She almost yelped, but managed to stifle the noise into a sharp gasp, as Vex had suddenly appeared right in front of her.

Angela hadn’t even heard her come in. She’d appeared as silently as darkness did.

Vex cocked her head. “Did I scare you?”

Angela took a deep breath, making the sudden tenseness dissipate.

“No. No, you didn’t.”

Vex’s eyes darkened in shade. Her lips tilted into a smirk.

“You know I love when you lie to me.”

Angela was grateful for the low light now. The tone, the smile, and those teasing words made it feel like every molecule in her body had gotten a few degrees hotter. Experience told her she was prone to blushing when that happened.

“So… you wanted to talk.” Vex gestured at the room. “I’m guessing the topic concerns why you’re still stuck in here rather than being in the high-rise where you belong.”

“Cutting right to the chase, then.” Angela sat on the bed as Vex inspected the shelves filled with textbooks and framed family photos. She flicked at a Newton’s cradle, making the metal spheres click together.

“It’s a valid thing to bring up. Court hasn’t been this bloodthirsty in a while. The Chains don’t like when people mess with their witch.”

Angela lowered her eyes. She knew how valuable she was for the Court. She crafted their Chains pendants, made ammunition for the patrol teams, provided basic protective charms when required. In return, she got endless resources to do what she loved more than anything. Experiment and research.

But she hadn’t done any of that since she got back to Chicago.

“I’m not really useful right now,” Angela said. “That’s why I haven’t gone back to the high-rise. There’s no point when I can’t…”

She bit her lip. Though the Court didn’t need an affiliated witch—most Courts refused to work with arcanists, in fact—the Chains had become somewhat dependent on her. They had an agreement. It didn’t involve this.

Vex put a finger on the cradle, stopping it from making noise.

“There’s no point in the Chains having a witch if she can’t do the work she’s been hired to do.”

Angela sighed. “Yeah. Basically.”

She was being ridiculous. She had important work to do, and instead of getting her act together, she was hiding out in her childhood bedroom. Doing nothing. That didn’t benefit anyone.

The quiet stretched for a few seconds. Then Vex snorted and Angela glared at her.

“Really? I’m being vulnerable and you’re mocking me?”

“You didn’t let me in here so I could be nice to you.” Vex sat next to her on the bed, looking relaxed in a way that seemed slightly put on. “I can make you forget. If you take your necklace off and give me a few hours, I can steal the memories. You won’t have to deal with them anymore.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? To have unfiltered access to my mind.”

“I’d really like it. I wouldn’t have offered otherwise.”

“How nice of you.” Angela started to smile, though it didn’t really settle. “But I don’t think getting rid of the memories would help.”

She’d meant for more of an explanation to follow, but whatever reasoning surrounded the statement wouldn’t move past her lips. But staying quiet wasn’t useful either. That just invited questions she didn’t have the energy to deal with.

When Vex didn’t say anything, Angela glanced her way. She was still inspecting the room. Scanning the space for information was clearly more important than asking questions.

Or maybe she just didn’t need to ask them.

“I get it,” she said, eyes pointed forward. “There’s a lot of shit people might feel better about if they didn’t remember it. I can’t blame them for wanting that sort of peace. But I also don’t blame you for not wanting to forget. Even if it sucks to deal with.”

Now Angela’s smile did slip into place, mainly because Vex still wasn’t looking at her. She made it wane before speaking again.

“You probably have enough memories for several lifetimes. I doubt many of them are good.”

“None of them are good.” The usual disdain returned to Vex’s voice. “I’m not designed to experience anything good, or for being it, for that matter. Everything I’ve done since coming to this world has involved thievery and cruelty. Wickedness is the whole point of my existence.”

“You didn’t really have a choice in that. Someone summoned you against your will. You just did what you were told. Not what you wanted.”

Vex’s jaw clenched. “I did do what I wanted. When I got free of him. I gave him what he fucking deserved.”

Though Vex sounding hateful wasn’t new, this degree was one Angela hadn’t heard before. All cold and vicious, as though it was bound to her very soul. Assuming she had one of those.

That was an unfair thought. Vex might insist otherwise, but there was humanity in her. Years of captivity where she was treated as little more than a tool had just picked pieces of it away until it might feel like it was gone for good.

Angela didn’t know much about the warlock Vex had been summoned by. But she knew enough. Dominic was a talentless, selfish man who’d wanted a perfect collection of captured fiends. He’d made Vex steal them all. When your only view of the world was filtered through the desires of a person like that, it was no wonder you’d turn resentful in response.

“It must have been awful. Being bound to someone like him,” Angela said. “I’m sorry you went through that. I can’t imagine what it was like.”

“It was hell. And none of your business. I didn’t come in here to lament about my years of captivity. Unlike my fellow greater fiends, I haven’t been here long enough to be fooled by a woman acting sweet, so don’t even bother.”

“As though you’d share anything without getting something in return,” Angela said with a weak smile. Then she cocked her head. “How long have you been here, anyway?”

Vex stiffened. “I was summoned twenty-five years ago. Why?”

Angela couldn’t help but chuckle. Vex stopped scowling at the room, switching her attention to Angela.

“You look smug.”

“I’m not smug. It’s just that… I’ve been in this world a year longer than you.”

Vex’s lip twitched. A smirk she seemingly hadn’t intended to indulge.

“Here I thought you’d need coddling to get out of this damn house. That it would take effort to get you back to your usual frustrating self, but I was clearly mistaken.”

“Don’t know about that.” Angela pushed at the rug with her foot. “Being honest… I don’t know why I’m like this still. I want to go back to work. To study and research and all of that. But I just… can’t.” She took a deep breath that luckily didn’t rattle. “It’s scaring me. I don’t know who I am if I can’t work. Or if I’m anyone, even. If I’d actually died in that cell… then I think people would miss what I make more than they would me.”

Silence followed. A silence lasting for so long that it felt like agreement. Affirmation that, if this mental inertia continued, then Angela didn’t have any value at all.

“I’d miss you,” Vex said then. Angela frowned.

“You would?”

“Yeah. Sure.” Vex was staring straight ahead again. “I’d miss prodding at you. Getting you all annoyed, because you look adorable when you’re annoyed, and I have a feeling you hate that fact about yourself. I’d miss entertaining myself with thinking about all the ways to distract you, because distracting you also makes you annoyed. And I’d probably miss that you’re the only person in this goddamn Court who isn’t a complete fucking moron.”

Vex’s voice was tight and her slitted eyes had turned dark green as she glared at the wall. She missed another one of Angela’s unintended smiles as a result.

“Careful. Those sound like compliments. Compliments are nice.”

“They aren’t compliments. They’re facts.”

“Facts you didn’t need to remind me of.” Angela returned her gaze to the floor and nudged Vex’s knee with her own. “Thank you.”

When Vex stayed quiet, Angela raised her eyes again. Though it had shifted, Vex’s attention hadn’t gone to Angela’s face. Instead, it fixed on her leg, covered down to the mid-thigh by her pajama shorts.

When she traced her fingers over the top of Angela’s shin, right where her injury had been, it seemed like the touch happened without her meaning it to. Like Angela was a complex puzzle and the only way to solve it was tactile in nature.

“You can’t even tell anything happened.”

Vex sounded almost in awe, and since Angela had expected her to sound dismissing or, at best, neutral, the near wonder in her voice made Angela’s throat tie into a knot.

Vex brushed her fingertips over her skin, as though even the slightest pressure might cause discomfort.

“Does it hurt?”

Angela shook her head, the nonverbal response making Vex look up. Their eyes briefly met, before Vex’s lowered to her cheek. The same one that had been covered in bruises. That she’d swiped powdered sugar away from.

Angela gripped the side of the bed as Vex brushed her fingertips over her cheek. An air-light caress, and if Angela hadn’t been certain Vex couldn’t affect her, she would have thought the touch had stolen the breath right out of her lungs.

“What about here?”

Angela wetted her lips, sighing. “No. Doesn’t hurt.”

Vex’s green eyes stayed on her face for a moment before trailing lower. They settled on the side of her chest, her stare so intense it was like she was trying to see through Angela’s shirt.

“You can check there, too.” Her voice was barely a whisper. Barely audible in the quiet bedroom, but somehow it felt like a shout.

Vex lowered her hand from Angela’s face and moved it under the edge of her t-shirt. The fabric bunched as she trailed up her waist, settling on her ribs. One of her fingers teased against the underside of her breast.

“There aren’t even scars.” Vex kept her hand in place as her eyes drifted back to Angela’s. “You didn’t let me in here just because you wanted to talk. Did you?”

Angela made herself not look away. She couldn’t remember ever having such contrasting desires between maintaining eye contact and breaking it.

“No. I didn’t.”

Vex’s fingers curled, her nails pressing into Angela’s skin.

“Tell me what you want right now.”

Angela’s breathing turned shallow. She was hot all over and her heart was beating so hard Vex had to be able to feel it.

Part of her had hoped, if not known, that this was what she’d invited by letting Vex in. It was how she usually handled romantic feelings. Fucking her way through them until they did the constructive thing and left her alone was how she’d dealt with distracting crushes for years.

But none of the people she’d been with were like Vex. Those women hadn’t saved her. They hadn’t given life to her fantasies. They hadn’t shown up to check on her when they didn’t need to. A kind act that went against the concept Vex was supposed to embody.

So all Angela could do was stare. At her lips first. Then at her dark, emerald green eyes.

“You already know what I want, Vex.”

Chapter 22

Even if Vex wasn’t uniquely honed to spot signs of longing, what Angela wanted was more than obvious. It showed in how she leaned against Vex’s hand still resting on her chest. How her tongue darted out to wet her lips. How her eyes kept drifting to Vex’s mouth.

What she wanted was obvious. The frightening part was that Vex wanted the exact same thing, and to a far more obsessive degree than a human was capable of experiencing.

She knew what she was. The curse of what she was. All she ever did was want, but she could never be at peace with having the things she wanted. If she gave in to her current desires, she’d clash her mouth against Angela’s, tear her clothes off, and not leave the house until she’d satisfied every maddening urge this witch woke in her.

That meant she’d never leave. No matter how much Angela let her do—let her take—it would never be enough. She’d always want just a little bit more. And wanting this woman was a type of torture Vex had never thought she’d have to suffer.

It made it hard to remember that she was still just working an angle. Using the trust she saw in Angela’s eyes as a tool to figure out how her incredible mind worked. It was all just a game. Just pretend. When Vex had voiced her infernal bond weeks before, she had ensured they could never have anything more. Even if a foreign part of her soul wished it was otherwise.

Angela leaned closer, a faint smell of flowers curling through the air. Her shampoo. The one she always used, and which made Vex want to bury her face in her blonde hair and breathe in until her lungs contained only that scent.

A lovely scent. Mainly because it belonged to this impossible, beautiful witch.

“We don’t have to,” Angela whispered. “Not if you don’t want to.”

This was an awful switching of roles. Vex was supposed to be the being of temptation, but in that moment, there were few things Vex wanted more than to be tempted. To push Angela down on the mattress, kiss her, fuck her, and eventually devour her. If she hadn’t donned those Chains she’d sneered at a few months before, that’s exactly what she would have done.

All Courts had powers uniquely beneficial for the monsters within them. Elected shifting for the therian Courts, enthralling for Night, enslavement for Summer and Winter.

The Chains provided control. And she wasn’t entirely sure that, without it, her craving nature would have been kept in check.

If she remained in control, she could stay. As long as she didn’t give herself what she wanted most, she could remain somewhat sane. If Angela didn’t touch her, like Vex’s body was all but burning for. If they just focused on Angela’s desires. If they didn’t kiss.

That was the most vital thing. There was tenderness in a kiss. And there was nothing tender about what this woman wanted Vex to do to her.

Vex pushed Angela down on the bed, pinning her in place and holding her down with hands and body alike.

“Safe word,” Vex hissed. She pressed her knee between Angela’s legs and her mouth against the side of her neck.

Angela sighed, arching off the mattress and grinding against Vex’s leg hard enough that the soft noise pitched into a moan.

“Mercy.”

“Only use it if you fucking have to.”

There was one thing Vex could want somewhat safely. One thing she could work to gain, and it wouldn’t cause devastation if she got it.

She wanted Angela back. Out of this house and out of this shell she’d been trapped in. Even if it took her all night, Vex wouldn’t leave until that shell had been fucking destroyed.

This felt uncontrolled in the best way. Something about how Vex was moving, how she was breathing, and how tightly she held Angela in place. As though Vex had been dying to do it for weeks.

It was at least how Angela felt. Dangerously alive and greedy for more than what the pressure of Vex’s knee could provide. The last times had been so different from this. Underlined by a sense of vindictiveness that had made every forceful touch and returned shove feel like moves in a duel.

Now the air was just filled with unabashed yearning. That touch, forceful or not, couldn’t come fast enough.

She put her hands into Vex’s hair. Soft and thick, and tangling around her fingers. Angela pulled at it, trying to draw Vex’s attention upward so their lips could meet.

Vex grabbed her wrists and slammed them against the mattress, her lips only inches away. Just out of reach.

“Keep your hands to yourself.”

The sighing moan Angela let out was involuntary, though the way she pushed her hips up so she could grind against Vex was fully on purpose.

As twisted as it was, Vex’s mean comments were part of what made the previous times work so goddamn well. But the way her eyes glowed now—alight with a desperate, unknown energy that turned their green shade from neon to forest—was far better than her hateful stares.

“More…” she breathed.

Vex stayed silent, staring down at her. Then the glow in her eyes intensified and a haunting smile appeared on her face.

“Of course you want more. You can never get enough. But no matter how expertly you beg, there won’t be anything sweet about what I’ll do to you tonight.”

“I don’t want it sweet.” How was she already panting? Barely a minute could have passed, and she was already close to giving in. If it just meant Vex would touch her like she’d done before. “I want it… like last time.”

Vex’s smile widened. A mocking laugh followed and it pulled another moan from Angela’s lips.

Fuck, she hated how much she loved that laugh.

“That’s twice you’ve lied to me tonight,” Vex whispered. “You don’t want it like last time. You want it dirtier than that. Don’t you, you little slut?”

She pressed her knee down, making a strained groan slip from Angela’s mouth.

“Vex…” she moaned, but before she could say anything more, Vex’s face lowered, her proximity stealing Angela’s voice.

“I’m not Vex right now. In this moment, you’re at my mercy, and that means I’m your Master. That you’re my writhing, eager toy to do with whatever the hell I want.” Vex squeezed her wrists hard enough that it almost hurt. “Yes?”

There was only one coherent thought in Angela’s head. The realization that the list of things she found mind-alteringly hot was ever growing and that pausing to be embarrassed about how inappropriate the contents were was a goddamn waste of time.

One thing was pretty high on that list. It was always fun to poke at Vex. To see how much she would take before snapping. To see how she would snap.

“Yes.” Angela smirked. “Vex.”

In a flash, Angela was turned onto her stomach with Vex straddling the back of her legs. Vex grabbed her by the hair, pushing her into the mattress and Angela wasn’t sure if it was luck or consideration that allowed her to turn her face to the side before she got pinned in place.

“If you keep acting bratty, I’ll make you regret it,” Vex said. Angela’s breathing was gasping, but she still smiled through it. It made the noises sound like scoffs.

“Is that a challenge?”

Vex tightened the hold on her hair and leaned down so she could whisper in her ear. “It’s a warning. Heed it. For your own sake.”

She grabbed Angela by the hip, pulling her onto her knees. With Vex still holding onto her hair, Angela was lying with her chest pressed against the bed and her ass in the air.

She barely had time to get situated before Vex pushed up her t-shirt. Her free hand found a nipple, tugging at her barbell piercing. A pinching pain shot through her chest and she yelped out loud. Then she moaned when Vex maintained the hold and the pain dulled into a faint ache.

“Be careful about making noises like that.” Even though Vex’s expression couldn’t be seen, her gloating tone made it clear she was still smiling. “We’re not alone in this house.”

Angela stiffened, her eyes widening. “You wouldn’t—”

Another yelp cut her off when Vex tugged at her other piercing.

“Oh, but I would. There’s nothing too twisted or depraved that I wouldn’t do it to you. I’ll make you scream so loud that your parents get all concerned and come rushing in here to check on you. Then I’ll vanish, leaving you sweaty and gasping, and then you’ll have to explain to them why their sweet, angelic daughter is such a nasty little whore that she can’t keep herself from wailing when she’s getting fucked.”

Vex let go of her, shifting her hands to Angela’s lower back and pulling down her shorts and underwear. Angela could have tried to get away, potentially resulting in Vex yanking her back on the mattress by force. Treating her like the captured prey she was beginning to feel like.

Then Vex let out another cruel laugh and Angela forgot all about trying for a pointless escape.

“You know what’s really fun about those twisted and depraved things I just mentioned?” Vex ran her fingers between Angela’s legs, proving just how wet she already was. “They’ll only happen if you want them. Given that you’ve already soaked through your underwear, you’re craving some truly filthy things.”

She thrust two fingers inside her, and Angela bit her lip, suppressing her moan into a whine. Vex chuckled.

“I think the thought of getting caught is turning you on.”

When she started curling her fingers, Angela turned her head so she could moan into the mattress. She only managed to let a single one escape before Vex grabbed her by the hair again, pulling her head back up.

Until then, her face had been turned to the side, so she hadn’t realized they were facing her wall mirror. It let her have a clear view of Vex leaning over her from behind, keeping eye contact with Angela’s reflection.

“Don’t get all shy now.” Vex tugged at her hair hard enough that it stung. “Let’s play a little game, since you’re so keen on making noise. I’ll list all the things I suspect you’re secretly craving and then you’ll tell me if I’m right or not.”

Angela kept her eyes on the mirror, staring at Vex. There was nothing but challenge in her gaze.

“You want answers?” Angela said, adding a grin to the statement. “Well… You’re used to not getting what you want. I’m not telling you anything.”

“Your lips might not. This, though…” Vex curled her fingers, forcing Angela to drop the provoking act. She held her breath, only just catching a loud moan before it spilled past her lips. “Unlike your mouth, your cunt is honest about what its purpose is. To get fucked until it’s bruised and sore. To get used, just like the whore it’s attached to.”

She clenched around Vex’s fingers, her body giving confirmation to just how effective those words were. It only made it harder to suppress the noises her mouth desperately wanted to make.

“I think you want an audience,” Vex said, slowly curling her fingers. “You want a whole crowd to see your thighs get fucking drenched as you fantasize about how big a cock you can take. I bet you wouldn’t even mind if it hurt, too. At least a little.”

She pulled on Angela’s hair, and she had to close her eyes in response. The visual aspect of this scene was unraveling her self-control way too fast. She was almost shaking with the effort of keeping her moans contained, as all her plans to goad Vex along had been abandoned in favor of not crying out her name.

Vex pulled out of her and leaned over her back, grabbing her by the jaw hard enough that Angela whined.

“Don’t close your eyes. And open your fucking mouth.”

Angela forced her eyes open. Vex was still behind her, but she could see her face clearly in the mirror. See her taunting grin and her glowing eyes.

When the pressure on her jaw turned aching, she parted her lips. Letting Vex shove her drenched panties into her mouth.

“That’s much better. No one wants to hear your pathetic whimpering.”

Vex returned to the previous position, straddling her legs while curling her fingers inside of her. She kept a steel grip on her hair, forcing Angela to stare at herself in the mirror as Vex rattled off every depraved fantasy she could think of; an embarrassing amount of which summoned a physical response. Humiliating, excessive, degrading things she’d only dared indulge either in daydreams or through highly specific internet searches.

Several minutes passed before Vex sat back, pulling Angela onto her knees. The way Vex had shifted meant Angela was now upright and sitting on her lap. Still facing the mirror.

“Anything I missed?” Vex’s lips brushed over Angela’s ear, and she pulled the soaked panties from her mouth. “Be a good girl for me. And be honest.”

There was one thing she’d missed. Though, maybe she hadn’t missed it. Maybe she just wanted Angela to suffer the humiliation of admitting to it out loud.

That thought alone nearly made her moan again.

“Taking turns.” The words came out as whispers, the horror of admitting it flaring through her with equal parts embarrassment and excitement.

It was her most recurring, and entirely confined, fantasy. The idea of being tied down and having a crowd of people move through, touching her however they liked. A bunch of strangers, using her however they saw fit with no care for how she might feel about it. Treating her like a whore that had already been bought and paid for.

The idea was so exhilarating that thinking about the scenario was all she needed to get herself off. The thought of letting it happen was something else entirely. Frightening in a way that made indulging it unfeasible.

But Vex hadn’t asked what she wanted to happen. She’d asked for her fantasies. This was the loudest, most frequented, and by far most embarrassing one.

Vex kept eye contact in the mirror, her grin just as delightedly mocking as expected. She caressed the side of Angela’s face, moving with deceptive gentleness.

“Sweet, sweet angel… You really are a little freak.”

Vex shoved the panties into her mouth again. She grabbed Angela by the throat and moved her other hand between her legs. Flicking over her clit.

Angela arched her back, moaning against the improvised gag, and grabbed Vex’s arm that was partly wrapping around her chest. Not to get it away, but simply to hold on to something as Vex circled her clit, making her body feel like a tensing wire that was seconds away from snapping.

“I can give you all of it.” Vex was still looking at her in the mirror, gaze so bright that Angela couldn’t do anything but fixate on it. “Every desire you’ve ever had. Every fantasy, every daydream. Everything you want, no matter how twisted, I will make a reality.” Her eyes darkened in hue. Down to emerald green. “All you have to do is come back to the high-rise.”

Angela tensed. A sudden chill mingled with the heat flowing through her body as the dread that had clung to her mind for the past several days made a devastating return.

There was no use in returning to that world. The only place for her in the high-rise was as the witch of Chains. A capable, productive woman who wouldn’t follow her if she went back.

But as intense as the reaction was, she wasn’t allowed to dwell on it for more than a second.

“Court is where you belong,” Vex continued. “Even if it’s dangerous, it’s where you want to be. And when you come back, you’ll be safer than ever. I won’t let anything happen to you. No matter what you’re doing, or where you are, or who you’re with, you will be safe. No one will be allowed to hurt you again.” Vex nipped her earlobe hard enough to sting. “No one other than me.”

She pulled the panties from Angela’s mouth and started circling faster around her clit, making Angela’s whining moans turn panting.

“You’re not coming until you say yes.”

Though she was still watching herself in the mirror, she couldn’t really see anything. Her glasses were on crooked, and even if they weren’t, her eyes were so close to rolling back in her head that her eyesight would have been useless.

Her hands opened and closed, her hips pressing forward, trying to chase Vex’s touch. She was so close. So close to damning it all and just fucking screaming, not caring who might hear her.

“Give me the answer I want.” Vex grabbed her by the jaw, the hold as light as a caress. Her arms crossed around Angela’s body in a near-embrace, even if it was just an unintended consequence of how she was riling Angela into a frenzy. “Will you come back?”

Reason had vanished. Resistance had followed soon after, and then this ever-building tension had muted the cresting fear in her chest. All that was left was whining and sighing as she started shaking so hard she had to lean into Vex’s arms.

Release was so close, and, in that moment, she would give Vex whatever she wanted in order to get it. That included an empty promise. Even if it didn’t feel empty right then.

“Yes, Master.”

Vex’s hand closed over Angela’s mouth, catching her moans as she flicked hard over her clit. Angela went rigid, shivering through the orgasm as the persistent stimulation extended its duration.

Her moans were near screams against Vex’s palm, and a distant part of her brain had the terrifying realization that if Vex lowered her hand, there was nothing Angela could do to mute herself. Not when the long-form teasing Vex had just subjected her to, both verbal and physical, caused the orgasm to last for what felt like hours.

She might have even blacked out for a second. The present faded, as her body transformed from being a vessel holding bones and muscles to one that felt like it was simultaneously filled with mist and sand.

Maybe she’d lost herself for longer than a second, actually. In one moment, she was gasping against Vex’s palm and leaning against her body. The next, she was lying on the bed. Curled up on her side, soft sheets bundled around her.

The space was quiet, the bedroom door ajar. She always kept it like that before she went to sleep. That way Midnight could come in when she was done exploring and could fall asleep in the crook of her arm. Angela had kept it closed when she waited for Vex to show up, meaning someone else had completed this part of her nightly routine.

But the room was empty.

The unpleasant thought only got a moment to linger before Angela felt a light pressure against her hip. Trying to focus her gaze—uselessly, since her glasses had been taken off—she looked over her shoulder. And, although she shouldn’t, she smiled.

Though mostly a blurry shadow, Vex’s bright green eyes were easy to make out. She was sitting in the alcove above the bed, face in profile, and looking out the window. Her leg dangled off the side. Resting against Angela’s hip.

“Do you always pass out like that?” Vex asked, not turning away from the window. Angela let out a brief chuckle.

“Basically, yeah. My brain kind of shuts down after sex. I think my body takes advantage of it.” She let her head fall back on the pillow. Everything felt wonderfully heavy, with consciousness feeling like a temporary condition. “Are you staying?”

“I’m staying. If it actually gets you out of this house, I’ll make a permanent home in your shadow.”

Angela pulled the sheet close to her chest when a cloud of fuzzy darkness slipped through the door. It made a quick survey of the room, pausing at the alcove, before deeming the space safe and jumping onto the bed. Midnight had finished patrolling and, to her, a quality night’s sleep involved body heat.

Angela barely hesitated before lifting the bedsheet, letting Midnight nestle in close to her chest.

“Okay,” she whispered. The silence that followed lasted for so long Angela thought she hadn’t been heard. But Vex picked up on seemingly everything.

“Okay?” The confusion was clear in Vex’s voice.

Angela hugged Midnight close. The cat purred, enduring the affection. Maybe liking it, going by how she nuzzled her face against Angela’s body.

“Okay. I’ll come back to the high-rise.”

Having Vex cling to her every minute of the day wasn’t exactly what Angela wanted, but her presence was. Even if it wasn’t constant, just having it occasionally… The thought of it helped. With the fear, the focus, with keeping her whirlwind of a brain in line.

If she had the assurance it brought, returning to Court might be possible. If her shadow was a few degrees darker, then her mind might stop getting in the way of everything.

And the swift rhythm of her heart was simply a consequence of what they’d just been doing. It had nothing to do with the present conversation.

“Okay.” Vex’s smile was obvious in her voice. And since Vex hadn’t removed her foot from her hip, she was still by the window. She couldn’t see Angela’s face.

It was safe to close her eyes and allow herself a smile of her own.

Chapter 23

Being a demon of Sin came with expectations of behavior. Wrath fiends were warriors and killers. Gluttony reveled in excess, Pride in enforcing subjugation, and Lust was summoned for a purpose of passion and companionship.

Those of Envy were spies. And there was no end to the information such a spy could collect if no one was around to question her methods.

Vex watched from the shadows as the small figure stumbled through the snow. She was carrying firewood, aiming for the log cabin whose shadowy porch Vex was hiding on. The Inquisitors had spent centuries perfecting their methods, and that included having hidden safe houses for their agents when they needed to be away from the public eye. But it wasn’t so hidden that shadows couldn’t reach it.

The late evening had blanketed everything in darkness, making it easy to watch the young apprentice without being noticed. Eden Heliot, she was called. A Chains investigation had revealed the last name, as well as its notorious reputation. Five generations of them had served the Inquisitors, with only death ending their indenture. It explained why Quinn had been as intense as she was.

But it didn’t explain Eden. Nervous, soft-spoken Eden, who had shown kindness when the punishment for doing so would be several kinds of painful if discovered. And who was now braving the winter cold, alone, since the conversation inside the cabin wasn’t fit for witnesses.

“Those fucking cowards.” Quinn paced the cabin floor. “We had her. Norwood was right there, and now they’re just letting her get away? What the hell are they thinking?”

Titus scoffed. The man had arrived in a pickup minutes before and had survived the short walk to the salt-protected cabin for two reasons only.

First, killing him the moment he stepped out would result in Quinn learning that Vex was stalking her. Vex did her best work when no one knew she was there, and she wasn’t ready to announce her presence yet. Second, she wanted to know what kind of message was so important that it needed to be delivered personally rather than over the phone.

Maybe that second reason had only come about because Titus was involved. Hurting others seemed like a favored pastime of his, and the message had clearly struck a nerve.

“You already let her get away, remember?” Titus said. “That’s kind of the whole reason this is happening.”

“I didn’t let her do anything. No one could have known she had those marks memorized. And I still have no fucking idea where she got the chalk from.”

Titus turned his head, hiding a smirk. “She probably hid it in her clothes, and you just missed it. A simple mistake. But knights aren’t really supposed to make mistakes. Most of the commanders agreed that you just weren’t ready for such an important assignment.”

Quinn stopped in place. “They told you that?”

Titus shrugged. “It was implied.”

Vex had already learned of Quinn’s impressive track record. Most didn’t qualify for the knight title until they were in their late twenties, at the earliest. Either Quinn was as driven as she was fanatical, or she had a special talent for hunting down people who didn’t want to be found.

Most likely, it was a combination of the two.

Quinn’s eyes unfocused for a moment. Then she started pacing again. “I follow the laws. Not your fucking implications.”

“You don’t need to.” Titus picked at his thumb, scratching off dark red flakes that had collected under his nail. “You do need to follow orders, though. Everyone on the crew is considered at risk, so we’re supposed to get at least a hundred miles away from the Chains borders until this dies down. Yet here you are. Stalking the edges of their territory like you alone can take down a Court filled with demons.”

“I took an oath!” Quinn spun on Titus so fast that the bigger man flinched. “Conquering the sinful aspects of humanity is one of our core tenets, and we’re spitting in the face of that by letting the Chains and the fiend governing them do whatever they want. They have three greater fiends now. Three!”

She glared at Titus for a second before she started walking back and forth again. “Norwood is a fucking traitor. She had several chances to leave and she chose to stay. The Chains apparently have her working on something secret, too. A weapon or some other unnatural invention meant to help with this expansion they’re doing. If we let the Chains have their way, they could take over the country.”

Vex rolled her eyes. Though the Chains had expanded their borders over the past few months, they had no interest in continuing the trend. They wanted a safe home for their subjects. Not world-wide dominion. Unlike some people.

“Killing their witch would cripple the Chains and make them vulnerable to an attack,” Quinn continued. “If we can get to Norwood, deal with her, and then make a concentrated blow at Chicago, then I’m sure—”

“This was a paid contract, Quinn,” Titus said sharply. “With the now added risk, the price has gone up and our client can’t meet it. That means our work here is done.”

“Your work, maybe. Mine has just fucking started.”

“You got that right. You have assignments waiting for you, and a few annoyed overseers.” Titus grabbed Quinn’s shoulder, making her stop pacing. “Fucking chill, alright? It’s not too bad. There’s work for us just over in Kansas City. Some kid warlock stepped out of line, and an example needs to be made. We almost caught him at his high school, but he slipped away. Command wants you to find him.”

To her credit, disgust flashed over Quinn’s face. She shook off Titus’s hand.

“Going after children is a waste of my time.”

“You think so? I find it kind of fun. Kids break easily. After this Chains business I could use something easy.” Titus gave Quinn’s shoulder a hard pat and moved towards the door. “Just do what you’re told. Get your shit together and treat this like the job it is.”

Quinn closed her hands into fists. “Watch your tone. You’re in no position to give me orders.”

“I am, actually. Since you pissed off the higher-ups and got yourself demoted to common grunt, we’re equals now.” Titus’s face split in a smile when Quinn’s eyes widened. “Oh… You didn’t know?”

She stayed silent. Titus laughed, putting his hand on the wall for support.

“Fucking hell, Heliot! I was sure you knew! You’re just setting all kinds of records. Youngest to reach the rank of knight and youngest to lose it, too. But I guess that’s what happens when you get in your feelings about a simple fucking job.”

The laughter was cut off when he suddenly found himself pressed up against the wall, Quinn’s hands on his collar and her body pinning him in place.

Though Quinn had been robbed of the knight title, the work she’d done to receive it hadn’t vanished. Standard arcane training for Inquisitors working in the field involved learning how to use the arcane to change the fabric of their bodies, making them stronger and faster than their baseline afforded. The ones with talent were designated as soldiers, and the few who excelled got on the fast track for a knight’s education. From what Vex knew, only about half survived that line of schooling.

Based on Titus’s lack of protective charms and how he lumbered like a bear, he believed physical strength was all he needed to defend himself. His mistake. Quinn held him in place with almost no effort.

“You don’t know what you’re dealing with,” Quinn snarled. “This isn’t a simple job, Titus. It’s far bigger than either of us.”

“Not according to command,” Titus said, dumb grin restored. It vanished when Quinn slammed him against the wall so hard dust fell from the ceiling.

“Then fuck command.”

Whether it was because of the viciousness or earnestness in Quinn’s tone was unclear, but Titus stayed quiet. Staring at her with the dumbfounded look of someone who’d just realized the person they were talking to might have lost their mind.

The door to the cabin opened, letting in a red-nosed Eden. When she spotted Quinn and Titus, she looked down and hugged the firewood close to her chest.

Quinn shoved Titus towards the open door. “You have my statement. Please deliver it at your earliest convenience.”

Titus stared at Quinn, more shocked than satisfied now. “They’ll ruin you for this. You’re fucking everything up for yourself. If they even let you back in and don’t just bury you alive somewhere.”

“They won’t. Not if I succeed.” Quinn took a step closer, causing Titus to stumble backward. “Now get the fuck out of here.”

Titus’s mouth dropped open. Then he spat on the floor before hurrying out of the cabin. He knocked into Eden on the way, making the firewood scatter on the floor.

“Crazy fucking bitch,” Titus muttered as he walked through the snow to his pickup. Vex was tempted to steal the air out of his lungs as he walked past, but Quinn seemed unfortunately sharp. If she saw Titus drop out of nothing, she’d know that something was wrong. It would make her more guarded in the future.

Vex could just track his car. Like their homesteads, Inquisitor vehicles were protected with salt. The truck might as well have been a tank, both with how safe the people within were and with how easy it would be to follow. Titus didn’t seem like the type who second-guessed the shadows. Even with a head start, he’d be easy to find.

“Are you okay?” Eden mumbled, drawing Vex’s attention back to the window. The girl was picking up the wood from the floor. “You look… mad.”

Quinn closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. She made a dismissive gesture at the firewood.

“Leave it. We’re only staying for a few more hours, and you have lessons.”

Eden carefully set down the firewood and took off her coat. She kept her eyes lowered as she went to the dining table at the other end of the living space. Vials, sanctified salt, and other basic ingredients lay scattered over its surface. The components for a basic field-repellant charm.

An odd thing to focus on. The laws the Inquisitors enforced were as unyielding as they were oppressive, so Vex had expected their apprenticeships to follow similar tenets. Crafting a protective charm should be low on the list of what Eden needed to learn.

A muted buzzing sounded from Vex’s pocket. Staying in the shadows and keeping her voice low, she picked up her phone.

“What?”

“Where are you?” Natalya snapped.

“Out. You recently permitted it, remember? Can’t blame me for taking advantage.”

“I do remember,” Natalya continued. “I also remember there being conditions that you needed to respect. Such as telling me where you’re headed if you’re gone for more than a few hours.”

Vex glanced at the forest surrounding the cabin. Winter made the darkness come in faster, but it also made her blind to time passing.

“Worried about me missing my rounds?” Court had plenty of shadows. Due to a bit of regal paranoia, Vex was often asked to check them. “Relax, Lust. I did them before I left. And because I dislike you the least out of everyone I know, I even did them twice. The most dangerous thing hanging around the high-rise is still you.”

Though this was the first evening Vex had spent watching the Heliots, it wasn’t the first she’d secretly spent outside of Chicago. She’d been outside the city more within the past week than in the months before it, and she was feeling the consequences.

After she’d gained her freedom, every interaction with the human world had produced nothing but hatred. It had only gotten bearable when she finally caved and accepted Natalya’s offer of tutelage. How Drago had wandered alone for years before joining the Chains, she had no idea. How Natalya had done the same for nearly a century, she understood even less.

The control and peace her fellow fiends had been granted wasn’t supposed to be possible. She’d only gotten the first, and then it was only a taste. But her fiendish urges were shackled, which meant they were hers to command. At least somewhat.

It wasn’t exactly self-control that had drawn her out of Chains territory that evening.

“I’ll relax as soon as you tell me where you are,” Natalya said, though the way her voice cut off made it clear something had stolen her attention.

Evie was talking in the background. Natalya’s voice turned nauseatingly soft in response.

“Are you sure, darling?” she said. Vex rolled her eyes. “I can take you to the apartment if you don’t want to walk by yourself.”

Vex’s disdain turned audible as she snorted, though she only dared it because she was miles away from Natalya and her lethal overprotectiveness.

For the past week, any moment Natalya spent away from Evie was one latent with tension—for Natalya and everyone within fifty feet of her. Her intensity only dulled whenever Evie was within her line of sight.

It was a ridiculous level of worry. Natalya was treating the woman like a damn security blanket.

“What have I told you about mocking Evie?” Natalya said once Evie had, predictably, assured her that she could find her way home by herself.

“I didn’t mock your sweet darling. I mocked you. That’s still fair game, if I recall correctly.”

“Then you don’t recall correctly.” Natalya let out such a deep sigh it bordered on being a groan. “Get back here. Now. I need you to check the building again, and then we have to talk.”

“I’m busy. And not in the mood for lessons.”

“Those weren’t suggestions, Vex.” Natalya’s voice was back to being stern. Then her tone eased the slightest bit. “But I can provide some additional motivation. Someone was asking for you.”

Vex peeked through the cabin window. Inside, Eden was soundlessly moving her lips as she put a pendant together. Quinn was at the opposite end of the room, staring into the dark.

“Who would be idiotic enough to want my attention?”

“Angela.”

Vex’s grip on the phone tightened. She spun away from the window.

“She actually came back?”

“What do you mean by actually?” Natalya asked, but Vex was barely listening.

After the half-hearted promise Angela made the evening before, Vex had stayed by her side as she slept, only leaving when Angela woke up. Then she’d lingered in the high-rise all day, checking each nook and cranny under the guise of being thorough, when in reality, she was just making excuses to hang around the building until Angela arrived. She’d even made plans for what she’d do when Angela showed up.

When she hadn’t, Vex had needed to do something, and stalking prey was as good a pastime as any. But now Angela was asking for her. And Vex wasn’t there, even though she’d promised Angela she would be.

That thought shouldn’t sting as much as it did.

“I’ll be right there.”

Before Natalya could ask questions Vex couldn’t answer, she hung up and turned back towards the window. Eden was still working on the pendant, biting her lip as she used a needle to scratch tiny markings onto a glass vial.

Vex could have killed her before, when she was outside the cabin. She was a coven-affiliated arcanist, and Quinn seemed to care enough that Eden’s screams might have lured her outside.

But Vex had agreed not to hurt her. And Eden was just a girl, besides. Harmless, really.

When Eden finished the engraving, she poured some salt into the vial, sealed it, and carefully set it on the table. After a few seconds, the engraved markings spat out smoke and started glowing bright orange.

Eden smiled, but only for a breath before the vial started shaking. She had just enough time to widen her eyes and duck under the table before the glass exploded, scattering shards all over the place. When she straightened again and saw the mess, she sighed.

“I still can’t get it to work…”

Quinn kept glaring out of the window. “You will. Try again.”

“But I keep messing it up. I’m not… I’m not good at this. Maybe I should just quit trying and—”

“That’s not an option!” Quinn shouted, making Eden flinch. “This world is dangerous. If you let your guard down, it will eat you alive and spit out the pieces. You don’t get to fucking quit.”

Quinn was breathing heavily, her clenched hands shaking. Eden was the exact opposite. She was cowering in on herself, shoulders hunching with every word Quinn spoke.

Then Quinn sighed. She crossed the room, sitting down next to Eden and handing her a vial.

“Try again. You almost had it that time.”

Though she hesitated, Eden accepted the vial. “It didn’t feel like it.”

“Trust me. You’re getting close. You don’t want to know how many vials I blew up before I figured out how to make one of those.”

Eden wiped at her eyes. “More than a dozen?”

“Far more than a dozen.” Quinn ruffled up Eden’s hair. “You’re doing better than you think you are. So give it another try.”

A careful smile replaced Eden’s dour expression. Taking a deep breath, she leaned over the table, scratching new markings onto the glass.

Vex let out a low snarl. Leaving those two wasn’t exactly what she had planned for the evening. Quinn wouldn’t stay in this cabin for long, and once she left, she would be hiding from more than one deadly faction. Making her even harder to find.

But Vex had found her once. She’d do it again. She’d fucking look forward to doing it again.

Vex stepped off the porch, her feet not even touching the snow before she transformed into shadow. She could sate her craving for violence later. Right then, the need to keep a half-hearted promise was far greater than her need to torture a witch.

Chapter 24

Coming back to Court was a fucking mistake.

Angela had forced herself through every step of going to the high-rise. Getting dressed, leaving the house, and then soldiering up to her office with the depreciating hope that her brain would start being useful along the way.

It hadn’t happened. When she got to her office, she’d done something she had never done before and just stood there. Not knowing what to do and feeling guilty that she didn’t.

She wasn’t sure why that feeling was so insistent, or when it would go away. She’d already identified one method that could lessen it, but when she’d run into Drago downstairs and had asked for Vex’s whereabouts, he didn’t have any satisfying answers. Going by the lack of deep shadows, she wasn’t anywhere close.

A stupid thing to be disappointed by.

“What about this?” Sam held up an open textbook. “I should be ready for that, right?”

Angela glanced up from her desk. She’d forced her hands to employ the muscle memory the last decade had instilled in them. A pile of Chains pendants was the payoff, even if it was growing at an abysmal speed.

“A displaced fracture?” Angela said, frowning. Sam lowered the book.

“You don’t think I can do it?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You kind of did, though.” Sam grinned. She had a tendency to find Angela’s unimpressed attitude amusing rather than discouraging.

It wasn’t the kind of reaction she was used to. Angela had been told that she created a ‘hostile working environment’ since she was a kid, even though she vehemently disagreed with that descriptor. She just wanted to deliver the best project possible, and that involved everyone doing what she said rather than going through pointless brainstorming sessions.

But Sam didn’t mind that she was curt. Angela’s snappiness didn’t faze her at all.

Angela returned her attention to the necklace she was putting together. “Displaced fractures are tricky when it comes to restoration. Even if your skill level suggests otherwise, you’re still an apprentice. There’s no rush. You should master the fundamentals before trying something like that.”

Sam chuckled, leaning back on the office couch. “Yes, ma’am.”

She went quiet after that, but there was no rustling of pages being turned. Angela had found out that studying medical textbooks was vital for arcanists specializing in restoration, and it wasn’t uncommon for Sam to have her study sessions in Angela’s office.

But now she wasn’t studying at all.

“You okay?” Sam eyed the pendant Angela was struggling with. She was wrapping a pair of silver chains around an iron ring, but her fingers weren’t working with their usual swiftness.

“I’m fine. I’m just busy. The Claiming is coming up and we don’t have enough necklaces.”

With the Court growing in size, several fresh faces were about to take part in the Chains’ most sacred ceremony. The Claiming was the most celebrated event at Court, happening each summer and winter solstice, and the supply of pendants wasn’t meeting the demand.

Angela should have gotten her act together by now. She had responsibilities, and they didn’t involve her moping around in her pajamas for days on end. She’d known how many new pendants were needed for weeks, but she hadn’t been stressing about it. A couple of dedicated evenings, and she’d be right back on top of things.

But that required her pace to be the same as before. Not this… Whatever the hell this was.

Sam nudged her leg, making Angela flinch. She straightened in her chair.

“Sorry. I zoned out. Did you ask me something?”

“Just if you’re really okay or if you’re just pretending to be.” Sam’s brows knitted together. “Did you choose to come back today? Or did one of the Regents make you?”

Angela chuckled, and she didn’t even have to force it. “Plan on stomping downstairs and giving Natalya a piece of your mind if I say yes?”

The tense relationship between Sam and the demonic co-ruler of Chains wasn’t a secret. Though Natalya’s hatred for Sam had simmered down into simple, if constant, dislike, Sam didn’t seek out the fiend unless she had to.

“I will if that’s what happened. They shouldn’t make you come back here before you’re ready.”

“No one’s making me do anything. I’m just tired.” Angela ran one of the silver chains through her fingers, shoulders tensing. “There’s a lot I’m supposed to be doing. Me falling behind is getting detrimental.”

That was a fact. Even though no one had mentioned it. Even though no one had ordered her back here. The only thing the Regents had told her to do was go home and rest.

Screw resting. Her work was too important for resting. She’d been making some actual progress on the fiend-binding amulets before all this mess. By doing something easy, like putting together the Chains pendants, her productivity might restart itself, and she could get back to the way things were.

Instead, all it summoned was stress and dread.

Someone knocked on the door. The frame was engraved in warding runes, keeping all but a select few from walking through, so when it became clear that Angela wasn’t going to stand, Sam went to open it. Revealing a black-eyed woman standing outside.

Maya’s face split in a smile. “Hey! I heard you were back in the high-rise, and I wanted to confirm it myself.”

Maya didn’t even try to mask the relief in her voice. Despite her visits being dismissed over the past week, Maya had never tried to hide the reason for them. She’d been worried and hadn’t cared what anyone thought about it, including Angela.

Then the ceiling light flickered. Sam frowned, while Maya narrowed her eyes.

They both missed the near-silent sigh Angela let out as a result.

“What’s with the wiring in this place?” Sam said.

“It’s unpredictable, alright.” Angela eyed the corners of the room, trying not to smirk. “Is confirmation really all you wanted, Maya? You’re not trying to get me to come down to the bar and keep you company?”

Maya leaned against the outside doorframe. “I’m always trying to do that. This place isn’t the same without your grumbling. I miss having your pretty face around.”

The lights flickered again, and Angela almost laughed. She’d assumed shadows would evoke subtlety, but she’d clearly been mistaken.

“You’ll have to be without it for a while.” She gathered up the measly pile of pendants, sweeping them into a small bag and tossing it to Sam. “You were about to leave, right? Mind dropping those off downstairs before you go? I’d like to stay here and keep working.”

Sam exchanged a long look with Maya. “You sure? You don’t want company?”

Angela waved her off, turning back towards her desk. “I don’t need it. And you don’t have to come up here and study if you don’t want to. I’m busy, so I can’t give you lessons as high-quality as usual.”

Quiet followed. For far longer than was usually the case with these two. Though Angela was a fan of comfortable silence, Sam had a tendency to see it as awkward while Maya just found it tedious.

Then Sam appeared at her side, giving her one of those side hugs she always managed to make disturbingly comfortable.

“I like being in your office. And just so you know, I didn’t come up here for lessons. Sometime soon, I’m going to stop pretending that teaching me is the only reason we’re always hanging out.”

Angela’s newly developed sappiness showed itself when Sam moved away, and a recognizable tension formed in her stomach.

“Don’t be a stranger,” Maya said. “There’s a free drink waiting for you when you visit next.”

She gave a quick wave and a smile, though Angela noticed the expression drop right as the office door closed. Right when she started whispering something to Sam.

This was a development Angela had not expected. For over a decade, no one had been involved with this part of her life. She’d been alone with it all. With every breakthrough, every achievement, every question that supposedly couldn’t be answered.

But then fall had rolled around and suddenly she had people who not only understood what she was talking about. They understood her. Enough to know that unwanted coddling wouldn’t do anything productive. Enough that she missed their presence, even though she’d only had it for a few weeks.

Keeping her back to the room, Angela pulled a flat steel disk from one of the desk drawers. A few infernal markings were burned into its edge. It was the closest she’d gotten to a finished amulet, with only an inch missing before the circle would be complete.

So close. And she couldn’t make herself do anything other than stare at it.

“You can come out now.”

The darkness in her periphery deepened and a faint smell of smoke curled around her. She had to keep herself from taking a deep breath, wanting to inhale the familiar scent, when Vex leaned in over her shoulder.

“You did that on purpose,” Vex said.

“Did what? Insinuate how much I miss Maya’s companionship?” Angela shook her head with a chuckle. “We’re just friends. We’ve never been more than friends, and we never will be. It’s just fun, and easy, to make you jealous.”

She’d expected a retort to follow. That was how their conversations usually went. Angela would say something provoking, Vex would match her, and on and on it went. Since verbal prodding was the only kind they’d been able to do for a majority of the time they’d known each other, Angela had become quite proficient at poking Vex’s buttons.

But Vex could poke her right back. She pushed Angela’s hair aside, baring her neck. Fingertips brushed over her skin, and Angela couldn’t help the slight hitch entering her breath at the touch.

She sighed to hide the noise. “That was a gamble.”

Her hair being moved revealed her chosen jewelry of the day. Her salt-vial amulet—singular—had been hidden by her hair and the high neckline of her shirt.

Vex ran a fingertip over the necklace chain. “No, angel. It was an educated guess.”

She would have said those words with either smugness or just plain malice not too long ago, but neither showed in her voice now. Instead, it was just… soft.

Angela held her breath, hoping the lack of oxygen would smother the butterflies in her stomach. Vex wasn’t soft, or kind. She was a thief and a liar, and her stealing Angela’s sense was the only reason she’d even believed her in the first place.

“Where were you earlier? Drago mentioned you weren’t in the high-rise.”

“So you were asking about me?” Vex said, amused.

“I was just confirming a theory. Keeping promises clearly isn’t a priority for you.”

Whatever reason Vex had for luring her back to the high-rise was probably based in nothing but selfishness. Some sort of joke she was entertaining herself with, yanking Angela around using cruelly calculated words.

But Vex twirling a lock of Angela’s hair around her finger made it so goddamn difficult to focus on that wise conclusion.

“I was working. I stayed in the building all day, but when you didn’t show, I figured you’d gotten cold feet. Came back the moment I heard you were here.”

Vex abruptly stopped playing with Angela’s hair, as though she’d only then realized she was doing it. Clearing her throat, she leaned against the desk and nodded at the stacks of iron rings and tinted silver chains.

“Boring work. Did the Regents tell you to do that?”

The question started a hint of familiar irritation, meaning Angela focused on it immediately. She could still feel the path Vex’s fingers had drawn on her neck and the fuzzy, unwanted feeling it produced made a combustible mix when combined with annoyance.

“Why does everyone keep fucking asking me that? They didn’t tell me to do anything. But we’re running out of pendants, Court needs them now, and I’m the only one who can make them. I have to work.”

Vex scoffed. “That’s a very pretty lie.”

Angela turned towards her, but only so she could scowl more effectively. “Oh, really? How do you figure that?”

Vex was wearing one of her infuriating smiles. A mocking, know-it-all expression that Angela liked to use herself whenever she was trying to annoy Vex until she nearly exploded.

Vex only tended to wear it when she knew something Angela didn’t.

“You just admitted that the Regents aren’t making you do anything. I also remember you saying that no one decides what you’re working on other than you. The only person who’s making you do this is yourself.”

Angela kept glaring, though it only happened through conscious effort. She had to give up on it after just a few seconds.

She sighed and returned her attention to the amulet. A project of endless potential and she couldn’t bring herself to do anything with it other than turn it between her fingers.

It wasn’t for lack of ideas. There were several ways she could approach this issue, and just a few weeks ago she would already have worked through plenty of them. Now everything was different. Now, just thinking about this project that broke so many arcane rules, made her body seize up. Made her recall the feeling of cold steel digging into her wrists.

Before, she’d only thought of dying in a practical sense. As an inconvenience that she had to work around, otherwise the arcane inventions so many people relied on would lose their potency when she wasn’t alive to keep them active. But after death came so close, her precautions didn’t feel practical anymore.

“I don’t understand what’s wrong with me.”

Vex’s brows furrowed. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Everything is wrong with me. I’m not injured, but I can’t work. I know what I should be doing, but I can’t even make myself start. I’m safe, but it… it doesn’t feel like I am.” She bit her lip, shoulders slumping. “What if I never get back to how I was? What if this is just what I’m like now?”

“Like what?”

Angela’s grip on the amulet tightened so much her hand trembled.

“Useless.”

Vex let out a scoff so light it could have been mistaken for a sigh. “It’s barely been a week. Though you work like you’re a machine, you are in fact human. Maybe—just maybe—you should cut yourself some slack. There isn’t a fixed timeline on handling shit like this.”

Angela dropped the amulet and leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. “Well, there fucking should be.”

The lack of logic in this situation was equal parts true and awful. The evidence that something weird was going on was clear, otherwise Angela wouldn’t have felt better the second she realized Vex was present.

Her situation wasn’t even that unique. Sam had experienced something horrible barely a month before when she was chased down by rotting corpses and had nearly gotten killed. She had bounced back in just a few days, returning to the high-rise with more motivation than ever.

A week after Angela had experienced something far less gruesome, and she still had to spend several minutes deciding what clothes to put on or what food to eat. It was pathetic, frankly.

“Want a bit of advice?” Vex asked, making Angela sneer.

“Not particularly. I have a feeling you’re about to give it, anyway.”

“Fucking chill. You’re putting too much pressure on yourself, and right now, pressure is the last thing you need. Relaxing for a bit is infinitely better than forcing yourself to work when it’s doing nothing but make you miserable.”

“Is that why you wanted me to come back here so badly?” Angela said, pushing curtness into her voice. “So I could relax from the comfort of my office rather than my parents’ house?”

“You weren’t relaxing back there. You were hiding.” Vex shrugged, a tight grimace accompanying the movement. “It’s just easier to keep an eye on you in the high-rise.”

It sounded like Vex hadn’t meant to say that last sentence. The silence that followed it certainly suggested as much.

“Well… I’m not relaxing here either,” Angela said quietly. “I can’t relax. I don’t have hobbies. Or interests that aren’t tied to this office. I’ve never needed them, not when there were always questions I wanted to answer.”

She picked up a blank amulet from her desk drawer along with a sharpened piece of chalk.

“There’s no point in relaxing when I have work to do. I just have to get it over with and then my brain will stop bothering me about it.”

Before she could bring the chalk to the steel, Vex’s fingers closed around her wrist. The grip made the chalk fall onto the table.

“You want to get back to the way things were?” Vex tugged at Angela’s wrist, rotating the office chair to face her. “My offer still stands. A few less memories might offer some peace of mind.”

“That’s not happening.”

“Figured as much. If you agreed, that would be a cause for concern. At least more so than you feeling off less than a week after getting kidnapped and tortured.”

Angela pulled free of Vex’s grip, though pulling was a harsh term for it. Vex had barely been holding on to her.

“It wasn’t that serious,” she muttered, rubbing her wrist. Right where the handcuffs had left bright red lines on her skin. “They didn’t have me for that long, anyway. It shouldn’t matter this much.”

“But it does. And you pretending otherwise isn’t benefitting anyone. Least of all yourself.” Vex put her hands on the armrests, leaning in close. “When I said I wanted you back here, I never said I wanted you back here. Your office isn’t synonymous with the high-rise, you fucking workaholic. There are things to do in this building that don’t involve dabbling in incantations.”

The comment summoned a smirk on Angela’s face. When she saw a chance to provoke, it was hard not to take it.

“Oh, I’m well aware. I often stop by the club bar when I’m in need of entertainment. The bartenders are so nice.”

The way Vex’s eyes started glowing bright green almost made Angela laugh. She was so ridiculously easy to rile up.

“You watch yourself, witch,” Vex said, though she was still smiling. “An attitude like that will get you in trouble.”

“You’re telling me how to act now? Just because I’ve let you do that occasionally doesn’t mean you’re in a position to order me around.”

“Kind of hard to order you around when you can put on one piece of jewelry and then immobilize me with a simple touch.” Vex leaned closer, smile widening. “And don’t pretend those occasional times where you let me order you around weren’t fun for you. I remember exactly how fun you found them.”

“Think about that often, do you?”

“Constantly. Are you any better?”

Angela’s silence was enough of an answer that Vex laughed, the noise sending a flash of heat through Angela’s chest.

Seriously… Fuck that laugh.

Vex cocked her head, shades of emerald darkening her irises. “There’s an idea…”

“By your tone, you had that idea before coming in here.”

“Can’t blame me. You’re the one who put it in my head when you were stifling moans against my hand last night. Despite you insisting on the contrary, you have options. You can do what you’re currently doing and stay here, being frustrated that you’re still rattled after your untouchable moniker was made null and void. Or we can go downstairs, and you can let me turn that brilliant brain of yours off for a while without feeling like a failure for doing so.”

Angela narrowed her eyes. “If you’re alluding to me going to the Second Circle, you’re wasting your time. I’d be recognized immediately. The ensuing gossip wouldn’t exactly help me feel relaxed.”

Vex kept eye contact as she reached for something on the floor. Bringing her face within inches of Angela’s.

“But angel… I thought of that already.”

She stayed in place for a second before she straightened and dropped a box in Angela’s lap. Angela hadn’t even noticed it before then.

“I told you I could give life to every one of your fantasies. Every depraved thing you want, I can give to you. All you have to do is let me. Personally, I think it could be very… relaxing if you let me.” Vex ran her thumb under Angela’s chin. “Make a decision. Stay here and be miserable, or come down below and have some fun. I’ll be waiting downstairs. For about an hour. So make up your mind.”

She flashed her teeth in a teasing grin before fading into shadow. The corners of the office remained inky black for a few moments before the darkness waned and light returned to the room.

Angela nearly gasped. Vex’s proximity had made her hold her breath without realizing. Though she might still linger somewhere, it was doubtful. Angela had gotten quite good at reading the shadows lately.

She was alone. Meaning she could open the box without anyone seeing her reaction. Fortunate, since her face flushed with warmth and forbidden anticipation shot through her the moment she saw the contents.

Then annoyance, too. But what was most revealing was how minor it was when compared to the excitement that had appeared in her chest.

Vex was clever. Clever enough that she’d found a solution to Angela’s most pressing concern about visiting the sinful domain below the high-rise. Clever enough that she knew, full well, that this dismantled the logical defense Angela had used to block off her desires.

The phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat’ was true enough. It at least had an uncanny ability to draw Angela towards things that were both dangerous and inappropriate. But there was an obvious reason for it. People often forgot that there was a second part to that saying.

And damn it all, the potential satisfaction she’d just been presented with made it almost impossible to think straight.

Chapter 25

The Second Circle was always busier on the weekends. It was a popular establishment, flooded with control and passion alike, making it an effective, if unique, classroom for fiendish students.

Vex was on a leather couch, staring down the entrance. The Chains and the denizens within were a secret aspect of the world that a majority of people dismissed as aspects of folklore. Most of the time, humans were barred from entering the high-rise, meaning the monsters could come out and play as they pleased. But during the latter half of the week, the Court’s true nature was kept hidden, allowing the uninitiated to explore its halls.

Several pretty humans were around that night, looking for someone to give life to their fantasies. But none of them matched the person Vex was waiting for.

She, evidently, was late.

“Is this lesson really necessary, Natalya?”

The co-Regent of Chains was on the couch across from Vex, legs crossed and her violet eyes steely. They were in the corner of the hall, at enough of a distance that they could talk in private. At length.

Natalya had, for some reason, decided her two students needed an impromptu lecture. It had lasted for nearly an hour, something that was as unusual as Vex’s fleeting attention. Natalya’s incessant worry about Evie should have drawn her out of her domain for the night, like usual, but she was sticking around.

Sticking around and staring at her.

“Why are you suddenly lacking patience?” Drago wasn’t seated, instead standing with his arms crossed. He cocked his head at Vex. “Waiting for someone?”

Vex scowled at him. “Shut the fuck up. Or I’ll steal your voice and restore you to Neanderthal settings, you grunting behemoth.”

“Stop provoking each other.” Natalya’s tone was sharp, though by how her eyes stayed on Vex, it felt like the order was intended for one person rather than two. “Unless there are issues either of you need to address. Then please. Provoke away.”

Vex and Drago exchanged glances. It wasn’t uncommon for Natalya to turn a slip-up into a lesson, but then she always made the mistake clear.

When neither Vex nor Drago spoke, Natalya let out a sigh. The kind that communicated she was mad as well as disappointed.

“If you’re tired of my lessons,” Natalya said, “then we can discuss recent developments instead. Our scouts have reported back. The ones investigating Angela’s kidnapping.”

Those scouts had moved on the Inquisitors’ homestead as soon as they learned its location, but it had been pointless. It was empty by the time the Chains showed up. Vex had been flashy, and the remnants of her summoning circle were telling. They’d been wise to make themselves scarce.

“And?” Vex asked, voice tight.

“No one’s talking. Or rather, no one wants to talk. We’re still just dealing with theories.” Natalya’s eyes took on a brief reddish hue. “It’s one thing to have enemies, but I greatly prefer knowing who they are instead of having them hide in the shadows.”

Vex snorted, turning Natalya’s staring into a glare.

“Take this seriously, Vex.”

“Oh, believe me, Lust. I’m taking it fucking seriously. The covens have countless reasons for wanting your witch dead. They hate her, especially because of her knack for disproving impossibilities. It messes with their precious doctrines.” Vex’s fingers dug into the armrest. “But that’s not why she was targeted.”

Natalya raised an eyebrow. “No?”

Vex nearly scowled. Natalya was acting slow on the uptake for some infuriating reason.

“We already know that someone hired them, but that someone doesn’t matter anymore. Added risks add additional costs, which the client—whoever they are—can’t meet. But they don’t need to meet them. That Heliot woman is fanatical enough to place her beliefs over both orders and reason. The Inquisitors might have shifted their interests away from this problem, but Quinn hasn’t. She’s the one we should worry about.”

“You seem very informed on this situation.”

Vex returned her attention to the entrance. “I’m allowed to have hobbies.”

Natalya’s eyes stayed narrowed, scanning Vex’s body and reading her pissed off emotional state like an open book.

Fiends all had unique skills. Where Vex was honed to spot wants and desires, Natalya could read emotions. But it didn’t give her context, which explained why she still looked displeased when she spoke again.

“We haven’t identified the client yet. They haven’t announced themselves and we have too many adversaries to make informed guesses. Especially after this October.”

Drago let out a deep breath that sounded impressively like a growl. Just a couple of months before, he and his patient witchling had gone undercover at a coven recruitment event. What had started as a mission meant to gain intel had ended with a lot of people dead, a coven holdfast burning to the ground, and a necromancer being turned into mulch.

“You think targeting Angela was an act of revenge?” Drago asked. “A way to get at her apprentice?”

“That would be one theory.” Natalya’s voice was tight. Though her hatred of Sam had waned, it was no secret that Natalya didn’t exactly like the woman.

Then she sighed. “But I doubt it. It feels more calculated. Without Angela, our supply of weaponry would dwindle, our defenses would lower, and one of our most important ceremonies would be rendered pointless.” Natalya ran a finger over her lips, her gaze going distant. “Someone wants the Chains to break. I just don’t know who. Or why it feels so… personal.”

While Vex didn’t know exactly how Natalya had acted prior to meeting Evie, she knew the stories. Both Regents had been colder and harsher just a few years before, and Natalya hadn’t been this emotionally invested in the Court. She’d been more aloof. Far less trusting.

Her current considerations, warranted as they were, only made this entire situation more confusing. Angela had been a core pillar of the Chains since she was a teenager, and disposing of her would significantly weaken them. But how she’d been allowed that kind of position in the first place, by Natalya of all people, made no goddamn sense.

A lot of things didn’t make sense. Vex’s urge to never be more than a shadow away from Angela wasn’t new, but the reason was. Before, it had been because she was harboring secrets and proximity would make them easier to find.

Now… it was still that, of course. It just got occasionally overshadowed by the desire to siphon the despair from her beautiful features.

“Keep this to yourselves, for now,” Natalya said, standing. “Our witches can be told, but no one else. I’d prefer coven business being handled only by people familiar with how they operate. You can go.”

Vex was about to get up too when a piercing look from Natalya made her stop.

“Not you,” she said sternly. “You stay right there.”

When Vex hesitated and then sat back down, Drago grunted. Or… was it a chuckle?

“Someone’s in trouble.” He looked like he was close to actually fucking smirking, but the bastard walked off before Vex could snap something back at him.

“What is it?” Vex said, leaning back on the couch.

“You tell me.” Natalya crossed her arms, placing herself right in front of Vex. “You’ve barely looked away from the door since you sat down. Other than when the topic concerned the people responsible for what happened to Angela, of course.”

“They’re arcanists. I hate them.”

“That explains the lack of focus, but not why the door has stolen it.”

Vex sneered. And glanced back at the entrance. Natalya sighed, her tense posture easing as she sat down on the couch.

“So you are waiting for someone. I thought you weren’t interested in lessons tonight.”

“This isn’t a lesson. It’s just part of a deal. You should be grateful, actually. If I hadn’t made it, you’d still be a witch short.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“You are my business, Vex. And if you thought you could hide any sort of activity in my domain, you’re being willfully ignorant. That’s very unlike you, which only heightens my concern.”

Vex ran her hand through her hair, taking conscious effort not to lower her gaze. “I’m just giving her what she wants. There’s nothing more to it.”

“Down here, there needs to be.”

Natalya’s sharp tone, more than her words, made Vex look over at her. Surprisingly, the sternness in her voice didn’t show in her expression. The worry playing in her eyes was usually reserved for Evie.

“You continue to obsess over her. I need to know why.”

The countless responses flooding through Vex’s mind were far too strange and unnerving to give voice to. So she focused on the ones based solely on common sense.

“She’s a witch. What happened doesn’t change that, nor that trusting her is foolish.” She picked at the edge of her t-shirt. “But that’s not the main reason for my interest. Angela’s special. Unattainable. Maybe the smartest person in the whole Court, and one of the most promising arcanists of the past century. Having her on your arm would make you the envy of everyone.”

Such obvious things to admire. Obvious things to want to possess, especially for a fiend whose sole purpose was wanting to possess. It made perfect sense that the closer Vex got to Angela, the more she wanted to have all of her. Obsessing about all the marvelous characteristics of the Chains witch was not only expected, but a mandatory consequence of her existence.

But her fixating on the little things wasn’t. The elegant way Angela would spin a pen around her fingers whenever her hands had an idle moment. The assertive cadence of her voice when she talked her way through a research problem. The floral scent that flowed off her hair.

The high-rise had been robbed of all of that. And for some reason, they were the first things Vex thought of whenever Angela was mentioned. Not all the wicked secrets she was harboring.

“Can you feel her?” Natalya didn’t need to specify what she meant, just as she didn’t need her ability to read emotions, at least in that moment. The pang that went through Vex’s chest had to be visible on her face.

“No. I can’t. And I ensured I won’t ever be able to. She shouldn’t have to deal with something like that.”

An infernal bond wasn’t just a connection in a symbolic sense, but a literal one too. When bound, greater fiends were extensions of a mortal’s will. That involved being able to sense their needs, making a mere thought function as an order. Only by having a connection like that could a greater fiend feel true peace.

While an infernal bond didn’t steal a demon’s agency, the connection to the bonded human was still there, being active even when they were miles away. For Wrath, it meant sensing their pain. For Lust, their emotions. For Envy, it was their wants and desires.

She couldn’t feel Angela. The precaution she’d taken all those weeks ago was as effective as ever. It ensured Angela could never get closer than just out of reach, and that was how it should be. Unlike Natalya and Drago, there wasn’t anything but calculating hatred in Vex’s design. Being bonded to a creature like her would be an unjustifiable cruelty.

They might be able to be together, even without a bond. Lesser fiends could do that. But Vex quickly dismissed the thought. The risks were far too great. She only had months of freedom, unlike the years Drago and Natalya had. Vex didn’t have the experience. Didn’t have the control.

The Chains kept her in check, somewhat. But like every other pleasant thing she’d experienced since coming here, it was impossible to rest in.

“Are you going to stop this from happening?” Vex said. When Natalya didn’t say anything, Vex wrenched her eyes away from the door, finding that uncanny worry still present in Natalya’s violet eyes. She put a hand on Vex’s arm, the touch instilling such powerful calm that it made her sigh.

“I didn’t say that.” Natalya’s voice was softer now. “But you’re staying out here where I can keep an eye on you. And if I find out you’re doing this for malicious reasons, I will stop you. If this is just another way to cause torment, it won’t be good for anyone involved. Despite what you might think, I want you to be happy, Vex.”

Vex ran her thumb over her fingertips. The memory of caressing soft, blonde hair between them wasn’t nearly as good as the real thing, but it still fueled the disappointment rising in her chest.

“I can’t be happy. I can just get close.” She stopped herself from kicking at the floor. “Though I’d be a lot closer if she would just get here.”

Natalya’s silence made Vex look at her teacher. Who seemed awfully pleased all of a sudden.

“What now?”

“Nothing,” Natalya said, an odd glint shining in her irises. “It’s just nice to see one of my theories confirmed.”

Vex dammed all propriety and glared at Natalya. “If I find out there’s some creative lesson at play here, I’ll get really fucking pissed.”

“None that I’ve forced on you. But in my experience, lessons stick better if they’re engaged with willingly. I didn’t do anything to set this up.”

By Natalya’s smirk, she didn’t quite agree with her own statement. She stood from the couch, her hand lingering on Vex’s shoulder.

“You should really have kept your eyes on the door,” Natalya said, walking off. Though Vex should have scowled at her, the words made her attention dart to the entrance instead. There was nothing there, at least not of note. Just a few servers bringing drinks up and down the stairs.

Then her gaze caught on someone in the crowd. Her eyes widened. And then she had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing.

Angela was standing near the entrance, arms tightly crossed over her chest. She’d exchanged her usual clothes for shiny heels and a long, black silk robe that went almost to her knees. Its slightly transparent material revealed that, if removed, she’d be more than appropriately dressed for the location.

She was wearing lingerie and black garter stockings. Her arcane jewelry either blended perfectly with her outfit or, as was the case for her lone salt-vial necklace, was wrapped around a leather collar.

Though plenty of people were looking at her, there wasn’t any recognition in their glances. Vex almost hadn’t recognized her either, despite Angela wearing a familiar sneer as she swept her eyes over the room. Her glass-less brown eyes. The heterochromatic split that was such a signifier for her was hidden by a brown contact lens, just as the upper part of her face was disguised by the gift Vex had gotten her. A black cat mask.

She also looked pissed off. Whether that expression was because she was alone in a place designed for company or because she was angry at herself for actually coming down below was unclear.

Vex grinned. No matter the reason, dealing with Angela when she was irritated was entertaining enough that it bordered on being satisfying.

Chapter 26

This was a time where Amplification would be extremely useful. One of its subcategories was alteration; the ability to manipulate the organic material found in all living things. If Angela had been anything other than useless at it, she could have changed her hair and eye color, making her identity less obvious.

Sam was good at it. But given that Angela would rather pour salt into her eyes than ask her for help with this, contacts would have to do.

She was also very aware that she was late. Not by much, and not intentionally, as the reason for her taking longer than the allotted hour was that she didn’t have sex-dungeon-appropriate clothes lying around in her office. She had found a suitable outfit at home, where she’d also spent additional time disguising her most recognizable features and then giving herself a pep talk in the bathroom mirror.

But she might have missed her window. Missed Vex and all her alluring promises. Something she would be angry about, if true. Definitely not disappointed.

Then a recognizable scent of smoke filled the air.

“Hello. Angel.” Vex’s mouth was right by her ear. Angela had to take a full five seconds to get her face settled before turning around, masking her relief with a comfortingly familiar scowl.

“Hello. Vex.” Turning around put her far too close to Vex’s smug-looking face. Vex didn’t move back even slightly.

“Being so rude already. That’s not my name and you know it. I prefer a different title when we’re down here.”

“If you think I’m calling you Master, you can forget it.”

“Why?” Vex leaned closer, her voice lowering to a whisper. “You said it so beautifully last night.”

She broke away, sauntering through the room with all the cocky attitude of someone who knew they were about to be followed. Angela thought stubbornness could keep her from playing into this game, but it only held her in place for a few seconds.

“Last night was different,” she muttered, catching up to Vex. She was heading towards the far end of the hall.

“Really? How so?”

“I don’t know! It just was. It was… pretend.”

Vex’s grin turned slap-inducing. “Did pretending turn you on?”

Angela’s face catching on fire replaced her response. Her flustered state wasn’t at all helped by Vex laughing.

“I suspect it did. I suspect the idea of being someone’s writhing plaything overpowered all the logical reasons you shouldn’t come down here tonight.”

Vex sat down on an empty leather couch, elbow leaning on the armrest. Red drapes hung on the wall behind it, and it looked like they could be pulled out further. Creating a private nook to do… whatever in.

Going by Vex’s taunting smile, privacy wasn’t in the cards for the evening. She gave Angela an appraising look.

“You even put on lace panties. How thoughtful.”

The words struck like flaming arrows, and Angela tightened her robe around herself. She was so hot suddenly. She didn’t know how Vex had accomplished it, but she’d figured out a way to make her demeaning comments function as frighteningly effective dirty talk.

Angela sat on the opposite end of the couch, thighs pressed together. She had an awful suspicion that those lace panties were going to be ruined before Vex even touched her.

“So, what happens now? By how you were talking earlier, you had plans.”

Angela glanced around the room, thankful that she didn’t recognize too many of those present. When her eyes found Vex again, her grin hadn’t lessened in the slightest.

“Do you really want to know? Or do you want to be surprised?”

The question made her stomach surge. The thought of not knowing what was about to happen… That Vex might do whatever she wanted with Angela being little more than a toy along for the ride…

God dammit, why couldn’t she just be into light bondage like a normal fucking person?

“Is it weird to want both?”

“Not with what you’re into.” Vex’s eyes caught on something behind Angela, a quick nod following, and then a server appeared at Vex’s side. She picked up a glass from the tray, handing it to Angela.

“For your nerves.”

Angela fell on the vodka soda with a little too much eagerness. Though keeping a clear head was mandatory if you wanted to use the Second Circle, one drink wouldn’t hurt. It would just dull her flight instinct.

“What do you get out of this, anyway?” Angela asked after taking a long sip. “You wouldn’t be doing this unless there was something to gain. It feels like an unfair trade, actually. You knowing all my dirty secrets while I don’t get any of yours.”

“Being unfair is what I do best. If you don’t like it, the door is right there. I’m not stopping you.”

She was wearing that fucking grin again. The one saying she knew perfectly well that Angela wasn’t going anywhere. Angela staying seated, and silent, only made Vex look even more satisfied.

“That’s what I thought.” She eyed the room, her irises darkening. “There are rules to being down here. For both of us. If something ever goes too far, Mercy is the club’s safe word. If you say it, a whole crowd will be ready to assist. In case you doubted if I would respect it or not.”

Oddly enough, the thought had never crossed Angela’s mind. Even when Vex’s touches had been filled with delighted hatred, she’d never doubted that Vex would actually stop if she was told to. She might act like a gloating asshole afterwards, but that was another issue entirely.

Angela took another sip of her drink. “Anything else I should know? I haven’t been down here in an active sense before, so I don’t know what to expect.”

Vex’s lips tensed. Not in annoyance, but with subdued amusement.

“Is that your way of asking me to go easy on you?”

“I don’t do things the easy way.” The smirk that slipped onto Angela’s face happened outside of her control. “Don’t you remember what I told you that first time in my office? Do your worst, Vex. So far, you’re just being awfully nice to me.”

A bright shimmer flickered through Vex’s eyes, but her smile remained in place.

“You’re playing with fire, angel. First by being late, then by not using my chosen title, and now by being provoking. Or are you going for insulting this time?”

Though Angela was pretty confident her expression stayed teasing, she wasn’t certain. Prodding at Vex was always fun, but nothing beat when she took the provocations as the invitations they were. Angela’s smile might, briefly, have turned sincere.

“I’m just waiting for you to act out all those depraved things you apparently want to do. Whatever they are, I’m sure I can handle it.”

Vex made another quick glance at the room. Then she pushed off the armrest, positioning herself right next to Angela. Specks of neon glittered in her eyes.

“I need to know your limits before I do anything. Endless delights can occur down here. I need to know what you don’t want to happen.”

“I don’t have any limits.”

Vex’s smile vanished. “Normally, I love catching you in a lie, but that one I don’t care for.”

“It’s the truth.”

“No, it isn’t. Everyone has limits, including you. Give me another answer.”

Angela was about to snap that she didn’t need a minute to figure out what she could and couldn’t handle, but the harsh look in Vex’s eyes killed the response before it could form.

There was no end to the fantasies this place could fulfill. Given that Vex had rattled off a highly accurate list of them less than twenty-four hours before, there was plenty for her to be inspired by. But those fantasies had been confined to Angela’s mind for so long that she wasn’t even conscious of the limits she’d set for them. Especially concerning that one forbidden desire Vex had gotten her to voice.

“No men,” Angela said sharply, and Vex’s slight smirk was a strong hint about which fantasy she’d fixated on. Vex didn’t seem the type who would enjoy sharing, but the way she had been peering around the room suggested otherwise. Or she had some trap planned, which would close the moment this conversation was over.

It was probably that last thing. But the wave of excited tension going through Angela’s body made that probably a little less certain, just like the other times they’d done something like this. After a while, her defiance just stopped, as heavy mist softened the whirling thoughts in her head.

It was a… not unpleasant feeling.

Then Angela lowered her eyes. With the most obvious limit voiced, another one had come to mind.

“And no handcuffs,” she said, quieter now. “Being restrained is fine, but I… I don’t want my hands tied together.”

She didn’t mind being tied up, or even being immobilized. It wasn’t a material thing either. She was still wearing her iron bracelets, and they didn’t bother her at all. But the thought of having her hands bound, clinking steel underlining every attempt to separate them, made a memory flash over the present. Replacing it with a cold, concrete cell.

She bit the inside of her cheek, straightening as she waited for Vex’s smartass response. But other than briefly tensing, she didn’t react.

“Alright. No men. And no handcuffs.” She pulled a thin steel chain from her pocket, dangling it back and forth. “What about this?”

Seeing the small clasp at one end of the chain nearly made Angela turn mute. Though the temptations offered by this place had played in her mind more times than she could count, they didn’t at all prepare her for actually being there. In her fantasies, she handled situations like this with poise and confidence. In reality, she was close to turning into a stammering mess.

She swallowed, restoring her voice at the same time. “Are you worried I’ll run away if you don’t keep me on a leash?”

“You don’t run away from anything. Even when most sensible people would.” Vex glanced down at Angela’s shiny heels. “But it’s an enticing thought. You’re giving me all kinds of ideas.”

Moving slowly, she clicked the chain onto Angela’s collar. Vex tugged on it and it drew a hitched gasp from Angela’s lips.

“We’ll let that lie for now. I already caught you, after all.” She let her eyes roam over Angela’s body, pausing in places. On her neck, her cleavage, her still-tensing thighs. “Take off your robe.”

Angela looked at the open floor. Dozens of people were milling around, several of them glancing their way.

“In front of everyone?”

“Yes. In front of everyone. You’re mine to do with what I want, aren’t you? And what I want is for you to take off your robe so all these people can get a good look at what I’ll be playing with tonight.”

This was so fucking wrong. The Second Circle had private rooms available, but Vex clearly didn’t care. Instead, she wanted Angela to strip right there on the couch, letting everyone see her in an outfit that only one other person was supposed to lay their eyes on. It was too far. Too humiliating, too…

Fucking hell. And fuck the fire that had started between her legs.

Shooting Vex as hateful a glare as she could muster, Angela pulled off the robe and threw it over the armrest. She made herself sit up straight rather than hunch, though she still crossed her arms over her chest.

“Ah-ah-ah.” Vex tugged on the chain again. “Arms down. Like a good girl.”

“Fuck you, Vex.”

The jab didn’t hit as intended. In fact, it did the opposite of what was intended, as Vex’s grin took on a triumphant quality.

“I’ve already told you that attitude will get you in trouble. But you probably wouldn’t mind at all. You may look all sweet and innocent, but it’s only skin deep. Remember… I know how twisted your desires really are.”

Moving with surprising swiftness, Vex leaned in closer. She kept the chain taut, her other hand gripping her jaw. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough that Angela couldn’t fight it when Vex turned her to face the crowded room.

“Look at them,” Vex whispered. “Look at how they’re stealing glances, because that’s all they can do. Staring is rude down here. People who want a show have to keep their eyes on the stages. And I think you could give a very good show.”

Angela went stiff. Vex had chosen this couch for a reason. It was next to one of the stages. The only free stage, sparse in equipment save for a padded wooden bench. With leather cuffs affixed to it.

“What are you planning?” Angela asked, voice a little uneven.

“Exactly what you want. But you knew that. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come down here tonight.” The smile was obvious in Vex’s voice. “You have no idea how fun this is for me. I’m strengthened by Envy. By people craving the possessions of others. You’re one of the most brilliant, talented, treasured people in the whole Court. Everyone who’s laid eyes on you tonight is painfully envious that you’re my willing plaything and not theirs.”

“Those aren’t fitting descriptors for me,” Angela said, lowering her eyes. Vex tilted her head up again.

“They are. Believe me.”

Angela had done a lot of stupid things that night, but feeling comforted by the words of an Envy fiend wouldn’t be one of them. She told herself this, sternly. But the control her brain once possessed over her heart had disappeared alongside her focus. No matter how illogical it was to rest in Vex’s words, they still flowed through her like a soothing breeze, nearly making her sigh.

She forced out a scoff instead. “You’re not getting as much out of this as you’re implying. No one here knows who you’re playing with. Why would they be envious?”

“That might be the dumbest question you’ve ever asked.” Vex lowered her hand to settle around Angela’s throat. Her mouth was right by her ear, lips brushing against her skin. “It’s because you look fucking hot.”

Though Angela had heard those words uttered before, they’d never been said like that. Like a threat, curse, and compliment all in one. As though the person saying them wanted nothing more than to fuck her right then and there, not caring if people were watching or not.

She lowered her arms, grabbing the couch cushion. With her arms out of the way, Vex moved her hand from Angela’s throat down to her waist. Her fingers teased over her skin, barely touching, until they paused at her thigh.

“Spread your legs.”

A few minutes ago, Angela would have put up more of a fight. Said something snarky or tried to deflect. But they both knew why she’d come down below that evening and it wasn’t to engage in combative conversation. Though it hadn’t been with this in mind either. Angela hadn’t planned for things to go this far this fast. She had just… fantasized.

Tensing, she opened her legs a few inches. Then Vex grabbed her knee and pulled at it, parting them further.

“I think being truthful will come a little easier now.” Vex moved her hand between Angela’s legs. Her fingers dug into the leather couch as Vex brushed her fingers over her panties, circling her clit through the soaked fabric.

“And why is that?” Angela kept her voice as even as she could manage.

“Because you’re too embarrassed to admit what you want unless someone else is touching your cunt.” Vex circled a little harder, making Angela tighten her grip on the couch. The leather creaked under her fingers. “I could make you come right now. It’s like you get off on denying yourself what you really want. It makes you hot to be treated like a slut while insisting you aren’t one.”

Though she really tried, Angela couldn’t contain the moan slipping out of her mouth. Her arms were close to shaking, all the while Vex was subjecting her to a perfectly frustrating amount of stimulation.

And people were looking. Though none were staring, they were out in the open. The entire room could see Angela sitting there half-naked, being touched and teased so much she was close to panting.

“What do you want from me?” Angela managed, voice breathless.

“Honesty. I want you to give voice to your filthy secrets. To tell me what I already know you desire. That what you’re craving right now is for me to drag you onto that stage, tie you to the bench, and let every person who’s been glancing our way take turns fucking you raw.”

Vex flicked over her, making Angela gasp. The chuckle that followed did nothing to stifle the fire building in her body.

“I’ll keep you like this until you admit it,” Vex continued. “I’m being rather kind, given the circumstances. You were late, you were rude, and so far, you’ve refused to call me by my preferred title. Indulging your desires should be the least of my priorities. But luckily, I feel like being nice to you.”

Vex brushed her lips over the side of Angela’s neck. It wasn’t quite a kiss, but it got damned close, and somehow that was far more effective than any other touch she might have subjected Angela to in that moment.

Angela closed her eyes, trying to ignore all the intoxicating sensations she was suffering. Lips caressing her pulse point, a leash pulling at her neck, fingers circling her clit. Her limbs were trembling as the memory of that empty stage filled with intoxicating potential played on the inside of her eyelids.

She could leave. She didn’t have to endure all Vex’s degrading, satisfied, expertly spoken comments. Listening to them didn’t help with the confused feelings she had developed for this woman.

But unfortunately, Vex had taken charge of this dance back in her office. When her presence had eased the tension gripping her body, and her voice had cut through the stubborn logic Angela had prided herself on for so long and which was now draining her dry. She’d wanted this from the moment she opened the box Vex had given her and seen that black cat mask inside. And Vex was well aware of that.

This demon would be the end of her.

“Fine,” Angela said, teeth clenched. She had no idea how much time had passed. It could have been a minute, or it could have been a fucking hour for all she knew. “You… You win, okay. I… I want it.”

Vex nipped at her skin, the light pain drawing a truly pathetic-sounding whine from Angela’s lips.

“Add my name to that statement, angel.”

Angela took a deep breath. She was already so deep in this. How much could one more humiliating word possibly matter?

“I want it, Master.”

Chapter 27

As it turned out, one word mattered a lot. Vex sighed and the strange embrace she had Angela in tightened as her arms pressed in around her. She felt so small in that embrace. All light and floaty, as though her body had been transformed into smoke, matching the pleasant scent wrapping around her.

This was already far more effective than she thought it would be. And they had barely gotten started.

“That was quite a taste, angel. Getting you to admit what you don’t want anyone to know.”

Vex ran her thumb under Angela’s chin, and it actually took her a few seconds to realize that Vex was no longer sitting next to her. She had stood up, a grin slipping onto her face when Angela finally gathered herself enough to get to her feet.

Dozens of eyes followed them as they crossed the dungeon floor. Now that she was closer to the stage, Angela got a better look at the odd-looking bench waiting for her. It was made up of three horizontal planks, with the center one elevated to around hip height. They were padded with soft leather and had sets of cuffs dangling at either end.

Her breathing sped up as Vex guided her onto the stage. Vex tapped the center plank.

“Chest here, facing away from the crowd.” Her grin widened as she touched one of the lower planks. “And knees here. Like a good girl.”

Angela would have shot out a sharp retort only moments before, both refusing to acknowledge that the words were producing a physical response and refusing to give Vex the satisfaction of showing that response. But her snappiness had vanished alongside reason. Somehow, Vex had stolen both.

Angela took the directed position, going on all fours with her chest resting on the center of the bench. It showed her ass to the room, and light shuffling sounded behind her. As though people were gathering to watch.

She dug her fingers into the padded bench. Her heart was beating so fast that her entire body felt close to trembling.

“Relax.” Vex ran a fingertip down her spine in a way that did nothing to make her calm down. “You’re getting so hot and bothered already, and we haven’t even started.”

Vex put the affixed cuffs around her ankles. When she got to the opposite end of the bench, she crouched in front of Angela, putting the two remaining cuffs around her wrists.

Angela closed her hands into fists, her breathing picking up again. She was actually letting this happen. Tied down, on all fours, in front of a bunch of strangers.

“Look at me.” Vex grabbed her chin, forcing her to make eye contact. “Everything alright?”

Alright? It most definitely wasn’t alright. It was humiliating in the most enticing way, which was exactly what Vex had intended when she set up this perfect trap.

Then she noticed how serious Vex’s eyes had gotten. Her concern hadn’t been spawned by the scene. It came from the tool she’d just used to facilitate it.

These cuffs weren’t like the ones in the cell. Made of padded leather rather than steel, they were restraining but didn’t hurt. They wouldn’t leave marks.

Angela unclenched her hands. And nodded.

“I’m fine. The restraints are fine. This is just… a lot to take in.”

The strangely attentive look in Vex’s eyes vanished. Her usual provoking expression returned.

“Don’t worry. I’ll fix that for you.”

Having Vex fix anything for you seemed dangerous in its own right, but Vex trapped any potential response by tracing her thumb over Angela’s bottom lip. The tip went slightly into her mouth and her eyes turned such a bright green they almost glowed.

“I’ll keep you like this until you can’t take anymore. I’m not good at being sweet, so let me know when you need to stop.” The neon in her irises shimmered. “There are a lot of people watching, angel. Fortunately for them, I’m feeling generous. But if I choose to indulge their desires, that show will be mine to enjoy. Not yours.”

She waved her fingers, producing wisps of black shadow. It was subtle enough that no one beyond the stage could see them drift forward, caressing over Angela’s face like a fine mist before sinking into her mask. Blackening her vision.

She was still wearing her salt-vial necklace, meaning Vex’s abilities couldn’t affect her. Directly. But these shadows weren’t doing anything directly. They were just hovering right in front of her eyes, blocking her vision better than any blindfold could do.

Ruffling fabric and a provocative chuckle told Angela that Vex had moved away. She turned her head, trying to spot where she was going, but the shadows clung to the inside of her mask as though sown in place.

There were voices. Whispering and just far enough away that she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Then she froze when a hand caressed over her lower back. A gloved hand.

The strange voices continued, muted by her rapid, shallow breathing. Then a few distinct words cut through the haze.

“Go ahead,” Vex said, her smirk so fucking obvious. “Give the slut everything she’s craving.”

Then someone grabbed Angela by the hip and drew her as far back on the bench as was possible before the cuffs sprang taut. Her underwear was pulled aside and then there was a loud buzzing sound, the source of which she only just had the wherewithal to identify, before a vibrator was pressed against her clit.

Angela cried out, flinching away by reflex, but the gloved stranger was holding her in place with laughable ease. After the teasing on the couch, she was already at a stage where it would take little targeted stimulation to get her over the edge, and this stimulation wasn’t just targeted. It was relentless.

She dug her nails into the bench, her exhales turning first into gasps and then stifled moans. Even if she’d been in a headspace to withstand this, trying would’ve been pointless. Everything about what was happening was too much to ignore. The feeling of strange hands on her body, the blindness heightening every sensation, and then this forceful pleasure that she couldn’t escape.

In seconds, her moans could no longer be stifled. A shaky, loud cry slipped past her lips as the pressure from the vibrator sent shivering spasms through her muscles. Her legs twitched, being kept in place by the leather cuffs around her ankles as she came with a rattling moan.

The vibrator turned off, and the gloved hands vanished, letting Angela fall slack on the bench. The teasing over on the couch had already made her thoughts turn fuzzy, but this was far more intense. The stage, the cuffs, and the audience made her brain feel like it had been replaced with clouds.

“Well, isn’t this a sight…” The darkness faded from her eyes, revealing Vex crouched in front of her. She traced a fingertip along the edge of Angela’s mask. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing that pretty head of yours completely empty of thoughts. You always look so serene when you’ve been fucked stupid.”

Angela would have disagreed, but her inability to string a proper sentence together suggested that Vex’s observation was correct. She felt like she’d been fucked stupid. At least stupid enough that while part of her was mortified at what had just happened, a greater part was honed in on something Vex had said only a little while before.

There were a lot of people watching.

Vex grinned. “You are so goddamn greedy.”

Darkness reclaimed her vision and then hands were on her again. Ungloved this time, but with long, claw-like nails that trailed over her waist, hips, and ass so lightly it made her shiver. Caressing, teasing, tickling until her skin turned so sensitive that a pinch would have made her yell out.

She didn’t get a pinch. Instead, hard silicone got pressed between her legs, the tip of a dildo brushing over her skin. Teasing touches that lasted for a full agonizing minute, where she couldn’t do anything other than whimper, before whoever was behind her felt merciful and pushed the toy inside.

Angela groaned. It was large enough to cause slight discomfort, but it vanished as her body relaxed. As though she was made to take a cock this way. Tied down and blinded, whining more when she wasn’t getting fucked than when it was actually happening. The breathless moans that escaped when the toy started thrusting in and out at least suggested as much.

It was just the first of several rounds of pleasurable torture. A countless amount, since Angela lost the ability to keep track after someone pressed a vibrator against her clit for so long that tears sprang into her eyes.

Sometimes they just caressed her. Sometimes they brought toys. Sometimes they spanked her. Never hard enough that it caused any serious pain. Just enough to make her tremble.

Sweat trickled down her back and thighs. She was heaving and her hair clung to her face, where it wasn’t covered by the darkness-infused mask. She clutched the chains affixed to the cuffs, sighing, moaning, and occasionally crying out whenever the people treating her as nothing more than evening entertainment subjected her clit to torturous attention. Which happened often.

It wasn’t until she could no longer hold onto the bench that she realized this wouldn’t end until she stopped it. Vex had told her as much and given that it felt like her body had been electrified a dozen times over, ending it was necessary. Otherwise, her brain would switch off and end it for her.

“Please… Stop…” she whispered, voice barely audible.

“Stop?” Though it sounded like Vex was at the opposite end of the bench, Angela still heard her easily. “But there’s a whole line of people waiting. You don’t want to disappoint them, do you?”

Angela didn’t respond. She couldn’t move. She could barely talk anymore, and if even one more person touched her like the previous lineup had done, she would pass out from the sheer excessiveness of it.

The darkness waned from her eyes, but it did little to help her vision. Her gaze was unfocused, and though she tried, she couldn’t fix it. She could just lie there with her head dangling and breathing so heavily it sounded like she had just run a marathon.

Then Vex pushed her head up by touching her chin. Angela couldn’t make out her features. Couldn’t see if she was amused, irritated, or worried. But she knew it was Vex. Even in this state, she could easily make out her glowing green eyes.

“I asked you a question, angel. Answer me.”

There was no teasing in her tone. No mockery. Just sternness and maybe a hint of concern. But Angela might have convinced herself the last thing was present. Her senses couldn’t be trusted to relay accurate information at that moment.

She managed a tiny shake of her head. “No. No more. Mercy.”

Vex let go of her chin and Angela’s head dropped, hanging limp towards the floor. She heard muttering voices behind her, and then the cuffs around her ankles were undone. The ones at her wrists followed, and then she was directed into a sitting position. Or lifted, was the more accurate term. By someone moving her slowly. Gently.

Blurry, bright green eyes drifted in front of her. Vex was next to her, keeping her upright and making Angela’s gaze even hazier by wrapping a soft blanket around her shoulders.

“You okay?” Vex’s hand cupped her chin again. Her skin was so soft. Her voice so close.

“Uh-huh…” Angela blinked, but it only made the room drift further away. She started tilting to the side, her fall halted when she leaned against a warm body. When an arm wrapped around her waist. “I’m… I think I’m…”

“You’re done.” Vex caressed her cheek, her arm staying around her in a half-embrace. “We’re done. You did well, angel. Now relax.”

She didn’t really have a choice in that. Her muscles had been robbed of functionality, and it felt like her mind had been drained of every thought it had ever had.

She could probably have stayed awake if she wanted to. Stayed talking. Stayed thinking. But right then, the only thing she wanted was to give her body what it was yearning for. So Angela closed her eyes, leaned against Vex, and passed the fuck out.

It was always surprising how soft Angela’s hair was. Even though Vex had touched it multiple times at that point, the memory couldn’t match the real thing. Full, healthy, and shiny like silk. You could undo the few tangles in it in less than a minute.

Vex moved slowly as a result.

After Angela passed out, Vex had carried her back to the couch, though she’d drawn the curtains this time. Vex had taken off the cat mask and lain Angela down, a blanket wrapped around her and her head resting on Vex’s thigh. They hadn’t been there long, but with how slack Angela still was, it would be a while before they’d leave.

Vex smiled. If she didn’t wake up soon, she might start snoring.

The drapes around the nook fluttered. Vex didn’t bother looking up.

“Drawn curtains is a request for privacy. You’ve reminded me plenty of times.”

“Yes, but you haven’t made use of this place before,” Natalya said, moving into Vex’s periphery. “There are a lot of things you need to remember when caring for another. You’re out of practice.”

“It’s not a skill I’ve ever bothered to practice.” Vex kept her eyes lowered, distracted by brushing through a section of Angela’s hair without waking her.

Natalya let out a low hum, the noise finally making Vex look her way. Natalya had a knowing glint in her eyes.

“Is she alright?” Natalya asked, eyeing Angela.

Vex tried to stifle her smile and failed. She masked it as a grimace instead.

“She’s okay. She doesn’t need much cuddling afterwards. Sorts it out on her own. She just doesn’t want to be alone while she does it.”

Natalya glanced at Vex’s hand, still gliding through Angela’s hair. “And that?”

That was entirely for Vex’s benefit. A stolen touch, as calming as it was assuring. And it curbed the insistent tugging in her chest to bring this mindless caress into Angela’s waking hours. Even though it shouldn’t be there.

“I’m doing that because no one else is allowed.”

“Shouldn’t you do it where people can see you, then?”

If Vex didn’t know her better, she would have thought Natalya sounded amused. But Vex couldn’t remember a time where anyone had made Natalya amused.

“You can see me. That’s enough.” Never mind that she’d been doing this for several minutes before Natalya walked in. That she’d gladly do it for hours, or that she wouldn’t care if every single person in the Second Circle forgot about seeing either of them. She’d drain this moment of every trace of invigorating Envy if it meant it would last just a little longer.

“You’re doing well, Vex.” Natalya nodded at Angela. “And she is too, it seems. You’ve come a long way since you first came to my Court.”

Vex readied herself for the prickly annoyance that always showed up when she was made the victim of compliments. But the feeling didn’t come. There was no unease, no irritation, no spiteful retort ready to jump off her tongue. There was just an odd, settled feeling in her chest and soft blonde hair between her fingers.

“Thank you, Natalya.” She cleared her throat. There was a big difference between accepting a compliment and sincerely voicing that acceptance. “Now go away. I’m sure there’s a human missing you upstairs.”

Natalya’s amused smile became all the more obvious. She held her hand out, and only then did Vex notice the water bottle she’d brought. An excuse, maybe. To go peek at something that wasn’t her concern. Or maybe she was just being helpful.

Vex accepted the bottle, keeping her attention on the woman sleeping against her thigh as Natalya left.

Though Vex had spent plenty of hours in the Second Circle, she had never made use of it. Natalya didn’t allow it, assuming that Vex would take advantage of all the vulnerable people milling around. She had never even been there alone before.

Natalya really was getting soft. There was nothing sweet about what Vex was doing, even if it looked like it. Even if it felt like it. A little.

Too much impossibility surrounded that thought. She knew craving and longing, and the ache of them was familiar enough to find some twisted comfort in.

That ache grew as she moved her hand from Angela’s hair to her mouth, caressing her bottom lip. In her current state, she wouldn’t notice if a kiss was stolen. But Vex’s wants wouldn’t stop with a kiss. They wouldn’t stop at all. Not even when there was nothing left to take.

Angela shouldn’t suffer that fate. As long as they were both in this Court, Vex would ensure she wouldn’t. Keep her safe. Until Angela found someone who could give her the peace a fiend couldn’t provide, Vex would treasure every second she got to spend with this woman.

Even though knowing they would eventually run out made them hard to savor.

Angela mumbled something, brows furrowing, and Vex drew her hand away.

“I hate contact lenses.” Angela winced and rubbed at her eye. She looked around, stiffening when she realized where she was. When she saw Vex gazing down at her.

“What are you doing?”

Vex paused. Then she flicked the tip of Angela’s nose.

“Enjoying the view. You being passed out with drool all over your face is a wonderful sight.”

Angela quickly wiped her mouth. Then her brows snapped together just as Vex’s smile widened.

“Funny, Vex. Real funny.”

“You can’t blame me. Lies have so much room for embellishment. They’re far more entertaining than the truth.”

Angela rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I don’t agree with that. I clearly find the truth more engaging than you do.”

She started to sit up, but didn’t get further than halfway before she fell back, catching herself with her elbows.

“So sitting isn’t happening for a while.” Angela rubbed her eye again. “How long was I out?”

“Just a few minutes.” Vex handed her the water bottle. “Here. If relaxing is still your goal, drinking is more efficient than talking.”

Angela hesitated before accepting the bottle, taking a few tentative sips. She had to pause often, either to sigh or just blink as she took in her surroundings. Her movements were slow, her body at ease in a way Vex had never seen outside of when she was unconscious. Her gaze was soft and her breathing as easy as when she’d been asleep.

She really did look unbelievably adorable when she wasn’t in a provocative mood.

Vex took the bottle away when it nearly slipped from Angela’s fingers. “Is your brain still shut off?”

Angela chuckled, the noise turning into a heavy sigh. She dropped back down on the couch and settled her head on Vex’s thigh.

“Mostly… I think the core functions are the only ones working at the moment.” Some teasing attitude returned to her face. “You have to be okay with being my pillow for a while. I literally can’t move.”

“Anything you want, you can have.” Vex pressed her fingertips together. A few strands of hair had fallen over Angela’s forehead and they were all but begging to be pushed out of the way. “That’s the deal. Remember?”

Angela’s brow creased and her lips parted. A familiar expression that usually came around when she worked over a question, producing and discarding conclusions until she found one that made sense.

She found one pretty quickly. And smirked.

“It was all you, wasn’t it? On the stage?”

Vex damned the thought of keeping her hands to herself. She pushed back the locks of hair, giving one of them a light tug.

“If you think I’m sharing you with anyone, you’re delusional.”

Angela let out a loud laugh. Though it was short-lived, the smile left on her face wasn’t. It stayed like it had been glued in place.

“That was so fucking intense.” She grinned, sighing deeply. “When can we do it again?”

Chapter 28

It was kind of surprising how much of the high-rise Angela wasn’t familiar with, despite spending the better part of a decade within the building. Most of the floors she knew of only by reputation, and the Court infirmary was no exception. She hadn’t even stepped foot in the place until recently.

“I was expecting more of a racket.” Angela leaned out of the door and glanced down the empty hallway. She was in one of the emergency rooms, filled with several empty infirmary beds. “It isn’t usually this quiet.”

Sam spun her swivel chair around to face her. With nothing to do, she’d been turning in place, but now her eyes were filled with genuine alarm.

“Don’t say that!”

Angela frowned. “Don’t say what?”

“The Q word. It’s bad luck.”

“The Q word?” Angela chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you actually believe that kind of superstition.”

“Believing in superstition is more than justifiable around here.”

Sam stared at the door as though Angela had just summoned a stampede of near-fatal emergencies and they’d be flooding into the room any second. When nothing happened, Sam started spinning in place again.

“I don’t get it either, honestly. The holidays are supposed to be rowdy, but the only thing I’ve been needed for today was a few hairline fractures because someone dropped a dumbbell on their foot.” Sam leaned back in her chair and eyed the open door. “I could use some work, to be honest. Or the distraction, rather. I’m starting to understand your aversion to not being productive.”

The source of Sam’s morose expression was obvious, even if she didn’t voice it. It had a habit of showing up whenever Drago was out on a job that went for longer than a few hours. This one had lasted almost a day. And he hadn’t been sent out alone.

Angela smoothed out her skirt. Sam wasn’t the only one looking for distractions.

“Well, I’m glad it’s quiet. It means I’m not bothering you while you’re working. But if you’re bored, I can come up with something for you to do. Anything you’re struggling with, lesson-wise?”

Sam shot her a crooked smile. “I thought you were taking a break from work until New Year’s. Since when does teaching not count as work?”

Angela groaned. “Sorry. Force of habit.”

She’d told Sam she was on a break because of this, exactly. If she didn’t have someone to remind her not to work, year-long routines would take over, and she’d be back to hunching over her desk until exhaustion or frustration forced her to stop.

Though she couldn’t keep her mind from theorizing, unless she was in distracting company, the dread that had once filled her whenever she thought about work was gone. She was just excited for this final week of the year to end so she could try out her ideas.

Angela’s hand drifted to her wrist. There had been a lot of excitement going on these past few weeks.

“Have you been indulging those habits in secret?” Sam gestured at the bracelet Angela was fiddling with. “That looks like a new charm. What does it do? It’s pretty.”

Her regular jewelry was designed to blend in rather than look ‘pretty,’ so the bracelet her fingers kept drifting to stood out. A thin silver band occasionally interrupted by wrapping around green jade beads.

“It’s not a charm, it’s—” Angela bit back the revelation that had almost stumbled out of her mouth. “It was a Christmas present.”

A surprise one, too. When she’d spent Christmas morning with her parents the day before—unwrapping knitted sweaters and several rainbow-themed notebooks—she’d found a small black box among her gifts. An angel figurine was tied to it, a folded message in its hands.

Something non-utilitarian. It suits you more than you think.

Angela couldn’t remember the last time she’d worn jewelry that didn’t have a practical purpose. Or when she’d wanted to. Since she’d put on the bracelet, dodging questions from her parents all the while, she’d developed a habit of touching the smooth beads whenever her thoughts started spinning too fast.

Though Angela hadn’t been working, she had spent just as much time in the high-rise as usual. Mainly in her office—reading rather than researching—but most of the time she was outside of it, either hanging out with Sam or chatting with Maya by the bar.

Or, as was most often the case, she was with Vex.

When Sam kept looking at her, brows raised, Angela crossed her arms.

“It’s just a piece of jewelry. I know it might be hard to believe, but I’ve actually kept my word and relaxed.”

Sam laughed. “You say the word ‘relaxed’ as though it tastes bad.”

“That’s because it does. I’ve spent the past few weeks doing nothing whatsoever. If I’d known relaxing would be this dull, then I doubt I would have attempted it.”

She hadn’t honestly thought the break would do anything. Not when a lack of productivity stressed her out the most. Stepping back should have made it worse, so it was actually a little annoying how effective it had been.

When Sam stayed silent, Angela frowned.

“What? You look like you’re about to have an opinion.”

Sam paused for a moment before she shrugged. And then she smirked.

“You just seem different. In a good way. And you’re also pretty dressed up for someone who’s ‘doing nothing whatsoever.’”

Though Angela liked keeping her outfits both cohesive and flattering, she never considered other people when she put them together. It was her damn clothes, so her taste was the only one that should matter.

But that just made Sam’s comment even more valid. Wearing a short black skirt and low-cut top matched the Court’s fashion preference more than her own.

“I’m being festive. That’s how bored I am,” Angela said. “The Chains celebrate midwinter with a lot of fervor and there’s a party happening on the club floor. The clothes let me blend in better.”

“You don’t like being festive. And you don’t care about blending in.”

“I do when I have hours to kill and there’s a band playing downstairs.”

“You don’t like bands either. After the last Court party we went to, you referred to the music being played as auditory torture.”

Angela grimaced. The Chains did seem to prefer ‘deafening’ over any other audio level.

Sam’s smirk turned into a grin. “What’s really going on?”

“Nothing! I’m just… filling my days with new experiences. I’m not seeing anyone, and you’re presenting conclusions without evidence.”

“The way you’re trying not to smile isn’t evidence?” Sam made a slow spin on her chair. “Besides. I never said you were seeing anyone.”

Shit. Slip of the tongue. And Angela didn’t have an effective way of dismissing the comment, since she was trying not to smile. And failing, by the sound of it.

“Shut up,” she muttered. A moronic response, given how ecstatic Sam suddenly looked.

“Wait… No way!” She shot to her feet so fast her chair rolled a few feet across the floor. “I was just teasing, but you’re actually… Who is she? Have I met her before?” She grabbed Angela’s arm. “Is it Maya? Please tell me it’s Maya.”

Angela couldn’t help but chuckle. She had never experienced this level of excitement about her potentially dating someone. But, then again, she’d never really had friends around who’d care about it either.

Was this kind of enthusiasm normal? And was she supposed to feel this hot in the face because of it?

“Just because we’re both gay doesn’t make us automatic soulmates. If we tried dating, we’d crash and burn in a matter of days. It isn’t her.”

The sheepishness that had appeared on Sam’s face vanished in favor of delight.

“But there is someone.”

Fucking goddammit. And damn that stubborn smile of hers as well.

“So what if there is? It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s a huge deal! You can’t just brush it off like that.”

“Watch me. I can do it easily too, because there’s nothing to talk about. She’s just scratching an itch I can’t reach myself.”

As soon as the words were out, a sting pierced through her chest. A recognizable ache at this point, even if it had no business being there.

What she and Vex had was simple. An acquaintances-with-benefits arrangement that both parties got something out of. And which was so effective that whenever it was active, it was like the rest of the world ceased to exist.

It was just superficial. An itch getting scratched, like she’d just said. It shouldn’t be anything more, and she shouldn’t want it to be anything more.

She especially shouldn’t have to dismiss the thought of it as often as she did.

“Is that really all it is?” The excitement had disappeared from Sam’s tone. Angela waved her off.

“It’s too complicated to get into.”

“That’s never stopped you before. Things being complicated tend to make you fixate on them even more, in fact.”

Angela sighed. Having people around who actually knew her was more impractical than expected.

“It’s just… It’s a thing. And for what it is, it works.” She ran her fingers over the jade bracelet again. A soothing movement she had to force herself to stop. “And it’s… nice. Surprisingly so, given that she’s as far from nice as you can get.”

Sam’s brows furrowed, the worry in her eyes tilting towards suspicion, when hurried footsteps down the hall claimed her attention. Groans and loud voices followed, and Sam shot Angela a sharp look.

“This is what happens when you use the Q word!”

Angela would have chuckled at Sam’s stern tone if a patrol team hadn’t staggered through the door at that very moment. Six people, two of them being carried by the other four. All covered in blood.

Angela moved to the side as Sam directed the two injured people towards the nearest beds. She’d been in the infirmary with Sam enough times to know what to do in situations like this. The only way she could help was by staying out of the way.

“This is a deep cut,” Sam said, inspecting the groaning human man who’d been left in the infirmary bed. A massive gash cut over his chest, blood soaking his t-shirt. “It’s too jagged to come from a blade. What caused it? Teeth?”

“Claws.”

The deep voice made everyone turn towards the door, right as Drago stepped inside. Sam tensed, giving him a quick scan before she relaxed. He was clean of blood.

“A pack of lycanthropes was hunting around the borders,” Drago continued, moving over next to Sam. “They were acting strange, wrecking everything in their path, so we had to deal with them. We split up to cover more ground, and a few of us ran into an ambush.”

Sam’s eyes widened. “Any casualties?”

“No. Luckily, we brought an ambush of our own.”

“Wasn’t lucky.” Vex walked in from the hallway, sneering at nothing. “I was told to stay hidden unless I was needed. Since those wolves jumped out of the bushes while Wrath was on the opposite side of the woods, I was needed.”

She blew at a strand of black hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. They glowed bright green, filling with so much animosity that almost everyone in the room quickly looked away from her.

Then her eyes found Angela, standing a few feet from the door. And she paused.

“I need to know what happened exactly.” Sam looked between Angela and Vex before turning to Drago. “Talk. And hold him down. He needs to be sedated before I start working.”

Drago made an affirming grunt and moved to the bed, holding the man in place while Sam got a syringe ready.

“That’s quite the look of morbid curiosity,” Vex said as she leaned against the wall next to Angela. “I like it. Reminds me of a mad scientist.”

Even if it was due to shock more than curiosity, Angela had been looking rather intently. Though she’d seen Sam work on injuries before, it was limited to minor cuts and bruises. Nothing as bloody as this.

Angela wrenched her eyes away, turning towards Vex. “What happened out there?”

“Something weird. A few lycanthropes celebrating the full moon early, would be my guess. They had the jump on those two, but only got a few scratches in before they were writhing on the ground. A combination of heavy shadows, stolen breaths, and silver bullets makes it hard for even the biggest wolf to act tough.”

Angela gave Vex a quick scan. There were dark smears on her jeans and her t-shirt was ripped, but she wasn’t wincing. Just smirking.

“I’m fine. I only got a few scrapes and those I can handle. I have to, given that greater fiends can’t benefit from the gifts of your sweet apprentice.” Vex leaned in closer, lowering her voice. “But concern looks cute on you, angel.”

Going by her grin, the comment was clearly supposed to make Angela blush. By feel, it succeeded, too.

“What are you doing here, anyway?” Vex gave Angela a long look up and down. “Dressed like that, no less.”

Angela forced herself to stay composed. Or at least appear composed.

“Just hanging out with Sam. Killing time.” Angela shot Vex a subtle smile of her own. “And the outfit is there because I was planning on going to the party downstairs.”

Vex put on a thoughtful expression. “What a coincidence. I was thinking of doing something similar.”

Though their escapades were still protected by secrecy, the reason for it had drifted. The thought of people knowing about Angela’s visits to the Second Circle had mortified her at first, but the feeling had lessened with time. She’d never cared what people thought before. If they had nothing better to do than gossip about her sexual preferences, that was their problem.

The thing needing hiding now wasn’t really what she was doing, but who she was doing it with. The chatter that would start, from every angle, wouldn’t mesh with her plans for relaxation. Keeping what they were doing under wraps was smart.

And it would be a filthy lie to say that the risk of getting found out wasn’t enticing. Even if it was negligible. Vex had a talent for not getting caught.

A low curse drew Angela’s attention back to the infirmary bed. The injured man had passed out, but his companions were wide awake. One of them had turned away, grimacing as Sam used a pair of scissors to cut off the man’s t-shirt so she could better inspect the injury.

Every sound other than one went on mute. So fast, too. Happening in a blink as Angela watched the scissors cut through bloody fabric, the noise grating in her ears like nails scraping against a chalkboard.

A chill rushed down her spine, turning every limb rigid. Every muscle tensed up, every sense dulled, as buzzing static descended on her mind like a swarm of flies.

Angela stepped back with a gasp, reaching for the wall to keep herself steady. Vex’s teasing expression vanished, and a few of the others turned around to look their way. Some with surprise, others confusion. Some, like Sam, with worry.

“You okay?” Sam turned towards the door, scissors still in hand. Angela wrenched her gaze away from them.

“I’m fine. It’s just… a lot of blood.” She took an uneven breath and started towards the door. “I’ll just go. I don’t want to distract you. We can talk later.”

She was in the hallway before anyone could respond, hurrying away from the emergency room. Dread and dizziness washed over her so intensely that she would have dropped to the floor if she hadn’t found a bench she could collapse onto instead.

What the hell was happening? She wasn’t in danger. She wasn’t. Despite it, everything hurt. Everything was shaking. A sensory storm whirled through her, making it feel like her body was suddenly at war with itself.

She squeezed her eyes shut, but while it dulled the dizziness, that was the only helpful thing it did. Harsh images flashed over the inside of her eyelids, followed by memories of icy water, pained breathing, and walls that were shrinking in around her.

So sudden. So insistent. And so without reason. These memories hadn’t been near her mind in days, and now they were all she could think about. All she could feel. Tight pressure shot through her chest, transforming her breathing into gasping.

“Angela?”

Angela clenched her jaw. Of course Vex had found her. Or followed her or done whatever the hell she needed to do for her voice to be that close.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine. I’m fine.” Angela said it a few more times in her head, hoping repetition would transform the words into truth.

“Yes. You are.” Vex sounded far calmer than expected. “It doesn’t feel like it, I know that, but you’re okay. You’re safe.”

Angela dug her fingers into the bench. “What the fuck is happening?”

“Panic attack. Remember?” Vex’s light tone made Angela open her eyes. Vex was crouched in front of her, her face so close. Her smoky scent so warm and familiar.

Angela tried taking a deep breath, but she couldn’t make it anything other than shallow.

“Why is it happening now? I did what I was supposed to. I took time to deal with… everything. I relaxed. So why is this still happening for no fucking reason?”

“Trauma responses don’t operate around reason.” Vex started to reach for her but immediately pulled back. “I should get Sam. She knows how to handle stuff like this. It won’t take more than—”

“No. No, don’t go.” Angela stopped herself from grabbing Vex’s hand. Or her face or her t-shirt or any part of her that was within reach. “Can you stay? Just until it passes? Please?”

Though she could anchor herself to the provided information that this would pass, the thought of waiting it out alone was almost shattering. It spawned a thousand concerns in a single second, ranging from worrying that she might start crying in public to fearing that her racing heart was about to give out.

She didn’t want Sam there, besides. She’d be all patient and worried, and while Angela loved that about her, that kind of attention felt smothering right then. Everything just needed to stop, including her runaway thoughts. No one could rein them in better than Vex.

Vex had gone stiff. She’d already acted against her own interests by tracking Angela down, and going by the uncertain look in her eyes, she clearly hadn’t thought of what she’d do in this situation.

But maybe it wasn’t actually uncertainty making her pause. In fact, based on the tenseness in Vex’s body and how wide her eyes were, Angela could almost believe it was fear instead.

Moving slowly, Vex sat down and placed her hand next to Angela’s. Close enough that their skin touched.

“It won’t last long.” Vex eased her little finger over Angela’s. “Just a few more minutes. It’ll pass. Okay?”

She was so warm, so soft, and Angela had to use conscious effort to not take Vex’s hand and squeeze it with all her might. Just to make sure she wouldn’t vanish.

Instead, she nodded. “Okay.”

Though Angela knew it couldn’t have taken that long, it still felt like an eternity passed before she could take a breath that didn’t rattle on the exhale. The need to grip the bench waned, the dizziness turning into simple exhaustion.

She let out a deep sigh. “That was fucking scary. At first, I thought I was having a heart attack.”

“It can feel like that. I’ve heard.”

Angela scoffed. “Yeah? Where did you pick up that information?”

“Around. After what happened with the Inquisitors, I… I wanted to know what to do. Just in case.” Vex shifted in place, as though about to stand, but she stayed where she was. “What brought it on? The blood, you said?”

Angela shook her head. “It wasn’t the blood. It was the… the noise.”

She could still hear it, somehow. The sound of scissors cutting through blood-soaked fabric. Similar to when she was on her living room couch and Sam had cut off her clothes. When she’d been drenched, in pain, and more terrified than she had ever been in her life.

Other noises had mixed with it. Chalk against concrete. Coughing and clinking handcuffs. A cold, hateful voice.

“And memories. The cell and… and Quinn. I don’t know where it came from. It just hit me out of nowhere.”

Shadowy strands appeared in Vex’s irises. Angela didn’t realize their color was near-black red until they had vanished.

“You’re still scared of her.”

It wasn’t a question. Fortunate, since just the thought of answering made Angela’s heart race all over again.

Vex looked down the hallway. “Need me to take you somewhere? Might just be personal preference, but this seems like a shitty place to have a panic attack.”

Angela burst out laughing, the noise as surprising as it was brief. And effective, too. Once it passed, her breathing had almost evened out.

“My bad. I’ll pick a better location next time.”

She smiled at Vex, only realizing how easy it was to give when Vex returned it with one of her own. One that was almost too gentle for her sharp features.

Then Vex’s head whipped to the side. She took her hand off Angela’s and shot away from the bench, right as Sam came rushing around the corner.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, ignoring Vex and sitting down next to Angela. “I wanted to follow you, but I needed to stop the bleeding and administer sedatives, and then I had to wash my hands before—”

“It’s fine, Sam,” Angela said. “There’s nothing wrong. I just needed to sit for a while.”

Sam’s brows furrowed as she followed Angela’s gaze, spotting Vex standing a few feet from them, hands closed into fists.

“What are you doing here?” Sam said, sounding legitimately confused. Vex all but glared at her.

“Leaving.” Her gaze softened when she glanced back at Angela. “I have something I need to do. Outside the high-rise.”

Angela’s smile withered. “The Regents are sending you out again?”

“No. They’re strict, but not that strict.”

Vex paused, her dark green eyes resting on Angela’s. They drifted to her lips, before moving up again.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be back soon.” Vex turned, giving Sam a hard stare. “Don’t leave her alone.”

Vex stepped away, her form evaporating into darkness. The ceiling lights flickered, but only for a few seconds before the light became steady again.

“That was… odd.” Sam gave Angela a puzzled look. “What’s going on? Did she do something?”

She couldn’t have asked a more frustrating question. What didn’t Vex do? She could toe the line between caring and infuriating so well that whichever characteristic she was embodying seemed to erase the other completely. And one of them was probably more pretend than genuine.

It just wasn’t clear which one.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Angela slowly got to her feet, Sam following. “I just want to go home. And get out of these dumb clothes. That band probably sucks, anyway.”

“Can I come with you?” Sam must have sensed an imminent dismissal because she quickly continued. “I’m leaving anyway, once those two have been seen to. It’s been a while since we’ve hung out for fun. And I need to see how chubby your cat has gotten.”

That cut off the response Angela had been working towards. It was one thing to say that she didn’t need company, but dismissing Sam’s request for it was different. Especially since the thought of being alone sent chilling needles down her neck.

“She’s not my cat,” Angela muttered, and Sam’s light laughter made her shoulders relax a little.

But not completely. Because no matter how much she tried, she kept replaying those last words Vex had said before vanishing. She couldn’t shake the weird tension that had wrapped around her heart. It wasn’t suffocating like the panic from before. It was just there.

Vex would be back soon. She’d said so. But Vex was nothing if not a calculating liar.

Chapter 29

The fireworks left a colorful glow across the night sky. Impressive, given the location. The forest was both dark and secluded, but even miles away from civilization, the lights celebrating the imminent arrival of the new year could still be seen.

Vex should be in Chicago, joining in on the festivities, even if she would have only attended them as a shadow. Watching from the darkness and glaring at happy couples sharing kisses in the dark. But there were limits to how much jealousy she could handle.

“Where are you? Show yourself!”

Titus swung a gnarled branch in front of himself, hitting nothing. He didn’t know what he was fighting, just as he didn’t know where he was. Titus didn’t employ protective charms, so she’d been able to capture the brute with no outside assistance.

She could have dealt with him earlier, without this little show. But where was the fun in that?

“Give me what I want, and I might let you go.” Her voice came from all around, as though the night itself had been given the gift of speech.

Titus flinched, drops of blood falling from his nose onto the snow. Petty, perhaps, to give him that injury when he couldn’t defend himself. He’d been blind, deaf, and mute when she’d dragged him into this forest, and a punch to the nose had matched the moment she returned his senses.

He’d been holed up in a salt-protected townhouse when she found him a few days before. Titus was far less concerned with hiding than Quinn, who could match Vex when it came to cunningness. She’d watched as he interrogated a poor teenage warlock who had committed the crime of not knowing how ruthless the laws of the arcane could be.

When he’d lit up a cigarette and opened the window to clear the smoke, pushing at the salts protecting him, his fate was sealed. The same went for the kid. A few cut ropes later and the boy was lost to the night, while Vex had a new toy.

Days of watching and waiting. Days since she left Chicago. With what she had planned, it would be hours more before she returned.

“Someone hired you to handle a young witch.” Vex’s voice harmonized with the wind rustling through the trees. “Blonde. Sharp-tongued. Affiliated with the Court of Chains. Sound familiar?”

“Norwood?” Titus tightened his grip on the branch. “I don’t know anything about that Chains cunt. Quinn is the one you want to talk to. She took the gig. I was just hired muscle.”

Muscle was all this man had. Vex had taken a peek into his mind earlier and hadn’t needed much focus to determine that any conversation had with Titus would happen more for entertainment than utility. His head might as well have been filled with rocks.

“So you have no value to me.” The shadows pulsed like a slow heartbeat. Titus’s face went white.

“No, that’s not what I—” He yelped when Vex stepped into corporeal form right in front of him, swinging the branch like a sword. It cut right through her, her body displacing like black mist. A difficult maneuver to pull off, if she hadn’t seen the lunge coming from a mile away.

With the branch meeting no resistance, Titus tumbled onto the snow-covered ground. A wild look appeared in his eyes, one she recognized all too well. Terror made for such a memorable sight.

Fiends were rare. Greater fiends even more so. Beyond basic salt-quenched defenses, most arcanists weren’t trained to deal with them. If you were unfortunate enough to catch their attention, there wasn’t much you could do, anyway. Other than pray, obviously.

“Holy fuck.” He scrambled to his feet, breath clouding in front of his lips. “You’re her. That demon from the diner meeting.”

Vex moved in a slow circle around the clearing. Snow crunched with each step, loud in the quiet night.

“I’m guessing Quinn mentioned me. Did she have anything nice to say?”

A sick grin twisted onto his face. “Just the obvious. That the Chains really are insane, given that they employ free fiends. But since your Court let us know we were on their shitlist, we employed safeguards.”

He dropped the branch, opening his jacket and digging under his shirt. Just as Vex started to frown, he pulled a throwing knife from a hidden holster.

She stepped to the side as the weapon flew through the air, making it graze her cheek rather that embed itself in her face. Normally, a nick like that would be negligible, but going by the fire spreading under her skin, that knife wasn’t normal.

“Salt-quenched steel. Bitch.” Titus raised another knife, pointing it towards her rather than throwing it. Though he had weapons, he clearly didn’t have enough to toss more of them away.

Vex touched her cheek, wincing as her fingers came away stained by black ichor. A few drops fell from her face, hissing as they hit the snowy ground.

It was just a scratch. The pain would pass. But fuck, did it hurt.

“That was a bad move.” The greenish light reflecting on the snow transitioned to red. Titus laughed, the noise a little shrill.

“Bring it, fiend. I’ve dealt with plenty of demons. If handled right, there isn’t much of a difference between your kind and humans. Your screams at least sound the same.”

No coven was beneath capturing fiends, and the Inquisitors were no exception. Fiends were harder to kill than humans and practicing torture that brought beings close to death was a standard part of the curriculum. They made for decent test dummies.

But… they only used lesser fiends.

Blinking through the darkness, Vex snatched up the dropped branch. She spun, makeshift weapon in hand, and slammed it against the side of Titus’s torso before he even realized she’d moved. He dropped the knife and rolled through the snow, clutching his side when he came to a stop.

“I’m not like the beings you usually have fun with.” Vex moved closer to the whimpering warlock. She kicked the dropped knife into the air, catching it by the handle. “But I find myself inspired by your previous work. Like what you did to the Chains cunt. I especially liked how you took her somewhere cold and isolated. How you left her face covered in blood.” The shadows darkened. “How you broke her ribs.”

Titus crawled backward, still clutching his injured side. He stared at her, wide-eyed, even as his retreat was halted by him knocking against a tree trunk.

“Is this what the Chains consider just? We messed with them, and in response, they kidnap people and play fucking mind games?”

Vex cocked her head. And smiled. “No. The Chains don’t know anything about this. What they consider justice would be far too soft for the likes of you.”

She took a step forward, making Titus’s hand shoot up in front of him. His arm was trembling.

“Wait! Just… wait, alright. You want information, yeah? I know stuff. About the guy who ordered your witch dead.”

Vex took another step. “I seriously doubt that.”

“He still wants her dead!” he yelled, making Vex stop. “I don’t know who he is, just that he’s one of us. Someone within the covens. He’s still in contact with Quinn, and she’s like… really invested in this. She wouldn’t explain why, because we didn’t need to know why. Just follow orders.”

Vex narrowed her eyes. Her cursory inspection of his sieve of a mind might have been too surface-level.

She already knew Quinn was around somewhere. But she couldn’t get to Chicago. If she tried, she had to go through an army of monsters and not even a knight of the Inquisition could survive that.

“You said we,” Vex mused. “Does that include everyone in your little torture party? Such as the younger Heliot?”

“Eden? Obviously, even though she’d rather that wasn’t the case. She still flinches at the sight of blood, and if Quinn didn’t insist on dragging her along for everything, she’d be hiding out in a corner somewhere, getting spooked by her own shadow.” Titus spat red onto the snow. “That kid was born without guts. She does what she’s told, but only because she’s too chickenshit to do otherwise.”

Vex’s lips tensed in a held back sneer. “If that’s the stuff you know, it isn’t impressing me.”

Titus’s eyes flicked around as he went through the limited thoughts he’d been blessed with. The primary ones Vex had noticed all concerned anatomy facts and knowledge of bodily pain points. The man only had one special interest, and it involved making others scream. As long as someone provided a way to feed his urges, he didn’t ask too many questions.

“Quinn, uh… Oh! She once made a whole speech that dealing with Norwood would change everything. That it was the most important work of our generation or some shit like that. The Inquisitors have basically given up on finding her, too. They don’t want to waste the resources.”

Vex balanced the dagger on her fingertip. “Killing the Chains is no longer of prime importance for your coven, then. How kind.”

Titus’s jaw clenched. “The Inquisitors are invested enough. Norwood made shitty choices. Not my fault that she has to face the consequences of her actions.”

Vex inspected the dagger whose sibling had swiped her cheek. Letters were engraved along the fuller. Salt and flames. Not quite ‘blood and honor’ territory, but the spirit was the same. A phrase filled with fanatical hatred, explained away as justified because of the purity it supposedly represented.

“Face the consequences of your actions…” Vex tossed the knife in the air, letting it make a full rotation before catching it again. “What a wonderful mantra to live by.”

Moving faster than a human eye could register, she threw the knife directly at Titus. A sharp crack sounded as the hilt struck his shin and the man wailed, holding on to his broken leg.

Vex just glared at him. He had tortured Angela. Left her bleeding in a cold cell and in so much pain that just lifting her from the floor had made her scream. He had shattered her sense of safety and confidence, with weeks passing before they had been repaired. And even then, they were frailer than before.

Vex would never be more than a shadow to her, but she could still make her safer. If the only way she could improve Angela’s life was to kill everyone foolish enough to pose a threat to her, then that was a fine purpose of her existence.

“We’re done talking.” Vex yanked Titus to his feet and shoved him towards a tree, letting him keep himself upright. “Why don’t you give running a shot? Give me a good chase.”

Titus stared at her, terror shining in his eyes, before he limped into the woods, falling twice while still within line of sight. Even if his broken leg hadn’t made his tracks obvious, the blood dotting the snow made a clear guide.

Vex cracked her neck. He could run for an hour or so. She felt like making someone die tired.

Chapter 30

The New Year’s party had only gotten wilder as the night went on. The club floor was packed, the air so thick with smoke it made the rays from the overhead lights look solid.

Angela wasn’t sure why she’d shown up. She’d been with the Court of Chains for over ten years, and—outside of the past week—the number of parties she’d attended could be counted on one hand. Her time was better spent being productive than sociable.

Normally.

Nothing about how she was acting could be described as normal.

“Have I mentioned how good you look, all dolled up like that?” Maya put her elbows on the bar, causing Angela to stop toying with her drink straw so she could scowl more effectively.

“Dolled up? Really?”

“Got me a reaction, didn’t it? Since all I’ve gotten out of you tonight have been nods or silence, it’s an improvement.”

Angela stuck with her glare until Maya’s knowing smile made it wither. Angela lowered her eyes, running a finger over her jade bracelet.

“I’m not dolled up.”

Maya cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah. You are.”

Facts were hard to argue against, especially since most of those rare instances where Angela had shown up at a high-rise party had happened within the past two months, making Maya a witness. Her wearing high heels and tight-fitting clothes was an anomaly.

She’d done it every night for the past few days. Gotten dressed up, put on more makeup than she ever bothered with, and gone to the club floor. Hoping. And getting more and more concerned every time she went home alone.

Maya’s smile softened. “You know… I’ve been doing this job long enough to recognize when someone’s been stood up. Want to talk about it? Since your usual confidant is indisposed?”

Angela glanced to the side, rolling her eyes at Sam and Drago being annoying and adorable a few feet down the bar. They were ignoring everything and everyone in favor of gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes.

“I wasn’t stood up either. There wasn’t anything planned. She didn’t even say she would be here, but I guess I just…”

“You hoped she would show up, anyway.” Maya shrugged when Angela reequipped her scowl. “Like I said. Been doing this for a long time. You’re not the first person who’s been hanging around a bar, hoping a tall, dark stranger might materialize.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Oh, I know it’s not like that. You don’t get involved with an Envy fiend because you’re drawn towards classical romance.”

Angela’s eyes widened. “How did you know—” She clamped her mouth shut when Maya grinned.

“I didn’t. But I do now.” She took away Angela’s glass and dumped out the watered down contents before making a fresh version. “I don’t have many people around anymore, so I pay attention to the few I got. You were out of the high-rise for a week and then, when you come back, you spend barely any time in your office and your shadow is a little darker than usual. You don’t have to be a genius to put the pieces together.”

Angela glanced in Sam’s and Drago’s direction. Sam whispered something to Drago and then dragged him away, mirroring what several other couples were doing and looking for a private place to celebrate the new year.

“Do you know if there are other non-geniuses around?” Angela muttered once Sam and Drago were out of earshot.

“If there are, they’re not loud about it.” Maya kept her voice low, even though it wasn’t necessary. They were at the very end of the bar and, since most people still gave Maya a needlessly wide berth, no one was near enough to overhear them.

“The Chains are chatty,” Maya continued. “If a story was brewing about you two, then the entire building would know. The bar staff especially.”

Angela sighed in relief. The last thing she needed was a rumor going around about what she and Vex were doing. Especially since Angela didn’t even know what they were doing.

She shouldn’t even care. Whenever she’d suffered a frustrating crush in the past, drowning it in physical stimuli always worked. It did now, too. Sort of.

It was only when the stimuli ended that everything got complicated. Then her thoughts would start wandering towards memories of unmarked gifts and dark green eyes. Of smartass remarks and kind words masked as factual observations. Of a calming presence and stolen touches that Angela wasn’t supposed to notice.

The limited affection Vex showed her was confined to when Angela was passed out. Or… when Vex thought she was passed out. She had developed a habit of keeping her eyes closed for a few minutes after waking up, because then Vex would keep caressing her skin or playing with her hair.

Angela didn’t even do cuddling. She shouldn’t be longing for it as much as she did, and Vex shouldn’t even want to do it in the first place. And Angela definitely shouldn’t be battling this odd desire for… more than this.

She didn’t even know what more would feel like. Or why she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Some otherworldly forces might be at play, such as that pesky infernal bond Vex had mentioned all those weeks ago. It might explain all this weirdness. It altered how fiends could act, and if it had been established between her and Vex, then…

But it wasn’t. If it was present, Vex would have said something by now. When it came to dealing with this emotional whirlwind she was stuck in, Angela was on her own.

She ran a hand over her face and groaned, feeling a sudden urge to track down all those women whose romantic attention she’d dismissed and offer her sincerest apologies. As it turned out, having feelings for someone who would never return them fucking sucked.

Maya whistled. “Wow… You really have it bad, huh?”

“Oh, do shut up. I don’t have anything, other than awful taste.” She stabbed the straw into her glass, making the ice cubes clink together. “It’s just sex. Me getting dolled up is just a coincidence, and it isn’t something she’d care about, anyway.”

“You sure? A greater fiend doesn’t strike me as the type of being who does anything in moderation. That includes caring.”

Angela sighed, stirring the drink rather than stabbing it.

“We haven’t even kissed. How serious can it be?”

Maya’s amused expression dimmed. “That’s… odd. Was that something you talked about as a limit, or…”

“We fuck better than we talk, Maya.” Angela took a long sip of her drink. “Please, just drop it. I don’t feel like getting judged for my stupid decisions. I know I’m not making sense, and my mood won’t improve by you informing me of it.”

Having to acknowledge how irrationally she was acting would just make her feel like even more of an idiot. But silence wasn’t a great replacement for talking.

If it wasn’t suitably distracted, her mind wouldn’t stop thinking. It would theorize, imagine, and argue with itself, like usual. But the things it focused on now weren’t research and hypothesizing. Just illogical fucking feelings.

Maya gave Angela a small smile. “I’m not judging you. If anything, you making stupid decisions about your love life makes me like you more. It proves you have a heart, like the rest of us.”

“Not sure I care for that. I prefer relying on my brain over my heart for stuff like this. It’s more efficient.”

“That’s the bleakest thing I’ve ever heard!” Maya said, laughing. “Romance shouldn’t be efficient. If that’s how you’re approaching your relationships, it’s no wonder you suck at them.”

Angela couldn’t help but chuckle, and it lessened some of the nervous tension that had infected her body.

Before, she’d been fine with spending all of her time alone, seeing it as an annoying interruption whenever people wanted to talk to her. But after spending so many hours with Maya and Sam that it had become part of her routine, she couldn’t understand how she’d ever functioned without it.

If she was being honest, Vex had snuck into that category, too. And it was hard not to be honest when Angela’s fingers kept drifting to the jade bracelet whenever her thoughts got too loud to deal with.

She hadn’t even considered taking it off. Not once.

“I’m worried, to be honest,” Angela said quietly. “She’s been gone for days. She doesn’t usually do that. I don’t even think she’s allowed.”

“Does Vex care about following the rules?”

“Sometimes. But not with this, clearly.” Angela scoffed, though it came out sounding more miserable than annoyed. “Being worried about her really is stupid.”

Maya strummed her fingers against the bar top. Then she picked up an empty glass, tilting it towards Angela.

“A toast, then. To stupid decisions.”

Angela hesitated for a moment before letting Maya’s inviting smile win her over. Something about that expression worked better as a social lubricant than alcohol.

“We’re not on an even playing field.” Angela clinked her glass against Maya’s. “You can’t drink, so a toast only results in me getting tipsy, and you’ve already heard me lament about my problems. What foolish love-life decisions have you made since you need to toast about it?”

The humor in Maya’s eyes faded, even though her smiling expression stayed in place. Solidly too, like it had to be screwed on in order to stick.

“Not anymore than usual.”

Angela raised an eyebrow. “I happen to remember what usual looks like. What’s her name? Brianna… something?”

Though she kept her tone light, the question wasn’t received as such. Maya’s smile tensed further, and it looked like it took almost painful effort for it not to fall.

“Yeah, she, uh… She got initiated, recently. Given that she’s been coming here for months and was liked by basically everybody, it wasn’t surprising.” Maya looked away and shrugged. “We didn’t work out. But it’s not a big deal. We were just flirting. It didn’t get much further than that.”

With her practiced charms, Maya’s dismissing attitude would have been convincing to most other people. But Angela had been around her enough to know the difference between her easy smiles and the ones used as a shield.

She didn’t know much about the woman Maya had become somewhat infatuated with, but she’d seen her around. Brianna was one of several humans frequenting the Court of Chains. What made her stand out was that she had befriended half the club staff over the past few months. Including Maya.

On most open nights, Maya could be found chatting with the charming young woman, smiling in that winning way that could make you spill all your secrets if you weren’t careful. With how doe-eyed Maya got whenever the woman was around, or even mentioned, it obviously wasn’t ‘just flirting’ they’d had going on.

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” Angela fidgeted in her seat, forcing herself to stay with the topic. She didn’t have a lot of practice with this type of conversation. “Did she give a reason? I assume you weren’t the one who ended it.”

“You assume right. The Chains are chatty, as has been established. By the time I found out she’d been informed about all of this, she’d already heard my story from someone else. Since she’s been avoiding me like the plague, I think they favored the gory details.”

The time preceding Maya’s time among the Chains had little else but gore in it. But unlike the rumor mill running the high-rise, Angela had the facts.

Maya had suffered months of captivity and arcane experimentation, and her escaping it had involved a building being turned to rubble and half a dozen people getting their throats torn out by an emaciated monster.

Her impossible existence as a day-walking vampire was enough to make most people wary of her. The mindless, starvation-induced rampage she’d gone on after being freed from her captors meant most were terrified of her. But she hadn’t been herself when it happened. Comparing that being to the woman standing alone behind the bar wouldn’t just be unfair but cruel in addition.

“Then she isn’t good enough for you,” Angela said firmly. “You’ll find someone else. Someone who knows better than to base their opinions on gossip. Mysterious loner is a hot look, if you weren’t aware.”

“Unlike you, I’m not a loner by choice.” Maya smiled again, using so much effort to get it settled that it transformed from pretty to tragic. “You benefit from your fearsome reputation. I would do anything to be without mine. You might not be aware of this, since your attention tends to be far away from other people, but having everyone be scared of you really sucks.”

Angela smirked. “I’m not scared of you.”

Maya’s smile softened. Easing into place rather than being forced.

“You’re right about that. You contrarian.”

Angela laughed, the noise coming out sputtering since she’d sipped on her drink while Maya talked.

Maya started to join in when her eyes fixed on something on the dance floor. Her shoulders tensed, her smile died, and a rare coolness rose in her gilded irises. Those factors, combined with how dark the room had suddenly gotten, made it obvious what had just killed her good humor.

Angela spun in her seat, a smile already slipping onto her face—despite the fact that it shouldn’t—when she froze.

Vex was right behind her. Standing too close, black hair damp from melted snow, and her green eyes fixed on Maya. But the neon glow of her irises wasn’t what had made Angela tense up.

“You’re bleeding!” She shot to her feet, grabbing Vex’s face so she could better inspect the cut on her cheek.

“It’s nothing.” Vex was still staring at Maya. “I just ran into unexpected difficulties.”

“What difficulties were you dealing with that got you anywhere near fiend-killing weapons?”

Greater fiends could suffer injuries as easily as any other creature, they just didn’t suffer them for long. Especially not something as minor as the scrape Vex had gotten. It should have healed in no time at all. That it hadn’t…

“I better go. Someone needs to do inventory.” Maya shot Angela a loaded look. “And you two need to talk.”

That comment earned her a sharp glance, but a glance was all Angela could manage. Her attention returned to Vex’s face, even though Vex’s focus didn’t mirror hers. She was tracking Maya, her irises so luminous they looked like they had been replaced with lights.

“How did this happen?” Angela turned Vex to face her so she could better see the injury. “It isn’t closing. Does it still hurt? Do you need to see Natalya since it’s—”

In a blink, Vex grabbed Angela by the arms and shoved her against the bar. It dug into her back, but shock and sudden proximity made her ignore the sting it produced.

Vex was staring at her. Eyes glowing, the melted snow in her hair turning to steam, and slight tremors going through her body with every exhale.

Intense, dark, and emanating sinful danger. She had never looked more like the fiend she was than at that very moment.

“What happened to you?” Angela’s voice was near a whisper, though it was so due to confusion rather than fear.

Vex glared at her as though Angela was the cause of every instance of agony she had ever experienced. Her eyes glittered viridescent, flickering like green flames.

“You were flirting with her.”

Vex’s voice was low, but filled with venom. A threat spoken to the room more than to any one individual.

Even when hearing that tone, Angela still scoffed. “I was not. We were talking.”

“You were laughing.”

“That’s because Maya said something funny. It’s perfectly justified to laugh when that’s the case.”

Vex let go of Angela’s wrists, only to grab the bar next to her hips instead. She was no less pinned in place, but now Vex didn’t have to concern herself with how tight her hold was. The wood groaned under her fingers.

“Don’t act stupid,” Vex hissed. “I see how she looks at you. How everyone looks at you. Don’t pretend you don’t see them staring.”

“I don’t give a shit if they’re staring. I have better things to do than pay attention to people I don’t know and don’t care about.”

Her eyes fell on Vex’s cut again. A drop of ichor had beaded near its center, slipping down her cheek like a black tear.

“Please… Just answer me.” Angela said, voice far less assertive than she’d hoped it would be. “Where were you? What happened?”

Vex stayed silent, the only noise Angela could register over the music being her labored breathing. Then she let out a low, slightly mad-sounding laugh.

“You and your fucking questions. They never end, do they?”

“They might if you would answer them every once in a while.” Angela forced herself to sound more curt than worried. “You’re always making me admit to things I’d rather keep to myself, having a great time with it, too. When will you return the favor? What do I have to do to get actual answers out of you?”

Vex’s eyes were unblinking, shining that bright neon green that Angela hadn’t seen at all over the past few weeks. In that time, her irises had stuck to darker shades. Soft greens, like the kind found among forest leaves. Their color had never been this sheer. Nor had her gaze been this… hungry.

A haunting smile crept onto Vex’s face. “Is that what you want? Answers?”

Angela swallowed. The dangerous timbre in her voice suggested she was building towards a trap of some sort. It might already be closing, given that Angela had yet to do the smart thing and walk away, which she should have done the moment Vex started talking as though she’d caught Angela making out with someone rather than talking to them.

“Right now? Yes.” Angela gasped when Vex leaned closer.

“You can have them. For a price.”

Angela had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. “Of course. Something for something.”

“Not if you play your cards right. I’m going to give you one hour. To run, hide, or do whatever the fuck you want within the high-rise. If it passes and I haven’t found you, then you get what you want. I’ll answer every question you can think of.”

The annoyance evaporated. There was no creature in the whole Court, potentially the whole country, who knew more than Vex. If she chose to be honest, there was no limit to what you might learn.

But Vex wouldn’t offer a treasure like that without a prize of equal value to weigh against it.

“And if you find me before the hour is up. What then?”

Green light shined over Vex’s skin and eyelashes.

“When I find you, I’m going to do what I want and fuck you until you beg me to stop. Whether or not I do so depends entirely on if I feel like it in the moment.”

Angela’s jaw dropped, alongside her stomach. Going by Vex’s tone, she was being completely serious. She usually favored a mean or mocking cadence; not this dark, possessive one that made Angela want to yell and prod at her in equal measure. Just so she might hear it again.

She pushed that thought away. This wasn’t what this conversation should be about. Vex had been gone, for days, and had left Angela out of her mind with worry, as frustrating as that was to admit. And then, when she showed up again, she did so with a fresh injury and a possessive attitude that better fit her Sin than the person Angela had spent the past few weeks with.

No matter how talented Vex was at causing distractions, Angela wouldn’t let her focus be stolen this easily.

“Or, alternatively, you can just talk to me instead of taking everything to needless extremes.”

“If you don’t like the terms, you can leave.” Vex’s voice was icy, her eyes dark and flicking between Angela’s. They abruptly shifted back to neon. “You’re wearing mascara. And eyeliner.”

The sudden change in topic replaced indignation with confusion.

“Yeah? So?”

Vex’s fingers pressed into the bar. “Good.”

“Why is that good?”

“Because when I’m done with you, you’ll be sobbing. And I’d like nothing more than to see tears streak your fucking face.”

There was no mockery to her tone. Just anger and resentment. As though Angela merely existing, wearing a little more makeup than usual, was enough to invoke unholy fury. And then, when a hint of genuine concern was pointed her way, Vex ignored it in favor of producing more fuel for her seething.

This had been an uneven game from the start. Vex saw more, knew more, and no matter how sweet she might act in secret, she would never give up anything of her own. She would just hate and take. Even when she was treated with nothing but honest worry.

“Screw you, Vex.” Angela spoke in the exact same tone Vex had used. She pushed off the bar and Vex moved her arm, letting Angela walk away. She’d only sipped on one drink, so she was clearheaded enough that she could curse all the way to her car and drive home, leaving behind Vex and her infuriating behavior.

When she got to the elevator, she all but punched the button leading to the garage, glaring at the steel doors as they slid shut. The club music dulled and, frustratingly, the same thing happened to the anger Vex had spawned. When the elevator dinged open, revealing a cooly lit parking garage, there was only a hint of it left.

Angela closed her eyes and leaned against the wall of the elevator. Any sane person would look at what had just happened and see it for the dead end it was. Whatever she and Vex had been doing was something you should run away from. Not long for.

The thing she wanted, more than anything, was to understand what the hell was happening. She wanted answers. And she’d just been given a way to get all of them, even though it involved playing a stacked game against an irrational demon.

She’d done riskier things. In hindsight.

Angela cursed under her breath. If someone figured out how to weaponize unwanted feelings, they could throw the entire world into a dark age.

She hit another elevator button. Vex might be clever, but she wasn’t as clever as she thought. The high-rise was big, with plenty of hidden nooks and crowded rooms alike. Plenty of places to get lost in.

It was just one hour. Angela could outwit her for that long.

Chapter 31

Vex had to stay at the bar for several minutes after Angela was gone, taking deep breaths that did nothing to dull the fire in her body. A craving that had ignited the moment she’d entered the clubroom and heard Angela’s laughter underlining the music, drawing her through the dark like a beacon.

Telling Angela to leave was more ploy than game. The last thing Vex wanted in that moment was to be away from her. She just needed to be.

Envy still churned in her chest; an infernal hunger that would push her to steal the entire world if she didn’t stave it off with occasional scraps. It hadn’t been this consuming in months. But then again, she hadn’t been away from Court more than a few hours at a time during that period. When she made the journey back to Chicago that night, she had only stayed sane by embracing the memories playing in her mind.

Angela’s blue and brown eyes, glinting with mischief. That lazy smile she usually wore right after waking up. Her laughing.

Laughing. When Vex had seen her, she’d been laughing. With someone else.

That laugh was like a fist to the stomach. All light and honest, and unlike the times Vex had been blessed with it, Angela hadn’t seemed surprised by its presence. Maya produced it with no effort. Gave her ease and kindness, things Vex could never hope to provide.

She was Envy personified. Every waking moment was spent trying to keep that infernal nature under control. But why keep trying when trying was agony? When it would feel so good to let the demon loose?

Vex’s form turned into darkness. There were plenty of shadows present tonight. Plenty of people wanting, coveting, and craving, but Vex only cared about one thing. Finding that damn vampire who had lured Angela into her clutches and then wringing the intentions out of her impossible fucking skull.

The dimly lit storage room behind the bar had plenty of shadows, letting Vex drift inside with no one noticing. Maya was in there, having been honest about leaving to do inventory. And she was alone. Her attention elsewhere than the dark corners.

The door to the room slammed shut. Maya frowned and then stiffened as the deepened shadows merged into a furious, green-eyed shape. Vex surged out of the dark, grabbing Maya by the neck and slamming her back against the wall. She winced as Vex held her in place, fingers squeezing around her throat.

This vampire might be an unexplainable miracle, as rare and coveted as the woman she’d just been talking to. But unlike the witch of Chains, Maya could do nothing to withstand the power of a greater fiend.

“What do you want with her?” The words hissed out of the darkness, like the shadows themselves had voiced them.

Maya looked startled for a second more before annoyance took over. She’d been pushing at Vex’s wrist, by instinct mostly, but now she let her hands drop.

“I see you’ve promoted your glaring to ambushing. Should I feel flattered?”

The green light illuminating the room transitioned into scarlet, and Vex tightened her grip on Maya’s throat.

“Why were you talking to her?”

Other than tensing, Maya didn’t react. In fact, she just looked more annoyed, glancing down at Vex’s hand.

Vampires didn’t need to breathe, so her getting choked did nothing but keep her in place. And silent. She might not need air to stay alive, but she did need it to talk.

Vex moved her hand down, clasping the fabric of Maya’s t-shirt.

“Angela and I are friends,” Maya bit, voice strained from lack of air. “Friends talk, if you weren’t aware. That’s probably the case, actually. You don’t seem the type who evokes fondness in the people around you.”

Vex pressed Maya harder against the wall as the corners of the room turned black.

“Watch it, vamp. There are a lot of things I’m holding myself back from doing right now. You being snarky is only increasing the chances of my control slipping. So answer me and be truthful. What do you want with her?”

Maya glared at her. “I don’t want anything with her.”

“Liar.”

“I’m not lying. I want plenty of things, selfish and not, but Angela isn’t one of them.”

“Liar!” The darkness extended, swallowing the room. They filled the space entirely until only Vex and Maya were outside of them. “I’ve seen you. Always watching her. Talking to her. Making her laugh. Everyone who sees her passing by can’t help but want her, and you are no fucking exception. You wouldn’t bother with charming her like you do if you weren’t hoping to get something out of it. No one ever does anything if it doesn’t benefit them in some way.”

Shadowy tendrils coiled around her, reaching for Maya’s face like curling claws.

“Stay away from her,” Vex snarled. “She’s not yours to pay attention to. She’s not yours to yearn for. If you as much as look at her again, I will fucking kill you.”

Maya’s gaze stayed locked on Vex’s. Her body had stiffened, both against Vex’s grip and the approaching shadows, but there wasn’t any fear in her eyes.

“Go on, then. Kill me.”

Her voice was even and assertive, posing a challenge that she seemingly didn’t care if Vex would rise to or not. In fact, with them standing so close and Vex’s finger brushing against Maya’s skin, she couldn’t help but notice a hidden longing deep in her chest. A slight hope, however faint, that Vex might make good on her threat.

Vampires often struggled with their new nature. They had memories of a life before, where they didn’t have to summon pain in others just to survive. Even though Maya only fed from blood bags, her existence still wasn’t easy. Not with her reputation causing everyone to see her as a threat. Even when she wasn’t one.

Vex’s grip loosened. “You’re being serious. You’d rather die than stop being around her. Is that it?”

“That is not it,” Maya said disdainfully. “She’s my friend. My only friend. Being around her is the only time my life feels somewhat normal. If I lose that, on top of everything else, then there isn’t a point to any of this.” She scoffed, shaking her head. “But of course you wouldn’t get that. You wouldn’t even let someone look at her without wanting to kill them for it.”

“You don’t see what I see. Everyone wants to have her. Possess her. Steal her.”

“That’s just you projecting, Vex. You see what you want to see. I’m not trying to steal her from you, nor is anyone else. But even if they were, it wouldn’t fucking matter.”

The anger in Maya’s voice cut through the hatred that had left a green film over Vex’s vision. Though revealing it also distorted her surroundings. Tinting everything in verdant shades, whether it was warranted or not.

“What do you mean?” Vex asked, contempt replaced with confusion. Maya let out a dry laugh.

“You are truly blind, you know that? Or maybe you just prefer to keep your eyes on everything immediately out of reach rather than what’s right in front of you. If you spent even half as much time paying attention to Angela as you do despising anyone who looks her way, you might have noticed that she’s so ridiculously into you that she doesn’t even notice anyone else.”

Vex blinked. The glow from her eyes dimmed, and her hold on Maya’s shirt nearly failed.

“You’re… You’re lying. You’re trying to trick me.”

“That would be a very elaborate trick. Did you not see her back there? How worried she was, about you? Worried enough that she spent the entire evening feeling miserable about it and that laughter you’re so envious of had to be all but pulled out of her. Unlike when you showed up and then the only thing needed to make her smile was realizing you were there.”

The red glow vanished and the shadows retracted. Shelves and concrete walls reemerged from the darkness.

Maya shoved at Vex’s arm, making it drop. “You didn’t even notice. Did you?”

She hadn’t at all. All her attention had been on Maya and the countless envious conclusions she represented. Even when Angela had asked her questions, Vex hadn’t really listened. She hadn’t caught the deeper meaning behind them, or even the obvious one. That Vex was injured and Angela wanted to know every detail of how it happened because she…

Because she was worried. Because she cared.

Vex saw Envy in everyone, and Maya was no exception. Like every other creature, she longed for what others possessed. But, in Maya’s case, what she longed for included broader concepts than the attention of a single woman. Peace and happiness. Impossibilities that Vex was more than familiar with wanting.

Maya didn’t want Angela in the same consuming way that Vex did. She just wanted her as a friend. With compassion and kindness. Not violent obsession.

“Whatever relationship you two have going on is messing her up,” Maya continued. “She cares, even though she does her best to pretend otherwise. The longer you let this last before ending it, the more devastated she’ll be and despite literally everything about you, I don’t think you’re interested in hurting her. So grow a spine, Vex. If you can’t be good for her, then get away from her. She deserves better than someone who’d covet her so hard that they treat her more like a thing than a person.”

Maya shoulder checked her as she walked past, tearing open the door and slamming it shut behind her. Vex barely noticed. She stood frozen in place as all the awful truths of what Maya had just said came crashing down on her.

She hadn’t paid attention. Back at the bar, every word Angela had said fell on deaf ears, as the only thing Vex could think about was the incessant urge to hold her and never let her go. To show everyone that she was the only person allowed to touch the witch of Chains. The only one permitted to look at her beautiful face. To gaze into her sternly worried eyes.

Vex leaned against the wall, slipping down to the floor. With every inch she dropped, self-condemnation took over her body until the pain filled her so completely that she almost curled in on herself in a pointless attempt to lessen it.

She was selfish. Resentful. Cruel, conniving, and envious most of all. She’d come to the Court of Chains to gain mastery of herself and all the evil that made up her being. But it was pointless. Just like happiness, ease was a state she could never achieve.

She could just get close.

It shouldn’t be as harrowing of a thought as it was. There wasn’t room for any kind of goodness in her. Realizing it shouldn’t bring this level of pain and sorrow. Even if she wanted to be kind, she was meant to be the opposite. Cruelly destined to have her every thought and action constrained by hatred. Angela was just the latest victim of her vicious attention.

It had started from a place of practicality. From the belief that Angela was harboring some secretive agenda and by getting close to her, Vex could prove that all witches were the same. That they were selfish, possessive, evil beings. But over the past few weeks, that purpose had been forgotten. It didn’t matter half as much as those glimpses of peace shared with the witch of Chains.

Her design meant that she would always chase those glimpses. Angela deserved better than the darkness Vex could give her. She deserved to be with someone who could love her rather than obsess over her. Even if just the thought of it felt like Vex’s heart had been pierced by a dozen salt-quenched daggers.

She should leave. Go far away, where her ruinating nature couldn’t hurt anyone else. The moment Natalya learned why she had been gone, she’d rescind that invitation she’d extended all those months ago. Vex leaving would just get ahead of it.

But she was weak. Even as the decision solidified in her mind, it came with a closing clause.

If she was stronger, she would walk away without giving into this wretched part of herself. If she was a better person, she would isolate herself in a cave somewhere rather than haunt humanity with her existence. If she was kinder, she wouldn’t feel tempted to damn all reason and give herself a final taste of what could have been. But she wasn’t a strong, or good, or kind creature.

All Vex wanted in that moment was to steal another glimpse of what peace might feel like. Just one last time.

Chapter 32

Chicago really was pretty from this high up. Angela had never bothered looking at it before, but since there wasn’t anything else to do, taking in the cityscape was a fine way to pass the time. Especially now. Midnight was getting closer, so the night sky was filled with colorful lights.

Hiding out on a dark, empty office floor was probably not the wisest choice when you had a being consisting entirely of shadows looking for you. That’s why Angela had done it. The last thing Vex would expect was for her to do something as stupid as seeking refuge in the dark.

She leaned her head against the cool glass. This floor was still under construction, though in this case ‘under construction’ just meant ‘unfurnished.’ Other than a large wooden desk, swivel chair, and barren bookshelf, the room was empty. But it also had a floor-to-ceiling window, letting her look down at the river filled with celebrating people. Something for her eyes to be entertained by while her mind kept working through unanswered questions.

How had Vex gotten hurt? What had kept her away for so long? Why had her response to Angela being worried consisted of nothing but seething hatred?

Asking questions was as vital a part of her as her heart was. But with Vex, her questions would never get any satisfying answers. She didn’t even know if it was because Vex was incapable of providing them, or if she was just incapable of trusting people. Of trusting Angela.

She drew her knees up to her chest. Though she tried, the anger she should feel about Vex’s behavior couldn’t get further than dejection. They needed to talk. But she and Vex didn’t talk. They bickered, often and creatively, trading jabs with the practiced ease of lifelong opponents rather than recent ones.

In the beginning, there had been an underlining contempt to their exchanges. Like so many other things, that contempt had been left behind in that cold Inquisitors’ cell and had been replaced with something else. Something less easily defined than simple hatred.

She checked her phone, shoulders falling when she saw the hour had passed a few minutes ago. She’d won. Fair and square. But being fair wasn’t something Vex cared about.

“So fucking stupid.”

Picking up her discarded shoes, she stood and left the office. The night still had plenty of hours left, and she wouldn’t spend them wallowing in self-pity on an empty corporate floor.

The Chains were expanding and though plenty of Court politics got handled with teeth and claws, even more got handled in spaces like these. Soon, this place would be teeming with lawyers, accountants, and other necessary evils needed when running something as expansive as a supernatural Court. But right then, it just held shadows.

Awfully… full shadows.

A figure stepped into the hallway, barely visible at the edge of her periphery. She turned, but as soon as she’d done so, the figure was gone.

Maybe her imagination was messing with her. But, just in case it wasn’t…

She started walking again, a little faster than before. Especially as she moved past an open office door and spotted a dark silhouette leaning against the window. She froze, but upon closer inspection, the room was empty. Dark and empty.

A low sigh sounded in her ear. She darted around, expecting to find someone standing right behind her, and though she saw nothing, she heard it. Laughter, faint and echoing, and slowly surrounding her.

The hallway shrank as darkness crept up the walls, cascading over the ceiling like spilled ink. It curled into vine-like shapes, covering every surface save for the floor, and turning the walls such a pure black it was like she was looking into a void. She stepped back, her retreat stopping when she knocked into something solid.

A pale arm shot in front of her, and soft fingers closed around her throat. Angela yelped, dropping her shoes as she was turned around and pushed up against the wall. Making her look right into a pair of slitted green eyes.

“What the hell, Vex?” Angela said, voice shaky. “What are you doing?”

Vex didn’t speak. She didn’t even move. She just stood there, staring at Angela as the shadows drifted in closer. Curling in the air like wisps of smoke.

She let go of Angela’s throat, brushing her fingers over the side of her neck. The path they wandered left a tickling heat in their wake, and it only grew more intense as Vex leaned in close, almost pressing her face against Angela’s hair.

“Why do you have to smell this fucking amazing?”

She spoke as though she was surprised by the question. As though she’d intended something else with this little reveal and had discarded it in favor of running her fingers over Angela’s skin so lightly it could barely be considered a touch.

“Stop.” Angela’s voice wavered, despite her trying to keep it even. The shadows had completely filled the hallway, blocking out everything but Vex leaning against her. “I stayed hidden. The hour is up and I won, so… so you need to stop.”

“You didn’t win. The rules stated I had to find you before the hour ran out. And I found you a while ago.”

“That’s not what we agreed.”

Vex stilled, taking a deep breath and letting the exhale turn into a heavy sigh that made Angela forget how to speak. The noise was right in her ear, so low and strained it almost sounded like a snarl. They weren’t even touching anymore, but that noise all but shackled her in place.

Then… Vex laughed. A soft, echoing laugh that came as much from her mouth as the shadows.

“Am I scaring you?”

Angela couldn’t respond. She was breathing too hard, too quickly, to respond. Her heart was hammering in her chest, goosebumps rising on her arms, and worst of all… it wasn’t just fear that had spawned those reactions.

Vex grinned, putting her mouth by Angela’s ear. “Piece of advice, angel. This is the part where most scared people would run.”

Stubbornness, or just plain reason, should have kept her in place. The hungry look in Vex’s eyes promised that something dangerous was looming, and whatever it was would trigger the moment Angela played into her goading comment.

Angela should curse in her face. Use her safe word, demand they talk, and more than anything, she should focus on the fact that Vex was definitely lying about finding her in time. There were a hundred things that would be smarter than doing what Vex wanted.

But she had a gift for presenting her desires in a way that perfectly aligned with Angela’s. So instead of doing the smart thing, Angela pushed off the wall. And ran.

She sprinted down the hallway, bare feet thudding against the floor as whispering laughter fell in behind her. The noise spread through the shadows until it sounded like the entire floor was mocking her escape attempt.

She had just reached the landing for the elevators and staircase when the shadows caught up, descending like a storm cloud and wrapping around her from behind. Angela scratched at Vex’s arm, now closed around her waist, but she might as well have tried to bend steel.

“I always like when you struggle,” Vex whispered. “I know what you want. Everything you want. And I just love that what you’re craving most right now is to pretend you don’t want me to fuck you like the filthy whore you are.”

An almost inaudible moan mingled with Angela’s gasps. A short-lived sound, as she quickly reminded herself that she was supposed to get away from this woman. Or at least try to.

“Let go of me!” She thrashed in Vex’s grip. Pointlessly, as Vex dragged her back into the dark hallway.

“I don’t think so. We had a deal, and that involved me making plenty of promises. It’s only right that I keep to them, wouldn’t you say?”

Vex grabbed Angela’s wrist and forced it down, pressing it against her groin. Against something big and firm hiding beneath the fabric of her black jeans.

Angela’s eyes widened. And then Vex fucking laughed again.

“Don’t worry, angel. I remember what size you like.”

Keeping her grip as inescapable as before, Vex dragged her into one of the empty offices that lined the hallway. It was identical to the one Angela had just been hiding in, with sparse furniture and a massive window.

Vex stayed behind her with an arm around her middle. Her lips teased over Angela’s cheek and the combined feeling of her alluring words and confining grip rattled the very concept of past and future out of Angela’s skull.

Damn her body for wanting this when it should fucking know better. Especially as Vex bunched her fingers into her hair, holding on tightly.

“Get on your knees.”

Though it was spoken as an order, Angela wasn’t given a chance to actually follow it as Vex pushed her to the floor.

“You really think I wouldn’t know how to find you?” Vex tsked, shaking her head. “That wasn’t smart thinking.”

Angela huffed out a scoff. “Doesn’t matter if it was smart. This was obviously never a deal I could win. You planned all of this, just so you could get what you wanted.”

The smirk easing onto Vex’s face was the very definition of infuriating. Especially as she undid the zipper of her jeans, and all Angela’s attention was suddenly devoted to that specific area of her body. Her breathing caught in her throat as Vex pulled the strap free, holding it at the base.

That thing was fucking huge.

She yanked Angela closer. “I certainly didn’t plan for my pretty slut to be this fucking mouthy.”

It took Angela a moment to catch what was happening. Though Vex could force her this last step, she was waiting for Angela to take it herself, and the implied humiliation churned in her stomach, pulling her in two starkly different directions.

She should refuse, obviously. She was angry, and she wanted to stay angry. But it was hard to be angry when heat pulsed through her body, ending as a powerful throbbing between her legs.

Angela glared up at Vex. “Don’t call me that.”

“But you like when I call you that.” Vex ran her thumb over Angela’s lips. “I bet, if I was to check, you like it so much that you’re close to dripping all over this nice office floor.”

Vex’s eyes glinted green. “Most people don’t stare at a cock as though it’s a meal and they’re dying to have a taste. But you aren’t most people. You’re a filthy little whore, and you’ll have a far better time tonight if you just accept that.” She pulled Angela’s face closer. “Now use that mouth for its fucking purpose.”

Angela’s knees would have buckled had she been standing. Her life would be infinitely easier if her desires weren’t hard-wired towards impropriety. And if she didn’t have a gorgeous demon staring down at her, fueling the fire between her legs with every depraved word uttered.

Swallowing, and damning herself for giving into this at all, Angela closed her lips around the tip of the strap. She took it into her mouth, the movement hesitant and uncertain. Though she’d done something like this a few times before, it had never happened in this compromising of a position. On her knees in front of a wall-sized window, with an entire city to act as witness.

Then Vex let out a low sigh and Angela’s attention made a complete shift.

Vex making noises when they were together was common enough, but they were usually confined to teasing words and mocking laughter. Not this soft sigh that sounded like it was close to tilting into a moan. It hit like an audible caress, deep and heavy, and it was far more effective than anything Vex had ever done or said.

Fuck how humiliating this was supposed to be. There was nothing Angela wouldn’t do if it meant hearing that noise again.

Grabbing Vex’s hips, she pulled herself closer. Took more of the strap into her mouth, moaning. The sound was partly summoned by the tightening grip on her hair, but mostly because of how Vex sighed again.

There being any kind of focus on Vex was completely new. She always kept it fixed on Angela during their scenes. On her fantasies rather than her own, and whenever Angela tried to figure them out, Vex deployed some sort of distraction that guided her away from them.

Angela had tried to let it be. She had been with a few women who only wanted to touch but never be touched. Though the role of pillow princess wasn’t her favorite, her preference for situationships meant she had never minded enough for it to bother her.

But with Vex, it did. Because in those brief moments of half-lucidity, when Angela acted more on instinct than anything else, Vex never pushed her away until a few moments had passed. As though she had to force herself to do it. There was a big difference between being with someone who didn’t want to be touched and being with someone who didn’t want you to touch them.

Because of that, the light sighs being produced by sucking on the strap, pushing the base against Vex’s clit, set every nerve in Angela’s body on fucking fire.

“You’re… very good at that.” Vex pulled on Angela’s hair, making her move faster. “So fucking good at that.”

Her uneven voice worked better than any direction she could have given. Angela dug her fingers into Vex’s hips, producing more intoxicating sighs that increased in volume when Vex pushed the strap further into Angela’s mouth. She gagged as it went down her throat, though she didn’t try to get away. Even as tears rose in her eyes.

“Fuck…” Vex groaned. “You can take a cock so fucking perfectly.”

Vex drew the strap from her mouth, making Angela first gasp and then cough. The brief pause was all she got before Vex pulled her to her feet and shoved her up against the window.

“Tell me what you want,” Vex sighed and her breathless tone made Angela forget about the very concept of decency. Her lips were wet from saliva and the throbbing between her legs had transitioned into being actively unpleasant.

“I… I want you to fuck me.”

“How do you want me to fuck you?”

Her initial assumption about Vex was more than accurate. Whatever you gave, she would take infinitely more. But you needed reason to think that far and Angela couldn’t rely on reason when Vex was looking at her like that. With her eyes being as dark and beautiful as a lush pine forest.

“Please… I want you to fuck me like the whore I am.”

Chapter 33

Wearing an outright vicious smile, Vex put her hand up Angela’s skirt, grabbed her underwear, and tore at it. The waistband dug into Angela’s side, stinging, before the fabric ripped.

Vex lifted Angela up by the thighs, pressing her back against the window. Angela put her hands on Vex’s arms for support and immediately had to hold her breath as Vex guided the strap between her legs.

She pushed in, inch by inch, and with such agonizing slowness that Angela had to bite her lip to stop herself from begging. Either for it to slow down or to go in faster. She wanted both too much to voice either desire.

When the strap was finally all the way inside, a stifled moan slipped from her lips.

“Please,” she whined, the word coming out pathetically pleading. Vex put on a wicked grin.

“Come on, angel. You can be louder than that.”

Holding onto her thighs, Vex withdrew and then thrust in again, and the weak moan Angela let escape before was replaced by a much louder one. Repeated, over and over, as Vex pulled out slow and pushed in fast.

She paused between each thrust, though that pause rapidly decreased in duration until there was nothing slow about any of this. Neither about how Vex was fucking her against the window, nor the desperate pleads being drawn from her mouth.

Her entire lower half was buzzing, shoving her towards that edge Vex loved making her beg for. There were times when over an hour passed before she let Angela fall apart, and every single one of those times the scene had to end right after. The orgasm she’d be rewarded with after getting teased for that long worked like a hammer to the temple, knocking her the fuck out.

But that wasn’t Vex’s plan here. She adjusted her grip, holding Angela up with only one hand, and then there was a light buzzing noise under Vex’s sighs and Angela’s gasping moans.

Looking down, she saw that Vex had moved her free hand between Angela’s legs. She was holding a small piece of smooth, dark silicone. And it was vibrating.

Angela let out a low whimper. Vex was going to fucking ruin her.

“Don’t try to be quiet,” Vex said. “If I think you’re holding back, I’ll figure out a way to make you scream, and I promise… That won’t be fun for you.”

She pressed the bullet vibrator against Angela’s clit, hard, and the noise she made in response could only be described as obscene. The sudden stimulation combined with where they were, the pounding strap, and Vex’s light groans made stars spark over her eyes.

She clung to Vex, pulling them together in a twisted sort of embrace, as spasms twitched through her legs. Her body trembled, and it tilted into her voice, causing her moans to go from loud and drawn out to shallow and wavering.

“Say you’re mine.” Vex spoke against the side of Angela’s neck, breath hot on her skin.

“I’m… I’m—fuck.” Angela gasped as the vibrator was moved away. Not completely off her clit, but just enough that it wouldn’t make her fall over. “I’m yours! I’m yours. Please, I’m… I’m all yours. Fuck, this is… Fuck.”

She cried out as the vibrator was pressed against her again. Tensing pleasure sang through her, causing her body to first stiffen and then twitch. The orgasm hit like a brick through a glass window, shattering through her so powerfully she was sure a blackout would follow. Angela could only keep it at bay if she caught it before it happened, and she rarely had the mental faculties to do that after something this excessive.

But then Vex paused. Leaning her head back, she stopped moving entirely. Though Angela was gasping, lightheaded, and her vision was blurry, she had no trouble maintaining eye contact. Even if hidden in a crowd of thousands, Angela would always be able to find those splendid green eyes.

Vex ran a knuckle over her cheek and only then did Angela notice that her skin was wet. Those tears that had risen before had spilled over without her realizing.

“You look so beautiful. Even when you cry.”

She’d probably intended to sound mocking. Instead, the words came out as sighs. As one of those sweet statements that she always camouflaged as being simple fact.

Rays of color made a rainbow over Vex’s face. The fireworks were constant now, suggesting that midnight had made its appearance, joined by a rattling choir of dulled explosions from beyond the window.

Vex leaned in, stopping right as her top lip grazed over Angela’s. A touch so light that she would have missed it, had every nerve in her body not been wired into hypersensitivity. If her limbs weren’t close to paralyzed, she would have grabbed Vex’s face and closed that pointless gap between them, claiming the kiss Vex was hesitating to seize. But in her current state, all she could do was lean forward.

Their lips touched. But only for half a second before Vex darted back. She was panting, and her grip tightened so much it was nearly painful.

Still holding Angela up, Vex turned them away from the window, moving so fast that Angela didn’t fully register what was happening before they were at the office desk. She pushed Angela down on the table and pressed her face against it by grabbing her hair.

“Think we’re done?” Vex hiked up Angela’s skirt, pushing it over her lower back. “This isn’t over until I decide it is. Your purpose is to be used until I’m finished with you, so stop whining and take it like a good little slut.”

The strap went in from behind, going in much faster than before and with no resistance at all. Angela let out a shocked moan, her hands curling into fists as Vex started fucking her with the same grueling speed as before. Her moaning turned into cries as Vex pressed the vibrator against her oversensitive clit.

She was usually spared this type of overstimulation, since she had a tendency to pass out before it happened. But she was still present, even though the only thing she could focus on was the shocking pleasure shooting through her. And of course, Vex didn’t slow down in the slightest, fucking her like she were an unfeeling toy rather than a writhing person.

Fucking Christ. Why did something this wrong have to feel so good?

“Please,” Angela whimpered as a second orgasm tore through her. Her legs were shaking, and she suspected that if Vex wasn’t pinning her against the desk, she would have fallen to the floor by now. “I can’t… I can’t take anymore. Please, I… I can’t come like that again.”

Vex thrust into her fully, staying in place. Then she increased the power of the vibrator, pressing it even harder against her.

Unrelenting euphoria fired through her and it grew so rapidly that it summoned spots in front of her vision. She came again, screaming through it until the noise transitioned into a breathless heave.

“Can’t come again, you say?” Vex’s voice was dark with warning. “You clearly can, you fucking liar.”

Angela was fully crying now. Tears streamed down her face as another agonizing orgasm hit her, making her shiver as the excessiveness of whatever the fuck this was ripped her apart from the inside.

She didn’t know why this was happening. Maybe it was a twisted sort of punishment? For talking to Maya downstairs, or for not hiding well enough, or for trying to kiss Vex just before. She hadn’t even thought there could be consequences to doing that last thing. It had just happened, desire overriding reason.

She shouldn’t have done it. Any of it. Even if she didn’t know what had caused this, she was to blame, and she was reaping the consequences now.

It hadn’t felt this harsh and hateful since that first time in her bedroom. As though the point of it wasn’t to give life to a fantasy, but instead to break her down and revel in seeing her ruined. And she remembered with painful clarity what had happened after that first time.

Everything stopped. The vibrator disappeared, and the strap pulled out of her, a thud sounding as it got dropped on the floor.

The tears started flowing harder. Vex was leaving. She’d wrecked Angela to her very core, like she said she would all those weeks ago, and now she was leaving. Abandoning her in a dark office, all alone. Confused, overwhelmed, and feeling so frail that even trying to stand up would result in her breaking down sobbing.

Then Angela turned weightless. Engulfed in warmth and smoke, she was carried through the office towards the window, where bright lights created colorful bursts across the night sky.

“It’s alright.” Vex sat down next to the window, settling Angela in her lap. “Everything’s okay. I’m right here.”

Her soft voice made Angela start crying again. The gasping sort of crying, coming as a consequence of her breathing being too rapid to draw in air.

“You… You stopped,” she managed. “I didn’t… I didn’t tell you to stop.”

The rule Vex had set in the Second Circle was still active. Whenever they were together, Angela was the one who controlled the brakes and told Vex when she couldn’t take anymore. Sometimes her body did it for her, passing out before she could say anything. In those cases, she would wake up a little while after. To Vex running gentle fingers through her hair.

But neither had happened then. Vex had just… stopped. Picked her up like she was little more than a doll and was now holding her close so Angela could lean against her chest.

“Did I do something wrong?” Angela said, her voice far smaller than expected. Vex held her tighter.

“No. You had enough and needed to stop. That’s all.”

Vex wiped the tears from her face, her hand resting against Angela’s cheek. It moved upwards so she could trace her fingers over Angela’s forehead, the touch so slow and soothing it felt like she was conducting a ritual designed to steal human consciousness.

Then she eased Angela’s glasses off her face, pulling her hand away. Angela’s breathing picked up again.

“Don’t go,” she whispered, pressing her face against Vex’s shoulder. “Please, Vex. Don’t leave. Please stay.”

“I’m not leaving. This was a lot for you, I can see that. I’m staying with you until you’re okay.”

Angela grabbed Vex’s t-shirt, bunching up the fabric. Even though she heard the words, they didn’t feel certain. The scenario of Vex leaving had played so clearly in her mind it was like it had actually happened, never mind that the present disproved it.

“Please don’t leave,” Angela said, too overwhelmed to even feel embarrassed that she was still crying over this. “You can’t leave. You have to stay.”

“Angel, listen to me.” Vex adjusted her grip so she could hold Angela closer. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I did. I almost took too much, and that was my mistake. Not yours. I’m right here. I’m not leaving you alone.”

She leaned her head against Angela’s. Something she had never done before, and which made Angela’s hitching breathing easier to control.

“You’re barely awake,” Vex said. “When you feel safe, you can close your eyes. I’ll stay, even if you fall asleep.”

Angela sniffled, the noise shallow. “You promise? You won’t leave?”

“I won’t leave. I’ll repeat it as many times as you need to hear it.”

Though everything about what Vex had just said produced confusion, it wasn’t possible to analyze the feeling. Or even know what had spawned it. And she especially couldn’t explain why Vex’s voice worked like an anchor, grounding her body while at the same time making everything feel so heavy.

Angela tried to sigh, but her breathing was still too uneven to accomplish it. Normally, at this stage, she would have happily let her brain shut off, but with uncertainty still writhing in her chest, rest wasn’t possible. Not until she was sure.

“I need to hear it again,” she whispered. Vex turned her head, making her lips brush against Angela’s skin.

“I’m right here with you, angel. I’m not going anywhere.”

Vex had plenty of experience with handling an unconscious Angela. She was rarely out for long, and would mutter almost the entire time, as though even being passed out couldn’t stop her from having an opinion about everything.

She usually slipped into that state rather easily, but now… Now it had taken over half an hour before she’d given in to sleep. For that whole time, she had clung to Vex, sometimes asking in a heartbreakingly small voice if Vex was actually staying.

Vex hated that voice. She’d last heard it the night of the kidnapping, when outside forces had staggered Angela’s confidence to the point where it nearly vanished. But back then, Vex had a group of witch hunters to blame. The current culprit was harder to deal with.

It was one thing if Vex’s actions made people hate her. It was another kind of agony knowing that she’d instilled such intense insecurity in this woman that it brought her to tears.

It made Vex want to run away and hide in a shadow somewhere, but she’d made a promise. Not even a halfhearted one this time. And Angela had only just fallen asleep, signified by her head turning away from Vex’s shoulder and the death grip on her t-shirt loosening.

Vex ran her thumb over the teary streaks of makeup left on her face. Something she hadn’t seen as anything other than a provocation before. A show there for everyone else’s benefit.

Only with distance, both literal and the kind granted by time, did she realize Angela had dressed up because of her. Because she’d hoped Vex would be stalking the club floor instead of a faraway township, looking for Angela rather than people to torment.

Part of her regretted it now. The days she’d spent away from Chicago could have been spent like this instead. Sitting somewhere quiet and private, with Angela sleeping in her arms.

“You’re an impossibly confusing woman.” Vex brushed loose strands of blonde hair away from Angela’s forehead. “I don’t understand how you’re doing this to me. I didn’t realize ease could be this difficult.”

Angela hummed in her sleep, her head turning upward and giving Vex a perfect view of her sweet-looking face. It was a special gift, seeing Angela without her glasses on. She only took them off when she was sleeping or when a disguise demanded it. They were a permanent part of her uniform otherwise. A signifier of the clever, untouchable witch of Chains. But she looked so adorable without them. So soft. So fragile, despite how awe-striking she was.

Vex had let herself go just before. Had almost claimed that kiss being presented, and it had taken every ounce of strength she had to lean away when Angela had nearly given it to her. But if she’d accepted that kiss, the desire for it would just be replaced with another, greater one. And then another after that. And another after that. Her nature didn’t allow for satisfaction. Only perpetual, agonizing yearning.

She was a liar through and through. Even now, when she knew she was leaving not just Angela but the Court as a whole, Vex had let her believe the opposite. It might ruin Angela all over again when she found out. Or it might refuel the scorn she had once felt. In a messed-up way, that might be the better outcome.

Vex brought her fingers to her own mouth, touching it. Moving slowly, to ensure Angela wouldn’t wake, she pressed her fingers against Angela’s lips. A mimicry of a kiss and the only kind she dared give. One she would cherish forever.

It wasn’t as good as the real thing. But Vex was used to not getting what she wanted.

Chapter 34

Consciousness returned slowly, being coaxed forward by careful fingers running through her hair.

Angela couldn’t help but sigh. Waking up like that had become a trend lately. Though her body had the impractical response of passing out after sex, that gentle caress always reversed it. She was tempted to fall back asleep, just to make it last for a few more minutes.

Then she tensed, realizing the consequences of the sigh she’d just made.

Vex’s touches came in three categories. Enticing, possessive, and finally this hidden type that only happened if Angela wasn’t awake to notice it. It was a stolen peace, because the moment Angela even stirred, Vex would withdraw, as though acting like this was bearable only if no one could see it.

“Are you with me, angel?”

Confusion replaced preemptive disappointment. Vex didn’t pull away. Instead, she went from brushing through Angela’s hair to gently tugging at it.

Frowning, Angela opened her eyes, being greeted by a blurry mess of colors and shadows. Grogginess combined with her lack of glasses made the scene look like a collection of smears, but they were familiar enough to be recognizable.

She was in her office. The night was still black beyond the window, only occasionally interrupted by a pop of fireworks. And even with her eyes open, Vex didn’t move away.

She was on the office chair, having pulled it next to the couch Angela was lying on. Staring at her own fingers, as though she had been tracking her own movement for hours and had become entranced by it.

“What are you doing?” Angela asked.

“Savoring this. For as long as I can.”

The statement was surprising enough that Angela forgot how to speak. She’d sometimes been tempted to ask if the caresses could continue after she woke up, but hadn’t dared.

Firstly, she would have to admit that she’d been pretending to be asleep all the previous times, otherwise how would she had known Vex was even doing it? Secondly, mainly, it risked rejection.

In the beginning, getting dismissed by Vex would just have been embarrassing. But it was different now. The level of rejection orbiting this thing of theirs wouldn’t just sting her pride if activated. It would be agonizing.

But now Vex was just… doing it. Perhaps for her own sake, more than Angela’s.

Vex cocked her head. “How are you feeling? You were out for longer than usual.”

“Well, it… it got a bit more intense than usual.”

Angela tried to sit up but had to immediately abandon the endeavor. Vex darted her hand away, and seeing how quickly it happened hit like a slap to the face.

Combined with her own comment, it made Angela remember what exactly had spawned the intensity up in the empty office. How it had felt like Vex was punishing her for breaking a rule that had never been established, and which Angela never would have agreed to if presented.

Thinking back, she had no idea how her brain had twisted that scenario into something she should be blamed for. She couldn’t remember ever feeling as small and vulnerable as she did after they were done. Or as safe as when she was nestled in Vex’s arms.

Nope. Too much. Too confusing. Too many… feelings.

“You need to stop being so bothered about Maya,” Angela said, not quite looking at Vex. “I know jealousy is a problem for you, but it’s your problem. I won’t stop being friends with her just because it makes you feel insecure.”

She kept her voice sharp and assertive. She hadn’t said anything untrue or unfair, and Vex wouldn’t make her think otherwise.

Then Vex surprised her again, putting on a weak smile.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I know it’s my problem and that I should do better. I can have intense reactions, and it can be… difficult to hold back, sometimes.” Her gaze flicked to Angela’s lips. “I remember when it counts, though.”

The last thing Angela had expected was for Vex to admit she was in the wrong. She was mean enough to turn words into weapons, and she could easily use them to point out that Angela hadn’t minded how possessive Vex could act just a little while before.

This woman was so much harder to deal with when she wasn’t behaving like she was supposed to.

Angela rolled over on her side. Since Vex was sitting right next to the couch, their faces were pretty close.

Close enough that Angela could reach out and touch her cheek, marked by a thin black cut.

“I still want to know about this.”

“That wasn’t the deal.”

“I don’t care about the deal.” Angela scoffed and lowered her hand. “I have a feeling you cheated, anyway.”

“Didn’t need to. I know how your mind works pretty well at this point. Even if I can’t get inside your head.”

Angela narrowed her eyes. And smiled. “But you would have cheated.”

Some of the familiar wicked attitude returned to Vex’s gaze. “Of course I would have.”

Her eyes settled on Angela’s, a mystified look playing in them. As though Vex was trying to read her mind and was confused about failing at it.

“But it wouldn’t have mattered if I did cheat.” She settled a loose lock of hair behind Angela’s ear, the movement as cautious as her voice was. “You’re the only person in the world whose true wants I don’t know. The only one who remains a mystery, even when I think I’ve figured you out. The only one who can keep secrets from me.”

“I don’t have any secrets, Vex.”

“Everyone does. People are selfish. They covet the possessions and abilities of others. They hate their peers for having more, doing more, or just being more. They say they don’t, but I know what they really believe. Everyone lies. Everyone is hiding something.” She twirled Angela’s hair around her finger. “Including you. But with you, I can’t know what it is.”

There was some truth to that. Angela did keep secrets, but it was for practical reasons. Only a handful of people knew about her work, since it could put the Court at risk if widely shared. Her most sensitive research she kept to herself, sharing it only with the Chains Regents.

And with Vex. Vex, who knew more about her than any other person. All her research, all her doubts, all her fantasies. There was just one thing she hadn’t been allowed to see. A theory Angela could barely accept as a thought.

I think I’m falling in love with you.

It would explain everything. Why this crush she’d developed had grown rather than lessened. How being around Vex made her feel simultaneously at ease and on edge. Why she longed for Vex’s touch so much that she would pretend to be asleep just to get a little more of it.

“You keep more secrets than I do,” she said, wanting to get as far away from her foreign line of thinking as possible. “You know basically everything about me. But I don’t know anything about you.”

“There’s nothing to know. Nothing but evil and hatred. Your life wouldn’t exactly improve by being involved with something like that. You don’t want to know me.”

“Well, you just said you can’t know that for sure. There’s more to everything than the obvious. Than the assumptions others project onto it. The Chains are living proof of that.”

Vex kept lazily playing with a strand of Angela’s hair. But her gaze was piercing. Locked on her own fingers, as though they wanted to travel elsewhere and Vex was keeping them in place.

“No one knows anything about me,” she whispered. “Nothing good comes from learning about my past. I think people are aware of that, innately. They’re curious, but… they don’t really want to know.”

“I want to know.” Hesitating only a moment, weighing the odds and deciding the risk was worth it, Angela took Vex’s hand in hers. “Learning things I shouldn’t is kind of my whole thing. If you want to share… then I’ll listen.”

Vex’s hand was limp. Her eyes were still settled on the spot her fingers had been, but the rest of her body was pure tension.

“You once assumed it was awful. Being bound,” Vex said after a long moment. “You said you were sorry I went through that. That you couldn’t imagine what it was like.”

Angela’s brows furrowed. “You remember that?”

“I remember every word you’ve ever said to me.”

Vex sighed, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, they had turned sharp neon rather than the deep green they’d been before.

“My first and only true summoner was a man named Dominic Fane. A pathetic excuse of a warlock. He wanted the praise that came with accomplishment, but didn’t want to do any of the work needed to gain it. So he had me steal it instead. I gave him the knowledge of experts and watched him either forget or abandon it. I captured slaves for him and saw how he only really cared about them when there was an audience they could be paraded in front of.”

Vex’s fingers tightened around Angela’s. “He made me take the lives of others. Dominic was terrified of living past his golden years, so he made me steal them from other people. I killed hundreds, just so he could have another decade without his hair turning gray.”

“Hundreds?” Angela asked, eyes widening. She knew greater Envy fiends could steal anything, including literal lifespan, but how greedy had this Dominic been since he’d sent her after so many people?

“He didn’t care whose lives I stole. Just that them dying wouldn’t be noticed,” Vex continued. “He expected me to pick people no one would miss. People society didn’t care about. It would have been easier. Faster. But whenever I could, I never did what he wanted. Instead of preying on dark alleys, I went to hospitals instead. Taking lives is difficult and time-staking, but no one pays attention to the shadows when their loved one is dying in front of them. I just expedited an already occurring process. And only for people who were in pain and didn’t have long left, anyway.”

Vex pulled her hand free. She trailed a finger over the skin Angela had just been touching.

“But I took other lives too, for no other reason than because I felt like it. Like Dominic’s. By the end, I got sick enough of him begging that I stole his voice so I wouldn’t have to listen to it anymore.”

She gestured at her cut cheek, eyes going to Angela’s for the first time since she started talking.

“And this… This I got tonight. Outside of Chains territory, where I’ve spent every spare moment over these past few weeks.”

Angela pushed up on her elbow, brows knitted. “The Regents wouldn’t order you to leave the territory this soon.”

“No. They wouldn’t. No one knew where I was, or what I was doing. I didn’t have Courtly permission when I went hunting for the arcanists involved with putting you in that cell. When I captured Isaac and stole every significant memory out of his head before leaving him to fend for himself. Or when I dragged Titus into a dark forest just a few hours ago and made him endure every pain he’d caused you before suffocating him to death.”

Angela stared at her, stunned into silence. The words entered her mind slowly, her brain fighting the conclusions they presented.

Vex enacting her own personal brand of vengeance shouldn’t really be surprising. She was a greater fiend, and they weren’t known for being either forgiving or merciful. The cold look in her eyes certainly matched the conspiring demon she was presenting herself as.

What didn’t match it was how she lowered her gaze to the floor.

“You killed someone?” Angela whispered. “Because… Because of me?”

“No. Because of what he did to you,” Vex said tightly. “I’d do it again, too. To everyone who’s ever hurt you or even threatened you. You did nothing to cause that. They did.”

Her voice lowered to a near whisper. “But it’ll have consequences. I’m just getting ahead of the inevitable. Though I only went after enemies of the Court, I still broke direct orders. Natalya will come to the same conclusion I did.”

There was too much to be interpreted from her words. How she said them, how angry she looked when she said them. But just analyzing that information would ignore crucial context, like how gentle her touch had just been. How pained her eyes had looked when she spoke. How Vex never, ever shared anything about herself unless it was part of a bargain.

Or a manipulation tactic.

“What conclusion?” Angela said, dreading the answer. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

Vex handed Angela her glasses, holding onto the very edge of the frame. So their fingers wouldn’t touch.

“Because I’m leaving.”

“Leaving?” Angela forced herself into a seated position, putting on her glasses. “But… You said… You promised that—”

“I lied.”

Her gaze was as unwavering as her voice. Even and cold, meant to instill the hatred she produced in everyone, but which needed a genuine spark with Angela.

Vex clearly believed she’d found it. She was right, at least partially.

“Why?” Angela snapped. Vex’s eyes softened.

“Those never-ending questions…”

“Don’t try to distract me. Why did you lie, Vex?”

“It’s what I do. It’s the only thing I know how to do. If I stay, this place and everyone in it will be twisted into being exactly like me. That’s not fair to anyone.”

“You don’t care about being fair! You’ve been here for months, and that line of thinking hasn’t bothered you before.” Angela’s voice started trembling. “It’s because of me, isn’t it? You aren’t around anyone else, so if it isn’t Natalya or maybe Drago, then it… then it has to be because of me.”

She sat up straight so she could better stare at Vex, ignoring the wooziness zipping through her head.

“Tell me what I did. Because if this is still because of some stupid jealousy shit, then—”

“You did nothing wrong.” Vex sighed, shaking her head. “You don’t see it. Everything we’ve been doing has happened because I want to hurt you, Angela. Me protecting you at the diner happened only because I was sure you would conspire with those arcanists if I wasn’t there. That first time in your office happened because I wanted to mess with your head and fill you with uncertainty. And the one piece of free information I provided before tonight wasn’t given without an agenda.”

The green in Vex’s eyes darkened. The color soft like fine silk. “We could never last. I made sure of it months ago.”

Though Angela’s thoughts were whirling, her problem-solving skills were clear as ever. Within the parameters of this conversation, only one relevant thing had happened months ago. A lone piece of freely granted information, given to her the night Vex first showed herself at her house.

Vex had provided her marks in exchange for access, but when Angela was distracted by how those marks might affect her research, Vex had given her more than she needed to. A gift rather than an exchange.

“Your infernal bond… You told me about it, without me asking. Without you getting anything out of it.” Angela’s eyes widened. “A want kindly fulfilled, and a want… a want freely relinquished.”

The rules of the infernal bonds were unclear at best, but the one overlapping factor was that the other two Angela knew about had activated without anyone involved knowing about them. The initial act that started the whole process was done without the fiend in question being conscious of it, and the human’s response was likewise made unknowingly.

Vex knew the parameters of her bond. That night, months ago, she’d ensured Angela did too. And going by her silence, Angela had perfectly identified her reason for sharing information she had given no other living being.

“Are you fucking serious?” Angela shot to her feet, her balance unsteady. Vex did the same, but before she could reach for Angela, she grabbed the couch armrest for support. “You planned for this. You only told me about that bond to ensure you couldn’t have it with me. Didn’t you?”

“It was the right thing to do. You shouldn’t be bound to something whose entire existence has been spent wreaking havoc on the world.”

“But you didn’t do that. You were ordered to. And every chance you got, you defied those orders.”

“I killed someone tonight, Angela.” Vex’s eyes filled with neon-green strands. “I did it slowly too, like he fucking deserved. All I am is hateful obsession and ever since I came here, it has been directed at you. You deserve better than that. You shouldn’t be with something like me.”

“Fuck shouldn’t! If I cared about what I shouldn’t do, I wouldn’t be anywhere near this Court. I wouldn’t have spent this past week worrying about you being hurt or dead somewhere. You’re just trying to make me say I don’t want this, because you can’t do it yourself.”

“I don’t want things in a safe way!” The shadows pulsed, advancing like black fog. “I don’t want you in a safe way. Right now, my mind is twisting in on itself because I wish I could go back to that night and not tell you about the bond, because then I might be able to have you completely. That’s why I’m grateful I did it. If I tried doing it now, I don’t think I would have the strength.”

The hardness faded from her eyes. The shadows remained, but instead of flowing in like smoke, they wrapped around Vex’s body like a protective cocoon.

“Me wanting someone only produces misery. I wish it were otherwise, I truly do, but nothing can change that. While you know the bond, us being together is impossible. While you know it, you’ll be safe from me.”

Angela shook her head, wanting to deny every statement being thrown her way. Her vision had gotten blurry again, and she had to blink rapidly to get rid of the tears welling up in her eyes.

This wasn’t fair. None of this was fair, including Vex and especially Angela’s treacherous heart and that cursed logic that guided her every move. Because Vex was right, in a way.

Greater fiends were made for destruction, and an Envy fiend was no exception. Without a bond so cruelly designed that only luck could activate it, anguish was all a relationship between them would result in. Even though just thinking of Vex leaving made it feel like Angela’s chest was getting crushed, wanting her to stay wasn’t wise, safe, and it especially wasn’t smart.

But Angela had never acted smart around this woman. And luck had never been something she wanted to rely on.

“Then steal it.”

Vex’s brows furrowed. “Steal what?”

With hands that shook, Angela grabbed the single salt-vial necklace she was still wearing. The one guarding her from fiendish touch she never wore anymore, but the effect of the one still around her neck was a necessity. A shield, blocking demonic influence and providing protection against their abilities.

She undid the clasp and tossed the necklace on the couch.

“The memory of the bond. Steal it out of my head.”

Vex stood frozen in place. Every part of her had seized up, shock taking control of her limbs as the last few seconds played on repeat in her mind.

Angela taking the necklace off. Throwing it on the couch. Staring at Vex with hurt and desperation painted all over her beautiful face and with tears glinting in her eyes.

This was what she’d wanted from the very beginning. Face this witch without her defenses in play and thereby gain unfiltered access to her mind. To see all her secrets, all her motivations. To understand how this young woman had fooled an entire Court into thinking she was an ally rather than a threat.

A few months ago, Vex would have jumped on this opportunity. She would have grabbed Angela by the jaw, yanked her close, and ripped through her mind with the sole purpose of ruining her from within. Even if that yearning was so distant it could barely be considered a memory, it was still present. It formed as that familiar itching inside her fingers. The incessant craving to take this woman until nothing of her remained.

That couldn’t happen. Vex wouldn’t let that happen. A world without Angela wouldn’t just be a dark, hateful place. It wouldn’t even be worth existing in.

But then Angela decided for her.

She crossed the space between them, took Vex’s hand, and brought it to her face, making Vex’s fingers brush over her cheek. Soft, smooth, and covered in traces of tear-stained makeup.

Answers to every question Vex had about this woman were so close. Right at her fingertips. Just a thought away.

“I can’t.” Her voice was barely audible. “It’s too risky. Too dangerous.”

Angela put her hand over Vex’s, pressing it against her cheek.

“I want you to,” she said shakily. “If you’re the one doing it, then it isn’t risky or dangerous. I’m sure of it.”

The certainty in her voice was more than just shocking. Demons weren’t beings to feel safe with, and they definitely weren’t creatures to trust. But Angela did both. Baring her soul with the assuredness that Vex wouldn’t take more of it than had been allowed.

Vex couldn’t resist. She slipped into Angela’s mind, her blue and brown eyes unfocusing. Vex had done something like this several times before. Had haunted over a thousand minds, but never one offered freely. Never one like Angela’s.

Her mind wasn’t just a web of vaguely associated memories, but an intricate, sorted system. A network of near-infinite rows and layers, filled with interconnected knowledge, questions, and ideas. A brilliant lattice so complex that it should have been impossible to navigate without severing the strands that made up its form.

Vex moved through it with ease. It was as though she’d already been there. Rather than a dense and dark forest, Angela’s mind was like a familiar garden whose paths Vex had walked hundreds of times before.

Finding the memory she had been tasked with retrieving took no effort at all. It was right at the surface, like Angela was willingly presenting it.

The longing to rip that memory to pieces summoned a pang in Vex’s chest. She should leave it be, just as she should have left hours ago.

She should be stronger than her urges. Should stop this, instead of giving in to self-serving desires. But she stopped resisting, taking what she had been asked to take. Undoing the core protection she’d granted this woman and which part of her had regretted giving almost every hour since it happened.

She could have withdrawn after she was done, but like always, she wanted more. Wanted to confirm the part of her design that insisted all humans were cruel beings. If she could be sure that Angela was as selfish as everyone else, leaving her might lessen from agonizing to just painful.

Vex sought deeper. Beyond the recent memories. Past catalogued recollections of failures and successes, finding far more of the first than the latter. Every mistake was there on full display, with no shame or envy attached to it. Instead, they were tied in place with passion, irritation, and…

Vex’s hand nearly dropped. There were countless memories for her to look through, enough that she could have been there for days and still found new ones. But they were all incited by the exact same motivation.

What Angela wanted, more than anything, was answers. And not to small questions either, but to the conceptual queries of why and how. She wanted to understand. She wanted to understand everything, because if she did, then she could use that understanding to lessen the harm others suffered. She could ensure that no one would ever feel unsafe just for being what they were.

Despite everything about her—her incredible skill, her blatant rudeness, her utter lack of patience—all Angela Norwood wanted… was to help.

Vex stepped back. Realization didn’t just wash over her. It crashed like a tsunami-sized wave.

She had been obsessed with this woman for months. She’d assumed it was because of all the secrets and wickedness she had to be harboring, but Vex had just seen for herself that Angela held none of either. Reality was far more devastating.

This brilliant witch, curt and impertinent as she was, was close to Kindness incarnate.

Angela blinked, eyes flicking back and forth. Most humans wouldn’t notice the absence of a single memory, but Angela wasn’t like most humans. With how neurotically organized her mind was, having to fill a sudden blank space within it clearly wasn’t a comfortable experience.

She sniffled and wiped her nose. “I guess it’s a good sign that I don’t remember what I asked you to steal.” She picked up the vial necklace, hand shaking slightly. “Seems like you did what you were told for once.”

Vex held her breath. Selfless motivations still streamed off Angela’s body. A foreign energy, since Vex’s envious presence always killed it before she could get close enough to detect it. As Angela put the necklace back on, Vex readied herself for the gut punch of that sensation being suffocated.

Nothing happened.

The clasp locked in place and the vial necklace settled in its usual spot around her neck. But Vex could still feel her. Her wants and desires, flowing off her like the world’s sweetest perfume.

Some were familiar enough. An underlining wish for brutal productivity that plagued her every living moment. A yearning to understand why Vex had done what she did. And a longing for Vex to approach again and touch her like she had done just a moment before.

Things Vex shouldn’t be feeling. That shouldn’t be echoing in her chest, as though Angela’s desires were her own.

“No…” She rushed to Angela, almost touching her face again but stopping at the last second. “No, this… this isn’t possible.”

Angela frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Vex grabbed Angela by the arms, holding her tight. “A want kindly fulfilled, and a want freely relinquished.”

Angela blinked, eyes shining with confusion. Then a familiar crease appeared between her brows.

“That’s what I just had you take!” She wrenched free of Vex’s grip. “What’s the matter with you? Did I really get this that wrong? Am I really nothing more to you than a conniving witch you can have fun ruining?”

More? She was infinitely more. She was everything. Helpful and selfless and kind most of all. And Vex…

Vex could feel her, despite how impossible that was supposed to be. Even shouting the bond in her face didn’t remove this sudden connection. Now that it was established, it couldn’t be severed.

Vex didn’t just step away then. She darted back, slamming into the wall so hard it nearly sent a series of shelves crashing to the floor.

Angela’s anger vanished, concern replacing it. “Vex? What’s wrong?”

Everything was wrong. All Vex had ever known was Envy and the hatred it spawned. She knew coveting, selfishness, and violence. She didn’t know joy. Didn’t know ease. Didn’t know the soothing peace that had just invaded her body and was struggling to find room to settle.

“You’re shaking.” Angela stepped closer, hand outstretched. “What happened? What do you—”

“Stay away from me!” Vex shot towards the corner, a smear of darkness pressing into the shadows as though they could protect her from every impossible thing she was feeling. “This… This can’t be happening. This isn’t supposed to be happening.”

“What isn’t?” Angela sounded scared now. Scared and worried. The same tone she’d used down at the bar earlier. “Vex, talk to me. Please.”

She couldn’t talk. She couldn’t even breathe. It was all too much, too sudden, and far too impossible. It was impossible. That thought screamed through her mind, raising an aggressive defense against the foreign comforting sensation filling up her chest.

Vex threw open the door, all but falling into the hallway. Darkness clung to its edges, and she immediately hid within it, surging through the shadows with the one goal of creating as much distance between herself and the office as possible.

Angela called her name, her voice breaking with every shout. They persisted until Vex vanished from the floor and distance killed the sound.

But it didn’t kill everything. Because even this far away, she could still feel the purpose behind Angela’s yells deep in her chest. A painful, confused longing for Vex to come back.

Chapter 35

Though midnight had passed, the Chains were still celebrating the new year. The club floor was as wild as when Vex had left it, with music blaring and people dancing.

She rushed through the room, producing a wave of flickering lights in her wake. For once, the relative peace of this winter season was appreciated. If it hadn’t been there, the Regents wouldn’t have had time to take part in the festivities. Vex might have had to haunt the entire fucking state to find the fiend in charge.

Natalya was at the bar, whispering something to a strawberry blonde woman that made her first blush and then giggle. Evie leaned against Natalya, placing a light kiss on her lips. Normally, Vex would have paused to internally mock the display, but nothing about the present circumstances allowed time for normal.

Vex slipped into physical form right next to Natalya, making everyone around them take a startled step back. Natalya did too, instinctively leaning in front of Evie, but her body untensed after only a second.

“Oh. There you are,” Natalya said flatly. “I’ve been looking for you. A rather pointless task, as it turns out.”

Vex grabbed the bar, both for support and to hide that her hands were shaking.

“I need to talk to you.”

Natalya raised an eyebrow. “Likewise. You being missing for several days has taken up space in my head that could be better used for other things.”

“In private,” Vex whispered, not caring about her tone or about the irritation rising in Natalya’s eyes. She was a stickler for manners, nowhere more than in front of her subjects.

“Whether or not we talk in private isn’t up to you,” Natalya said, voice stern. “You were gone. For days. I had to send Drago out to look for you, and he’s far better utilized protecting the territory than looking for a shadow who doesn’t want to be found. Do you have any idea what we thought had happened to—”

“Now, Natalya!”

The words came out as a panicked shout, and that was likely the sole reason Natalya didn’t turn demonically furious. Only a few people could get away with interrupting Natalya without it having painful consequences.

Instead, her brows furrowed. She ran her eyes over Vex’s face, pausing by the cut on her cheek. Then she made a slight nod towards the elevators.

“Go to my office. I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Vex slipped back into the shadows. The darkness felt far safer than staying under the club lights and having the crowd stare at her as though she’d lost her mind.

It also let her move faster. She got from the club floor to Natalya’s office in no time at all, though speed wasn’t exactly an advantage in this case. It just meant she was pacing a hole in the floor until Natalya showed up a few minutes later.

“What’s this about?” she asked, shutting the door behind her. “I assume that mark on your face is the reason for this urgency.”

Vex shook her head. “I can feel her.”

Natalya looked confused for a moment, but then her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

“Angela! I can feel her, even from here. I know that she wants answers. That she wants to keep this place safe, that she… that she wants me to come back.”

That wish was still so strong it felt suffocating. She didn’t even need to focus to feel it. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t stop that specific longing from aching in her chest.

“How?” Natalya asked, baffled. “You ensured it couldn’t happen. You told me so yourself.”

“I don’t know how! She undid it, even though she shouldn’t have been able to. The bonds are supposed to be a cruel trick. They’re not something we’re actually meant to have, we’re just—”

Vex covered her face with her hands, nails digging into her skin.

This shouldn’t be happening. It shouldn’t have worked. Whatever arcane trickery was at play was as powerful as the witch who had spawned it.

Maybe it was all a trick. A plan that had been spinning alongside Vex’s, but where hers had unraveled over time, Angela’s had turned into a noose. The selfish natures of arcanists was far more familiar than this unprecedented warmth, and the untouchable witch of Chains was just using it to manipulate Vex from within.

She spun on Natalya, pointing a trembling finger at her.

“This is your fault! You made me look after her. You made it so I was around her, constantly. It’s your fault that this happened.”

Natalya’s astonished expression dropped, a stern mask replacing it.

“I brought you together once. Other than allow them, the moments after that, I did nothing to influence.”

“Don’t talk to me about influence. If anyone’s been influenced, it’s fucking you. You let Angela in here in the first place. Let her strut around Court, wearing her damn charms too so she could keep everything she was doing a secret.” Vex ran a hand through her hair, stopping midway so she could pull at it instead. “It’s a play. It has to be. She… She planned this. She must have planned for all of this to happen.”

The alternative was terrifying, even if it made far more sense. Angela could put on a brave face about most things, but she couldn’t hide what she was feeling. She didn’t bother most of the time, and the yearning to have Vex come back was far too intense to be faked. A want like that could only spawn from desperation. Such as feeling your heart breaking into pieces.

She couldn’t rest in that conclusion. Vex had never rested in anything, and the ease with which it was happening now was close to panic-inducing.

When Natalya did nothing but stare, unimpressed in addition, Vex glared at her.

“Say something, Natalya!”

“Will you actually listen if I do, or are you just looking for answers to dismiss?” When Vex stayed silent, Natalya continued. “Angela isn’t capable of planning something like this. Not that she doesn’t possess the drive and skill to do so, but we both know she wouldn’t manipulate someone just because it might give her more power.”

“We don’t know that,” Vex snarled. Though the words tasted like lies.

“We do. When I first met her, I was as mistrustful as you. We both know what arcanists can be like, but Angela is different. I first learned of her when she was only fifteen years old and was buying alchemical ingredients from strangers, because she was trying to invent a charm that could protect from deadly disease.”

“Right. Worried for a sick family member, I bet.”

“I thought so too, but no. She’s never had anyone close to her die or even be seriously ill. The only caveat she had to joining the Court was that she could continue working on those charms.”

A brief smile flashed over Natalya’s face. Even though it looked a little weak.

“She eventually succeeded, when she invented the Chains pendants. And I have never seen her more distraught than when she figured out how to make them work and discovered that the cost of them was too high to be given away freely. That there was a limit to what she could accomplish. That she couldn’t help everyone.”

Vex started pacing faster. This went against every rule she knew about humanity. Even the most altruistic inventions were spawned by personal motivation. By a desire for fame, wealth, or because someone beloved needed brilliance in order to survive.

But Angela hadn’t even been driven by something as human as that. Even when she was little more than a child, her motivations were the same as they were now. She just wanted to help. As efficiently as she could.

“What about… What about the fiend amulets, then?” Vex said, voice wavering. “They’re impossible to make, obviously, but they… they’re selfish, right? A way to manipulate you or… or a way to make more demons join the Court.”

“No, Vex. Angela actually insisted that the amulets wouldn’t be locked to the Chains, if she figures out how to make them. Which I doubt she will, though I know better than to tell her so. She wants any fiend to have one, regardless of Court affiliation.” Natalya took a step closer. “Why are you looking for reasons to hate her?”

“Because she can’t be that kind! It’s not possible. People aren’t good, especially not around me, and if they are, then they don’t stay that way. People are only ever motivated by Envy.”

“Angela isn’t. I think you know that better than anyone.”

Vex did know that. She felt that, pounding in her chest like a second heartbeat.

It wasn’t that Angela was flawless. She was a rude, snappy, impatient workaholic who pushed herself way too hard and who would rather burn the candle at both ends than ever admit that there was something she couldn’t handle.

But she didn’t need to be perfect to be everything Vex had ever dreamed of. As it turned out, you didn’t need to be nice in order to be Kind.

Natalya sighed. “You’re scared.”

“Scared? Try fucking terrified. What if I mess this up? What if I do something that makes her hate me? What if I’m nothing more than an evil, wicked monster, meaning that I can’t possibly be worthy of something like this?”

Vex took a deep, shaking breath. A strange pressure was building behind her eyes.

“I’m not like you, Natalya. I’m not supposed to be loved, or even liked. What happens if I can’t be enough for her, or… or when she realizes she’s way too good to be with something like me?”

Natalya’s poised expression faded and her eyes softened. A softness that extended to her voice.

“What do I want, Vex?”

Though she had taken peeks at Natalya’s motivations before, they were nauseating and obvious enough that Vex hadn’t bothered doing it since they had first met. It was also invasive, which the Chains weren’t fans of.

Protect her Court. Master herself and her abilities. Dote on her precious human, with the last one taking up a lot of space. Simple desires. But with permission granted, Vex looked deeper than the obvious.

She stopped pacing. Her shoulders fell, and she sank down on Natalya’s office couch.

“You want me to gain control. To be at peace.”

Natalya sat next to her, the movement elegant and composed. As was expected of a being who’d not only broken every rule in the book but had made it her mission to show others how to do the same thing.

“You know why I had you look after her?” Natalya said. “There are only four people in this entire Court who can handle you. Myself, Aleksander, Drago. And Angela. I had a feeling she wouldn’t mind your attention and that you wouldn’t mind hers. Besides, you hate everyone else far too much to listen to us.”

“I don’t hate you.”

Natalya cocked an eyebrow, a smirk shifting onto her dangerously beautiful features. Vex scoffed.

“Well, I don’t hate you. And maybe I don’t hate Drago either.” Vex lowered her eyes. “Why would you help me like that?”

“Because you asked me to. There’s no other being in the world more motivated than you, Vex. As hateful as you can be, there was never any doubt in my mind that you wanted to be in control of yourself. That you wanted tools to keep yourself from hurting people who didn’t deserve it. When I gave them to you, you didn’t abuse them.”

“Risky of you.”

“It was. I had to trust you. That always invites risk.”

“You shouldn’t have.” Vex looked away, the view of Natalya’s violet eyes in her periphery only adding to the strange ache in her chest. “I’ve been looking for them, you know. The Inquisitors. When I found them, I made them pay for what they did, and I don’t feel bad about doing it either. I was even planning on leaving. To get ahead of the order you’d give as punishment, walk away from this place, and… and never come back.”

She let her gaze fall to the floor. “I lied to you. I broke orders. I acted out of self-interest rather than for the betterment of my Court. Those aren’t the actions of someone worthy of trust.”

Though Natalya’s gaze hardened, she didn’t exactly look surprised. She knew better than anyone what it felt like wanting vengeance for someone important to you. Evie had been hurt by a lot of people before coming to Chicago. Vex suspected that, if she took a peek at Natalya’s desires right then, she would find a simmering urge to find all of them and slowly tear them to pieces.

“You were planning on leaving?” Natalya asked.

“I still should.” Vex dug her fingers into the couch cushion, arms trembling. “I don’t belong here, Natalya. I don’t think I belong anywhere.”

“That’s not true. Where you want to be, and where others want you to be, that’s where you belong.” Natalya straightened, expression turning stern again. “I won’t lie to you. If you stay, there will be consequences for breaking orders. Your movements will be limited, and you’ll be made the subject of several lectures, as well as disciplinary work. We are nothing without our laws and our laws mean nothing if they’re not enforced. But you staying here… That is your choice. I won’t force you. Either to leave or to remain.”

The tightening in Vex’s chest grew near painful. She’d been so sure that Natalya would have ordered her to leave. That Natalya would finally give up on her. It was what a greater fiend was supposed to do.

Nothing around here was as it was supposed to be.

“Your intentions don’t matter,” Vex whispered. “I want… I should go. But now I… I don’t know if I can. Not while Angela is here. Not when she’s making me stay.”

“She wants you to stay. And so do I.”

Vex’s ribs felt like they contracted, squeezing around her heart. She had never been wanted before. Not like this. As more than a tool or a prize to show off. As herself rather than her Sin.

But she was her Sin. The knowledge of that had never been more painful. Other fiends had a usefulness to them that she didn’t possess. If Natalya used her powers, she could bring bliss and passion to the world. If Drago used his, he could eliminate threats and defend his home.

All she could do was steal and seethe.

“You once told me there are safe practices for giving people what they want.” Vex shook her head, clearing a sudden blurriness that had risen in her eyes. “Wanting me here isn’t safe. Not for you, not for your Court. Not for Angela.”

Vex stood, heading for the door, when Natalya grabbed her arm. Sparks crackled under Vex’s skin, flowing through her veins until it felt like her whole body was tingling.

Natalya’s touch intensified everything she was feeling. Fear of what would happen when she left this place that had become akin to a haven. Sorrow from knowing she had no right to find comfort in this offered kindness.

But mostly, a dangerous hope was growing in her chest. A hope that invited more agony than a thousand fiend-fixed knives could produce.

“We don’t get many blessings, Vex,” Natalya said. “You’re allowed to rest in the ones you’ve got. You’re allowed to be at peace, even if you feel like you don’t deserve it.”

“What if I can’t be at peace?” she whispered, using the lowered volume to keep her voice controlled. “What if I try and… and then it’s still not enough?”

Natalya caressed her arm. “What if it is enough?”

Vex couldn’t even fathom the possibility. What would enough feel like? How would she deal with resting in the present instead of always desiring the potential of tomorrow? What would it be like to fully appreciate something, rather than constantly thinking about all the ways it could be better?

She had no idea. Not how it would feel or what she was about to do. She just knew that staying in this place wouldn’t solve anything.

Vex pulled free of Natalya’s grip and, after a moment’s hesitation, drifted out of the office.

Chapter 36

When Angela’s vision turned blurry again, she made a quick swipe at her eyes. They had been perpetually watering since she got home, but they’d stop eventually. If she could focus on other things than what just happened in the high-rise.

She’d kept her deal to herself. No work until the beginning of the new year. She was a few hours into that, so it was perfectly acceptable to be sitting by her home desk, putting together Chains pendants with a speed that put a machine to shame. Trying not to think about the fact that, for the first time in years, she had willingly set her work aside and made room in her life for something else. Someone else.

Fucking idiotic. That someone was manipulating, unreasonable, and so infuriating that Angela had to stop working several times to wipe tears from her eyes. They were easier to deal with when she insisted they were born of frustration. And almost impossible to keep at bay when her eyes caught on the jade bracelet she was still wearing.

She should take it off. Cut it into pieces and throw it in the trash, because why would you keep something around that made your heart hurt just to look at? But instead of hurling the bracelet through the window, her hands just picked up speed.

Midnight jumped onto the table and pressed her head against Angela’s cheek. Whether it was because the cat wanted attention or because it thought Angela needed it was unclear.

“Stop it.” She nudged the cat until it backed off. Secretly, she wanted nothing more than to abandon this busywork and hug Midnight close to her chest. But if she did that, she wouldn’t just start crying. She would be fully sobbing and would probably end up doing so for hours.

This was why she didn’t do relationships. Why she’d shunned the concept of friends and romance alike, because if she opened her heart to those things, it would shatter when they left.

It had only happened once. In college, with her first girlfriend, where them breaking up made her miss a week of classes because she was busy wailing into a pillow. But she was younger then. She’d mistaken infatuation for something deeper because she had nothing to compare it to.

Unlike now.

“God fucking dammit.” She took off her glasses, pressing her palms against her eyes. It might shove her tears back into the pit they belonged in so she wouldn’t have to deal with them ever again. But then Midnight was back, pushing her face against the back of Angela’s hands, and then it got so much harder to keep herself in control.

She kept her relationships casual for a reason. They provided enough physical intimacy that she could stay sane, while the people involved stayed at a safe distance. Ensuring that this didn’t happen. This deeper feeling… This awful ache in her chest…

If this was what being in love felt like, it was unexplored territory littered with glass shards.

Curse her heart for doing this to her. Screw her dumb feelings for making her hope for more than what had been offered. And damn fucking Vex for being a walking contradiction whose every touch, smile, and uttered word made it feel like Angela’s heart had tripled in size.

Damn Vex for leaving after she promised she wouldn’t. And damn Angela for believing her lies enough that it hurt to have them revealed.

The ceiling light flickered. The darkness in the living room deepened, and Angela spun in her seat as relief blossomed in her chest.

Vex was standing a few feet behind her chair. Midnight let out a happy meow, jumping down to circle her feet, but Vex didn’t share her excitement.

She was looking everywhere else than at Angela. Standing stiff as a board, hands opening and closing, and eyes having darkened to that soft forest green.

“You came back.” Angela’s voice was far brighter than expected. Though she’d secretly hoped this would happen, as evidenced by the broken salt line on her windowsill, she hadn’t really believed it would. Not when Vex had all but fled her office, ignoring Angela screaming her name as she vanished.

That memory brought back the anger. Feeling her bottom lip quiver, Angela turned around and put her glasses back on. Midnight rejoined her a second later, curling into a ball near the corner of the desk.

“I thought you were leaving,” Angela muttered, wanting to curse at herself. Her voice was wavering like hell.

“I was, but… I needed to see you. Talk to you.”

Angela had never heard Vex sound like that. Quiet and uncertain, as though dreading how every word she spoke might be received.

Angela slammed a finished pendant down on the table, continuing with the next one.

“Why? You made it quite clear back at the high-rise that you don’t want anything to happen between us, so I don’t know what we have to talk about.”

“I only wanted that to keep you safe.”

That comment made angrily working far less appealing than angrily staring. Angela glared back at Vex.

“That’s the excuse you’re going with? What about me makes you think playing it safe is something I would even be interested in?”

“Angela, you don’t under—”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Though she tried, she couldn’t stop her voice from trembling. “Don’t tell me that I don’t understand when you refuse to explain anything. When the only time you decide to give truthful answers is right before you were going to leave, and then those answers were just another manipulation tactic. We can’t talk when you seem incapable of being honest.”

Angela turned back to the desk, starting on another Chains pendant. If the only reason Vex had come here was to explain why she shouldn’t have before vanishing again, Angela wouldn’t entertain it. It would just add another arrow to the bloody dozen already piercing her heart.

“I can feel you,” Vex whispered, making Angela’s hands still. Her whole body froze, and the tears even stopped flowing. When she finally got herself together enough to turn back around, Vex’s eyes were resting on hers. Emerald green and shiny.

“What does that mean?” Angela asked.

“I can feel what you want. Everything you want. I know you want answers. Logical explanations for things that have none. That you wanted me to come back.” Vex looked at the floor. “So I did. Even though it would have been better if I hadn’t.”

“But that… How did… When…” Sudden questions flooded her mind, coming with such swiftness that Angela couldn’t voice them fast enough. But with Vex, she didn’t need to voice them.

“It happened back at your office. When you gave me the memory back. I don’t know how. It’s supposed to be impossible, but…”

“But nothing is impossible.”

Though the method of creating an infernal bond was ill-defined at best, its parameters were specific. The one for Envy was no different. A want kindly fulfilled, and a want freely relinquished.

When Vex had first shared the bond, it had been to protect Angela. Because Vex didn’t want her to be bound to something as evil as her, even though that descriptor didn’t at all match the sorrowful-looking woman standing in her living room. And when Angela had returned the memory, she hadn’t done it because Vex had wanted her to. She hadn’t even done it because she hoped the bond would activate.

She’d just been desperate enough that she’d do anything if it meant Vex would stay a little while longer.

“I can’t leave now,” Vex said, voice uneven. “You can’t want me to stay. I’m not… I’m not strong enough to walk away when I can feel that so powerfully in my chest. Natalya and Drago had years of freedom before they got this. I’ve only had months. I haven’t been free for long enough that I know how to control myself, and I can’t risk having you be near that. I need you to make me go.”

Angela’s mouth dropped open. She shook her head in disbelief, standing up from the chair.

“You have got to be kidding me. You’re still doing it. Trying to manipulate me into doing whatever you believe is best and not caring at all what I think.”

“Then why do you still want me to stay?” Vex said sharply. “I know how your mind works. Everything within it operates entirely around reason. Why won’t you see it here, too?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know why trying to convince me not to care about you doesn’t work. I’ve spent the past month doing that exact thing and every time I failed. Every time I tried to tell myself that you were too cruel or too callous or just too frustrating to care about, you would do something that went against all of it and dismantle every argument I could come up with. My life would be a lot fucking easier if I hated you, just like you want me to.”

“You should hate me. You know what I’ve done. I’m not a good person, Angela. I can’t be. I don’t even try to be.”

Angela scoffed. Then she laughed, the noise even more mocking than Vex could manage.

Vex frowned. “Why are you laughing?”

“You think you don’t try?” Angela snapped. “You try harder than anyone else I’ve ever met. What are you doing here, with the Chains, if not trying? Why did you join the Court, wanting to learn how to control your abilities, if you’re so goddamn awful? If you were really as selfish as you insist you are, you wouldn’t have rescued me from that cell when killing me would have presented less risk. You wouldn’t have stayed with me the night after. Or gotten me back to the high-rise when I felt so worthless that I couldn’t even step outside my house.”

“All that was done because of selfishness. Because I wanted to possess you. I didn’t give a shit about anything else.”

“If all you wanted was to possess me, you could have taken me. Dozens of times. But you always asked first.”

Vex’s eyes went glassy. She looked away, her shoulders tensing as she ran a trembling hand through her black hair.

“You don’t know what you’re saying. I wasn’t made to be anything other than hateful. There’s nothing about me to like.”

“Yes, there is.”

Vex shot Angela a glare. “What, then? What do you like about me?”

“Everything! Your mind. Your stubbornness. Your stupid fucking face. I like you more than I know how to handle. If there’s anything I hate, it’s that I still want this, even when I know I shouldn’t. That I have an idiotic, illogical hope that if I pick apart enough of your arguments, then you might… then you might actually stay.”

Angela’s eyesight had blurred again. Claimed by tears that she didn’t bother fighting anymore. There was just one question left to ask, and she dreaded the answer it might reveal.

She was no stranger to failure. All the skills she possessed came from constant trial and error, but the questions that usually drove her didn’t have permanent consequences. Any potential failure could be worked through with enough research and repeats.

But this question wasn’t protected by a mutable answer. Whatever response it got, good or bad, couldn’t ever be altered. But she needed to ask it, anyway.

“You know what I want, Vex. What about you? What do you want?”

None of this was supposed to happen. A greater fiend should exist in the world only as an extension of their summoner’s will. Their Sin should give them purpose, robbing them of guilt when they used it to cause suffering. And humans shouldn’t be able to withstand the corruption that was their presence.

Faced with all those disproven laws, Vex couldn’t help but stare at Angela. At her loose blonde hair and faintly freckled skin. At her tensing mouth and her red, puffy eyes. Even with her face clean of makeup and wearing clothes she’d clearly intended to sleep in, she was still the most beautiful being Vex had ever seen.

And now, she had been made to feel so hopeless that tears were running down her face.

Vex had worried about causing something like this after the first time in her office. Back when acting like her manipulating, cruel self had spawned anger in this woman rather than sorrow. But back then, there was nothing Angela wanted that would shake her if taken away. She didn’t have any insecurities that could be needled.

Now she did. And they were perfectly represented by that last question, spoken with a small, shaky voice that the powerful witch of Chains should never have to use.

“What do you want?”

There was no end of answers to that question. No limit to what Vex wanted. Her desires were never singular, her cravings always multifaceted. Nothing could ever satisfy her constant desire for more.

Except for right then. At that moment, Vex only wanted one single thing.

Since the first time Vex saw her, everything about Angela had her craving. She was the one being in the whole Court that Vex couldn’t read, and she’d wanted to. She’d wanted to know her secrets and desires. She’d wanted to make her cry and scream. She’d wanted…

She’d wanted her. Every fiber of Vex’s being wanted to have this talented, kind-hearted, brilliant witch be hers. To have people know that nothing but agony awaited if they as much as touched a hair on her head. To just… have her. Be it with the entire world as witness or in ways no one would ever know.

Vex didn’t care which she got. She just knew she wanted this woman everywhere. Touch her everywhere. Taste her everywhere. Her smooth skin. Her elegant hands. Her soft, perfect lips.

“Fuck it.”

Vex crossed the space between them, fear making her move faster than was dignified. Fear that giving into this would have the same result as always happened when she got something she’d yearned for. It wouldn’t be enough.

It had to be. She had to trust that it would be. So she forced away the doubt, pushed past the fear, and cupped Angela’s face in her hands. Pulling her into a kiss.

Vex waited for disappointment to strike. For the need she always felt when she got what she’d been longing for. She waited for an infernal urge to demand she take more than this kiss until nothing remained of Angela but the memory of her.

All she felt was tranquility. It soared through her, engulfing her alongside the smell of floral shampoo and dusty old books. A stunning revelation that the bliss of the present was far better than every possibility the future might hold.

How the hell had she survived this long without kissing Angela Norwood?

For the first second, Angela stayed stiff. Then she let out a light humming noise. It was as though her entire body melted, hands settling on Vex’s waist as she sighed so deeply it sounded like she’d been holding in a breath. Giving in to a gentle kiss that was far sweeter than Vex had ever thought she could experience.

But the gentleness was short-lived.

Angela buried her hands in Vex’s hair and groaned. She pulled at Vex at the same time as she stepped back, staggering them through the room and only stopping when she all but slammed herself against a bookcase. Vex pinned Angela in place, and her grabbing at the shelves caused a few trinkets to clatter onto the floor.

Angela didn’t even notice. She clung to Vex, as though just the thought of their bodies being apart caused physical agony. That was how it felt for Vex. If she could, she would stay in this moment for the rest of her existence.

“I want you,” she breathed, answering the question Angela had all but thrown in her face before. Angela’s nails dug into Vex’s scalp.

“Then have me.”

Keeping their mouths pressed together, she stepped away from the shelves. Vex caught the silent request, moving back so Angela could guide her through the house. Several stacks of books got knocked over as they stumbled up the stairs, lips never parting.

The kiss was equal parts intense and desperate. Hungry and wanting. So much time had passed since that first time in Angela’s office where her eyes had drifted to Vex’s lips, craving a kiss Vex hadn’t dared indulge. Now neither of them wanted it to end.

“You feel incredible,” Vex sighed as they stumbled into the bedroom. She should say something more, like usual. Should tease, coax, and provoke. Should do what she did best.

But in that moment, the only thing she wanted was to follow Angela as she dropped down on the mattress, pulling Vex with her and moaning into her mouth. Right then, Vex’s only purpose was to resummon that beautiful fucking noise.

She pulled at Angela’s shirt, getting it over her head. Her glasses followed, being thrown on the floor alongside her shirt, as though their presence was an insult. The near-painful kiss that followed only enhanced that feeling, as the second their lips were apart got made up for with breath-stealing intensity.

“I want to feel every inch of you like this.” Vex’s lips brushed over Angela’s, and her being human was made more than obvious by how out of breath she already was. Unlike the witch of Chains, Vex didn’t need breaks.

She kissed her way down Angela’s face. Over her jaw and then her neck. Her shoulder and pausing at the top of her breasts. Her heartbeat was so rapid Vex could feel it against her lips.

Vex nipped at her skin, summoning another one of those sweet, sweet moans. She continued to a nipple, closing her teeth around the barbell piercing and tugging at it just enough for it to sting. Just as she knew Angela liked.

She didn’t enjoy pain as a core component of a scene, but as a light addition to whatever else was happening. Vex knew from experience that the combination of light pain and pleasure could make Angela squirm like nothing else, but the volume of her moan was still unexpected. It started high and then stifled as she clutched the bedsheets so hard her knuckles paled.

Vex kissed her way further down, touching Angela’s ribs, stomach, and hips. Her mouth kept contact, even as she yanked Angela’s sweats off and continued the trail of kisses along her inner thigh.

Angela moaned again and Vex nearly echoed the noise. Her underwear was already damp, and it started a yearning as foreign as it was intoxicating.

This was another thing Vex had kept from taking. Another thing that would accelerate into being dangerous if she allowed herself as much as a taste. Now, nothing existed in her mind other than the desire to do as many pleasurable things to this woman as she could manifest.

She pulled down Angela’s underwear and pressed her tongue against her clit. Angela arched off the mattress, her moan lasting so long it turned into a weak whimper.

Sins, she was fucking divine. Sweet and tangy, and deserving of every pleasure that could be conjured. Having Angela tense and relax in response to her tongue was one of the most incredible things Vex had ever experienced. And just like the kiss before, she would have no problem staying with that feeling forever.

When Vex pressed a little harder against her, Angela whined and twisted away.

“Stop. Vex, please stop.”

Usually, stop didn’t really mean stop. But this wasn’t one of their usual times together, especially given how urgent Angela’s voice was.

Vex moved back up on the bed. A faint green light spilled over Angela’s face, and for a second Vex thought she had somehow misread this situation. But then Angela smiled, the expression near radiant when combined with her flushed skin and heavy panting.

“I want to feel all of this.” Angela chuckled, the noise a little breathless. “If you do that, I think I’ll pass out immediately.”

She caressed Vex’s jaw, drawing her closer. Lips brushing together rather than pressing.

“Stay here. Just keep kissing me.”

Vex had never been given an easier task. She sighed as their lips met again, wonder rushing through her with every light moan Angela released into her mouth.

She was perfection. So soft and so gentle. So clever and so kind. That Vex was even touching her like this was as impossible as the beautiful witch beneath her.

Angela moved her hand along the bottom of Vex’s t-shirt, pushing it up an inch.

“Can I?” she breathed. Vex sighed against her lips.

“You can do whatever the fuck you want.”

The invitation was barely out before Angela started pulling off Vex’s t-shirt. Vex assisted when it got to her shoulders, yanking it over her head.

Her breasts were small enough that she never bothered with a bra, so her infernal marks were on full display. Black and outlined in gold, they circled over her chest and around her back, fanning out over her shoulder blades like barbed wings.

They were one of the rarest things in the world. Only one other person had seen them, and he had stolen them. She had never once shown them freely.

Angela didn’t even glance at them. She just pulled Vex’s mouth back on hers, as though kissing her was far more precious than the marks any other witch would have killed just to get a glimpse of.

“On your back,” Angela panted. Vex flipped them over, making Angela straddle her hips.

That sight was more than exquisite. Angela on top of her, heavy breaths making her chest rise and fall in an uneven rhythm. Her breasts shined from the sheen of sweat covering her skin.

Vex’s hands settled beneath them, pulling Angela towards her. “Get back down here.”

She didn’t resist in the slightest, all but falling on Vex and kissing her with so much fervor it was like she’d been starving for this even more than Vex had.

Her fingers traveled past Vex’s ribs down to her waist. Pressing in every few seconds, like she was reminding herself she was actually allowed to touch her. When she undid the button on Vex’s jeans, she hesitated—waiting to be stopped—before easing into Vex’s underwear.

Her fingertip circled Vex’s clit, moving so precisely that Vex groaned, but her kissing Angela harder told her to keep going. Finger dexterity was a common skill of talented witches, and there was no witch more talented than Angela Norwood.

“You sound so fucking hot right now.” Angela moved her free hand to Vex’s cheek, caressing her jaw. Gasping against her lips.

Vex was no better, her breaths coming out as deep sighs. Every flick of Angela’s fingers produced such a powerful flare of want that it swallowed every other sensation.

Louder and louder, faster and faster. Intense pleasure fired through her, shivering into her limbs. The effect turned into a moan that quivered past her lips in a way that had never happened before.

Euphoric fire simmered under her skin. It filled her body, slowly at first and then with shocking speed. Though she knew of no arcane powers that could accomplish something like this, maybe Angela had mastered some secret school of magic focused on summoning unfathomable levels of delight.

It kept growing. Expanding. Getting higher and filling her more until there was no space left for it. Then it snapped as rapid beats of tensing pleasure rushed through her. A blissful inferno roaring inside her muscles.

Vex went slack, her gaze unfocusing. Her limbs felt like they were shaking, even though they weren’t moving at all. The closest thing she could get to describing the feeling was exhausted, but she’d only felt that in response to starvation or injury.

This, whatever this was, was far too blissful to be in that category.

Angela leaned away, suddenly tense. Vex stared up at her as shocked realization slowly dawned on her.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Angela’s voice shook, from breathlessness and concern both. Then her eyes widened. “Wait… Have you never…”

With something close to a snarl, Vex sat up and grabbed Angela by the waist. Angela managed a quick gasp before Vex clashed her mouth against hers.

Satisfaction was a concept she wasn’t meant to experience. Every joy, every pleasure, was held right out of reach. What she’d just felt was only a tease of all that had been kept from her, and she wanted nothing more than to have Angela show her every wondrous bliss she had been denied.

Especially the one she’d just revealed.

“Do that again,” Vex whispered, and Angela let out a soft chuckle. A light noise, void of surprise and filled with relief.

“I’ll do that as many times as you let me.” Angela kissed the corner of her mouth, then continued over her cheek, making Vex sigh in response. “I love that noise. I’ve longed for it. For this. For you. Fuck, Vex, I want you in ways I barely understand.”

Receiving compliments had always been a challenge. Accepting them was even harder. Believing them… That was unheard of. But Angela’s voice, whispering sweet words against her skin, enveloped her body better than any embrace could accomplish.

She knew what obsession was like. A hole deep in her chest, where it felt as though the only thing that could fill it was the object of her obsession.

But this feeling… This was the complete opposite. An extension to her soul rather than a bottomless pit. Peace and warmth, mingling in a perfect storm that could heal and ruin in equal measure.

A storm that would unleash its full, harrowing potential if she dared admit to being in love with this woman.

Chapter 37

Angela had always hated sleeping. Even as a baby, she’d fought against it every step of the way, and her distaste for the activity hadn’t lessened in adulthood. It was nothing more than a bodily need, which she only indulged because sleep deprivation would ruin her ability to focus.

But sleeping came easier now. Pretending to sleep even more so. These past few weeks had taught her that nothing was more comfortable than being half-awake while Vex caressed her face or ran her fingers through her hair. Just as there was nothing more uncomfortable than her withdrawing right as Angela was coming to.

“Nooo…” she groaned, nestling further into Vex’s arms. Vex stopped trying to untangle herself.

“I was just going to get you some food and water.”

“Screw food and water,” Angela muttered.

“Not a morning person, I take it?”

“I’m not a daylight person. Whenever Court business makes me get up before noon, I get annoyed. Going by feel, it’s before noon.”

Vex chuckled, giving up on her attempt to sneak away. She pulled Angela closer so she could better rest her head against Vex’s chest.

Angela couldn’t help but sigh. Or smile, for that matter. Vex was so wonderfully warm, making unconsciousness even harder to abandon. It was sinful how comfy she was.

“You do need to eat something. Your body wants energy,” Vex said after a few minutes. Her fingers were drawing random patterns on Angela’s back.

“That’s not all it wants.” Her hand moved over the right side of Vex’s chest, tracing the shapes of her infernal marks. Angela couldn’t really see them, since she wasn’t wearing her glasses, but she remembered them well enough to recall their path. “I like this. I want to lie here for at least a few more hours. Is that okay?”

When Vex didn’t answer, Angela leaned back enough to look at her face, narrowing her eyes to focus her blurry vision.

Surprisingly, Vex looked more puzzled than anything. At least, Angela thought so. Her sight wasn’t particularly reliable right then.

Though she did spot when Vex started to grin.

“You look cute when you’re squinting like that.”

Angela immediately scowled. Vex laughed, the noise making it a lot harder to maintain the grimace.

“You’re really not funny.”

“I wasn’t trying to be funny. I was just stating a fact. You’re the one who’s mad about it.” She traced her thumb over Angela’s brow, smoothing out her frown. “If you want to lie here for days, I’ll give that to you. I’ll give you whatever you want, a thousand times over if you wish it.”

“I don’t want anything a thousand times over. I just want this.”

“This?”

“This. Us.” Angela’s voice was much smaller than expected. She dismissed the oddly vulnerable tone by rolling her eyes. “You know what I mean. Don’t make me get sappy right after waking up.”

Angela placed a light kiss on Vex’s lips, mainly to stop this fuzzy pillow talk that she had no experience with whatsoever and which was making her increasing heart rate difficult to ignore. But it was also partly because she’d wanted to kiss Vex for weeks and indulging herself felt more than justified.

She’d returned to her project of tracing her fingers over Vex’s chest, when she realized Vex was staring at her, eyes dark green and shining.

“Can you do that again?”

Angela paused. “Do what again?”

“Kiss me like it’s the easiest thing in the world to do.”

She sounded almost in awe. Confused, too, as though she didn’t understand what had just happened. Or how, for that matter.

But Angela didn’t need to know what might have spawned that tone. Instead of analyzing the look in Vex’s eyes and the tragic answers it alluded to, Angela just pressed their lips together once more. Leaning into a long, soft, easy kiss that made it feel like her body was floating.

Maybe romance wasn’t that awful. Not when it felt as perfect as this did. If there was a way to make it better, Angela couldn’t think of it.

Then Vex pushed her over on her back, deepening the kiss to the point where Angela gasped when it ended.

“I’ve wanted to do that for weeks.” Vex added emphasis to the sentence by giving Angela a brief kiss.

The ‘brief’ characteristic was lucky, actually. Vex might have been onto something about the food and water thing, because just this was making her lightheaded.

She ran a finger over Vex’s bottom lip. “Why didn’t you? I wouldn’t have minded.”

“I was afraid. That I’d want more, like always. First to hold you and never let go. Then to control you and consume you. Eventually, I’d want so much that you’d end up getting torn to pieces.”

Less than a day ago, Vex would have shouted those words as warnings. As yet more reasons to hate her and everything she represented. They wouldn’t have been whispered, as though she was afraid of hearing them out loud.

Angela pushed Vex’s hair away from her dark green eyes. “And what about now?”

Vex sighed. A heavy, calm sound, followed by her resting her head on Angela’s chest.

“Now… I think that if all I ever got to do in my life was be with you just like this, then I wouldn’t want anything else.”

Vex’s weight was far more soothing than expected. It had been over half a decade since Angela had experienced this sort of closeness, and she had dismissed all invitations for it since. Unless they were having sex, she didn’t make physical contact with her partners, and she never did anything as intimate as this. At most, she made them a cup of coffee in the morning, on the rare occasion that they’d slept over.

But this… this felt so right that just the thought of rejecting it seemed ridiculous. She’d never felt more at ease than in that moment, barely awake and lazily running her fingers through Vex’s hair.

The realization from the night before drifted to the front of her mind. Angela had dismissed it then, since bringing the concept of love into their arrangement wouldn’t result in anything but heartbreak. She dismissed it now too, but for other reasons. Admitting that she was head over heels for this woman was probably jumping the gun a little, given that their first kiss had happened less than twelve hours ago.

Angela toyed with the end of Vex’s hair. “We have other responsibilities, unfortunately. It’s the new year. I have work waiting for me.”

“And I have a fiend whose feet I need to grovel at.” Vex closed her eyes, head still resting on Angela’s chest. “But it can wait. As it happens, I want to lie here for a few more hours, too.”

She traced a finger along the curve of Angela’s breast, barely touching her skin. A whisper of a caress which tugged at Angela’s heart in a way that felt painfully literal. She had gotten so used to only experiencing that tenderness when she wasn’t supposed to notice it. It made it seem so much frailer than it should be.

She put her hand on Vex’s. “Promise me you’ll stay.”

Vex shot her a playful smile. “You want me to stay. I can’t leave when that’s the case. I don’t think my body will let me.”

“That’s not enough.” Angela pulled at Vex’s hand, making her raise her head. “I can’t go around being afraid that if I don’t want you a sufficient amount, constantly, then you might leave. You have to promise me. I need you to.”

The tease faded from Vex’s expression. She gave a small nod. “Okay. I will.”

Angela gripped her harder, knowing that her voice was going to waver when she spoke. It had gotten close before and this wasn’t any easier to say.

“Promise.”

Vex stayed quiet. Then she carefully unwrapped Angela’s vice-like grip, kissing her palm.

“I promise, Angela. I’m staying. As long as you’re here, so am I. Unless you tell me to go, I won’t leave you ever again.”

Angela let out a shaky breath. She really was horribly new at this. If she had more experience with these types of feelings, then they might not be so unwieldy.

“Okay, good. Good…” She chuckled, the noise coming out more nervous than intended. “If that turns out to be a lie, it might actually ruin me, so… if that’s still your goal—”

Vex leaned over her, giving her as soft a kiss as Angela had given her just before. An affirming, gentle kiss that made Angela wish time would freeze so it would last forever.

When it ended, the only distance between them was the miniscule one between their lips. The tip of Vex’s nose teased over Angela’s cheek, that warm scent of smoke wrapping around them.

“I’m not lying, angel. I swear this to you, right now. I’m never lying to you again.”

The words had an almost sedating effect. It was like Angela’s body sank another inch into the mattress, and Vex placing light kisses all over her face didn’t make the moment feel less dreamlike.

“This is making me kind of hate that I’m starting work again today,” Angela muttered. “I do need to sleep some more, otherwise I’ll be too tired to get anything done. This isn’t heading towards sleeping.”

“I wasn’t intending it to. Not yet.” Vex nipped on Angela’s bottom lip, pulling at it with her teeth. “And if you end up feeling groggy, I have easy access to your office and can show up to offer assistance. Permanent home in your shadow, remember? It fits me very well if you weren’t aware.”

“You don’t need to hide like that.”

Vex smirked. “I thought you liked keeping me a secret.”

“That was before. And I’m not saying I want a big announcement or anything. I just… If you happen to be in my office, you don’t have to hide in the shadows. And if you were around at other times, then I wouldn’t mind seeing you. Around. Or… whatever.”

Vex’s smirk turned into a grin. “Or whatever? How very romantic.”

“Fuck off, okay?” Angela gave Vex a stern look. Though, she had a feeling it wasn’t as harsh as intended. “I don’t know what I’m doing here. And I just woke up. Forgive me for not being as witty as usual.”

Vex’s grin stayed in place, despite Angela’s admonishing tone. Her eyes narrowed further, the harshness coming through quite effectively now.

“What?”

“You look cute when you’re squinting. But you look even cuter when you’re annoyed.”

That should make her more annoyed. But it was difficult to act like she was supposed to when Vex kissed her again. When her fingers touched her waist, causing Angela to first sigh and then giggle when the caress turned into tickling.

“I’m taking back what I said.” Angela pushed at Vex until she was on her back and Angela was on top of her. “We’re absolutely not leaving this bed today.”

“Is that so?” Vex cocked her head, amused. “You’re almost making me worried. What happened to the workaholic witch I got involved with?

“She’s right here.” Angela hovered her lips over Vex’s. Then she pinched Vex’s side, making her draw in a sharp breath. “And she’s studying. So lie still.”

She was only allowed a few more teasing touches before their positions got swiftly reversed. Vex joined her wrists together and pinned them above her head, making Angela first yelp and then let out a low laugh.

“You studied plenty last night.” Vex squeezed her wrists. “It’s my turn.”

“I don’t think that’s fair. Unlike me, you’ve had plenty of chances to study.”

“You know how I feel about being fair.” Vex let go of her hands. “Now don’t move. I have a few things I want to try.”

She kissed her way down Angela’s face, then her chest and stomach. When she got to her legs and went between her thighs, Angela chuckled.

“Just so you know… That might still make me pass out.”

“Let it. You were the one who said you needed to sleep. I’m just helping the process along.”

Angela let her head drop, her chuckling transitioning into sighs. Though Vex moved slowly, she had a knack for figuring out what you wanted quickly. Letting her find out just how right of a path she was on was all kinds of tempting.

It was only the first day of the year. There was no harm in indulging themselves a little. Work could wait until later.

Chapter 38

Angela had, wrongfully, assumed dating would be easy. People did it all the time, on purpose, but the few weeks since New Year’s had revealed a surprising conclusion.

Dating was a goddamn nightmare.

It obviously didn’t help that her version of dating involved a host of problems the average person wouldn’t have to deal with. The average person didn’t work for a secret Court of monsters, they didn’t have to hide arcane research, and—most importantly—they didn’t have to worry about bringing a greater demon home to meet their parents.

“Could you stop staring at me?” Angela muttered. They’d just finished a torturous dinner, involving Vex asking innocent questions and with her parents offering nothing but embarrassing anecdotes in response.

“But you look so pretty,” Vex said. Smirking. “Why wouldn’t I be staring at you?”

Angela looked the same as usual, so her ‘looking pretty’ wasn’t an active choice. Which, of course, made the comment even more effective.

Vex rested her arm on the back of Angela’s chair. “All this anxiousness is unwarranted. I already met your parents, remember?”

“You were ushered past my parents,” Angela said tightly. “This is different.”

Vex grinned. “Oh yeah? And why is that, angel?”

Heat flared through Angela’s face. She hardly ever got flustered, but Vex had a talent for getting her to do things she thought she’d never do.

Though her parents were supportive to the point of parody, this was all still new. Angela had never brought someone home before. Hell, she hadn’t even held hands with another woman in front of her parents.

She already dealt with plenty of attention, whether she wanted it or not. Almost everyone in the high-rise was gossiping about them, with few exceptions. Maya was smirking rather than talking, neither of the Regents were surprised, and Sam had reacted with such fake astonishment when she was told that it was obvious she’d already figured it out.

But this was way worse than what the whole high-rise could accomplish. Until that evening, Angela hadn’t realized just how much she wanted her parents to like the person she’d fallen in love with. Vex wasn’t exactly known for making a good first impression, even though she’d been nothing but pleasant the whole evening.

Pleasant and provoking.

“You think she’s ashamed of me?” Vex tickled Midnight under the chin. The cat had gotten a habit of following Angela everywhere, sticking to her like a second shadow. Or… third, in this case.

“Maybe she’s just a little embarrassed.” Vex glanced at Angela, tease glinting in her green eyes. The explanation of her wearing contacts was still sellable, so she wasn’t wearing sunglasses. “Or, she might be nervous that I’ll act all fiendish and corrupt this cozy household. Those are my guesses.”

“I’m not ashamed or embarrassed,” Angela said through gritted teeth. “And you can’t act fiendish at all.”

“Not even a little bit?”

“No. Best behavior. Or I’m kicking you out.”

“Oh my. So feisty.” Vex put her arm around Angela’s waist. “But handling you being feisty is one of my favorite pastimes.”

Vex placed a light kiss on Angela’s cheek and the anxiousness writhing in her stomach was momentarily smothered by a colony of butterflies. Vex kissing her, in any way, had a tendency to make her body feel like it was made of mist.

“Oh, this is just so exciting!”

Molly’s voice brought back the nerves in full force, dialing them up to eleven when she fluttered into the dining room and started stacking the dinner plates way slower than she normally did. Angela had been ready to help clean up, but her parents had dismissed the offer before she had a chance to make it.

“This evening has been lovely,” Molly said to Vex. “We’re so happy to properly meet you. Angela has never brought a girlfriend home before.”

Angela cringed. “Mom…”

“What? Oh, I’m so sorry. Partner.” She leaned closer to Vex, lowering her voice. “I read that it’s a more inclusive term. I just explained it to my friend Shannon the other day—we always go out to lunch after Sunday service—because she has a son who came out as bisexual a few months ago. He’s bringing his boyfriend-partner by her house later this week, and she had a lot of questions, since she didn’t want to bother him by—”

“Mom!” Angela gave her a pleading look. “We’re not… That’s a big word and we haven’t had that conversation yet.”

Vex cocked her head and grinned. “I didn’t realize we had to have that conversation.”

Angela stared at her, voice short-circuiting into a stammer.

What the hell was she supposed to say to that? She knew what she wanted to say. Just not if it was appropriate to say. The conflict between those two lines of thought made it sound like she was having a stroke.

Rather than let Angela keep blabbering, Vex took her hand and placed a light kiss on her fingers.

“Unless Angela says otherwise, partner is fine, Mrs. Norwood.”

Vex was still wearing that goddamn smirk, but Angela couldn’t be mad about it. She was too relieved to be mad about it. So she just sighed, smiled, and held onto Vex’s hand so hard it was lucky she couldn’t bruise.

Though Vex had been distracting over the past few weeks, making her as annoying as usual, she’d rarely been so on purpose. Since New Year’s they’d barely been apart, and Vex had spent most of that time being lovingly attentive.

Whenever Angela was feeling frustrated or tired or just generally stressed, Vex was there. With a compliment, a caress, or just her presence. Choosing the one that would help most in the moment. It was all just so… wonderful.

But she couldn’t share that, or any of the other things that were on her mind. First of all, she never swore in front of her parents, meaning that cursing at Vex for being teasing was out of the question. Second, she had no idea how fast this sort of relationship was supposed to develop, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t appropriate to blurt out ‘I love you’ only weeks into them properly dating.

Even though the way Vex was caressing her shoulder made that hard to remember.

“I’ve been wondering something.” Vex leaned in closer, glancing at the half-open kitchen door. “Your parents. They’re… weird. I have to focus to get a read on them and even then, what I can pick up is kind of fuzzy.”

“I would hope so.” Angela lowered her voice. “I’ve been sanctifying their cooking salt since I was a teenager. I switched it out for tonight, since you were coming by, but otherwise they use it all the time. It’s not as effective as arcane charms, but consumed daily over a long enough period, it offers more protection than none.”

Vex’s eyes wandered again. “Like all the other trinkets I’ve seen around. This place is almost as protected as yours, and no one has any idea.”

Defensive baubles were littered all over the house, positioned either covertly or acting as simple decorations. They kept her parents safe, just as keeping them in the dark did the same.

“They shouldn’t know about everything that’s going on,” Angela said. “If they were told, they’d probably have a reaction, too. I doubt they’d be happy about how I spend my time.”

Vex frowned. “You really believe that?”

Angela shrugged, looking away. Though her parents were the epitome of ‘love thy neighbor,’ them accepting the existence and validity of beings made to be pure Sin was too big of an ask.

“I just don’t want them to worry,” Angela mumbled.

Vex’s eyes narrowed, but she relaxed after only a second. She pushed at a loose strand of Angela’s hair, settling it behind her ear.

“They love you. They’ll worry, no matter what you do.”

Vex might have an unexpected talent for saying lovely things, but they were made much more effective by the tone she’d just used. So soft, and filled with equal parts wonder and sincerity.

Damn this woman and her stupid, sweet words that she shouldn’t be able to make sweet at all.

A quiet buzz sounded from Vex’s pocket. She picked up her phone and then groaned.

“Great. Sudden trouble demands my attention.”

Angela tensed. “What kind of trouble?”

“The bloody kind. Drago and I are being sent to deal with it, so it’s probably serious. Looks like we’ll have to stay out by the western border for a few days.”

A sudden chill formed in Angela’s stomach. Though Vex had been nothing but a dutiful subject these past few weeks, she’d still gone against given orders. Natalya had ordered her to stay in the city, and she couldn’t leave the high-rise without a chaperone.

The list of people allowed that role was short. But generous. Vex being here without supervision showed that while Natalya was strict, she wasn’t cruel.

Vex gave Angela a smirk. “Aw… Are you worried about me?”

“What? No, of course not.” The shrillness in Angela’s voice made the lie abundantly obvious. She cleared her throat to get rid of it. “What makes you think I’m worried?”

“You’re holding my hand so tightly that it’s almost uncomfortable.”

Angela looked down, seeing that she was indeed clutching Vex’s hand. Though it took more effort than it should, she loosened her grip. But she didn’t let go.

Vex’s amused expression faded. “What’s wrong? Are you afraid I won’t come back?”

Angela was afraid of that, kind of. Not that Vex would leave and then want to stay away… but that something would make her do so.

“I just don’t want anything bad to happen.” Angela tried a small smile. “It’s easier to keep an eye on you when you’re near the high-rise. You should know how calming that is.”

Though Vex smiled back, it wasn’t the smug kind Angela had expected. It was careful. Hesitant, almost. And her eyes kept shifting over Angela’s face, as though looking for something important.

She got up, glancing into the kitchen before tugging Angela away from the dining room.

“What are you doing?” Angela asked, letting Vex drag her into the living room. “I thought you were needed elsewhere.”

“I am. In a few minutes. I move fast in the dark and the work waiting for me isn’t urgent.”

Once they were a safe distance from the kitchen, Vex stopped. She pulled Angela in close, making their bodies almost lean against one another, though she didn’t let go of Angela’s hand.

“But I can’t be distracted. If I leave with you looking this unnerved, I won’t be able to think about anything else.”

As expected, Angela’s brows immediately knitted together and Vex couldn’t help but grin. To say that Angela had a poor reaction to people asking about her well-being was an understatement, and her go-to response was always swift dismissal.

“I’m fine,” Angela insisted. “This evening was just a lot, and you having to go suddenly doesn’t help. I’m not used to being the sole topic of conversation, especially not for this long or intensely.”

Vex had just enough self-control to keep from rolling her eyes. Angela might not care enough to notice focused attention, but that didn’t mean she didn’t get it. Almost every arcanist in the world knew of the talent, innovations, and resources of Angela Norwood. No witch in the world was more talked about, or more envied. Being near her was like being hooked up to an infernal battery.

But the vitalizing feeling her presence afforded was nowhere near as important as her expression. Her eyes were unfocused, and her gaze wouldn’t stay on Vex’s.

“You’re not fine. You’re worried. And you feel guilty about something.”

Vex had seen that look in her eyes before. Distant and hard, and oddly cold, too. She’d seen it first when Angela was hiding out in this house after the kidnapping, and then later when she’d tried to work in her office just before the solstice and couldn’t focus enough to do it.

Since then, Vex had only seen glimpses of it, appearing whenever she wasn’t being as productive as she thought she should be. Combined with her tight grip on Vex’s hand, it wasn’t hard to figure out what had invaded her thoughts.

“It’s those fiend amulets, isn’t it? That’s why you’re worried about me leaving?”

Angela’s scowling expression was replaced by a surprised one. The obsession with those amulets wasn’t really news. She worked herself exhausted almost every day, as though enough tenacity could make them work as intended.

Though Vex knew better than to share the opinion, she believed making an amulet like the one Angela had her eye on wasn’t even possible. But she also believed that if anyone could do something impossible, it was Angela.

Angela sighed, sitting down on the couch. “It’s not fair that you can read me so well.”

Her tone of voice made Vex pause. Weak, uncertain, and painfully familiar. It was a tone Angela should never have to use, and whose appearance Vex didn’t really understand.

“Why do you feel guilty? Instead of disappointed?” Vex asked, sitting next to her. “No one asked you to do this. If you gave up on it, no one would blame you.”

“I would blame me. If I can figure out how to make the amulets, it would keep fiends safe. It would keep you—” Angela’s eyes found Vex’s, resting there for a moment before lowering again. “It’s important. As long as there’s a chance of success, then I can’t stop.”

It was still odd to pick up Angela’s wants this easily. They’d been hidden for so long that sensing them caught Vex off guard every time. That the thing Angela had fixated on now was someone else’s safety—Vex’s safety—started a soothing warmth in her chest. A feeling she’d been terrified of not that long ago and which she now couldn’t imagine being without.

Loving this woman made seeing her in pain so much harder to deal with. It had been difficult enough back when Vex had assumed the only thing she felt for her was simple hatred.

Vex tilted Angela’s face towards her by touching her chin.

“If it ends up not working, that’s okay. Just because you can’t figure out a solution now doesn’t mean you won’t find one later. And even if you don’t, that doesn’t change how precious you are.”

Angela smiled weakly. “Is that another one of those facts you like so much?”

“Yeah. But I mentioned it mainly because I hoped it would make you smile.”

Angela’s expression softened, but it didn’t switch into the usual ones of either concentration or provocation. Instead, the faraway look returned to her eyes.

“You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you?” Vex said. Angela interpreted her light tone as the invitation it was and chuckled.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Given that you’ve been quietly panicking for the past few hours, the difference is easy to notice.” Vex lay down on the couch, putting her head in Angela’s lap. “If you really can’t stop thinking about it, use me. Talking through the problem might help.”

“I don’t need help.”

Vex nearly laughed. Insinuating that the witch of Chains could benefit from a bit of assistance was like suggesting oil should mix with water.

“You might not need it. But you might like it if you tried it. You’re already pretty brilliant. Imagine how dazzling you could be if you let people help you now and then.” Vex ran her finger along Angela’s jaw. “Come on. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Angela hesitated, her body tensing. Unlike most arcanists, she hadn’t had anyone around to guide her through the steps of the arcane. She’d mastered her craft through solitary stubbornness. You learned not to rely on help when that was the case.

That stubbornness was also one of Vex’s favorite things about her. As fun as it was to see Angela embarrassed, nothing beat seeing her focused. She was so filled with determination that Vex had assumed it was fueled by selfishness when they’d first met, but it was just who Angela was. When she wanted to do something, it got done. Even if it was to her own detriment.

Angela’s hand drifted to Vex’s hair, brushing through it.

“I don’t feel like explaining it all.”

“You don’t need to. Just talk. The few things I haven’t learned from observation, I’ll pick up through context. Otherwise, I’ll just lie here. Like usual.”

Angela smiled at that. Whenever Vex had time to bother Angela in her office, Angela tended to be busy. But she never told Vex to leave. She just moved from her desk to the couch, flipping through old books with one hand while the other played with Vex’s hair in such a soothing way it worked like a tranquilizer.

Vex had never been one for sleeping. Unless injured, greater fiends didn’t need to. But whenever Angela’s fingers brushed through her hair like this, Vex was very tempted to abandon her last bit of sense and drift into unconsciousness.

“I have to assume that the blood is still the problem,” Angela said after a long moment. “At first, I suspected the size of the amulet was the issue, but if I use my own blood to activate it, I can get a circle to fill out, regardless of size. They just always turn dull right after, since I’ve only tested it using dead marks.”

“Wow. Impressive.”

Angela narrowed her eyes. “Is this you being helpful?”

“I’m being honest. A portable binding circle is quite the innovation. A lot of arcanists would be satisfied with that.”

“Given that it isn’t what I tried to make, I’m not satisfied.”

She flicked Vex’s nose, making her grimace and then chuckle. It dimmed Angela’s scowling expression into her usual contemplative brow furrow.

“There are few things with enough arcane energy to fuel something like this. The only suitable one I know of is the blood of an arcanist. Since using it would bind the fiend to me, I figured diluting my blood with the artificial kind would be enough to keep that from happening, but it just…”

Angela groaned, running a hand over her face. “It feels like this project is laughing at me. In theory, it should work. But then all these dumb rules get in the way.”

“I know how much you like rules.” Vex tilted her head back, closing her eyes. “It’s a shame you have to rely on them so much. If you could use something other than blood, you’d have more options for luck to strike.”

“I don’t like relying on luck either.” Angela’s hand moved from Vex’s hair to her face, fingers tracing over where the fiend-fixed dagger had cut her.

Angela stilled. Her body, her hands, even her breathing stopped for a second.

“Something other than blood…”

Vex opened her eyes again, seeing Angela staring into space. Then she shot to her feet, pushing Vex’s head off her lap and making her drop down on the couch cushion.

“Aaand I’ve lost you.”

Angela ignored her, pacing back and forth. “The energy found in an arcanist’s blood is crucial for this to work, but I’ve been diluting it using artificial blood that has no vitality in it and thereby no arcane power.” Though she was whispering, it seemed like she did so by chance rather than consciously. “Artificial blood was the only diluting agent that resulted in a response, but I didn’t consider not using blood. If I used something else… Something that’s pure energy…”

Vex grinned as she got to her feet. “Did I help?”

“Shush! I’m thinking.” Angela’s pacing picked up speed. “Fiendish ichor is pure life force. And it’s arcane in nature. I don’t know if it would work as a replacement, given that sanctified salt is in play, but under the right conditions… And if the ichor comes from the same source as the markings, then theoretically it would…”

Her jaw dropped. Shock filled her eyes, and going by the smile lighting up her face, she was elated at whatever conclusion she’d just made.

“You’re a genius.” She pulled Vex into a sudden, hard kiss. It was so startling that Vex didn’t even get a chance to return it before Angela had picked up her bag and was rushing towards the front door, Midnight at her heels.

“I have to go!” Angela yelled towards the dining room. Only then did Vex notice that Joel and Molly were standing there, huge smiles on their faces. Angela had been hushed enough that they wouldn’t have heard the contents of the conversation, but they had clearly seen how it ended.

Then Vex’s eyes caught her reflection in a nearby mirror, and she immediately spun away.

Oh, fuck no. She was not blushing.

“Now?” Joel asked.

“Yes, now.” Angela scrambled to get her jacket on. “I had an idea, and I need to see if it works.”

She hurried outside, barely avoiding stepping on Midnight, and slammed the door shut. It reopened a couple of seconds later, letting Angela yell out a belated “Love you!” before she vanished again.

“Does she do that a lot?” Vex turned back towards the dining room, hoping that the color in her face would go away as quickly as it had appeared.

Joel shrugged, still smiling. “Just when she gets an important idea. Which means it happens all the time.”

“Almost all the time,” Molly said. “She wasn’t well a few weeks ago. Made us miss when she was always running off.”

Molly wiped her eye as she started cleaning the dining table, even though Joel had already done so. He put a hand on hers, making her stop. When he whispered something in her ear, she let out a low sigh and leaned against his side.

They seemed to have forgotten about Vex. Or maybe they just didn’t mind that she was still there.

That had never happened before. The first impression she made always produced tension and dislike. Not this odd, calm demeanor.

“I should get out of here,” Vex said. “Let you get on with… whatever you’re doing.”

She immediately regretted that she hadn’t just followed her instinct and snuck out while the Norwoods were distracted. They both turned to her, looking confused of all things.

“We won’t mind if you stay for a while,” Molly said. “Just because Angela has a habit of running off, doesn’t mean her girlfr—partner needs to do so. There’s space for anyone who wants it.”

Vex tried a smile, stepping back towards the entryway. This family was so kind it bordered on being weird. Angela’s version was wrapped in enough snappiness that it could be forgotten, but these two were just so… pleasant.

“I was about to go, anyway. Work’s waiting. Late night shift, you could call it.”

Vex hurried for the door. If she didn’t, she might get stuck making small talk or even be offered a hug goodbye. There were limits to how many niceties she could handle in one evening.

“Before you go…” Joel’s voice interrupted her escape attempt. Molly was gone, clattering dishes from the kitchen giving away her location.

But Joel was right by the entryway, his usually friendly expression replaced with a sterner one.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

Vex hesitated, considering how serious the consequences might be if she said ‘hell no’ and ran for it. Instead, she crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe.

“Uh… Sure.”

Joel crossed his arms, too. He seemed even more uncomfortable about this than Vex.

“Angela hasn’t had it easy lately. Though she hides a lot of her life from us, for whatever reason, she couldn’t hide how hurt she was just a few weeks ago. I don’t know what happened that she felt she couldn’t share, but… I have a feeling you do.”

Joel let the silence hang for long enough that it turned into an answer. He nodded and straightened.

“That week Angela spent at home… I’ve never seen her like that before. But I’ve also never seen a brighter light in her eyes than when you’re around. I don’t know you very well, but I do know Angela. She doesn’t let people in very often. I just want to make sure you’re not taking that for granted.”

Vex ran her eyes over Joel’s features, once again annoyed at how fuzzy he was. Though the words seemed earnest, the source of that sincerity was unknown. It could be based in worry, jealousy, or even possessiveness. She couldn’t be sure.

“I know exactly how special she is. Angela means everything to me. The last thing I want is to hurt her, in any way. I’d rather die than let that happen.”

By how his eyes widened, Joel hadn’t expected that intense of a response. But fiends were often too intense for mortal sensibilities.

“Okay then. Good talk.” Joel gave Vex a too-firm pat on the shoulder. “You have someone picking you up, or do you need a lift? It’s getting dark.”

Vex held back a laugh. “I can handle the dark, Mr. Norwood. I’ll be fine.”

Though he looked doubtful, Joel nodded. He started to turn back towards the kitchen, but stopped when Vex leaned forward. Since they were being honest, she might as well offer her version of it.

“I want to ask you something as well.” She gestured at their surroundings. Crocheted blankets, framed photos, and pillows embroidered with Bible verses. “Angela doesn’t fit in with this sort of scene. Or rather, this scene doesn’t tend to make room for people like her.”

Joel’s brows furrowed before sudden concern took over his features. “Has Angela said something?”

Vex couldn’t help but scoff. “No, and I doubt she ever will. I think this is where she feels safest in the entire world. Don’t ask me why.”

Confusion rose in Joel’s eyes, but before it could form into a question, Vex continued.

“Part of why Angela doesn’t share everything with you is because of necessity. But it’s just a part. Not everyone would approve of how she lives her life, especially not people who follow the faith you and your wife seem to like so much. People always have an agenda. I can’t get a good enough read on you to determine yours, which isn’t really comfortable for me, to be honest.” Vex dug her fingers into her arms. “You’re not the only one who cares about Angela’s well-being. And you can hurt her as much as I can. Understand?”

Joel stood completely still, eyes shifting. It was the type of look that usually resulted in an eruption of shouts, but the Norwoods had a habit of doing the unexpected.

“I do understand,” he said quietly. “We’ve considered it before. How Angela would have figured out who she was a lot sooner if she had grown up elsewhere, simply because we didn’t realize we were keeping parts of the world away from her. She had to figure it out on her own. Though she likes doing that, she… With certain things, she shouldn’t have had to.”

Joel sighed, running a hand through his hair. “You know, uh… Molly and I always wanted a big family. We even put nursery items on our wedding list, but it… it wasn’t meant to be. Even with doctors involved, the best odds we got were ‘close to impossible.’ But Angela doesn’t really care about things being impossible.”

Vex couldn’t help but smile. “So she’s always been like that?”

“From the very beginning. There are many things Molly and I treasure in this world. Our faith is one of them. Our community is another. But nothing matters more than our daughter’s happiness. There’s nothing Angela, or anyone else, can do that will make us stop loving her. I really hope she knows that.”

There was that sincerity again. Showing both in his voice and his light blue eyes. They matched the color of one of Angela’s almost exactly.

Vex extended her hand. “Thank you for tonight, Mr. Norwood.”

The last time she’d visited, she’d said something similar. It had brought a bad taste to her mouth then, but now she just said it. Easily. Maybe even a little earnestly.

Just a little, though.

“You’re welcome anytime, Vex.” Joel shook her hand, smiling. “I like that name. Vex. It suits you.”

She grinned. “It should. I picked it myself.”

Chapter 39

Even though the border was hundreds of miles away, Vex made it there in no time at all. Swiftness was a common skill for supernatural creatures, but nothing could outrun her when she had darkness on her side.

The speed was requested, if unwarranted. A lone Chains scout had reported a rather gruesome sight. A few dead lycanthropes, gutted and carved in ways that were as disturbing as they were efficient.

The work of poachers most likely. Ferals sometimes settled near other Courts, hoping their proximity would deter any hunters looking for them. Time turned that defense rather flimsy, as poachers grew greedier and thereby bolder.

A patrol team was being sent to investigate, with Vex and Drago coming along as backup. But Vex had a feeling there was more to it than that. A lesson of sorts. A taste of freedom, granted mainly to see how she would react to it.

She would have sneered at that realization not too long ago. Thought of Natalya as too trusting or too proper or some other disdainful adjective. Now, waiting around all on her own was easy. Or at least easier. When longing was your entire being, it was hard not to yearn for the peace she’d left behind. Especially with the text Vex had just received.

Angela

You better come back soon

Stay safe

The message wouldn’t have much meaning out of context. It might even be read as curt or uncaring, but Vex knew better.

There wasn’t much that could pull Angela’s attention away from her work, especially not when she’d just had a breakthrough of some sort. The fact that she’d paused it long enough to send a message made Vex smile at the screen. Her fingers swiped over it, typing out a response.

Vex

Miss you too

Writing the words felt strange. Vex hadn’t really missed someone before. She’d yearned for things. Wanted things. But those sensations had been summoned by envy and hatred. Not this odd ache forming in her chest.

She sighed. The longing always wafting off Natalya and Drago couldn’t be described as pathetic anymore. At least not fairly.

A sudden shove made Vex stumble forward. She yelped, unable to catch herself before she slammed to the floor, the sound of fabric scraping against concrete mixing with the shattering of a phone screen.

Vex glanced over her shoulder, groaning when she saw an oafish-looking Drago standing right behind her.

“Fucking ow.” She tried to turn on her phone but given the glass had turned almost white with cracks, it was a lost cause. “What the hell did you do that for?”

“You weren’t answering me. I only meant to tap you on the shoulder.”

“You need to be aware of your own strength, you idiot.”

She accepted Drago’s outstretched hand, letting him pull her back to her feet. He was the only other person in the warehouse. Like her, he’d arrived early.

“Have you spotted anything yet?” Drago asked. Vex brushed dust off her t-shirt.

“Nope. It’s all calm and quiet out here. If you ask me, we’re already too late. Poachers don’t tend to stick around after they’ve gotten what they wanted.”

Drago looked at her impassively. Then he cocked his head.

“You sure? You were distracted just now.”

“I’m not distracted, Drago. But if you’re so concerned, I can do quick sweep and confirm my theory. Beats making small talk with you.”

A sudden twitch pulled at his mouth. The huge demon never smiled, at least not around anyone other than Sam. That slight tension was the only version the rest of the world got to see, but it had never come as a result of Vex snapping at him.

She narrowed her eyes. “What are you so happy about?”

“You never call me Drago.”

She was so used to getting only anger or stoic apathy from him that the humorous glint in his eyes was almost shocking.

She should probably get upset about the change. Or frustrated. Annoyed, at the very least.

Instead, she scoffed. “Shut up.”

She pushed past him, going to the decrepit entrance of the warehouse. She glared out at the barren fields, knowing that she’d probably have to endure the view for days while they sifted through the surrounding area. Days before she’d get back to the city.

She would have been happy about that freedom, or at least not hateful about it, just a few months ago. But even a wide-open range didn’t feel as free as being with the woman currently sweating over an impossible project back at the high-rise.

Nothing felt even half as serene as just the thought of her.

“You’re acting weird.” Drago walked up next to her. She didn’t look at him.

“Stick to what you’re good at. Natalya is the one with the feelings-radar. Not you.”

“If I tell you what I sense rather than what I see, you’d like that even less.”

As a Wrath fiend, Drago could detect pain in those around him, which wasn’t very practical in that moment. That faint ache in her chest hadn’t lessened at all. In fact, it seemed like it was growing.

Missing someone was almost more awful than yearning for them. It was at least awful in an unfamiliar way.

Drago took a step closer. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“The pain around your heart tells me you’re lying.”

For fuck’s sake. Though privacy was technically still a lost privilege, it shouldn’t extend to her thoughts and stupid feelings. Feelings that were as new as they were confusing.

And constant. An odd, fluttery warmth had taken permanent residence in her body, growing in intensity whenever she gave Angela a kiss. Touched her. Remembered her smile, both teasing and not. A feeling with a name Vex had yet to voice.

She’d never experienced it before, and she was hesitant to let it show. Loving Angela in secret had already changed so many things, and she had no idea what doing it openly would be like.

Vex grimaced. Based on these past few weeks, it would probably feel lovely or something awful like that.

“I’m not used to it feeling easy. I didn’t really believe it could feel easy. It makes the hard parts stand out more.” She took a step back, moving further into the shadows. “Do you ever get scared about it?”

“Scared about what?”

“The thought of losing her. Of losing Sam, I mean. She might come to her senses and realize she’d be better off alone. Or with someone else.” The shadows darkened as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “We might have it easy with them, but they don’t exactly have it easy with us. They’d have simpler lives if they walked away. Better lives.”

Drago’s red eyes shimmered into orange. An all but common act at this point, but the softness in his gaze wasn’t.

“Sometimes I’m afraid of that. Natalya is, too.”

“Right, okay,” Vex said with a scoff. “You don’t spend enough time around Natalya’s better half, clearly. Evie’s head over heels for her. She’s not going anywhere.”

“Natalya knows that. But sometimes she forgets. She starts thinking that she doesn’t deserve the peace Evie gives her.” Drago nudged Vex’s shoulder, holding back enough that it didn’t knock her over. “Just like you’re doing now. It isn’t true, even though it feels like it. It’ll pass when you see her again.”

Vex almost leaned away by reflex. She wasn’t used to believing reassuring words, and she really wasn’t used to hearing them from Drago. When she first met him, he was little more than a powder keg ready to blow at the slightest bit of provocation, and she’d found it incredibly entertaining to prod at him until he exploded.

But he was different now. Maybe she was, too. At least different enough that she didn’t immediately dismiss what he was saying.

“Should I do that sweep?” She all but jumped out of the warehouse, not quite looking at Drago. “It would be good to make sure we’re alone out here. You can act as welcome committee, in case the patrol team shows up while I’m gone.”

Drago didn’t answer. But his lip twitched and then he nodded.

It was all the invitation she needed. In the next second, she had stepped into the shadows and blinked across the fields, away from the words of wisdom Drago should be too ill-tempered to voice.

That wasn’t how he should act. And this wasn’t how she should act, either. Nothing around here followed the rules, because the rules said she was supposed to be destructive, hateful, and miserable. Existence shouldn’t feel as normal as this did.

It was never enough for Vex. Nothing was ever enough. No matter how much she had, or took, or was given, she would always want more.

Except when she was with Angela. Being with Angela uniquely—impossibly—felt like enough. It was what she’d been chasing her whole life and now that she had it… she just felt content. Settled. At peace.

When Angela gave her all that, just by existing, admitting to loving her felt so small in comparison. It should be a bigger deal, being voiced as part of some grand production, instead of what Vex suspected would happen. That it would slip out on its own the next time she had Angela in her arms.

If she had been corporeal, Vex would have groaned. Being in love was bad enough, but did she really have to get so mushy about it?

She stopped with a start. The shadows around her pulsed, stretching out like fingers as she stepped out of them. And sniffed the air.

There was a… bite to it. That was the only way she could really describe it. An odd sharpness that got close to being unpleasant.

She was at the edge of a field a couple of miles from the warehouse. Barren and flat, there wasn’t anything around. Just tire tracks in the snow, encircled by footsteps. One set leading away from where the vehicle had been parked.

Eyes narrowed, she crouched next to them. Though she’d been surveying as she moved, her doing a sweep had just been an excuse to get away. She hadn’t really thought she’d find anything, and at first glance, the tracks weren’t cause for concern. A farmer might be doing some late-night work, or someone might be conducting seedy business that had nothing to do with the Chains.

But if that were the case, the snow wouldn’t be dotted with holes produced by sanctified salt.

Vex didn’t need to touch it to identify it. She could taste the arcane power in the air. Feel it ache in her throat as she breathed. There looked to be several handfuls of it strewn all over the snow. Enough to ward a small building or…

Or a vehicle.

Vex threw herself back into the shadows, rushing for the warehouse. The footsteps were going in that direction, she realized. They drifted in and out of view, only marking the snow when they had to. The tracks of a person who didn’t want to be followed.

“I found something,” she yelled, slipping into corporeal form right at the warehouse entrance. “Someone’s headed this way. Someone who came prepared, because there was salt all over—”

She froze in place. You could rely on Drago for many things, including swift reactions and growling responses. But being silent wasn’t one of his talents, no matter how much he practiced.

The warehouse was dead quiet.

The wind turned, sending a gentle gust through the warehouse. Scents of wet earth and rotten wood flowed through the air, underlined by a pungent, ashen smell that had not been there when she left hours earlier. Brimstone.

The building was decrepit enough that the stains left around could be mistaken for decay, but some of them were too dark. Pure black spots leading outside the building like a morbid trail.

Vex followed the stains, eyes catching on something shiny embedded in the wall. Something that hadn’t been there when she left just a few minutes before and which made it feel like her veins had filled with ice.

A narrow-hilted dagger was embedded in the rotten wood, three words engraved along the fuller.

Salt and flames.

Chapter 40

Vex shook her head in disbelief. The Inquisitors couldn’t be here. They knew that going past the borders was akin to suicide, and no one in their right mind would give an order to make the trek into Chains territory.

But it might not be the Inquisitors who’d left this little present. More likely, it was one fanatical member acting out her own version of twisted justice.

The trail of ichor continued outside, going towards a nearby field. There were so many stains she couldn’t count them all. Though Drago was fast, an injury like this would slow him down. Maybe enough that a human could catch up with him.

Vex pulled out her phone, intending to call Court, but it still refused to turn on. She cursed, almost throwing the damn thing away, but that wouldn’t do anything useful.

What the fuck was she supposed to do? Go back to Chicago? Or wait for the patrol team to arrive and let them deal with this? At the very least, she should be hiding in the shadows as to better avoid the madwoman armed with enough fiend-fixed knives that she didn’t have to pick them up after throwing them.

But her form stayed solid. The shadows had extended, blanketing the area in darkness, but she didn’t shift into them. She just stared at the trail of ichor leading out of the warehouse, disappearing in the winter night.

“Fucking dammit.” Vex hurried outside, blending with the dark. Her options of waiting for backup or going back to the city both involved leaving Drago in the hands of a zealous witch hunter. For minutes or even hours.

Drago might not have either. He might have been caught already. Or he might be dead. Though the drops of ichor started out small, they grew in size as Vex got further from the warehouse. Suggesting that, while Drago had been running at first, he’d slowed down.

Wrath fiends rarely ran from anything.

“No, stay where you are. I don’t have eyes on it yet.”

That voice… Cool and calm, and immediately recognizable. And close. Very close.

Vex slowed down, drifting through the dark landscape rather than rushing. There were footprints in the snow, smaller ones than Drago would leave, and even in the dark they were easy to follow. Their owner easy to spot.

“It won’t be long now,” Quinn said. She was moving at a jog, phone to her ear. “The fiend is slowing down. It might have even passed out by now. That’ll make transportation easier.”

The nearby snow would have lit up scarlet if Vex had been corporeal. She wanted nothing more than to push the shadows forward and make them swallow this vile woman whole, stealing everything from her slowly.

Instead, Vex drifted after her. As quiet and subtle as morning mist. Easing nearer until she was so close to this young Inquisitor that the darkness flooded around her feet.

Quinn was easier to inspect this close. Sweating, teeth gritted, eyes hard. Other than a basic salt-vial necklace and the sanctified knives strapped to her belt, she didn’t have anything that could protect her from demonic attention.

But that necklace only protected her from fiendish abilities, and those knives would take more than a second to draw. Vex needed way less time than that.

The shadows rose like a wave, swallowing the view of the surrounding fields. Quinn immediately leaped back, hand going towards her weapons, but she hadn’t even grazed the hilts before Vex stepped into physical shape. Her eyes glowed bright scarlet, her nails curled into claws, and as terror rose in Quinn’s eyes, Vex pictured all the ways she could make that frightened expression last.

But then it dropped. As soon as Vex’s fingers closed around Quinn’s wrist, the terror in her eyes turned into surprise. That odd shift was the last thing Vex registered before every thought and feeling was replaced by a single, sudden sensation.

Agony.

A cry wrenched out of Vex’s mouth and she fell to the ground. It felt like every cell in her body had been coated in acid. The pain functioned like shackles, stealing control of her body and breathing alike, allowing only thrashing and staggered screaming.

Quinn stared at her, frozen in place. After a few seconds, a trembling voice escaped the phone and Quinn brought it to her ear.

“Never mind. Bring the car around, now.”

She crouched next to Vex, cocking her head as a smile eased onto her face. One that was equal parts astonished and delighted.

“Well… I’ll be fucking damned.”

Vex tried to speak, but a scream intercepted her intention. She had to grit her teeth to keep the noise contained, and even then she could only force out a single word.

“How…”

“How what? How did I hide? Or how did I summon this pain for you?” Quinn chuckled, flipping one of her knives in the air. “Answer’s the same. When you go hunting in fiend-infested territory, you take precautions. My blades are reliable enough, but given the filth that’s roaming around these parts, you can never be too careful.”

She gestured at her shirt, partly hidden by a thin jacket. It was covered in blood and Quinn pulled it up to bare her stomach.

Her skin was covered in scars. A few looked to have come from injuries, but most followed too clear a pattern to be from accidents. Symbols carved in arcane script, faded into thin white lines.

Only one was fresh. A salt-packed arcane rune, carved into the taut skin on her stomach. It looked similar to those found on a fiend-repellant vial amulet and offered the same protection, even if the method of gaining it was crude. An amulet stayed active for as long as the salt stayed potent. A mark like this only offered protection for a few hours. And hurt like hell in addition.

Going by the eerily serene look in Quinn’s eyes, she was used to this type of pain.

“When I found that warehouse, I figured it would just be a matter of time before the Chains showed up,” Quinn said. “It was ideal, you know. Elevated, isolated, and a stone’s throw from your borders. If something concerning happened around these parts, such as gutted feral monsters, the Chains would be foolish not to turn such a prime location into an outpost. I had a chance a few weeks ago, when I silvered a local wolf pack’s water supply, making them lose their senses a little. But you had people with you. Otherwise I would have had you then.”

Quinn pushed her finger against Vex’s forehead, summoning another scream. “You’ve grown complacent. Going out all alone and relying on infernal senses to find your enemies. Those can be so easily manipulated.”

There were bloody symbols on her hands, too. Cloaking runes, hiding her from otherworldly senses. Another crude solution, but efficient enough. Vex might have passed right by her and been none the wiser.

“I didn’t really care which one I got,” Quinn said, voice cold. “Any fiend would have worked, even a lesser one. But then you left that brutish friend of yours lounging in the warehouse all alone. How could I not react?”

Vex darted her eyes over Quinn’s body. Other than the ones she’d made herself, she didn’t have a scratch on her.

“What did you do?” Vex said, the words coming out strained. Quinn’s lips twitched into a sneer.

“I failed. Wrath fiends have thick skin and sharp senses. If that wasn’t the case, I’d already be far away from this place.”

Wrath fiends could detect pain with extreme accuracy. They could use the skill to spot weaknesses in an opponent’s defense, letting them hit where it would hurt. Letting them know how they were hurt.

“He noticed the pain from the carving.”

Quinn scoffed, pulling at her salt-vial necklace. “No. This blocked its ability to sense me. But the blood was obvious and that made it pause rather than continue attacking. I didn’t think that was possible for Wrath, actually. Not that it mattered. My dagger could have brought death had I willed it to, but I find it foolish to break my tools before using them.”

Disgust flashed over Quinn’s features, and she spat on the ground. “You know… I was frustrated when that Wrath fiend got away. Since Chains territory isn’t safe, I would have had to call off the search soon. But then you came back? Almost meant to be, isn’t it?” Quinn leaned in closer. “Rumors travel fast. I know about you and Norwood. About what you’re doing with her. Just when I thought she couldn’t be any more disgusting, she starts fucking something like you.”

Vex’s teeth were clattering. Her body was doing something similar, muscles straining so hard it felt like they were about to snap her bones into pieces. Every time the pain got close to becoming bearable, Quinn would brush a finger over her skin and incapacitate her all over again.

She’d experienced something like this before. Arcanists could summon pain for their bound fiends with a simple gesture. Dominic had done it often. Whenever Vex acted difficult or talked back, or just when he felt bored. But this version was so much worse than what Dominic had produced, because she had a terrible feeling of where it was headed.

The glow of advancing headlights illuminated Quinn’s face. A dented SUV rolled onto the field, a small figure slipping out of the driver’s side.

Eden’s mouth dropped open and her hand went to her throat. A single salt-vial pendant dangled from her neck.

“Wait… Isn’t that…”

“Yes. It is.” Quinn grabbed the collar of Vex’s t-shirt and started dragging her towards the car. “We got lucky. This one will be easier to transport and has better access. But we still have to move fast. It’s only a matter of time before the Chains notice that a few of their pets have gone missing.”

Vex looked around at the surrounding darkness, hoping against hope that she’d see glowing scarlet eyes come rushing out of the shadows. But Drago was nowhere in sight. He might have spent so much energy to get away from Quinn that he’d run out of it by now.

He wasn’t coming to her rescue. Nothing could stop this twisted plan, and though Vex couldn’t detect it from Quinn innately, context made it obvious.

“You won’t get to her,” Vex snarled as Quinn pushed her up against the side of the SUV. “The Chains keep their people safe, Angela included. They know who you are. You won’t be able to take even one step inside Chicago without a thousand people descending on you with the sole purpose of ripping out your fucking throat.”

Quinn narrowed her eyes. A little surprised, perhaps. Or simply annoyed, as she grabbed Vex by the chin. She held on so lightly, but the touch still summoned voice-stealing agony.

“I know. Why do you think you’re still alive?” Ice rose in her dark blue irises. “You might be powerful, but you were never meant to be so freely. You were created to be controlled. I’m just helping you fulfill your purpose. You’ll get accustomed soon enough.”

She shoved Vex into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut. Quinn went to the driver’s side, while Eden crawled into the back, putting on her seatbelt. Salt dust clung to the insides of the car, remnants of the sanctified protections they’d removed in order to transport whatever fiend they happened to capture.

As they drove away, Quinn put her hand on Vex’s neck. It spawned a continuous flow of agony, maintaining it at such an excruciating level that Vex had to give up on drawing in enough air to scream.

But though the present was literal torture, the future was even worse. This pain, incapacitating as it was, robbed control from her body. It would only vanish when another means of doing so was within reach and when that happened…

When that happened, Quinn would get exactly what she wanted.

Chapter 41

Angela downed yet another cup of coffee. She had no idea how many she’d had, or for how many hours she’d been working. She only paused when she refilled her cup with liquid energy, but she’d been going for long enough that the air had turned thick with smoke and steam.

“Just one more try…” Angela muttered for about the seventeenth time, stirring the mixture of blood and ichor she had simmering in a cauldron. If it hadn’t been for her obsessive notetaking, she would have lost count of the number of batches she’d made at this point.

It was shocking how quickly she’d gotten to this stage. She had done some basic tests with the ichor to avoid false positives, and they hadn’t produced any reactions. But mixing just a single drop of her own salt-infused blood with the ichor and then pouring it over the amulet… Just that was enough to make a few marks start glowing.

A taste of a connection. And Angela didn’t need more than a taste for her focus to go from intrigued to tireless.

Now it was just a matter of ratios. Her arm was sore by how many times she’d drawn her blood, and she had plenty of ichor. There was only one fiend whose ichor could be used for this experiment, and Vex had replenished Angela’s supply only a few days before.

Midnight jumped onto the desk, leaving her favored position of lying curled up at Angela’s feet. She sniffed at the air and sneezed, giving Angela a narrow-eyed stare.

“Don’t complain. No one’s keeping you here,” Angela scratched the cat between the ears. “And don’t interfere. If you contaminate my work, I’m cutting down your food budget.”

Midnight let out a grumpy meow, laying down on the corner of the desk with her feet tucked under her body.

Despite her protests, Midnight had shown no interest in leaving. At first, Angela just appreciated her presence because having a purring feline to cuddle was a great stress reliever, but Midnight also made focusing easier for some reason.

The black ichor-concoction bubbled, puffs of dark smoke bursting from the surface. She’d found that the blood needed to be added slowly. Her first attempt at pouring it in, she’d had to duck under her desk when the ichor sputtered so violently that it scattered black stains all over the table.

Adding the blood drop by drop only produced light hissing upon contact. This version was a perfect fifty-fifty split of blood to ichor, and it took almost half an hour to combine the two. The result was a tar-like liquid that brought a coppery taste to the air.

Taking a deep breath, Angela dipped a stirring stick into the mixture. She held it over the amulet she’d prepared, letting a few drops fall on its surface. There was a growing pile of them on the floor, most with half-filled circles and a few with them almost entirely closed.

She’d been dealing with almost for weeks now, so she should temper her expectations. But this… this felt different. Nerve-wracking, exciting, and energizing all at once. Though, all the coffee might be to blame for that.

The dark liquid ran over the chalk dust, wisps of smoke rising from the steel. An orange light shined through, lighting up the markings with flames so dark they appeared near-black.

She waited for the moment of failure. For that discordant hum to vibrate through the amulet and make the fires flash out rather than burn into the steel. But the fire continued along the chalk pathway, filling each drawn symbol like oil flowing along a carved groove. A slow journey that took over a minute to complete, culminating as the glowing symbols reached for itself. Completing the circle.

Angela held her breath, waiting for something to happen. For the symbols to extinguish or for the entire thing to crumble into dust. For anything. Instead, she just stared at the faintly glowing amulet lying on her desk.

With a shaking hand, she picked it up. The metal was warm and when tilted, orange light flickered inside the engraving. The glow within seemed to reach far deeper than the thickness of the steel should allow. An illusion of fiery eternity.

Holy shit. It fucking worked.

She’d only just had the thought before the light pulsed. A brief increase in brightness so harsh Angela had to close her eyes, and when she opened them again, the glow was gone. The markings were still there, flawlessly engraved, but they didn’t shimmer like an active summoning circle was supposed to do.

Angela turned the amulet over, inspecting it. This didn’t make sense. The circle had activated. She’d seen it activate. There had been enough arcane energy present for it to close, but maybe not enough to sustain itself?

It was a similar reaction to when she’d created a full circle before. Then it had extinguished too, but that was because the marks being used belonged to a dead fiend, meaning there was nothing to bind.

Here, she was using Vex’s summoning marks, not the binding ones. Maybe that was why it had failed? But that shouldn’t have been a factor, since the only reason a fiend couldn’t be summoned was because they were dead or…

Midnight let out a sharp hiss. Eyes wide, claws out, and tail bushy as she stared at the door.

Angela followed her gaze and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Vex was standing right by the threshold of the office, shadows clinging to her like a heavy cloak.

“Oh, thank God,” Angela sighed. “For a second, I thought… Never mind what I thought.”

The amulet’s unexpected reaction had sent her thoughts sprinting in an awful direction, but they had barely set off before being dissuaded.

“I’m surprised you’re back this soon.” Angela checked her watch, grimacing as she turned back towards her desk. “Well, soon might be a generous word. I should have gone home by now. But I was making such good progress that I couldn’t stop. Until just now where I thought everything was measured out correctly and then it—”

Midnight hissed again. This time, a low growl followed as she jumped off the desk and positioned herself between Angela’s chair and Vex. Who’d just shut the door behind her.

Angela frowned. Midnight disliked everybody, with Vex being the lone exception. But even with the people she hated, she was never this aggressive about it. She used grumpy hisses or flattened ears. Not this predator-like stance.

Angela’s phone buzzed against the desk, resting precariously close to the edge of the table. Sam’s name lit up the screen. After a moment’s hesitation, Angela answered the call.

“Hey Sam. What—”

Her voice caught in her throat. Though Sam was trying to speak, whatever she was saying came out as heaving sobs rather than words.

“Sam? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m… I’m fine. But Drago is…” She started sobbing again. It took her a few uneven breaths before she could continue. “Someone attacked him.”

“Attacked him?” Angela stood, putting her hand on the back of her desk chair. Just standing up made her feel woozy. “Is he alright?”

“He’s… He’s conscious. They just brought him to the infirmary. But he’s really hurt. When I saw him, I thought he was…”

More muted crying followed, suggesting Sam had put down the phone. Angela stayed quiet until Sam brought the phone back to her ear.

“Do you know what happened?”

“No. I don’t know any details, at least. Whoever attacked him moved so fast that Drago didn’t see them properly. He didn’t even hear them, or sense them, but they… they had sanctified throwing knives. They got him in the side before he could even react and… He had to run. When the patrol team found him, he was nearly passed out.” Sam took a deep breath. “Do you know where Vex is?”

Angela turned, finding Vex still by the door. Standing motionless, shadows gathered around her, and eyes locked to the floor.

“Yeah, she… she’s in my office.”

“Oh. Good.” Sam sighed in relief. “She was supposed to be out there too, and since no one had heard from her, Drago assumed the worst. He keeps asking for her. But I guess she’s just acting difficult.”

A dizzying film slipped over Angela’s vision. Vex was just standing there. In her hand, she held the key Angela usually left in her office door. Or rather, what was left of it. She had broken the metal in two.

Pieces fell into place. Denial almost kept them from settling, but there was only so much her mind could do against the battering ram of evidence mounting up around her. And the most condemning part didn’t come from anything Sam had just shared.

The summoning marks on the amulet hadn’t extinguished because the fiend they belonged to was dead, as Angela had feared. Other than a mistake on her part, there was only one other reason the summoning circle had failed to fully activate.

It was because a fiend couldn’t be summoned if it was already bound.

“Sam…” Despite trying to keep it controlled, Angela’s voice still trembled. “Get someone to my office. Now.”

Angela put the phone down. Midnight was still facing Vex, claws digging into the floor. Moving carefully, Angela used her foot to push Midnight behind her.

“Who, Vex?” she asked quietly. Vex dropped the broken key on the floor.

“I can’t give you a name. She told me not to.”

There wasn’t any anger in her expression. No satisfaction or mockery. Just pain. A pain so stark Angela felt an echo of it tensing around her heart.

A bound fiend was an obedient extension of their master’s will. They had no agency. No will of their own. This wasn’t Vex standing in front of her. It was a puppet with her soul trapped inside it, forced to dance to another’s tune. Locked inside Angela’s office, a room only a select few could enter, it was obvious what she’d been sent here to do.

Angela held her breath as a nearly forgotten terror pierced into her chest. Panicking wouldn’t just be useless, but disastrous. She stifled it before it could latch on, taking a tiny step to the side.

“She? So… This is Quinn’s doing. She attacked Drago, but instead of capturing him, she got…”

Vex’s jaw clenched. But she didn’t answer. Unable to confirm or deny the assumption.

“Is Drago… He’s alive, right?” Vex said, voice strained.

“He’s alive. He’s here, in the high-rise. He was asking for you.” Angela eased towards the corner of her desk. “I know you probably can’t, but fight it, Vex. If anyone can dismantle an order, it’s you. There has to be a loophole you can exploit, or some phrasing you can misinterpret.”

“You know it doesn’t work like that. I can push certain orders, but I have to follow them. I can’t even try to resist.” Tears beaded in Vex’s eyes. “I don’t want to do this. Please tell me you know that.”

Angela’s eyes were stinging, and she clenched her teeth until the sensation dulled. Crying wasn’t an option. That would mean accepting what was about to happen and if she did that, everything would be ruined.

“I know that. I do.”

She wanted to say so much more. Say she was sorry. That this wasn’t Vex’s fault. That she couldn’t be blamed for what was about to happen. But there wasn’t any time left.

Not when the shadows wrapping around Vex’s body extended and then swallowed the view of the office.

Chapter 42

Moving blindly, Angela yanked open a desk drawer. She knew the location of everything in her office, be it ingredients, tools, or crafted charms. The salt-vial necklace stored in her desk was no exception.

She’d considered it needless for weeks. The amulet protecting her from fiendish touch wasn’t very useful anymore, but she’d kept it since she hated throwing things away. Just in case she might need it someday.

There were plenty of fiend-focused weapons stashed around the room, but all of them were out of reach. This necklace was her only real defense.

Her fingers finally found the glass vial. Fumbling with the necklace, she joined the ends of the chain behind her neck and was just about to lock them in place when Vex crashed into her. The charm slipped from her fingers and before she could try to grab it again, Vex pushed her to the floor and pinned her in place. A piercing sound of cracking glass rang through the office.

She’d landed on the vial. Shattering it.

“I’m sorry.” Vex’s voice wavered as her hands closed around Angela’s throat. The shadows fell away. “I can’t make it fast. She told me to make you suffer. Since you couldn’t be brought to a pyre, you… you had to burn in other ways.”

Angela clawed at Vex’s hands, the movement guided solely by instinct. Her throat was on fire and her vision was going spotty. Desperate gasps wrenched out of her mouth as she tried and failed to draw in air.

But she kept her eyes on Vex’s. Dark green and glinting with tears. Her lips were moving, saying the words ‘I’m sorry’ over and over, but Angela couldn’t hear it. Blood rushing in her ears had deafened her. Everything was fading.

Then a streak of darkness shot across the room, shrill yowling cutting through Angela’s dulled hearing. Midnight leaped onto Vex’s arm, scratching her with the ferocious expertise of a starved alley cat.

Wincing, Vex let go of Angela with one hand as she tried to get Midnight off her. The cat didn’t relent, snarling as it clambered up Vex’s shoulder and made a targeted effort to claw her face to shreds.

When Midnight refused to be shoved off, Vex gritted her teeth, grabbed the cat by the scruff, and threw her across the room. She collided with a shelf, sending both her and the books on it crashing to the floor. Whining, she tried to stand, but the tomes were too heavy to be pushed away.

As painful a sight as it was, it was a distraction. Vex had let go in order to get Midnight away from her, stealing her attention just enough that Angela could take a few focus-restoring breaths.

She couldn’t convince Vex not to do this. She couldn’t overpower her physically. But there was a solution. Though her sole hope of surviving this had been crushed, she had the materials to make another one. All she needed was time.

As Vex’s hands returned to her throat, Angela pushed down the panic that told her to struggle against a grip she had no chance of breaking. Instead, she kicked at Vex, shoving herself away from where she’d landed and then patting her hand against the floor. Finding shards of broken glass.

Picking up as much salt as she could, she slammed her hand down on Vex’s. A sizzling noise rose from her skin, followed by a scream as Vex darted away.

Angela rolled over, coughing and heaving. Vex groaned in pain just beside her, scraping off the salt burning into her skin.

Surface level injuries. They would transition from painful to bothersome in seconds, and Angela needed more than that for what she had in mind.

Groaning, she got to her feet and staggered to a bookshelf. She swept away most of the contents, grabbing the dagger kept at the very back. Fiend-fixed weapons didn’t maintain their potency forever, and she used this crude knife as a tool for practicing the fundamentals. She didn’t want to get rusty.

But it had been months since she’d charged it last. If she believed in God, she would have prayed that she’d done an exceedingly good job of making it back then.

“Stay back!” Angela pointed the trembling dagger at Vex. Smoke curled off her hands and there were red strands in her eyes. “I don’t want to use this, but I will. Don’t make me.”

She had no fucking idea how to use it. She crafted things. Using whatever she made was a problem other people could deal with.

Where were they? It felt like this had lasted several minutes, but since the door wasn’t in the process of being kicked down, it might only have been seconds. And even if people showed up, almost no one could cross the threshold. Rather than help, they would just get a show of Angela being slowly strangled to death.

Vex stared at the knife before returning her attention to Angela.

“Even at risk of injury, I’m still supposed to go after you. She assumed you’d have plenty of defenses, and me being in danger was a small price to pay for killing you. I don’t have a choice but to try.” Vex smiled weakly. “I just hope you have more success than I do.”

Before Angela could make sense of that statement, Vex surged on her. She rushed through the office, her red-green eyes filling with equal parts regret and sorrow.

With no options other than desperate ones, Angela shoved the knife forward, aiming for Vex’s waist. An injury caused by a fiend-fixed weapon could be debilitating and might give her enough time to fix this awful situation.

But Vex didn’t let the knife enter where Angela had intended it to. She pushed Angela’s wrist up, guiding the thrust towards her chest rather than her stomach. Towards her heart. Angela only just managed to tilt her hand down before Vex all but threw herself onto the blade.

She stiffened, face inches away and the green in her irises being replaced with scarlet. An oddly serene look filled her eyes.

Then pain twisted over her face. She fell to the floor, clutching the side of her chest as black blood pumped out between her fingers.

The dagger slipped from Angela’s hand, clattering against the floor. She’d meant to incapacitate Vex, not kill her. But the black pool forming under her body was growing so rapidly that this injury had to be lethal.

If Vex hadn’t been a being formed by arcane forces, that would have been the truth. But she didn’t still, as Angela feared she would. She just gritted her teeth and curled in on herself, pressing her hand against the wound in her side.

“I’m so sorry,” Angela whispered. “I didn’t… I tried to…”

Vex dug her fingers into the floor, dragging herself closer. Even in this state, groaning in pain and with black ichor pulsing out of her chest, she still had a directive to follow.

Steeling herself, Angela picked up the dagger and necklace chain. She returned to her desk, getting an arcanely tempered glass vial from one of the drawers. Taking deep breaths, she grabbed one of the used syringes and started scratching arcane symbols into the glass.

It had taken her weeks to learn the patterns required for this type of charm, and months before she could draw them with enough precision and speed that the power they summoned would activate. Complex and intricate, she didn’t have an image of them in her mind, but her hands remembered what she couldn’t.

She at least hoped they did. If they were wrong, she’d be dead.

The groaning was getting closer, but she didn’t turn around. She kept her eyes on the vial, the lines going so close to one another that they almost overlapped. When she was done, she grabbed some of the salt she’d been using for the ichor-mixture, pouring it into the vial and sealing it shut.

After just one shake, the engraved lines in the glass started glowing. The vial went hot, almost making her drop it, but the glass didn’t shatter.

She didn’t waste time feeling relieved. Instead, she pulled the vial onto the chain and put it around her neck. She fiddled with the locking mechanism, struggling to get it attached, when warm, soft fingers closed around her ankle.

The lock clicked into place. Then Vex wailed, reeling back with her limbs twitching. From the arcane pain suddenly coursing through her.

Angela had to grab the desk to keep herself standing. Pressure formed over her chest, making it feel like her ribcage was being crushed by a boulder, as she could finally take in the scene.

Vex all but paralyzed on the floor. A pool of black blood forming under her shaking body. Smoke and shadows filling the room, the latter twitching and curling in on themselves. Vex had stopped screaming, though her mouth stayed open, rattling wheezes escaping with every exhale.

“I’m sorry.” Angela fell to her knees. “I didn’t… I just needed you to stop. I didn’t mean to…”

She started to lean in, but the pleading desperation in Vex’s eyes made her stop.

“Please…” Vex said, forcing out the word. Her lips were stained black. “Please don’t. If you get closer, I’ll have to try again. I won’t be able to stop. It’ll never stop. She won’t let me stop.”

Vex dug her fingers into the floor, trying to pull herself closer, but the pain kept her in place. Every inch of her was shaking, and it was unclear whether it was the summoned pain or the wound in her chest keeping her in place.

She steeled her eyes on Angela’s. “Kill me.”

Angela’s mouth dropped open. “No. No, I won’t do that. If we just wait for help, then—”

“It can’t wait! If I get close to capture, I’m supposed to go back, and I’ll be sent after you as soon as I’m able to stand up. Again and again, and eventually, I’ll find a way past your defenses. I’ll kill you. Living with that would be worse than torture.”

Angela stared at her. Stunned and shocked, and in denial most of all.

This wasn’t fair. Everything had been great just minutes before, and now it had shifted into this fucking mess.

“No.” She tried to make her voice stern. It came out shaky instead. “I can… I can fix this. There has to be an alternative. If I could just think—”

“Angela…” Vex’s voice was almost inaudible. “I don’t want to be trapped. I don’t want to be enslaved again. Please. Kill me.”

It wasn’t just despair and pain showing in Vex’s eyes anymore. They had both faded, a heartbreaking terror taking over. Summoned by the prospect of losing everything she thought she’d never have.

It was the look of someone who had already given up. Who had already resigned themselves to this fate. Or, more likely, someone who didn’t dare entertain the risks that might be involved with opposing it.

Well… fuck the risks.

Angela returned to her desk, sitting down this time as she picked up a syringe. The needle made a shitty tool for what she needed it for, being so goddamn flimsy.

“I’m not killing you,” she snapped, taking off the jade bracelet Vex had given her. “No matter what you say, that’s not fucking happening.”

“Dammit, Angela. Don’t you see how dangerous this is? To you and everyone else here? She hates the Chains, and if I go back, she’ll make me steal pieces of it until nothing of this place remains. It would be better if—”

“It would be better if you shut up.”

Angela muttered under her breath as she scratched a symbol into the back of the bracelet’s clasp. It was child’s play compared to the amulet she’d just made. Runes intended for longevity were usually drawn in chalk or blood, but she’d come up with a trick to circumvent that necessity, even though it only worked for basic runes.

Once the rune was done, she pricked a hole in her finger and rubbed blood into the grooves before wiping off the excess. A second later, the symbol burned into place.

“I don’t know if this will work,” she said, hiding the bracelet in her hand and kneeling next to Vex. She barely avoided the ichor still flowing over the floor. “It’s just a theory, so I can’t know for sure. But there’s nothing else I can think of that—”

Vex screamed again. She’d grabbed Angela’s wrist and squeezed it so hard it was almost painful, but the sting lasted less than a second before Vex flinched back.

“Why did you do that?” Angela said, baffled. Vex stayed silent until the pain waned enough that she could speak.

“It was… wearing off.” She dropped her head to the floor, closing her eyes. “You need to get away from me. It’s not safe. I’m not safe.”

The way her voice wavered almost made Angela lean in closer and take Vex’s hand in hers. But Angela couldn’t do anything to soothe this pain she was in. She couldn’t do anything to fix this cursed situation. Not in that moment, at least.

She clutched the bracelet, ensuring Vex couldn’t see it. “Do you trust me?”

Vex’s eyes eased open. Her breathing was ragged, her body shaking, and heat radiated off her so intensely that Angela could feel it even at a distance.

“What are you planning?”

Angela was about to snap out that she needed a better answer than that when the door handle rattled. A hard knock followed.

“Angela? You in there?”

Sam’s voice. At a distance, suggesting she wasn’t the one pounding on the door so hard it looked close to breaking.

Angela ignored it, keeping her eyes on Vex.

“I can’t tell you. But I need to know. Do you trust me?”

Vex stared at her, wheezing breaths whistling through her lips. Black blood flowed from her mouth, dripping onto the floor.

Then, finally, she nodded.

Angela pushed up Vex’s t-shirt, though what she saw momentarily made her freeze. Ichor still trickled out of the wound, making her skin look like it was covered in ink. Her breathing was so raspy, her face even paler than usual, and her eyes filled with fear as she looked at the shaking door.

Angela took advantage of Vex being distracted and slipped the jade bracelet into her pocket.

“They’re going to break down the door,” Angela said sternly. “With their help, I can conduct a ritual that’ll lock you in place. That’ll keep you here. Understand?”

She spoke with calm confidence, faking every ounce of it. She didn’t know any ritual that could do what she was claiming, but Vex didn’t need to know that. In fact, for this to work, it was vital that she didn’t see through this desperate lie.

Vex’s eyes returned to Angela. A smile followed. A tragic smile that shattered all the projected confidence Angela had wrapped herself in.

“You know that won’t work,” Vex whispered. “You’re brilliant. The most brilliant person I know. But you can’t break my orders for me. If you attempt to hold me here, I’ll have to go back.”

Screw fucking safety. Angela yanked off the pain-producing amulet, grabbing Vex’s hand. She was shivering so much that her returning the grip seemed to happen because of spasms rather than choice.

“I know. I know what I’m doing.” Angela blinked tears from her eyes. “You will be free again. I promise. No matter where you’re taken, I will get you away from there. Okay?”

Vex’s eyes were unfocused. Her fingertips had gone cold, and her lips had taken on a bluish tint.

The office door groaned as a large crack split down the center. Angela kept her eyes on Vex’s as fiery sparks flared out from her chest. They glowed through her black t-shirt, producing such powerful heat that Angela had no choice but to lean back. Vex’s marks were lighting up, her body responding to the threat of capture exactly as it had been instructed to.

Her dark red eyes stayed on Angela’s the entire time, wide and confused and glinting with tears. They were the last thing Angela saw before the fire burned her away, leaving nothing behind but a sooty stain on the floor.

An odd buzzing started in her ears. A pressure formed around her chest, making her breathing turn shallow. It was as though she was suddenly stuck at the bottom of a pool, her body lacking oxygen and her limbs too heavy to get back to the surface. A horrible, familiar sensation that started eating away at the corners of her vision.

“Angela!” Maya’s shout cut through the rising panic. Angela shook her head, digging her fingers into the floor until her vision was no longer blurry.

“I’m okay,” Angela said, voice breaking. She wanted to say more, explain more, when a small whine stole all her attention.

She was across the room in seconds, pushing aside the fallen books and picking up a mewling Midnight. Her front leg hung limply, and she had a bloody scratch over her eye.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Angela cradled the cat in her arms. “You should have stayed back. That was way too dangerous for you.”

Midnight let out an indignant meow, nestling against Angela’s chest. Other than her leg and the cut on her head, she seemed uninjured. A miracle, given how hard she was thrown against the wall.

The door groaned again, followed by the wood around the lock shattering. It swung inward, revealing Maya standing outside and Sam right behind her.

“What the fuck…” Maya stared at the mess that was Angela’s office. The room was filled with smoke, the floor covered in scattered trinkets and black blood. Sam was right behind her, eyes widening in shock.

“Get me a map,” Angela said, intercepting whatever concerned questions they were about to ask. “And the salt from my desk.”

Sam stepped into the office, looking at Angela as though she’d gone insane.

“Angela, what exactly—”

“There isn’t time! Map and salt, now.”

Sam did as asked. Though, not before breaking the defensive runes around the door, letting Maya enter, too. Sam had spent enough time in this office to know where most things were, and it didn’t take long before she was handing off the requested items.

Angela lifted Midnight towards Sam. “Her head and leg are injured. And she won’t scratch you.”

Midnight had obviously been about to do just that. Instead she huffed and kept her claws to herself while Sam inspected her.

“Did Vex do this?” Maya crouched down as Angela spread out the map on the floor.

“She did not do this,” Angela snapped, picking up a handful of salt. “Someone made her. Someone who has every intention of treating her as little more than a tool, and I am not letting that happen.”

She sprinkled out a layer of salt, staring intently as it settled on the map’s surface. Fear clawed into her mind, insisting that this panic-induced plan she’d come up with was about to fall apart right in front of her.

“What are you doing?” Sam said. Angela’s hands started shaking.

“Finding her. Or something she’s carrying.”

She had no guarantees this would work as assumed. This entire plan was based on information Vex had given her months ago, and Angela didn’t know how much overlap there was between that and the mechanics of infernal summoning portals. So much of this was based on assumptions, the belief in which rapidly fell as the salt kept dropping straight down, pattering against the map like rainfall.

Then it changed trajectory. Rather than being drawn by gravity, it shifted towards a specific spot on the map. Being sucked down as though the salt were bits of iron flying towards a magnet.

Angela blew away the excess salt, leaving only a small pile that seemed to have been glued in place. She could get more precise directions once physically near the location, but right then, she needed confirmation more than precision.

The salt pointed towards a small township, one only a couple of hours away from Chains territory. Towards the tracking rune she’d scratched into the back of the bracelet, now hidden in Vex’s pocket.

Chapter 43

There was something uniquely painful about summoning fires. They didn’t burn like normal flames, instead starting from within and replacing your cells with smoldering sparks. Transforming your body into pieces of an infernal portal that could feel only heat and agony.

Once the summoning concluded, the pain and heat normally vanished, but Vex wasn’t that fortunate. The knife had hit between her ribs, going in deep and turning her breath searing and wheezing. Even when Angela’s office burned away, being replaced by a cold concrete basement, the pain from that injury remained. A cruel reminder of how close she’d gotten to being free from this fate.

A loud gasp sounded. Vex blinked, forcing her eyes to focus, and saw Eden standing a few feet from her. She was covering her mouth with her hands while Quinn was at the desk in the corner. She had been inspecting the half-dozen surveillance screens mounted on the wall, but when she saw Vex, her mouth dropped open.

“What the hell!” Quinn rushed towards Vex’s circle. “What happened? Were you successful?”

Vex coughed and wiped her mouth, fingers coming away stained black. “Which question do you want answered first?”

Quinn’s jaw clenched. There wasn’t much flexibility in the bond between fiend and arcanist. Fiends had to follow the intention of their masters as much as their commands, but there were ways to turn compliance into frustration. Asking for needless clarification was Vex’s preferred way.

Even though it always had consequences.

Quinn flicked her wrist, and fresh pain fired down Vex’s spine, making the agony from her chest wound seem blissful in comparison.

Vex threw her head back and screamed. Her body twisted, her vision briefly vanishing from how layered this torture was. An internal tearing, as though her soul was being ripped apart.

Quinn had wasted no time once they got to this place. They had spent only minutes in this damn cellar before her circle was drawn and Quinn sent her back to Chicago.

Vex knew the reason for the expedience, too. She knew every one of Quinn’s desires, big and small. The witch hunter had been rushing because she wanted this assassination concluded before anyone could figure out it was happening.

“Stop screaming and answer me!” Quinn kicked Vex in the side, right where the knife had gone in. It would have summoned another scream if Quinn hadn’t ordered her to stop. “Is she dead or not?”

“No,” Vex groaned. “She had weapons. And there were others. If I stayed… she would have captured me.”

Angela should have just killed her. She’d had her chance, and if she hadn’t moved her wrist at the last second, she would have succeeded. She could have ensured her own safety instead of trying to play a game she couldn’t win. As long as Vex was bound by this circle, she could be used as cruelly and violently as Quinn pleased.

Vex knew what pleasing Quinn would result in. A Court shattered and a lot of people getting their breaths stolen.

“How?” Quinn kicked Vex again. “How can an untrained, solitary heretic face a greater fiend and win? What help has she gotten? What are the Chains making her do?”

“Nothing!”

The word was all Vex could manage. Though she’d love to say that she was keeping her answers unsatisfying on purpose, the agony was the main reason for their brevity.

Everything burned, her lungs feeling like they had filled with boiling oil. She had to remind herself that this pain couldn’t actually kill her. It just felt like it could.

She focused. Tried to slip away from these aching, hopeless sensations. Far away. To another body than hers.

Angela’s longing flowed through her. Singular and pure. She wanted Vex back, in the same way as the night their bond had activated. With desperation, sorrow, and confusion yanking it in front of every other desire she might have.

But there was something else pulling it forward, too. That stubborn, near-constant determination, which Vex had once assumed was born of the same cruel motivations that guided the woman currently leaning over her.

“Quinn?” Eden nudged her sister’s arm. “Please stop. You got an answer, and that injury seems really serious. She can barely—”

“It.” Quinn turned on Eden so fast that the girl darted back. “Don’t be fooled by how it acts or talks. It’s a demon. Not a person. They don’t feel things like we do. Pain is the only language they understand.”

Eden glanced at Vex writhing on the floor. She still hadn’t been permitted to scream, so all she could do was grit her teeth and hope this discipline she’d invited wouldn’t last too long. When she’d pissed off Dominic in similar ways, he’d sometimes let her suffer for hours.

Then Quinn sneered and flicked her wrist. Vex gasped as the pain—or some of the pain—stopped. While Eden sighed in relief, Quinn shook her head and walked off towards the back of the room.

She didn’t care if Vex was in pain or not. Going by feel, she’d gotten no real satisfaction from either summoning or ending the arcane torture. She would have let Vex suffer it for days without batting an eye.

“I’ll go check on the car and then clear the tunnel.” Quinn gave Eden a long glare. “Keep away from it while I’m gone. Got it?”

Eden nodded. Quinn turned her icy gaze onto Vex.

“And you… you start thinking of actual answers. When I get back, I want to know everything you’ve learned about the Chains. Everything Norwood shared with you. I’m guessing she was more than willing to loosen her tongue during pillow talk. Until then, stay in your fucking circle.”

As though Vex had a choice. Every breath felt like inhaling needles, and that damn wheezing wouldn’t stop. Even if she could run, there would be no point. She’d just get pulled back to her circle the moment Quinn willed it.

Quinn opened a metal hatch at the back of the room, disappearing down and closing it behind her. That was how they’d first entered this place. The hatch went into an underground tunnel, opening in a faraway forest clearing, where Quinn had hidden the car. But the tunnel was filled with debris and rotten water, making it hard to move through. It had obviously been in disuse for a while.

The Inquisitors having safe houses available wasn’t news, but this one was particularly sinister. An old, abandoned factory, filled with labyrinthine hallways and dozens of rooms, including this dank basement. Complete with stores of supplies, and protected by a heavy steel door and surveillance feeds playing on the screens in the corner.

This was a bunker fit for waiting out a siege.

Vex’s head was lifted from the floor. She didn’t realize the cause or reason until Eden pushed in her folded jacket, settling it in place like a pillow.

Vex tried to smile, though it immediately twisted into a grimace. “You were told to stay away from me.”

Eden cleaned ichor from Vex’s lips using a wet cloth. “I get told to do a lot of things. The tunnel is pretty messed up, so Quinn will be gone for a while. She won’t notice that I’m not obeying orders.”

Her eyes drifted to the pool of black ichor forming on the floor. Beyond squaring her shoulders, Eden didn’t react.

Surprising. She didn’t seem scared. Not that there was a reason for her to be. Quinn had ordered Vex not to hurt her, even though it wasn’t necessary. She’d promised Angela she wouldn’t do so.

“You seem pretty unphased by this,” Vex said. Eden shrugged.

“I’m used to cleaning up. It’s a common duty for apprentices. It normalizes it for us.”

“Normalizes what?”

“All of it. The pain, the blood, the… the begging. It’s supposed to teach us to ignore it all, like the Inquisitors do.” She smiled weakly. “I’m not a very good Inquisitor.”

“Unlike your sister.”

Eden stiffened, taking a deep breath that rattled just as much as Vex’s did.

“Yeah. She’s the best. She had to be. We have a legacy to uphold. Our parents passed when I was little, and that put her under a lot of pressure. She wants to make them proud.” She wiped at her eyes, leaving a tiny black streak on her cheek. “I don’t really get it, to be honest. Quinn has been with the Inquisitors for years, but this job… It’s different. I don’t even know why she’s doing all of this.”

Vex barely had to focus to figure that out. Bound Envy fiends could feel the desires of their summoners, allowing them to better predict their needs. But this one was obvious, even without that connection. It was just the nuances that would have been missed.

“She wants to break the Chains. She believes killing Angela will help accomplish that, which isn’t exactly wrong. If the Chains didn’t have her around, then their vicious reputation would be their core line of defense. But the main reason Quinn wants to do that is because of you.”

Eden frowned. “Because of me?”

“She believes taking down the Chains will make the world safer. That it’ll make you safer.” Vex chuckled, the noise shifting into coughing. “What do you think about that? Feel safe yet?”

Going by the deep shadows under her eyes, Eden hadn’t felt safe in a while. But the Inquisitors weren’t concerned with true safety.

They might use the word to defend their authoritarian behavior, but that was all. It was an excuse to knock down anyone who stepped out of line and to execute the few who dared live outside their doctrine.

The play was easy to see from the outside. But within their coven, loyalty and training hid it from view. Quinn may have a twisted set of beliefs, but she followed them with her whole heart. Unlike Eden, who had broken a clearly given order because helping someone else was more important than the laws she was supposed to obey.

But that was only a fact in the present. A few more years, and this unlikely kindness she showed would get stripped off her like meat from a bone. Even if it didn’t and Eden somehow stayed true to her values, the Inquisitors had plenty of experience with making someone disappear.

“She showed me how to tie knots,” Eden mumbled. She sat back, hugging her knees close to her chest. “When we were younger, I mean. Quinn’s eight years older than me and she taught me basically everything. Even things she wasn’t supposed to, like playing poker and stuff. But then she left for her apprenticeship and when she came back, she was… different.”

Eden toyed with the end of her braid. “I remember her being my sister, but I barely recognize her anymore. She wasn’t always this… cold. This hateful.”

Vex smiled, the expression coming a little easier now. “Well… People change. I know from personal experience.”

“Fiends can’t change. They’re the pure concept of their Sin, so they can’t be anything else. They’re… evil.” Eden lowered her eyes. “That’s what Quinn says.”

“She’s not the only one who thinks so. Until I joined the Chains, I believed the same thing.”

Eden’s gemlike eyes shimmered like glass. Red from lack of sleep and unfocused as she narrowed them slightly.

“What do you mean? Did they… fix you?”

“No. They just helped me. Even though they probably shouldn’t have. Even though I didn’t deserve it.”

Vex tried to push herself into a sitting position but had to give up on the attempt. Pain flared up her side so fast it felt like someone had stuck a lit torch into her chest.

Hesitating only for a second, Eden inched closer.

“Is there anything I can do? About the pain? Or the blood?”

“It’s not blood. It’s ichor.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Losing a lot of blood kills you. Losing a lot of ichor just hurts like hell.”

Vex coughed again. Louder and more wetly this time. Eden leaned in, cloth already raised, when Vex pushed her hand away.

“It’s nice of you to help, but it won’t do anything. Time is the only thing that’ll fix a wound like this. A lot of time. A lot of rest.”

Eden looked back at the closed metal hatch. “Quinn won’t be back for a while. You can sleep, if you want to.”

“Greater fiends barely want to sleep when in trusted company. You seem sweet enough, but you don’t fall within that category. I can’t rest here. I can’t sleep.”

A wound as severe as hers would take days, or even weeks, to heal from. It wasn’t the kind of agony you were supposed to be awake for, but it wasn’t really the time to pass out either.

Though, going by feel, soon she wouldn’t have a choice in the matter. If she didn’t at least lie still, she’d lose consciousness whether she wanted to or not. She’d be sent into a hell-like stasis, where the only thing being kept alive was her slowly healing injury and the agony it caused.

“Oh. Okay.” Eden held her hands in front of her mouth, warming them with her breath. “Do you want to be alone, then? I can go somewhere else. If that would help.”

By how tense she was, the last thing Eden wanted was to be helpful in that way. It might not be pure altruism that had made her approach. The girl was so desperate for another’s proximity that she found comfort in being near a greater fiend.

Vex sighed, closing her eyes. She couldn’t sleep here, but she could relax. A little, at least.

“You can stay.” Wincing, Vex pushed the folded-up jacket towards Eden. “But take this back. It’s cold and you don’t run as hot as I do.”

After a moment, Eden accepted the jacket. But she didn’t stay seated. Instead, she ran off towards the back of the room, returning with a few folded towels.

“It’s probably not as comfortable, but it’s better than nothing.” Eden eased the makeshift pillow under Vex’s head. “Like you said. It’s cold.”

Vex couldn’t find the energy to dismiss the offer. It was cold, besides. The towels blocked it somewhat, making it easier to take on a restful state. Even if her thoughts refused to settle.

There weren’t many stories of fiends escaping captivity, especially not greater ones. While she was with Dominic, she’d fantasized about getting away from him, but had never believed it possible. Had never believed that anyone would help break her free.

Now, that belief wouldn’t stick. The faint hope clinging to her heart didn’t let it.

Angela had asked Vex to trust her. She could do that. She had to. Otherwise, she would have to accept that she would never be anything more than an extension of another being’s cruel desires. That freedom was something she could only entertain in fantasies.

Sudden footsteps made Vex open her eyes. There were no windows down here, but going by the surveillance screens, dawn had arrived. Hours had passed. And there was movement showing in the video feeds.

Eden was at the desk, having blown up the view of the factory exterior. Her eyes went wide as the parking lot filled with black cars. A lot of black cars.

Eden scrambled for her phone, typing out a message. A few minutes later, the metal hatch swung open, and Vex only just managed to push the folded towels out of her circle before Quinn burst into the room.

“They just showed up.” Eden backed away from the screens to allow Quinn access. She all but ignored Eden, taking control of the outside camera and making it zoom in.

“No. No, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

Vex pushed onto her elbow, looking at the screen with just as much shock as Quinn. The cars had parked at a distance from the building, dozens of people exiting. She recognized most of them. Chains patrol members, human and monstrous both.

And near the back of the group, stepping out of an armored SUV, was a blonde woman wearing black-rimmed glasses and guilt painted all over her sweet-looking face.

Vex could easily imagine what caused that expression. Angela had probably twisted this whole situation into somehow being her fault. Her responsibility.

It was a little true. Knowing her, she was at least responsible for the borderline army filling up the parking lot.

“What the fuck!” Quinn slammed her fist against the table, causing Eden to recoil. Vex didn’t react, too busy staring as Angela moved nearer the factory. She was hugging herself against the cold, looking up at the building with that same stubbornness Vex had seen in her eyes so many times before.

Vex couldn’t help herself. She laughed, wetly and loudly. Quinn’s expression turned seething, and she marched to Vex’s circle, yanking her a foot off the floor by grabbing her shirt.

“What did you do? Did you tell her about this place?”

Vex grinned. A red light shimmered over Quinn’s features.

“No. I didn’t. I wasn’t allowed.”

“Then how?” She gave Vex a shake. “How the hell did she figure out where we are if you didn’t tell her?”

Vex let her grin grow until it started to hurt. “I have no idea. But I do know that you’re so fucking screwed.”

Quinn’s eyes drilled into Vex’s, harsh and icy. Going by that stare, if Vex had been allowed to smile at her for even a second longer, Quinn would have summoned such potent agony that Vex might have lost consciousness.

“What do we do?” Eden’s voice was close to a whisper. She was fidgeting with the end of her braid. “There are a lot of them out there. Should we run?”

Quinn let go of Vex, all but throwing her back on the floor.

“We’re not running. Not yet.” She hurried towards the back of the room, opening a duffle bag left by the metal hatch. “We have a chance to hit the Chains in a way that hurts. They brought a lot of forces, as well as fucking Norwood. And I installed defenses here for a reason.”

Vex’s attitude dropped. Quinn and Eden had been in this place for a while before capturing her. There was no reason to think they’d spent that time being idle.

“The alarm near the car hasn’t tripped.” Quinn picked up a sheathed hunting knife, tossing it to Eden, who barely caught it. “Protect yourself if needed. And keep an eye on the screens. If anyone moves towards the car, leave the fiend, and get the hell out of here.”

“And what about you?” Eden’s voice was trembling. “Where are you going?”

“I’m fighting back.” She refilled her supply of throwing knives and shoved a few black canisters into her pockets. “They’ll regret showing up here. No matter what, there’ll be a few less Chains around when this day ends.”

She moved for the door, bringing one of her knives towards her hand as though she was about to cut it open, when Eden grabbed her arm.

“Stop! This has gone too far.”

Quinn’s gaze hardened. “Get off me, Eden.”

“No! You just said they haven’t found the car yet. We can leave. Let them have the fiend and go somewhere far away from here.” Tears rose in Eden’s eyes. “There’s been so much death and pain involved with this already, and for what reason? Our coven wants nothing to do with us anymore. The contract you signed stopped being active, so what’s the point? Why can’t you just stop?”

“Get off me!”

Quinn shoved Eden away, using so much force that it knocked her to the floor, leaving her lying frozen in shock. Guilt flashed across Quinn’s face, but when she took a step closer, Eden flinched away from her.

Quinn’s shoulders tensed. Her expression did the same and, for a moment, her eyes unfocused. Then they reclaimed their usual cold, hard quality.

“Keep watching the screens.” Then she walked out of the basement, locking the steel door behind her.

It had barely closed before Eden’s shock faded and tears spilled from her eyes. But she didn’t stand. She stayed down, small and shivering on the concrete floor.

Vex looked at the screens. People were milling around everywhere, but no one had entered the building yet.

“Is there a way to warn them? The people outside?” Vex asked. Eden shook her head, sniffling.

“No. The cameras don’t have microphones or speakers.”

She was shaking all over. Part of it was obviously from trying not to sob, but the cold floor had something to do with it, too. She’d been down here for just as long as Vex, but she didn’t have infernal heat keeping her warm.

“Come over here.” Vex sighed when Eden frowned in suspicion. “You’re freezing. The floor is warmer by the circle.”

Though she hesitated, Eden eventually relented. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and picked up the sheathed knife, holding onto it with both hands as she sat next to Vex.

“You’re an unusual fiend, you know that?”

Vex looked back at the surveillance feeds. At Angela standing stiffly in place, staring up at the building with exhaustion, fear, and guilt hiding behind her determined expression.

“I know. You can blame it on an unusual witch.”

Chapter 44

Of course it had to be a slaughterhouse. Placed at the heart of a borderline ghost town, filled with abandoned factories and stray animals, it was the perfect location for an excommunicated witch hunter to hide out in. Cold, quiet, and with death infused in every room and hallway.

Angela had no reason to be there. She worked best from the confines of her office, with her tools and trinkets readily available. Without them, she came close to being a liability, so the smart thing would be for her to drive far away from here, letting the patrol team do what they did best without her getting in the way.

But she’d stayed. And no one had argued. So now, she was standing behind a protective wall of vehicles while other people swept the area. Waiting.

“You’re shivering,” Maya said. Angela pulled her jacket tighter around herself, not taking her eyes off the building.

“I’m fine.”

“Your teeth are literally clattering. If you go wait in the car, I’ll let you know as soon as there’s—”

“I said, I’m fine,” Angela snapped. “Until we get her out, I’m not fucking leaving. So stop suggesting it.”

Maya didn’t even look upset about being yelled at. She just nodded and went quiet.

While Sam had stayed in the high-rise, both to be near Drago and to ensure Midnight didn’t follow them out in the middle of nowhere, Maya had gone with her. She’d insisted, in fact, even though the advancing daylight meant she stood out in a way Angela knew she hated.

She wasn’t supposed to be out here, dealing with all of this. But none of this was supposed to be happening.

“Vex shouldn’t even be in there,” Angela whispered. Maya offered a slight smile.

“She won’t be for long. Look how many people are around. Natalya’s even here.”

Despite knowing better, Natalya had also joined this operation. Since a demon-capturing witch was involved, no fiends could be present, but Natalya hadn’t counted herself in that category. She just stayed at a distance, watching the building with such intensely glowing eyes that everyone steered clear of her as soon as they’d gotten their orders.

“Quinn might be clever, but she’s outnumbered,” Maya continued. “We’ll get this fixed.”

“You can’t be sure of that. Quinn sees Vex as a tool and nothing more. If she thinks that tool is no longer useful, then she’ll get rid of her. Vex might already be dead for all we know.” Angela sighed, using the noise to mask that her voice had started shaking. “This is my fault.”

“Don’t say that. You couldn’t have known Quinn would go to these lengths. And back in your office, you were just defending yourself.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Angela’s lip trembled, and she bit down on it until it stopped. “I should have worked faster.”

If she’d just gotten her act together sooner, then she would have made more progress with the amulets. She would have found answers that could have prevented all this. Instead, she’d been wallowing with her own damn pity-party and now Vex might be dead somewhere inside this fortress of a building.

And there was nothing Angela could do about it other than stand and stare.

“I should have worked fucking faster,” she whispered. “I should have worked harder. I should have done more, and then this would never have—”

“Stop.” Maya moved in front of her, blocking the view of the building. “This is not your fault. If you want to blame someone, blame Quinn and the coven that started her down this path. They caused this. Not you.”

Angela’s eyes stung, and she had to hold her breath to smother the tears that wanted to escape. She couldn’t lose it now. Her losing it was the whole reason they were in this mess, and she wouldn’t let that happen again.

She couldn’t consider that Quinn would have found some other way to come after her, even if Angela had figured out the amulets sooner. She couldn’t rest in the knowledge that the Inquisitors and whoever hired them hated the Chains on principle, regardless of what Angela did. And she definitely couldn’t find any solace in the fact that she would have never considered using ichor in the crafting process if Vex hadn’t suggested it, meaning that progress she hated herself for failing at would never have happened.

If Vex hadn’t gone against everything she was and helped her… then Angela wouldn’t even be standing there.

Blaming reality was harder than the alternative. Quinn was hidden behind layers of concrete, while Angela’s lack of productivity was only a spiteful thought away.

Someone broke away from the patrol team, running up to Natalya. The fiendish Regent had been standing still as a statue ever since she showed up, staring at the building as though glaring at it hard enough could draw out the people within.

“Position a group at every exit.” Natalya was too far away for the other half of the conversation to be audible, but her voice would have carried over a battlefield. “I don’t want anyone escaping while we’re looking through the interior. And only send supernaturals into the building.”

The young man, who’d gotten the dubious honor of relaying information to Natalya, jogged back towards his group. Rather than stew with yet more waiting, Angela walked past the line of cars, aiming for Natalya.

“What’s going on? Have you learned anything new?”

“Less than I would like,” Natalya said. “Based on what Vex told me, this Quinn Heliot is working alone, or at least with minimal assistance. Once we find her, we should be able to subdue her easily enough.”

She shot Angela a stern look. “But it still isn’t safe up here. Get back behind the perimeter.”

Natalya had a tone on that didn’t invite arguing. But just as Angela was about to reluctantly obey, a question sparked through her mind, escaping before she could think to hold it back.

“Why are you only sending in supernaturals?”

“It’s just a precaution. There’s a strange smell inside. Quinn may have used a chemical of some sort to ward off intruders, and if it has a harmful effect, supernatural beings can handle it better than—”

“What kind of smell?” Angela must have sounded sufficiently insistent, because Natalya looked surprised rather than angry at being interrupted. “Was it sort of acrid? Kind of like gasoline?”

Natalya frowned, turning fully towards Angela. “How do you know that?”

Her veins filled with ice. Quinn had been in this place for who knew how long. Had spent hours, days, or weeks putting defenses in place that the Chains wouldn’t know how to recognize because they hadn’t dealt with them before.

Their Court had several enemies. But none of them could engage in as sinister warfare as users of the arcane.

“Angela?” Maya had moved up behind her, hand resting on her arm. Angela ignored it, staring at the factory as a scouting team got ready to go in. One broke away from the group, moving inside the building, with the rest following a few seconds later.

She turned to Natalya. “You need to pull everyone back.”

“Pull them back?” Natalya said, confused.

“Yes! They need to get out, now. Otherwise they’re going to—”

A loud boom shook through the slaughterhouse. A flash of light exploded out of the entryway, followed by a rain of rebar and concrete. Maya yanked Angela behind her while Natalya leaned in front of both of them, blocking the path of the falling debris.

Heavy silence engulfed the area. Coughing followed and then shouting, as a few people staggered out of the rubble that was now the factory entrance. Bleeding, limping, and leaning on one another.

“What the hell was that?” Maya said.

“Explosive trigger runes.” Angela’s voice shook. When both Maya and Natalya stared at her, she continued.

“A trigger rune keeps whatever rune they’re drawn around dormant until activated, usually by using a key phrase or by touching them. Or stepping on them. Arcanists often use them for defense, since you can designate who can and can’t activate them.”

“Like those on your office door?” Maya asked. Angela nodded.

“But making long-lasting runes is difficult. If you don’t draw them properly, the latent arcane energy starts evaporating and eventually vanishes completely. That process can produce a smell.” Angela swallowed. “Smelling gasoline suggests an explosive rune.”

Natalya looked back at the ruined entrance. “How many of these runes could be inside?”

“That’s hard to say. The skill of the arcanist determines how quickly they can draw the rune, and depending on how much time they—”

“Give me your best guess,” Natalya said tightly. Angela looked over the massive building, crossing her arms solely so she could dig her fingers into her skin.

“A conservative estimate… Hundreds.”

Natalya paused, jaw clenched. Then she nodded towards the line of cars Angela had just moved past.

“Then we’ll wait. You said they’ll expire after enough time has passed. We’ll surround the place until that happens, and then we’ll move in.”

“That could take days! Or weeks! We don’t have that long.”

If Vex was still alive, the injury she’d gotten back in the office would incapacitate her for a while, but she’d eventually heal from it. If they waited for however long it would take for Quinn’s defenses to vanish, they wouldn’t just be dealing with a lone arcanist. They’d have to deal with a bound greater fiend, too.

That wasn’t an option. Not only would it present needless risk for everyone present, but Vex wasn’t going to be trapped for a second longer than necessary.

“Send me in there.” Angela hurried on before Natalya’s refusal could leave her lips. “That place might be an arcane minefield, but I know what to look for. I can find the runes and deactivate them. Assuming your people actually brought those field kits I keep making.”

Bringing sanctified salt was mandatory when going anywhere non-Chains fiends were around. Like most of the arcane ammunition the Chains soldiers were using, Angela provided them with a steady supply.

“Of course they did. But it’s dangerous,” Natalya said sternly. “You are highly skilled, but you have no experience with being in a place like this. I’m not letting you walk around an explosive-ridden maze with no way to defend yourself.”

“It’s not a maze to me. I’ll know where to go. I directed you here, didn’t I?” Angela straightened, clutching her hands together. “Unless you know anyone else who can deactivate arcane defensive runes, I’m your only option. I want to do it, Natalya. Please let me.”

Natalya’s hard stare was building towards a terrible answer. Angela was a major asset to the Chains and putting her at risk was a gamble most Regents would outright refuse. But then her silence continued, suggesting Natalya’s response might be born from worry rather than Regent-like practicality.

Before she could voice a decision, Maya stepped forward. “I’ll go with her.”

Angela gaped. “No, you will no—”

“Everyone else can follow at a safe distance,” Maya continued. “If there’s trouble inside, Angela won’t be alone. I’ll stay with her, no matter what.”

Natalya’s eyes slowly ran over Maya’s body, narrowing as they went. Knowing Natalya, she wanted nothing more than to rush inside the damn building herself, but she couldn’t. Having one greater fiend in the hands of an enemy was bad enough. Two would be ruinous.

“You haven’t been cleared for field work,” Natalya said. “How can I know you won’t run at the first sign of danger?”

Maya had stiffened the moment Natalya started inspecting her. Having Natalya pay attention to you wasn’t a pleasant experience for most people.

“You can’t, I suppose,” Maya said, fighting a losing battle to maintain eye contact. “But I won’t run. I swear.”

Natalya stared at Maya for another few seconds, maybe just to make a point, before turning her gaze back on the building.

“You do not leave her alone. And if I see you walking out of there without Angela right next to you, there will be painful consequences. Am I understood?”

Maya glanced at Angela, clearing her throat. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” Natalya’s eyes had filled with crimson strands. “Go. Both of you.”

Before Natalya could change her mind, Angela fetched as many pouches of salt from the patrol teams as she could fit in her jacket pockets. Depending on how much of this building they had to move through, she’d need a lot of it.

“Is she always that intense?” Maya whispered, eyeing Natalya as they walked towards the factory. Angela scoffed.

“Yes. And her hearing is also excellent, so she probably heard you say that.”

Chapter 45

The factory interior was more rubble than not. Dust clung to the air, making Angela cover her mouth and nose as they moved inside.

“Holy shit,” Maya said, looking over the piles of shattered concrete. “That explosion took out the entire wall. It’s a wonder no one got seriously hurt.”

Angela scanned the floor. “Yeah. They got lucky.”

Explosive runes of this caliber were potent. If anyone had been in its center when it went off, they would have been ripped to pieces. Supernatural or not.

The patrol team who’d triggered the blast were standing a few feet from the entrance. The most injured person was on the ground, blood trickling down their face. But they hadn’t entered first. The person who’d done that was standing on their own. Unscathed.

“Remember that night at the bar a few months back? When I made that firework bird thing?” Angela said. “I think this is something similar. The rune is on a timer.”

Maya grabbed Angela’s arm when she nearly tripped over a piece of rebar. “What would be the point of that?”

“If an explosion is triggered by the first person who steps on it, the effects would be immediate and localized. But if it takes a couple of seconds to activate and people are moving in a group, then that… maximizes the potential damage.” Angela wiped dust from her glasses. “Quinn hates the Chains. And Chains are closely linked.”

Maya winced. “Fucking hell, that’s cold.”

“It’s efficient. Inquisitors are just that.” Angela took a deep breath, replacing the building panic with practicality. “But as it happens, so am I.”

It was one thing to act brave when standing behind a line of cars, a safe distance from any would-be danger. It was harder to maintain within a labyrinthine building filled with death traps.

It was quiet too. Though she wasn’t doing it on purpose, Maya being deadly silent didn’t exactly help. The only persistent noise was Angela’s own breathing and the shuffling footsteps of a patrol team following them. The only sight was gray walls illuminated by fluorescent lights, and the only smell was of stuffy air and dust.

Then, a hint of gasoline.

Angela stopped, scanning the surprisingly sparse area. The place had been filled with trash until this point and given the space needed for the type of rune Quinn was using, cleared floors were a warning sign.

She kneeled, blowing away the dust. Arcane symbols came into view, revealing a timer and explosive rune, as expected, both confined by a circle big enough to fill the width of the hallway. As long as it was untouched, the runes within were dormant.

They had been drawn in blood. Though runes could be drawn in multiple ways, using blood was the easiest medium. It was traditional as well.

“Quick question,” Maya said, when Angela didn’t move. “That thing about deactivating arcane defensive runes. You do know how to do that, right?”

Angela gritted her teeth. “I read about it in a book once.”

“Once?” Maya said. Angela shot her a glare.

“Yes. Once. Any more pointless questions you want to ask?”

Maya paused. Then she shrugged. “Sounds like it would be in my best interest not to.”

Her laid-back tone drew some of the tension from Angela’s shoulders. Not all of it, but just enough to keep her hands from shaking. Maya had been around mad arcanists before, so her jokey attitude might come from experience.

Angela poured some salt into her hand. “You’re way too relaxed about this, you know that?”

“Would it help if I acted terrified? I can do so if you like.” Maya grinned. “Sorry. That was another question.”

Angela laughed, despite the fact that nothing about this was remotely funny. But it calmed her down. When she leaned forward to inspect the runes, her breathing was more even.

“Oddly enough, you talking like that helps. Though, that might not be odd. Lately, I’ve found that I focus better when I’m distracted.”

Maya’s smile was momentarily replaced with a look of bemusement.

“Okay… Whatever works for you.”

Angela had no idea what worked here. She was used to operating under pressure, but only the self-inflicted kind. Not this version, where one wrong move could make her work literally blow up in her face.

The talking helped. Even as it faded into something more akin to white noise than speech. Her task was simple. All she had to do was mark out a siphoning rune in salt, and if the salt was potent enough, it would drain all the arcane power in the trap, deactivating it. If it wasn’t potent enough, then…

It would be. It had to be.

Angela forced her hands to steady as she sprinkled salt over the runes. It fell in an unbroken line, crossing over the bloody symbols beneath.

It had to happen fast, so she couldn’t pause, but it also couldn’t happen too fast, or she might mess up the rune’s form. She’d never drawn this in any context other than for boredom-induced practice, but she couldn’t think of that. It might make her hand shake.

When the rune was done, the smell of gasoline faded. The bloody outline of the other runes turned gray, taking on the consistency of fine dust.

Angela let out a trembling sigh. One down. Dozens to go.

They continued down the hallway, Maya keeping up her light chatter. She was more pleasant about being distracting than Vex would have been, but it was better than silence. With the talking, Angela could almost trick herself into believing she was struggling with a project back in her office, rather than playing ‘red wire or blue wire’ with goddamn explosive runes.

She could almost forget that this situation was only happening because she’d gotten fucking lazy.

“Hey…” Maya put her hand on Angela’s arm. They had walked so far into the factory that they couldn’t even hear the sounds from outside anymore. “You okay?”

Angela stuffed her hands into her pockets. “Stop asking if I’m okay. It reminds me that this whole situation isn’t at all okay.”

“Got it. I’ll keep my concern internal.” Maya’s voice was as calm as usual. “You’re doing great, Angela.”

Angela let out a shrill laugh. “You can’t know that. You don’t even know what I’m doing.”

“We haven’t blown up yet, so I feel like that supports my conclusion.” Maya gave her a soft smile. “You’re handling this just fine. I can’t know for certain, but I think if Vex were here, she’d say the same thing.”

Angela was about to insist on the opposite. To say that Vex would be her usual mocking self, but Angela couldn’t make the words—the lies—go past her lips. Rather than taunt, Vex would see her exhausted, overwhelmed state and resolve its immediate symptoms by pushing her hair behind her ear.

Angela turned a corner, wiping her eyes under her glasses. “I don’t get why you care. You don’t even like Vex.”

“No one should suffer a fate like this, even someone I dislike. Even someone most people dislike. I’m not really the odd one out there.” Maya nudged Angela’s shoulder. “But I like you. No one makes you smile quite like Vex does. And since you also happen to be ridiculously in love with her, I can’t hate her too much. Even if she tries really hard to make me do so.”

The ache pressing around Angela’s heart expanded. It summoned a whole new wave of hypotheticals, none with pleasant conclusions.

“I haven’t told her yet. I wanted to, but… I’ve never said it before, and I didn’t know if it was too early.”

Her eyes stung and she stopped, shoving down the tears before they could fall.

“Stupid. I should have just said it. I don’t want to regret not having said it.”

By how Maya’s arms tensed, it looked like she was about to pull Angela into a hug but thought better of it. Instead of offering comfort that would just be dismissed, Maya smiled.

“You’ll get to. As soon as you’re both out of here, you’ll get to.”

Maya couldn’t be sure of that. There wasn’t any certainty to be found here, but Angela didn’t voice that fact. The flicker of hope in her chest, painful as it was, didn’t let her.

A faraway sound of running footsteps echoed down the hall. Angela stiffened, taking a step back.

“Did you hear that?”

Maya frowned. “Hear what?”

Angela stayed silent, listening. And hearing a quiet scraping of feet hitting stone. Not running anymore, just… moving. If she could hear it, Maya should, too.

Sam had said something similar. That someone snuck up on Drago. Though cloaking wards were a complex niche of the arcane, it wouldn’t be unlikely for a witch hunter to learn its basic tenets. Shielding yourself from otherworldly powers was simpler than deflecting mortal senses.

She’d just opened her mouth when a small, black canister bounced over the floor, directly towards them. A loud bang followed, reverberating down the concrete hallway, and thick gray smoke filled the space.

Angela’s eyes immediately watered. She pressed up against the wall, trying to spot movement in the gray mass that had just enveloped them.

“Angela?” Maya called out from somewhere in the smoke.

“I’m right he—” Her throat burned, starting a rattling coughing fit. Angela reached out her hand in the direction Maya’s voice had come from, when someone grabbed her wrist.

And yanked her forward.

She only managed a brief yelp before a hand was placed over her mouth. Sharp steel followed, pressing against her throat so hard that it split open her skin.

“Be quiet. Or I’ll gut both of you.”

Quinn’s voice. Whispering and hissing, right in her ear, and so unexpected that Angela couldn’t do anything other than freeze. At least not for the first few seconds, as Quinn dragged her down the hallway and out of the smoke. Further into the factory. Across however many traps she had made and which no one other than Angela could do anything about.

Quinn had threatened to kill her if she didn’t behave. But compliance would result in either the same thing or worse.

“Let me go!” Angela kicked at Quinn, barely doing more than flail as she was dragged around a corner. Quinn even lifted her slightly, as though to keep her feet from touching the floor.

“Not yet,” Quinn snarled. “Not until we get somewhere more private.”

Private? Angela had a fine idea of what private entailed in this case. Broken bones and screaming that would eventually turn into begging once it had lasted long enough. If killing her swiftly was the goal, Quinn could have slit her throat the second she grabbed her.

She could hear Maya calling her name, but her voice was fading. Angela tried screaming, barely getting any noise out before Quinn covered her mouth with her hand again. Between the thrashing, carrying, and watery eyes, Angela lost track of how many corridors they’d gone down in less than a minute.

By the time her vision had cleared, Quinn was all but lifting her down a set of stairs. A dark hallway waited below, and though it wasn’t based in any logic, the dread tightening in Angela’s stomach told her death waited at the end of it. Wherever Quinn was taking her, Angela had a feeling she wouldn’t be walking out again.

She had nothing to lose.

Pulling her head back, she twisted free from Quinn’s grip enough that Angela could bite into her hand. She cursed, slamming Angela against the wall so hard it knocked the air out of her.

“God fucking dammit!” Quinn closed her hand into a fist. She wasn’t bleeding, but by the pained look on her face, it had gotten close.

Angela scoffed. “What? You can dish it out but can’t take it? How typical.”

Quinn pressed the knife against Angela’s throat, using just enough force to make it sting.

“Be quiet. Otherwise those will be the last words you ever speak.”

Quinn looked furious enough that Angela believed her. But there wasn’t much difference between being killed now or in five minutes time, when Quinn had dragged her to wherever she wanted to act out her version of justice.

The time in the torturer’s cell had felt equally hopeless to this, but she’d found a way out then. After some time, and with a healthy dose of luck. She wouldn’t get either by staying silent.

“I can’t honestly believe you want me to be quiet. Not when you have questions that only I can answer.”

“There’s nothing you know that’s of value to me.”

“Isn’t there? How about the details of how I escaped you last time? I bet that keeps you up at night. Not knowing how a heretical witch with no formal training outwitted the almighty Inquisitors.”

Quinn’s grip on the knife tightened and the muscle in her jaw ticked. But she didn’t move otherwise.

“How?” she hissed. “We patted you down. You had nothing on you, including chalk, so how the hell did you get out of there?”

Angela glared at her, breathing shallow, but her gaze steely. “Let me go, and I might tell you.”

Quinn slammed her against the wall again, knocking her head so hard against the stone that her sight went spotty. She winced, using it as an excuse to inspect her surroundings.

She didn’t know where they were in the factory, just that they were on a lower floor and had gone down a set of stairs to get there. The stairs were still within view, a promise of escape just a few feet away, but the distance might as well have been miles. Otherwise, the hallway was dark, silent, and littered with broken furniture.

Except for the spot right by the foot of the stairs. The spot Quinn had all but lifted her over, as though to ensure Angela wouldn’t step on it. A spot only covered in a heavy layer of dust.

“You’re not in charge here,” Quinn said. “You’ve walked outside the laws for far too long. Have gotten away with too much, and that includes fucking that fiend you sent after us. That was a new low. Even with everything else you’ve done, I assumed you’d at least have some self-respect. You barely deserve the consideration of due process.”

A twisted smile eased onto Quinn’s face. “Let’s handle that right now, since you seem so impatient. Angela Norwood of the Court of Chains. You have been found guilty of heresy. Of collaborating with our enemies. Of fornicating with a being of Sin. The punishment for such crimes should end with you on a pyre, but not without being beaten bloody first. Or flayed, if I went the more traditional route. There are plenty of rooms in this place made for producing screams, and if I had my way, I would take my fucking time with you.”

She pressed in the knife. Something warm flowed down Angela’s neck.

“So tell me why. Give me a reason to make this swift. You’re too loyal to the Chains that they could have forced you, and you’re too clever to be tricked by them. If that Court was in control of you, they would never have let you walk around in here. So why did you choose them when you could have excelled with us?”

Angela eyed the spot by the stairs, hiding the glance by lowering her eyes. It was so far away and Quinn’s grip was like steel. She could feel her earned time slipping away, like sand between her fingers.

“I wouldn’t have excelled,” Angela said, twisting to the side. Quinn stepped with her, keeping the knife in place. But getting closer to the stairs. “Joining any of the covens would have held me back. I would have been confined by fucked up customs and expected to follow laws that became obsolete centuries ago, all in the name of tradition. If I had joined you, I wouldn’t have been allowed to excel. Or to innovate. Or to love who I want to love.”

Angela thrashed again, bringing them only a few feet from the bottom of the stairs. Quinn hadn’t noticed, too focused on what she was saying to realize how far they’d moved. Though she wanted to look to the side, to see just how much of a distance was left, Angela kept her eyes on Quinn’s.

“I think you want all those things, too. All the freedoms, all the choices. Everything your coven doesn’t allow. If you didn’t, then you would have no reason to hate me this much.”

Quinn stared at her. Eyes unfocused and maybe, for a second, uncertain. Then they filled with cold steel again.

“Unfortunate. If you had repented, I might have made this quick.”

The knife nipped into her skin, and Angela was about to throw herself towards the stairs and the smooth patch of concrete in front of it, when a blurry form of dark hair and sun-kissed skin sprinted into view.

Maya was on the stairs, having appeared almost out of nothing.

Quinn didn’t hesitate. Rather than continue pressing in the knife, she yanked Angela in front of her, holding the blade against her throat.

“Don’t move,” Quinn said. “If you come any closer, my hand might slip. We wouldn’t want to cause an accident.”

Quinn’s voice was even, though her hold was tight. She wanted Angela dead, but killing herself to accomplish it clearly wasn’t of interest. If she slit Angela’s throat, Maya would have no reason to keep from attacking.

Maya must have realized too, because her upper lip twitched. “You alright, Angela? Despite the shitty company?”

Angela was kept from answering by Quinn pressing the knife in harder. Maya closed her hands into fists, her unblinking black eyes fixing on Quinn. Who went tense under that gaze.

“Wait… You’re a… What the fuck?”

Quinn took a step back, pulling Angela further away from the stairs. The story of a day-walking vampire joining the Chains was still at the unbelievable stage. With the dawn coming in, Quinn might not have thought to defend herself against vampires.

“Maya, don’t,” Angela said, making use of Quinn being distracted and slipping her hand into her jacket pocket. “You being here isn’t helping. Just… get back.”

Maya’s dark eyes flicked to Angela’s, confusion filling them. Angela glanced at the floor and gave Maya as pleading a look as she could muster.

Maya’s presence was a distraction Angela really needed, but she couldn’t stay. She needed to run back the way she came, however the hell she’d even found that way without blowing up in the process. So Angela kept darting her eyes to the floor, hoping that Maya would understand what she was planning.

But of course she didn’t retreat. For a moment, Maya frowned. Then her eyes widened, and she took another step down the stairs.

Before Quinn could react to the advance, Angela grabbed a handful of salt from the pouch in her pocket, throwing it over her shoulder and right into Quinn’s eyes. She yelled out, hand going to her face by reflex and taking the knife away from Angela’s throat.

Angela threw herself towards the clear space on the floor, but Quinn managed to yank her back before she could make it all the way there. But she didn’t need to do anything more than touch it in order to bring devastation. Though it wasn’t by much, her foot had swept away some of the dust. Revealing a bloody line beneath it.

Eyes widening, Quinn started dragging Angela away. When Maya continued down the stairs, getting closer very quickly, Quinn cursed and shoved Angela to the floor before taking off in a sprint, rubbing at her eyes as she went.

“You fucking idiot.” Maya had crouched at Angela’s side rather than continue the pursuit, trying to get Angela upright. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“Never mind me, just go!” Angela shouted. “You can outrun it. You’re way faster than me, so if you hurry, you can—”

The smell of gasoline spiked. Angela ducked down, laying flat on the floor and covering her head with her arms as a deafening boom surged through the hallway. Maya leaned over her as a rain of concrete fell down around them, heat and dust enveloping the area.

For a few seconds, Angela was sure she was dead. She couldn’t move, her ears were ringing, and her vision had gone gray. Then she drew in an aching breath, dust and pebbles falling from her hair as she started coughing.

“Angela? Are you okay?” Maya leaned back, putting a hand on Angela’s arm. Her voice was even, seemingly unaffected by the explosion that had just gone off a few feet from them.

Vampires were hardy. Other than a few scratches on her dust-covered face, Maya looked unscathed.

Angela scoffed, though it turned into another cough.

“Told you not to ask me that.” She wiped dust off her glasses, removing the gray film from her vision. “I also told you to get back.”

Maya paused, hand still resting on her arm, before she sighed and chuckled. “That’s a weird way to show gratitude for saving your life.” She gave Angela a look. “Your blood stinks, by the way.”

“Wow, thanks.” She gritted her teeth as she sat up. Her chest felt like one big bruise, but miraculously, it didn’t seem like anything was broken or bleeding—other than the cut on her neck.

Angela winced, touching her throat. Blood trickled down, the texture grainy as it mixed with the dust. Her silver piercings turned it toxic, which vampires could apparently pick up on from scent alone.

But it wasn’t a significant injury. A nick more than a wound.

“Are you okay?” Angela asked. Maya offered a weak smile.

“Yeah. I’m good. I can take a beating without it affecting me too much. That’s why I ran after you. Your… Your blood smelled potent enough that I could track you, and then I just did my best to step where it looked like Quinn had stepped. Figured she wasn’t interested in letting you blow her up.”

Angela sighed. Vampires could survive things most couldn’t, but getting ripped apart by an explosion would be lethal to any creature. Maya clearly hadn’t considered that risk when she rushed in to help. Or maybe she had and just didn’t care.

Right as Angela was about to admonish her for that idiotic choice, a groan made her look towards the end of the hallway. Quinn was leaning against the wall, pressing her hand against a laceration splitting her forehead.

She glared at Angela, her gaze as cold and steely as before. For a second, it looked like she was about to move towards them, but then she swayed and had to grab the wall for support. Rather than advance, she stared at Angela for a few long seconds. Then she turned, limping around the corner.

She was gone. The danger had passed, at least the immediate danger, and Angela wasn’t alone in this ruin of a hallway. Miraculously, she was okay.

But she didn’t feel okay. The walls seemed to be shifting in closer and her mind was filling with static. It spread through her limbs, like her blood had filled with tiny thorns now pricking at her from the inside.

“No… No, not fucking now.”

Angela squeezed her eyes shut, as though blindness could stop this. Stop her breathing from picking up, her heart from racing. Stop her from shaking all over and stop the damned dizziness that made her body feel like it was spinning in place despite not moving at all.

This should have hit back in the office. Or after that first explosion. Or when Quinn had her pinned in place with a knife pressed against her throat. Though, maybe it had been there and had just been suppressed by circumstance. Unlike last time, it felt more like a dial being twisted than a switch getting flipped.

“Angela?” Maya grabbed her arms, holding on tight. Angela shook her off.

“Don’t touch me. I’m not hurt, it’s just a… just a panic attack.”

Saying it out loud only made it worse. Made the brain fog thicker, the tightening in her chest more constraining.

This couldn’t be happening. Not in the middle of a trap-ridden slaughterhouse, with Quinn probably making a run for it right then and there. Not when she might decide dragging an injured Vex along would slow her down too much to be worth it.

Get your shit together, Angela. Get your fucking shit together.

The sound of a heavy door slamming shut echoed through the building. Loud. And close. So close.

It might be nothing. Just a random door, or even her mind playing tricks on her. But her heart disagreed. Her heart insisted that noise meant the woman who’d helped her through this before was nearby. The woman who, if she’d been there, would sit right next to her until this passed, anchoring Angela in place with the touch of her little finger.

Angela took a deep breath, relieved that it actually exhaled sort of steadily. The tension in her limbs was still present, but it turned them stiff rather than frozen. Her thoughts could follow reason enough that she didn’t just stand up and sprint down the hallway towards the source of that noise.

It was one thing to beat Quinn using surprise and desperate measures, but this was different. The circle of a greater fiend was invaluable. It would be heavily defended. Without help, advancing would be pointless.

“We’re close.” Angela got to her feet, straightening her clothes. “But we need backup, so we have to make sure the Chains can follow.”

“Are you sure?” Maya asked, frowning. “You’re white as a sheet. If you need a moment—”

“We don’t have a moment.” Angela pulled the pouch of salt from her pocket, going towards the mostly ruined stairs. “I’m okay now, I promise. But we’re running out of time. And I have work to do.”

Chapter 46

Vex stared at the surveillance screens. Though they contained only static, the images they’d just shown had seared into her mind.

Smoke filling the screen. Quinn dragging Angela away, down a set of stairs. Pinning her against a wall, holding a knife to her throat. Then Maya appeared, a scuffle followed, and then an explosion…

The cameras had shut off after that, replacing the feeds with digital snowfields.

“Are they dead?” Eden was at the desk, staring at the screens.

She didn’t have the guarantees Vex did. Though the feed cutting off so suddenly had felt like a dagger piercing her heart, she could still feel Angela.

She wanted to go home. Wanted this to be over with. More than anything, still, she wanted Vex back.

Those desires were a frail assurance. One Vex could give Eden, which she shouldn’t even be thinking about doing. She should dangle the wished-for information right in front of her, using it to taunt rather than satisfy.

But Eden was shaking. Her eyes were filled with tears.

Vex gritted her teeth and pushed herself into a seated position. “Quinn’s alive. So is Angela.”

“You can’t know that. The explosion… I could hear it. Could feel it. And they were right in the middle of it.”

Vex’s jaw clenched. She only had guarantees for two people, and there had been more present in that hallway.

Maya had thrown herself on top of Angela right before the screens cut out. Seeing that should have sent Vex into a jealous rage, making her conjure up a hundred lies based on just seconds of information.

But all she felt was worry. Knowing Angela, she would have walked into this death-trapped building alone if she thought it would help. Maya could protect her when Vex wasn’t able to. Assuming she hadn’t been blown to pieces.

“If Quinn was dead, I’d be able to leave the circle.” Vex eyed its edge. Light shimmered deep within its grooves, as though the marks reached into the earth’s core. “I’m still stuck. She has to be alive.”

“Oh. Right.” Eden wiped her eyes. “That… That makes sense, I guess.”

Vex didn’t share her relief. Quinn being alive meant she could be advancing on Angela right then, wanting to finish what she’d started. Or she might be on her way back to the basement, stumbling inside at any moment and order Vex to follow as they ran. Would paralyze her with arcane agony when they drove off towards a new secluded location where Quinn could continue down this path of hatred she’d been shackled to.

Eden kept fiddling with the screens, trying to turn them back on. Then she looked back at Vex, eyes narrowed.

“I get why you know Quinn’s alive. But how do you know Angela is, too?”

Vex sighed, the noise coming out as a wheeze. “I just do. It’s the only thing keeping me sane right now.”

She could have known so much more. Her Envy was innate and embracing it was as easy as breathing. If she’d been of Wrath, she would have been able to sense Angela’s pain and know exactly how hurt she was. If she’d been of Lust, she would have known Angela’s emotions and whether she was relieved at being okay or terrified at the prospect of getting slowly crushed alive under slabs of concrete.

All she got was abstractions. And they did nothing to stifle the worry that had grown so painful it matched the still-bleeding wound in her chest.

“You shouldn’t be able to know,” Eden said, bafflement making her sound hesitant. “You shouldn’t care. This doesn’t… This doesn’t make sense.”

“You’re right. It doesn’t,” Vex said, smiling tensely. Even though she tried to keep it gentle. “You’re pretty sharp. Only makes it more curious that you’re still here, since you clearly don’t want to be. Even with your defensive necklace, that’s easy for me to tell.”

“I can’t leave. Quinn’s all I have. I’m all she has.” Eden gnawed on a nail, looking back at the static-filled screens. “This is what I’m supposed to do. Uphold the laws. Make the world safer, make it… better. The best way for me to do that is to do what I’m told.”

Vex had already seen that Eden didn’t really believe that. She seemed more than willing to break the rules, as long as doing so helped someone else.

That mindset didn’t fit an Inquisitor. Eden having been born into their ranks and still turning out like this meant she was either far more formidable than her frail presentation would suggest, or that someone had messed up her schooling. Made her kind rather than cruel. Taught her to tie knots and play cards instead of hating the world and everyone in it.

“Can I ask you something?” Vex said, waiting until Eden gave a miniscule nod. “What do you want?”

Eden paused. Then she shrugged. “I don’t know. No one’s ever asked me that.”

“You can consider it now. There’s no end to what someone like you can experience. Joy and sadness. Peace and chaos. Love and heartbreak. For the longest time, I despised people like you because I could only see all the selfish things they wanted. I thought that was all humanity could be, but it’s far more complicated than one Sin can determine. I have a feeling that, if you got to do what you wanted rather than what other people decided, the world would be a safer place. A better place.”

Eden stared at her, confused. Either from hearing Vex say those words. Or maybe just from hearing them at all.

“Why are you saying these things?” Eden whispered.

“Because you should know your options. We’re both bound to your sister, in different ways. Unlike me, you have the choice to walk away.” Vex smiled, managing to keep the tension out of it. “I’m jealous, really.”

Eden hugged herself, eyes lowering. She stepped away from the desk and sat next to Vex’s circle again.

“Can I ask you a question?” she said, leaning closer when Vex nodded. “If you could walk away right now… What would you do?”

Kill Quinn. Wreck the Inquisitors and all they stood for. Tear apart everything that had ever threatened the woman she loved more than should be possible.

They were all honest desires. But they paled when compared to the single, all-encompassing need that had become a near-permanent ache in her chest.

“I’d find Angela. Make sure she’s safe.”

Vex shoved aside the grief that snaked into her mind. Angela was alive. That was a fact. She couldn’t entertain all the speculations surrounding it without feeling like she was drowning.

“I only met her a couple of times,” Eden said, “but… she seemed nice.”

Vex chuckled. “Then she must have liked you. She rarely bothers with being nice.”

Eden’s smile came back, a little bigger than before. Then the armored door to the cellar swung open, the old hinges groaning under its weight, and Quinn staggered inside. She was covered in dust, blood running from her forehead, and she groaned in pain as she barred the door shut.

Eden was on her feet in seconds, hurrying towards Quinn, but Quinn didn’t even look her way. She hurried towards the back of the room, wiping blood off her face as she pulled open the metal hatch.

“Get your things. We’re leaving.”

Eden’s relieved expression fell. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, we’re leaving,” Quinn snarled. “This place is compromised. The Chains have gotten way too close, so we have to go while we still can. Regroup and come up with a new plan.” She gestured at Vex. “Get over here.”

Vex’s body started moving without her wanting it to. She winced as she tried to push herself upright, but her hand slipped on the ichor, nearly making her fall.

Quinn muttered out a curse and started towards the circle.

“Never mind. I’ll just drag you out of here myself.”

Vex glared at the advancing witch, a part of her wishing Quinn had sustained some internal bleeding that would make her drop dead before she made it halfway through the room.

She got the next best thing. Eden moved in front of her, blocking her way.

“Why, Quinn? If everything is really so awful, we can run. Just the two of us. Start over somewhere else, away from all this mess. You don’t need her.”

“It, Eden.”

“She’s not an it! Does she look like an it to you?”

Quinn’s eyes flicked to Vex, her gaze filled with nothing but disdain. It softened when she turned back to Eden.

“These aren’t your thoughts. This is what they do; they tempt and they manipulate. Fiends can’t be trusted, Chains fiends even less so.” She ran a hand over her face. “I shouldn’t have left you alone in here. I figured the fiend was too injured to do any harm, but I was clearly mistaken. Just remember your lessons. Remember why we’re doing this.”

“I don’t know why we’re doing this,” Eden said sharply. “I don’t think I’ve ever known, actually. I don’t understand why you’re so dead set on continuing with this when all it results in is pain and suffering. Why you can hate someone, so much, with no real reason. So explain it to me, Quinn. Why are we doing this?”

“Because we have to!” Quinn yelled, and Eden flinched back. “What the Chains are doing is unnatural. It’s dangerous, and it’s infectious. Right now, they’re confined to a small area, but what happens when their corruption spreads? They’ll choke us out. Subjugate every man, woman, and child until the entire world is kneeling for them. That pain and suffering you’re so worried about will only worsen unless they learn their fucking place.”

Quinn pointed at Vex. Eden didn’t look her way. She just stared at Quinn, eyes teary again.

“I lost you a long time ago. Didn’t I?” Eden said, voice trembling.

Quinn didn’t answer. Her eyes were hard, her jaw set. Looking ready to grab her sister by the arm and drag her away by force if she didn’t fall in line voluntarily.

Perhaps Eden saw that, too. She stepped back, unsheathing the knife she’d put on her belt, and hurried towards Vex. She kneeled next to the circle and, with only a second of hesitation, slammed the blade into the concrete.

It wasn’t a forceful strike. But it didn’t need to be. A piece of the circle chipped off, and a sudden rush went through Vex’s body. A burst of unrestrained power, hitting like a jolt of electricity that made her arms shake and the scarlet in her eyes grow luminous.

The shadows stretched towards her, painting the stone floor in streaks of black. They melded with the pool of ichor beneath her, making it look like the circle that had just been her cage was swallowed by pure darkness.

Gritting her teeth, Vex got to her knees. She hadn’t managed to stand before, but then, only arcane shackles had been yanking her forward. Now, verdant motivation pulled her to her feet, making her muscles obey when exhaustion should have ensured they couldn’t.

Wheezing, swaying, and with black blood still dripping onto the floor, Vex stepped out of her broken circle.

Quinn’s face went white. She moved forward, hand outstretched. “Eden, get away from—”

Vex darted to the side, intercepting Quinn’s advance. The sudden movement brought searing pain with it, and it was a miracle that she didn’t fall over. But the terror in Quinn’s eyes kept her standing.

Vex glanced over her shoulder, seeing Eden standing a few feet away. She’d dropped the knife and her face was wet with tears.

But she was looking at Quinn rather than Vex. More afraid of her sister than the demon she’d just unleashed.

Vex looked back at Quinn. “Don’t worry, witch. I made a promise not to hurt her.” She grinned. An inky black smile that resulted in ichor dripping onto her shoes. “But I’ve made no such vow about you. Take one more step, and I’ll prove how wise it is to fear fiends.”

Vex would like nothing more than to wipe this woman from existence. She’d hunted innocents, tortured them, and would continue to do so until someone forcibly stopped her.

Had the circumstances been different, Vex would have assured that outcome herself. If Eden hadn’t been watching this, Vex would have used her last energy reserves to rip Quinn apart. To bind her in otherworldly darkness, letting her suffocate with only shadows for company.

Instead, she used it to stay standing, guarding the rift that had just been carved between the two sisters.

The door handle rattled, and voices sounded outside. Only a few at first, but then an ocean of them. Quinn stayed in place, eyes flicking between Vex and Eden, terror and shock filling them rather than the anger that had been there before.

At least for a moment. Then they filled with steely determination.

She snatched up one of the duffle bags and jumped through the metal hatch. She didn’t look at either Vex or Eden when she closed it, metal grinding against metal as it was locked from the other side.

As soon as Quinn was gone, Vex fell on all fours. An awful chill needled into her skin, starting at her fingertips and spreading through her veins until it felt like her body was turning to ice.

She’d pushed herself too hard. She had no strength left, having used the last of it to ensure Quinn stayed at a distance.

The room was fading. Her body was turning cold. Consciousness was ebbing away, and not even lying down to rest could help her now.

“What’s wrong?” Eden had appeared at her side, sounding further away than she should, given that her hand was on Vex’s shoulder.

Her protective amulet saved her then. In this state, Vex’s body was so desperate for energy it would have tried to get it in any way it could. Even by stealing the life of the girl who’d just freed her.

Not every witch was like Angela, capable of making defenses that could stay active for months. Eden was only an apprentice. Hers might only work for a few hours at a time.

“Get… back…” Vex shoved Eden’s hand away, and the effort it took made her arm give out beneath her. She rolled onto her side as her sight turned first blurry and then black. “Just… stay back. Please stay back.”

She kept whispering those words. At least she hoped she did. The world had vanished, as the last bit of infernal energy drained out of her, being replaced with a piercing iciness that shot through her like cracks across shattering glass.

For humans, passing out was supposedly peaceful. But greater fiends weren’t humans. If they ran out of energy and didn’t get to a safe place where they could properly rest, their bodies invoked the state by force. An unconscious stasis made of ice and hellfire.

She’d only experienced it once. When Dominic had ordered her to steal information that didn’t exist, and he’d gotten so furious that arcanely summoned agony hadn’t sufficed as punishment. He’d bled her dry, leaving her to suffer in painful nothingness until he needed her again.

It had taken days. When she’d woken up, she was on a cold stone floor, watching that weasel of a man seal the ichor she’d lost into labeled vials. There was no reason he couldn’t profit from disciplining her.

She had felt no satisfaction from waking up. No joy or relief, because what was the point of wanting either when her life wasn’t hers? When she had to suffer an existence framed by nothing but pain and hatred?

When there hadn’t been gentle hands touching her face?

“Vex, please wake up,” Angela whispered. “Please. Please, you have to. You have to wake up.”

“I don’t know what happened,” Eden said, her voice frightened and shaky. “She just stopped moving. But she said something about sleeping, before. Maybe that’s what this is?”

“She’s cold.” Angela’s voice broke. “No, she’s too cold. And she’s not breathing. If she was sleeping, she would be breathing.”

There were footsteps. Some running, some shuffling. One set, approaching.

“We have to take the girl outside,” a male voice said. “She was with the Inquisitors. We can’t trust that she won’t—”

“Fuck off,” Angela snapped. “Does she look like a threat to you? Go do something useful and leave us alone.”

Her hands hadn’t left Vex’s face, and the touch burned through the icy stasis. Brought warmth rather than heat, confirmation rather than speculation. There were few things more vitalizing than being near this woman, and her presence momentarily made Vex forget that heaven wasn’t real.

“You’re here…” A sigh more than a whisper. The hands holding onto her tensed.

“Vex? Vex, can you hear me?”

She forced open her eyes, seeing nothing but blurry figures. People rushing back and forth, dark gray walls, and a pale face framed by blonde hair and black glasses.

Vex smiled, putting her hand on top of Angela’s. “You found me…”

Her sight focused slowly, letting her take in more of the scene. Angela was kneeling by her side, hair covered in dust and her throat red from blood.

“I’m okay,” Angela said quickly. “It already stopped bleeding. I’m fine, I promise.”

Vex’s attention drifted, finding Maya standing a few feet from them. Tense and covered in scratches, but otherwise unharmed. Eden was there too, nearly leaning against Angela and hunching like she was trying to make herself look smaller.

“They’re alright,” Angela said. “Everyone’s okay. Other than a few scrapes, no one’s been hurt.”

Vex stared at her, not understanding. She’d only been able to consider the immediate circumstances until this point, but the cause of them was still a mystery.

“How…”

Angela pulled the jade bracelet from Vex’s pocket. The one she’d snuck under the Norwood Christmas tree all those weeks ago. Angela turned it over, showing a bloody engraving on the back of the clasp. A tracking rune.

“I couldn’t tell you what I was doing. Quinn would have found out.” Angela wiped her eyes, creating wet streaks in the dust still on her face. “You told me you could transform small objects when turning into shadow. I theorized the same rule applied when you were summoned back to a circle.” She took a sharp, uneven breath. “I hoped. I hoped it was the same.”

Vex chuckled, though the noise came out wheezing.

“That bracelet was supposed… to be non-utilitarian.” Her vision was turning blurry again. The pain was everywhere, alongside the exhaustion. Alongside the confusion. “But I still don’t… I don’t understand… how…”

Angela’s eyes glinted. She leaned down, pressing her lips against Vex’s. A light touch, as subtle as the tremor that went through her body, noticeable only because she was still cupping Vex’s face.

“No one’s allowed to take you away from me. Even if you were kept at the end of the earth, I would never have stopped trying to get you back. Never.”

The earnestness in the words soared through Vex’s chest. Warm, pleasant, and honest most of all.

What had she ever done to deserve the attention of this impossible, beautiful witch?

“You found me.” Vex pushed her fingers under Angela’s, and she understood what Vex wanted, holding onto her tight. “You really found me. You’re really here.”

She couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice. The wonder. Angela had wanted Vex back, not for the power she could grant, or the prestige involved with defeating an enemy. She just wanted Vex. With all the care, determination, and kindness that she’d fallen in love with.

Angela was saying something, but Vex couldn’t make out the words. The room was fading, consciousness slipping. Not towards that cold, painful place she’d been in before, but a safer state. One she could only fall into because Angela’s fingers were still intertwined with her own.

For the first time in her entire existence, and with Angela’s floral scent flowing around her, Vex closed her eyes and let herself drift into sleep.

Chapter 47

The bedroom was dark, courtesy of the blackout curtains. Since Angela mainly slept during the day, they were a necessity, but they also made time intangible.

Sometimes, she would blink, and an entire day would be gone. Other times, it felt like she’d been lying in bed for hours when only minutes had passed. Hiding under the covers, with Vex sleeping next to her, fingers curled loosely around her own.

Vex was technically supposed to be in the high-rise. Natalya had even said so before they started back towards Chicago, but she’d taken one look at Angela clutching Vex’s hand and had changed her mind.

Vex needed rest and safety. Angela could give her that. If she wasn’t allowed to do so, she would probably have spiraled by now. Several uncertainties had fused to her mind, as though thinking about them hard enough would let her control their outcome.

Quinn was still out there somewhere. She had traced Vex’s marks onto now-destroyed parchment before making the circle, suggesting she couldn’t draw them from memory. But that wasn’t a guarantee.

No Inquisitors, or even coven-affiliated arcanists, had been seen within a hundred miles of Chains territory for the past week. But they might just be biding their time.

Vex being unconscious for several days was supposedly a good thing… But it felt like the complete opposite.

Midnight’s head shot up, eyes locking on the bedroom door. Just as Angela refused to leave Vex, the cat refused to leave Angela. It spent most of its time lying at her feet, tail wrapped around her leg.

Someone knocked. “Angela? You awake?”

She almost ignored the question, hoping that Sam and all that worry in her voice would go away. But then Midnight jumped off the bed and scratched at the bottom of the door with an intensity suggesting she wouldn’t stop until she was let out.

Giving Vex’s hand a light kiss, Angela fumbled for her glasses on the nightstand and moved through the dark bedroom, opening the door an inch.

“I’m awake. Something wrong?”

Sam’s answer got stuck for a moment as her eyes flicked over Angela’s face.

“Kind of. There’s a problem, and I just… It’s Eden.”

Angela opened the door further. Since Eden didn’t have anywhere else to go, she’d been brought back to Chicago. And, just like Vex, she was supposed to be in the high-rise but had wound up in Angela’s house instead. Mainly because the girl had turned shock white when she’d first seen Natalya and hadn’t calmed down until Angela requested Eden stay with her.

She hadn’t thought further than that. She knew nothing about children, or how to take care of them. Sam had come to the rescue, clearing Angela’s spare room of clothes, so Eden had somewhere to stay when they got back to the city.

“Is she okay?” Angela asked.

“She’s fine. Or, she isn’t, really. Nothing happened to her or anything, but she’s… off.” Sam lowered her voice. “She’s asking for you.”

Angela leaned back. “Me? Why?”

“She won’t say. Unless it’s a response to a direct question, she barely talks. She barely does anything, other than go through your books. A few days ago, I mentioned that you like to do research, and she’s been reading ever since.”

Angela looked over her shoulder, seeing Vex still lying unmoving. Just as yet another worry started settling in her body, taking the form of painful tension, Midnight pushed past her feet and trotted over to sit at the top of the stairs.

She sighed. She would only be gone for a few minutes. Vex wouldn’t disappear in that time frame. She wouldn’t.

“I’ll talk to her.” Angela closed the bedroom door, giving Sam a weak smile. “How do I look? Presentable?”

Sam actually winced. “Sure, but… maybe clean your face before coming downstairs.”

“Thanks a lot,” Angela said with a scoff. Then she nudged Sam’s arm. “Seriously. Thank you. For the help.”

Sam smiled too. “No problem. Thank you for asking.”

Sam’s advice about cleaning up was more than warranted. Inspecting herself in the bathroom mirror revealed just how wrecked she looked. Her hair was unwashed, the clothes wrinkly, and there were purple bruises under her eyes.

While Vex had spent the past week unconscious, Angela had barely slept. Part of her was afraid that if she was left alone, Vex would vanish in a whirl of fire, and that irrational fear was easier to suppress when she was within line of sight.

The consequence was that Angela hadn’t talked to Eden since they got back. She’d asked if Sam could make sure she was taken care of, and since Drago had gotten back on his feet in record time, she’d accepted.

Sam wasn’t the only one who’d been asked. Maya had helped too, even more than Sam. The only reason she wasn’t there presently was because she’d been requested for a job out of town; something she would have declined if Angela hadn’t insisted she go. She’d been acting strange ever since they got back to Chicago and being stuck in the city with no one to talk to was making everything worse.

After splashing some water in her face and cleaning her glasses, Angela went downstairs. Sam was cooking in the kitchen, while Eden was at the desk, leafing through a yellow-paged book.

There were other things on the desk, too. Brought from her office, since it was currently missing the defenses that had protected this research. Vials of the ichor concoction, as well as some blank steel amulets. The one Angela had completed had eroded, due to the circle going inactive.

Eden also had a guest. Mouse was keeping her company, nibbling on the page she was reading.

“Staying busy?” Angela asked as she approached. Eden immediately shot to her feet, head lowered.

“Yes, Ms. Norwood. Your apprentice said I could read if I wanted to, so I… I assumed I was allowed.”

She was standing so painfully straight she looked like a soldier called to attention. Brows furrowing, Angela pulled a chair next to Eden’s and sat down.

“It’s allowed. But calling me Ms. Norwood isn’t. Angela is fine.”

Though it took a few seconds, Eden sat down again. She was still stiff as a board, and she kept her eyes lowered, only occasionally daring a glance in Angela’s direction, meaning she didn’t notice the dark shadow under her seat.

“Be nice,” Angela warned, as Midnight eyed Mouse still sitting on the table. The cat paused its hunting attempt, tail flicking back and forth, before jumping onto Eden’s lap.

She yelped in surprise, which Midnight ignored. The cat settled down, glaring at nothing, right until Eden started petting her. Then she let out a begrudging purr.

“I didn’t know you had a familiar,” Eden whispered. “She’s cute.”

Angela scratched Midnight between the ears. She hadn’t really wanted to dwell on that possibility, but there was a limit to how much evidence you could ignore. Familiars chose their arcanist, not the other way around, and she wasn’t entirely sure when Midnight had decided to establish that connection.

Like so many other things, Angela couldn’t imagine being without her now. The thought brought back unwarranted worries again, and she quickly shook them from her mind.

“It’s new. And unplanned. Familiars have to choose you, so they’re hard to expect.” Angela smirked. “By the look of it, she’s about to switch allegiances.”

Eden immediately stopped petting Midnight, who meowed in annoyance.

“That was a joke. I make those sometimes,” Angela said, cutting off the panic in Eden’s eyes before it could settle. Angela eyed the stack of books on the desk. “You’re a fast reader. And a varied one, too, by the look of it. What made you focus on…” She lifted the cover of the open book, “‘The Alchemical Preservation and Preparation of Dandelion Root?’”

When Eden’s cheeks pinked, Angela gave her a soft smile.

“Do you even know what dandelion root is used for?”

Slowly, Eden shook her head. “I was taught to just follow the recipes. I didn’t need to know how they worked. Or to ask questions.”

“Questions are very welcome here. Dandelion root actually has many applications, if you’re curious. It’s used for sleeping charms and tonics, and for conducting rituals that communicate with the dead. If prepared just right, you can even use it to tell the future.”

Eden’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Sort of. The future is malleable. Trying to predict it is pointless in most cases, since one minor change can undo all your calculations. But people try anyway.”

She looked back at the stairs, a knot tensing in her stomach. If she didn’t consider divination an exercise in futility, she would have conducted every ritual she knew of to figure out when this waiting would be over with.

Vex hadn’t opened her eyes since they got her out of that basement. But her skin was no longer scalding. Her breathing no longer wheezing. Just slow enough that Angela sometimes feared it had stopped entirely.

Eden fidgeted in her chair, earning herself a raspy meow from Midnight. She purred when Eden started petting her again.

“Is your fiend feeling better?”

“Vex isn’t my fiend, she’s… Well, perhaps she is mine a little bit. Just not in that way.”

Eden bit her lip, as though to hold back a comment. Angela staying quiet made it slip out.

“I’m not used to them having names. I was always told to call them by their Sin and nothing else.” Eden shrugged. “Being called Envy doesn’t really fit her, though. She was kind to me. So I suppose Vex doesn’t fit her either.”

“Spend more time with her, and you’ll see that it fits pretty well.”

Angela tried another smile, though she struggled to get it into place. Eden must have noticed, because she lowered her head again.

“Do you know when she’ll wake up?”

Angela drew in a shallow breath. She had an answer, supported by multiple sources. Her own research, Natalya’s experience, and Drago having already healed from his injury presented the exact same conclusion. One she couldn’t rest in, no matter how much she tried.

Drago’s wound had been a graze compared to Vex’s. Natalya had once dealt with something similar, but she’d woken up after just a few days. And in all the studies Angela had read about fiends, none of them said that they could sleep this long. There wasn’t an explanation for this week of nothing, and she didn’t have Vex around to keep her thoughts from sprinting in terrible directions.

“She’ll wake up soon. Her injury was pretty serious, so… She needs a little more time.” Angela rubbed her eye. It felt itchy suddenly. “I also, uh… I want to thank you. For giving me that chalk and… for freeing Vex. That must have been scary, especially since you didn’t have any guarantees that you would be safe.”

“I wasn’t safe with Quinn either. It just took me a while to realize.” Eden wiped her nose, sniffling. “I should have tried to stop her sooner. Or I should have been more convincing. I keep thinking of all the things I could have said that might have changed her mind. That might have kept all this from happening.”

Angela recognized the look in her eyes. Guilt and shame, spawning from the feeling of not doing enough. Of falling short of expectations no one had set other than yourself.

“You aren’t being blamed for this, Eden. In fact, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t even be sitting here. If you hadn’t helped Vex, a lot of people would probably have gotten hurt.”

“They would be dead. Quinn said so. She wanted to get you first, because that would make breaking the rest of the Chains easier. I don’t even know who convinced her she needed to do so. The only thing Quinn shared about the guy who hired her was that he had personal history with someone among the Chains.”

That didn’t really narrow it down. Almost everyone among the Chains was fleeing from something, be it persecution, injustice, or simply themselves.

They had plenty of enemies. Some were just more tenacious than others.

“They got her, you know,” Eden whispered.

“Who did?”

“The Inquisitors. I overheard that scary lady with the violet eyes talking to Sam about it. Quinn went back to them, wanting support to move on the Chains, but they arrested her instead.”

Her face went blank. If she hadn’t still been petting Midnight, she could have been mistaken for a statue.

“They’ll put her through retraining. Break her down and put her back together in a way they like. If she didn’t have our last name, they’d probably just execute her, but… the Heliots have a legacy. We have responsibilities.”

Eden turned towards the desk, moving carefully as to not bother Midnight still in her lap. “I should get back to studying.”

She had relaxed as they talked, but now she was tense again. And she was reading with an intensity that couldn’t be blamed on interest.

Angela pulled her chair closer to the table. “Eden, why are you reading that book?”

She kept her eyes fused on the page. “Sam said that you’re a researcher, and… you brought me here. I should be useful to you.”

“You think I only brought you here so you could be useful to me?”

Eden stayed silent. An answer in its own right.

Shaking her head, Angela shut the dense tome Eden was reading and pushed it away.

“It’s true that I mainly do research, but that doesn’t mean you have to do the same. You can pick whatever specialty you like, and I’ll figure out relevant lessons for you. Or you can pick no specialty at all. I won’t make you do something you don’t want to do.”

Eden blinked, looking confused. “I can do whatever I want?”

“Not whatever you want,” Angela said with mock sternness. “I’d like you to practice the basics so you can keep yourself safe. And other things are important too, like education. There are some decent high schools around here, if you’re interested.”

Eden’s face lit up. “I can go to high school?”

Her excited tone broke Angela’s heart a little. Her schooling had come from the coven she was born into, keeping her isolated from the world. In fact, she’d probably never been around kids her own age.

“Of course you can. We can look into it once you’re more settled in.”

Eden was positively beaming. It was the first time she’d smiled without it looking hesitant, and it brought a shine to her eyes. Beautiful eyes that had shoved her down a path she hadn’t been asked if she wanted to follow.

Then Eden’s gaze drifted to the side, and her joyous expression stiffened. Midnight looked in the same direction, eyes wide and pupils narrow. Seeing how tense both of them suddenly were, Angela turned in her seat to see what they had spotted. And froze.

Vex was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Chapter 48

Vex hadn’t made a noise. Not even a creak on the staircase had revealed that she was approaching, and if Eden hadn’t clearly seen her too, Angela would have thought she was hallucinating.

Vex was wearing the clothes left for her in the bedroom. Dark jeans and a black t-shirt. She was paler than usual and leaning against the railing, her hand resting against her side.

But her eyes weren’t red. When a fiend was tapped of energy, the color in their eyes always changed to scarlet. But Vex’s were pure green. Lush like forest leaves.

“What are you looking a—” Sam stopped mid step, staring at Vex and getting completely ignored in return. Vex’s eyes were on Angela, an odd shine playing in them. Not neon, but a strange glittering.

Sam’s mouth opened and closed a few times, before she coughed and looked towards the desk.

“Hey, Eden… I’m going on a walk. Why don’t you come with?”

Eden glanced at Angela, and it prompted her to finally move. She shot to her feet, turning away from the stairs.

“Yeah, that’s… That’s a good idea.” Angela bit her cheek when her voice started shaking. Waves of confusing, contradicting emotions crashed through her, shifting between relief, fear, and guilt, all of them fighting to take up the most space.

Though Eden didn’t quite look at ease, she lifted Midnight off her lap and followed Sam out. Mouse went too, running right past Midnight, who ignored the critter in favor of staring at Vex.

Angela wanted to do the same. Wanted to run over and hug Vex tight, just to ensure she wasn’t a cruel imagination. But now there were things to do. If Angela did what she wanted, she would be too much of a mess to complete any of it.

“You’re awake.” She swallowed, forcing her voice to stop trembling, and started gathering up the things on the desk. “It took longer than expected. My research suggested it would only be a few days before you’d be well enough to wake up, so it’s good to know there are outliers.”

She swiped at her eye, catching a tear as she stacked everything in her hands and carried it towards the stairs. Chalk, parchment, a blank steel amulet, and a vial of the ichor concoction. But having her hands full meant she had no way to dismiss the tears, so she hid them by lowering her eyes.

“I figured it out, by the way. The fiend-binding amulets. I think so, at least. I had Sam bring all the necessary components from the high-rise, so they’d be ready for when you woke up. The office isn’t really safe at the moment and—”

“Angela.”

Her name, said so softly, made Angela choke on her own voice. She raised her eyes from the floor.

Vex was smiling. A slight, relieved smile, exactly matching the soft tone she’d just used.

Angela looked down again.

“It… I haven’t tested it yet.” Her voice trembled. Her breathing did the same, every inch of her body feeling at the edge of shaking. “I only had one successful attempt, and until I can recreate it, I can’t be sure if it works. I should have done trials before you woke up, so we could know if—”

Vex pulled her close, scattering everything she was holding onto the floor. As though it meant nothing at all when compared to wrapping her in an embrace that felt like it was made of pure warmth. Made of pure affection.

“I was afraid I would never see you again.”

The sting in Angela’s eyes grew into a burn, tears following immediately after. Those suppressed emotions—the relief, the fear, the guilt—hit her so forcefully that she couldn’t resist them. Not when Vex had just voiced the terror she’d almost been suffocated by herself.

Angela couldn’t help it. She took off her glasses, buried her face against Vex’s shoulder, and cried. It started out quiet, but transitioned into sobbing as Vex sat on the bottom of the stairs, bringing Angela with her and pulling her onto her lap.

“This was all my fault,” Angela said, voice muffled by Vex’s t-shirt. “I should have worked faster. If I had done more, then none of this would have happened. I should have worked faster.”

“You did what you could. You did far more than anyone else would have been able to do.” Vex held Angela closer, sighing into her hair. “You saved me before you even found me. I was ready to give up. I would have. But because of you, I had hope when I wasn’t meant to have any.”

That just made Angela sob even harder. She never cried like this, but she’d also never experienced a sense of loss like when she saw Vex burn away right in front of her. There was no guarantee that the same thing wouldn’t happen again. Someone might steal Vex away, making her vanish in a hellish inferno that arcane tricks couldn’t bring her back from.

But that worry grew distant with Vex’s arms around her. When she could feel Vex breathing by leaning against her chest. Feel her warm skin under her hands.

Vex leaned back, though not enough that their bodies separated in any meaningful way. She brushed back Angela’s hair, running her fingers over the side of her neck.

“No scar. No bruises.” Her voice shook on the last word. “Did Sam fix that?”

Angela nodded, and Vex’s shoulders tensed.

“I’m so sorry. In your office, I didn’t mean—”

“I know you didn’t. It wasn’t your fault. There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

Angela caressed Vex’s jaw, looking for signs of discomfort or weakness. Finding none. She wasn’t as pale as before and her irises were so deeply green Angela would probably get lost in them if she kept staring at them.

“Your eyes… They’re green, but… they’re supposed to be red.”

Vex’s brows furrowed, scanning Angela’s face and pausing on the faint emerald glow that probably shined on her skin. Then the confusion faded from Vex’s eyes, the glitter within them growing brighter.

“You’re right. They should be.” She ran her thumb over Angela’s cheek, wiping away her tears. “You stayed with me. Didn’t you?”

Angela couldn’t help but give in to the tears again. Rather than start crying with Vex staring at her, she hid her face against Vex’s neck so she could at least pretend no one could see.

“I didn’t know what else to do. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know how.”

“You did help. Without even meaning to. You may not be aware of just how special you are, but the rest of the world knows. I know. Just being next to you fills me with more strength than a thousand desires could provide.”

Vex’s fingers smoothed out the fabric of Angela’s shirt. “I think the only reason I woke up now was because you were gone. Having you near me was the only way I felt safe enough to sleep.”

Her lips brushed over Angela’s temple. If Angela turned her head and tilted it up, their lips would be touching. She was about to do just that, when a raspy hiss made them both turn, revealing Midnight standing by the stairs, ears flat as she stared Vex down.

Vex offered the cat an apologetic smile. “I know. My behavior was unacceptable. I’m sorry to you, too.” She held her hand towards Midnight. “You were very brave. You did the right thing, defending your witch.”

Midnight kept glaring for a few more stubborn seconds before abandoning the grudge. Her ears prodded back up, and she nuzzled against Vex’s hand, accepting the offered head scratches.

Midnight walking over drew Angela’s gaze to the floor, her work scattered all over the place. She grabbed Vex’s t-shirt, holding on so tightly the fabric would have torn if Vex had tried to move away.

“I made it work,” Angela said quickly, putting her glasses back on. “The amulets. I figured it out, right before… I know how to make them now. Your idea of using ichor was the missing piece.”

“My idea?” Vex said with a laugh. “I’d argue that you’re giving me too much credit, but I think it would be pointless.”

“Shut up,” Angela muttered, making Vex laugh again, and the noise shot a flare of simultaneous ease and terror through Angela’s chest. Ease at hearing that familiar sound. Terror at the thought that it might vanish again.

She picked up the dropped piece of parchment from the floor. “I just need one last thing to make it work. I need… I need your binding marks.”

Vex cocked her head, eyes narrow. “I was passed out. Why didn’t you just take them?”

“I wanted to. I really wanted to, but… you didn’t say I could.” The parchment rattled, betraying that her hand was shaking. “Please. If you don’t mind.”

Vex paused for a long moment, though it didn’t seem like it was doubt making her hesitate. If anything, the glint in her eyes came from wonder rather than suspicion.

“Just don’t be upset if it doesn’t work,” Vex said, accepting the parchment and drawing out the marks. Angela picked up a blank amulet from the floor.

“I won’t need to be upset. It will work.”

She moved further in on Vex’s lap, copying the symbols from the parchment to the steel. Going back to the desk or even sitting on the floor would have provided a better working surface, but the thought didn’t even occur to her until she’d already drawn the marks. She put the amulet on the stairs, dripping some of the ichor mixture onto the chalk outline and doing her best to dismantle the doubts snaking into her mind.

The mixture could have lost its potency, but that would be easy to remedy. Since she was pretty exhausted, she might have copied the marks inaccurately, but some sleep could fix that. And lastly, mainly, the one successful amulet she’d made might have just been a fluke that she could never replicate.

She didn’t have a solution for that one.

Her doubts didn’t get further than that, because then fire bit into the chalk. Burning into the steel, filling out the symbols inch by inch. The grooves shined with an orange light, flickering as though filled with candle flames. Flames that briefly brightened when the circle closed in on itself. And didn’t extinguish.

Vex stared at the amulet. Shock filled her eyes, her mouth dropped open, and only then did Angela realize that Vex genuinely hadn’t believed this would work.

Freedom was an unknown concept for greater fiends. They were formed by arcane energy, made to feed compulsions and temptations without care or control, as both characteristics were supposed to be in the hands of the people who’d bound their powers. Fiends having command of them was impossible.

The Chains had proved that untrue, both the control and care aspects. But no end of practice could grant true freedom, not when there was always a risk that someone would rip them back into servitude.

That risk was cut off now. Bound by fiery lines, illuminating the amulet Vex was now staring at as though it were a fallen star.

“Did it… Did it work?” Angela asked when Vex didn’t speak. “Do you feel different? Do you feel anything?”

“I don’t feel different. But I do feel something. A sort of… severance. Not like a loss, exactly. More like I was stuck in a net and now it’s gone.”

Vex picked up the steel disk, holding it tight. “There are no other amulets like this. Are there?”

Her tone was even, her posture stiff. Such an odd reaction that it took a moment for Angela to summon a response.

“No. Just this one.”

“That would make me the envy of every fiend in existence. I possess a peace they can only dream of. That isn’t supposed to be within reach.”

Vex turned to Angela, eyes wide with wonder.

“I should be thinking of ways I could keep this from the world. Or of ways to show it off, so I can ensure everyone knows I possess what they can’t have. But I’m not. I’m just trying to figure out how to share this with as many people as possible.” A hint of eagerness shined in her irises. “How many can you make?”

“As many as needed. As many as there are people who want it.”

“Everyone will want it. Assuming it works as it should.” Vex turned the amulet in her hand. The fiery glow cast golden light onto her skin. “Tell me to do something.”

Vex’s voice was quiet. Hopeful. Scared.

The control afforded by an arcanist’s binding circle was absolute. If Angela had messed this up, then the amulet wouldn’t be the sanctuary she’d intended. It would just be another prison.

She had thought of this concern only practically, not considering just how much trust it required. Though she’d diluted it with ichor, fueling the circle with Vex’s life essence as much as her own, she’d still used her own blood to make the circle.

Despite the seriousness of that realization, Angela barely had to think before she came up with a request.

“Kiss me.”

Vex stared at Angela, her eyes glinting green. Then she put her hand on Angela’s jaw and drew her close. Giving her such a light, perfect kiss that Angela sighed when it ended.

“Did I make you do that?”

“No. I just did what I wanted.” Vex dropped the amulet on the floor. “You impossible, marvelous woman.”

Their lips met again, harder than before. The tears were flowing faster than ever, but fuck the tears. To wipe them away, Angela would have to let go of Vex, and there was nothing she wanted more than to maintain this embrace forever.

She could, now. The amulet meant she could. That she could rest in the moment and know it wouldn’t be brutally cut off by the hatred of outsiders. There was just one thing that would make it a little better.

“I need to tell you something,” Angela whispered. “A secret I’ve been keeping.”

Vex smiled, and it was all too familiar. Teasing and satisfied. The smile she always wore when she knew something Angela didn’t.

“Can I tell it first?”

Angela frowned. “Uh… sure.”

Vex’s smug expression faded, the glint in her eyes being replaced by something else. Something softer.

“You are a treasure. Impossible in all the best ways. I don’t know what fate got twisted that all this was allowed to happen, but I’m grateful it did. I admire everything about you; your stubbornness, your impatience, your provoking comments. Your intelligence, your determination, your kindness. You are so much more than I deserve. More than I ever dreamed I could have.”

Vex placed a light kiss at the corner of her mouth. “I love you, Angela.”

Angela gaped. It was one thing for Vex to act nice, but this wasn’t acted. It was far too genuine. The airiness filling Angela’s mind far too pleasant.

Then she realized the context of what Vex had just said. She chuckled, hitting Vex on the arm.

“Asshole. You stole my secret.”

Vex rested her forehead against Angela’s. “I’d like to hear it, anyway.”

Angela sighed, feeling that last hint of tension evaporate from her body. Dream-like calm washed over her, making her feel so light she might have floated away if Vex didn’t have her arms around her.

“I love you, too.” Angela smirked. “But you’re not getting a speech.”

Vex hummed, tightening the embrace. “I don’t want a speech, angel. I just want you.”

Chapter 49

The energy in the Norwood household was different than usual. Where Angela’s parents would normally spend a weekend afternoon going on walks or preparing for whatever local event they were helping with, now they were both at the dining table. All but flanking Eden sitting between them.

“You start by putting the sage in cold water,” Eden said, gesturing at the pouch of leaves on the table. “Then you bring it to a boil, adding the garlic and clove afterward.”

“And then the salt goes in?” Joel asked. Eden shook her head.

“You have to strain the water first. Then you add the salt.”

She glanced at Angela sitting across from her, getting an affirming smile in return. Sanctified salt was a staple of the arcane, being the baseline ingredient for all things Alchemy. But while it was simple to make, its potency could only increase with practice.

Angela found that teaching was one of the best ways to improve.

“That’s incredible!” Molly said, making Eden’s cheeks turn pink.

“It’s nothing special. It’s pretty easy, so it’s the first thing arcanists learn to make.”

“It is special,” Angela said. “Eden is very talented, and she studies hard, too. Her teachers are giving her nothing but praise.”

Eden’s blush darkened, but she smiled as both Joel and Molly started cooing compliments at her.

Her parents had been told everything, in the same blurting way Angela had told them difficult things before. Eden was partly the reason she’d shared, as Angela couldn’t come up with a suitable lie for why there was suddenly a teenager living in her house.

But Vex was to blame, too. She’d pitched the idea. Had even gone with Angela when she went to talk to them about it.

Their only reaction to hearing about her being a witch, about Court, about Vex’s nature, was to give Angela a hug. They were relieved more than anything. They had known she was hiding something, and had just hoped she would eventually share it with them. Other than a few clarifying questions, they hadn’t had comments.

Mostly. Angela had brought Eden by the house a few times now, giving her parents a whole new arsenal of conversations they didn’t realize were awkward. Eden smiling through mild embarrassment whenever she visited was becoming a trend.

“Are you settling in well at school?” Molly nudged Eden’s arm. “Any nice boys in your classes? Or girls?”

Angela groaned. “Mom.”

“What? What did I say?” Molly put a hand over her mouth, eyes widening. “Oh. I’m sorry. Any nice, uh… people in your classes?”

Angela rubbed her temples. The issue with the question wasn’t necessarily the phrasing, but that Eden’s face had turned beet red.

“School is fine. My classes are fun, and the teachers are really nice.” Eden lowered her eyes and picked at the end of her braid. “I’m helping my English teacher, Ms. Mayhew, with a school fundraiser next week. She seemed pretty overwhelmed with everything, so I offered to give her a hand. There’s a lot to do, apparently.”

“Molly and I can help out, if you want,” Joel said, making Eden quickly shake her head.

“No, you don’t need to. You probably have other things to do.”

“Nonsense!” Molly reached over the table, caressing Angela’s hand. “We always had so much fun with Angela’s school fundraisers. We used to bring baked goods for the volunteers. Cookies can help anyone’s mood.”

Eden looked down. “It probably would, yeah. I wish I could do that, but I don’t know how. I’ve never made cookies before.”

“What?” Joel said, stopping himself from shouting. He never raised his voice other than for purposeful exaggeration, but loud noises made Eden flinch. Molly and Joel kept their voices low as a result.

“That is completely unacceptable. We’re fixing that, right now.” Joel marched off into the kitchen, muttering to himself as he put out bowls and cooking trays.

Molly put her hand on Eden’s arm. “He takes baking very seriously. You’ll be here for a while if you indulge him.”

“I, uh…” Eden bit her lip as she looked over at Angela. “Do you mind? Can we stay a little longer?”

Angela smiled. Eden had gotten better about not asking for permission every time she did something, but she still needed assurance occasionally.

“Of course. We aren’t in a hurry.”

Eden beamed, following Molly into the kitchen, where Joel had already set up workstations.

Angela stood by the kitchen door, watching Eden follow Joel’s instructions with keen attention. She was still tense around most people, but the Norwoods were slowly becoming exceptions.

As the kitchen took on the pleasant smells of a bakery, a hint of smoke mingled with it. Arms went around Angela’s waist, pulling her back a step and making her lean against someone firm and warm.

“When did you sneak inside?” Angela asked. Vex placed a kiss on her cheek.

“A few minutes ago. Your parents are far too trusting and didn’t block the door.” She put her mouth by Angela’s ear. “And maybe I wanted to surprise you.”

“Do I seem surprised?” Angela leaned further into Vex’s arms. “You creeping around is par for the course. I’d be more surprised if you weren’t doing that.”

“You haven’t told me to stop, so I don’t see a reason to.” She spun Angela around, smiling down at her. “And you were busy relaxing. Didn’t want to interrupt such a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Angela put her arms around Vex’s neck, whispering, “Fuck you.”

Even if her smile hadn’t softened the statement, the kiss that followed would have accomplished it just fine. The company meant she kept it somewhat chaste, but the hours that had passed since she’d gotten one like it made it last longer than intended.

The past few weeks had been packed for both of them. Vex was still being disciplined and was frequently out of the high-rise, and though her being away several hours every day wasn’t great, the time apart made these reunions all the sweeter.

Angela had plenty of work to do, too. While the fiends at Court didn’t take up a high percentage of their members, there were still a lot of them. Vex had been the only one with a fiend-binding amulet at first, followed by Natalya and Drago, and then the rest trickled in after that. Angela had spent so much time making the amulets over the past few weeks that she could probably do it with her eyes closed at this point.

Vex glanced into the kitchen, smiling with tease as she pulled Angela a few feet away from the door.

“I actually need to ask you something.”

Angela kept her arms hooked around her neck, fingers toying with the ends of her hair. “Sounds serious.”

“It is. You’re quite the precious thing. Precious things need to be protected. I’d like permission to do so.” She glanced at Angela’s neck. “From what I heard, you’re the person to talk to about crafting an amulet that allows such protection. One with a Court ceremony attached.”

Angela’s heart skipped a beat, and her playing with Vex’s hair was put on pause. But only for a moment. Then she pursed her lips, looking away as she played with Vex’s shirt collar.

“That ceremony is for humans who can’t protect themselves from supernatural attention. Witches are exempt. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“It isn’t just for protection. It’s a statement. I want everyone to know that I’m the only one who can bother you. If anyone else tries, there will be consequences.” She pulled Angela closer. “And… getting to say ‘you’re mine’ whenever I want would be pretty nice, too.”

Angela’s eyes drifted to the amulet hanging around Vex’s neck. The steel pendant rested against her skin, the glowing marks facing away from watching eyes. Since the day Angela had made it, Vex hadn’t taken it off.

That wasn’t the case with most of the other Chains fiends. The amulet didn’t stop working if it wasn’t worn, so most people kept them hidden somewhere. Natalya wore hers the same way Vex did, but that was for necessity. It was easier to believe that an arcane invention was safe if your Regent was wearing one.

But Vex wore hers seemingly just to show it off.

“So… You want a Chains pendant?” Angela teased her finger over the back of Vex’s neck. “What color?”

“Silver, obviously. But it’ll be some time before I’m allowed to have one of those. For now, a purple one will do.”

Angela nodded, putting on a contemplative expression. It held back the smile that really wanted to slip onto her face.

“You know… I would love to help you with that, but there’s just one problem. You need to have been with the Court for at least half a year before you can apply for a Chains pendant. How long have you been a member? About three months?”

A flash of bright green went through Vex’s eyes. She dragged Angela into the hallway, away from potential witnesses, and pushed her against the wall.

“You are testing me, angel,” Vex whispered, her voice nearly becoming a hiss. Angela gave up on containing her grin.

“Really? How odd. That doesn’t sound like something I would do.”

She grabbed Vex’s t-shirt, pulling her close enough that her body pinned Angela’s in place. That their lips were only inches apart.

“With this issue, I’m not the one you need to convince. One of the Regents needs to approve it before I can make a pendant for you. But Natalya likes me more than usual at the moment. If you ask nicely, I’m sure she’ll approve your request. Once time allows her to.”

“It’ll be months,” Vex muttered. Angela laughed.

“And since when do you struggle with patience?”

“Since when do you not?”

“Since you snuck your way into my life.” Angela brushed her lips over Vex’s. “Pendant or not, I’m still yours. You’re still mine. If you ever thought otherwise, you’re being an idiot.”

Angela expected Vex to throw out a comment of her own. Or to close the last bit of distance between them. To take the kiss being offered and push it further than before, now that her parents weren’t able to witness it.

But Vex just stayed in place. Smiling now, with no mockery in it at all.

“What?” Angela said, narrowing her eyes. Vex brushed a lock of hair away from her forehead, settling it behind her ear.

“Nothing. You’re just confusing. Every time I think I’ve figured you out, you do something that enchants me all over again.”

“You’re laying it on a little thick,” Angela said with a chuckle. Vex muted the noise by pressing her lips against hers, the kiss soft enough that it worked like a sedative.

“No, I’m not. I swore I would never lie to you again. This is just me being honest.”

If her kiss was a calming agent, then those words were hits of pure euphoria. Wrapping around Angela like a heavy cloud, filling her body with such a deep warmth that couldn’t just be blamed on proximity to Vex’s infernal body heat.

Angela put her hands on her face, pulling her close. “You are laying it on thick. But I didn’t say I minded.”

She smiled through the kiss that followed, and as always, she was a little surprised at how easy this was. She was used to things being difficult. Using a mix of stubbornness and diligence was how she’d always dealt with her problems, and since it had become such a reliable solution, she had forgotten other ones existed. Ones that didn’t involve her seeing every moment not working as time wasted.

There was nothing being wasted now. Not when her family was chatting in the kitchen, or when the smell of burning sugar filled the air, or when Vex touched her like this. There was nothing she should do with those moments other than savor them.

She had several ideas on what to work on once this current project was over with. Easy ones as well as difficult. But she hadn’t decided yet. She wasn’t in a rush, either. After all, when distracted by the feeling of Vex’s lips pressing against her own, it was hard not to rest in the peace of the present.

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In The Getaway, Vex and Angela get some much needed time to themselves as they celebrate Valentine’s Day, and for them, the most romantic time of the year involves both well-crafted surprises and painfully laid plans.

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Acknowledgments

This book was difficult. Not just because Angela and Vex were tricky to work with, but because this story turned out to be incredibly personal. This is the first project I started after publishing Kiss of Seduction in 2024, and the journey to the finish line was far from easy. I doubted every paragraph and every hour I spent not working felt wasted.

Sometimes, you have to learn the hard way where your limits are, and this past year taught me just that. I wanted to be a machine, but machines don’t write human stories and those happen to be my favorite ones.

Thank you to my incredible beta readers, Louise, Katie, and Nyx, for helping me with this story when I was completely blind to its strengths and weaknesses. And a huge thank you to L and E, who calmed me down when the only thing I could feel was doubt. If it weren’t for you, this book would still be stuck in the drafts.

To my fellow workaholics. You’re not a failure for needing breaks. Resting is a crucial part of being productive.

Rawnie Sabor

Want to Read Sam and Drago’s Story?

Get more information about the arcane covens? Learn more about Maya? Check out Wrath and Patience!

Nothing can quell the rage of a Wrath demon. Save for the orders given by a sweet, fledgling witch.

Life hasn’t been easy for Sam O’Connor. A past filled with mistakes and tragedy means she prefers hiding rather than risking malicious comments and stares. Weird and awkward as she is, being invisible is far safer than bringing attention to herself.

But despite her best efforts, danger has paid her interest. When she receives an invitation to an elusive Summit—a gathering of wicked witches and warlocks, with grim and secretive plans—she agrees to attend the event as an undercover spy for the Court of Chains. She just won’t be going alone.

Drago’s fury knows no bounds. As a greater Wrath fiend, his rage is limitless and nearly impossible to control. Pain is a sensation reserved for his victims, just as calmness is a completely foreign concept. That is until an awkward apprentice witch requires a bodyguard, and suddenly the laws of his very existence are put into question. Because under the patient instructions of Samantha O’Connor, Drago feels nothing but impossible peace.

‘Green-Eyed Monster’ Music Playlist

Burn Your Village by Kiki Rockwell

Diabolical by NYXX

Oxytocin by Billie Eilish

Hide and Seek by Klergy feat. Mindy Jones

SHE by Winona Oak

Scatterbrain by Emei

Don’t You Know by Jaymes Young

Lucifer by Elle Lexxa

Apex Predator by Otep

THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND by Bad Omens

EAT SPIT by Slush Puppy feat. Royal & the Serpent

Blood by In This Moment

Religion by ZAND feat. Shurk

Half God Half Devil by In This Moment

Even If It Bleeds by DeathbyRomy

Link to Playlist

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