“Satanas, what are you doing here? In this mortal realm?”

  “Who is speaking? Name yourself.”

  “Answer my question, what is your goal here?”

  “To bring this mortal realm under my rule.”

  “Lies, Satanas, you only speak lies, is it revenge that you desire?”

  “Revenge against Bleu? I couldn’t care less about some petty revenge, I just need anything and everything that could stand in my way, out of the way.”

  “Then what are you here for?”

  “Would I ever lie about putting this realm under my rule? I’m the only one out of my sisters to not be a fallen angel.”

  The void stretched endlessly in all directions, a white infinity that pressed against the eyes like staring into the sun too long. Hoshimi stood at its center, his violet eyes fixed on the thread of light that extended into nothing, pulsing with that slow, rhythmic heartbeat.

  “Everyone’s dying.”

  "I know."

  “Why aren’t you waking up?”

  Hoshimi's hand drifted to his chest. Beneath the fabric of his shirt, beneath the skin and muscle and bone, something pulsed.

  He didn't answer immediately. The thread pulsed. Once. Twice. Three times. Each beat sending a tremor through the void that he felt in his teeth.

  “I will.”

  “But sometimes I wonder if my only purpose is to ever be a tool, maybe Reina knew about and only took care of me because of my reincarnation. I mean but she always did seem to care, but… it could as well be a mask.”

  His lips twitched. Not a smile. Something less. "I've been following orders my whole life. Reina's orders. The Academy's orders. The government's orders. But maybe I am just a puppet, believing that I’m in control of my own life. That’s what makes me a good tool, isn’t it? I don’t even question them."

  Hoshimi looked at his hands. They were steady. They were always steady. "I don't know anymore. Maybe this is all I am. Maybe Reina built me exactly the way she wanted, easily controlled."

  The thread pulsed brighter.

  He closed his eyes, breathing in hard.

  “Why am I even thinking about Audrey? Is it guilt? Maybe it’s disappointment.”

  "Maybe that's all I'll ever be. A weapon. A puppet. A monster wearing a human face."

  He stared at the light for a long moment. Then, slowly, he reached out and wrapped his fingers around it.

  The world snapped back into existence with the violence of a rubber band breaking.

  Hoshimi's eyes flew open. His lungs seized, then expanded in a gasp that burned. The ceiling above him was white, fluorescent, real in a way the void hadn't been.

  He was in his dorm room. Bed. Desk. Window showing a sky that flickered with unnatural colors, gold and crimson and something darker, like spilled ink catching light wrong.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  The door was open.

  Reina stood in the doorway.

  For a moment, neither of them moved. Reina's ginger hair was a disaster, half-falling from its usual ponytail, strands sticking to her forehead with sweat. Her gold eyes, usually sharp with amusement or annoyance, were red-rimmed in a way that had nothing to do with smoke. Dark circles carved hollows beneath them that made her look a decade older.

  Her hands were shaking.

  She didn't say anything. She just crossed the room in three steps.

  "You stupid fucking brat," she whispered into his shoulder. Her voice cracked on the last word. "You stupid, useless, goddamn brat."

  Hoshimi didn't move. Didn't react. Just sat there with Reina's arms around him, her fingernails digging into his back hard enough to draw blood through his shirt.

  "I've been standing here for hours," she gasped. "Hours. Watching you sleep. Watching all of you sleep. And I couldn't do anything. I couldn't wake you up. I couldn't-" Her voice broke entirely. “You’re not supposed to scare me like that, that’s my thing.”

  Hoshimi stared at the wall.

  [Maybe she doesn’t see me as a weapon, maybe I really am wrong.]

  [I don't know.]

  [I don't know how to do this.]

  Hoshimi’s hand slowly, hesitantly and settled on the back of her head. His fingers threaded through her tangled hair, and he just... held her there.

  "I'm awake," he said. His voice came out wrong.

  The sounds of battle filtered through the window, distant explosions, screaming, the crackle of magic, but in this small room, there was only the sound of Reina's breathing slowly steadying.

  Finally, she pulled back. She grabbed his face in both hands, squeezing his cheeks hard enough to hurt.

  "Before my job, before my position, I am your mother, you hear me?" she said. "I care about you, you little shit. I hate you. Both of those things are true." Her grip softened slightly, her thumbs brushing against his cheekbones. "And if you ever make me stand over your bed for hours again wondering if you're going to wake up, I will kill you myself. Understood?"

  "That seems counter intuitive."

  "Don't get smart with me." But her grip softened. Just slightly. "How do you feel? Any residual effects? Headache? Nausea? Any sort of lust for me?"

  "I feel fine." He paused. "Tired. But fine."

  Reina studied him for a long moment, her gold eyes searching his face for something. Whatever she found there, she didn't share. She released him and stood, brushing off her knees with hands that still trembled slightly.

  “Liar.”

  “I feel a little weird here and there, but I’m doing fine.”

  "We've got a situation out there." She gestured vaguely at the window. "Rogue witches. Lots of them. They hit us with a coordinated assault.”

  Hoshimi stood, testing his legs. They held. "How bad is it?"

  Reina pulled out a cigarette, caught herself, and shoved it back in her pocket. "The Zenith took out our heavy hitters. Sophia's still down, but we’re doing fine, it's just that I’m getting tired."

  "We've got maybe ninety percent of our combat-capable students awake and fighting. The rogues have numbers, coordination, and apparently unlimited ammunition. We’re doing fine, in fact we’re pushing them back."

  Hoshimi moved toward the door. Reina's hand caught his arm.

  "Hold on." Her grip was iron. "You just woke up from a Zenith that had you unconscious. Your mana's probably destabilized. Your head's probably spinning. You need-"

  "You’re lying," Hoshimi interrupted, "you didn’t say anything about Neila and Dominic not being here, that was to prevent me from going out there, isn’t it?"

  Reina's eyes narrowed. "That's not a request, Hoshimi. That's an observation. You're in no condition—"

  “It’s bad out there isn’t it?”

  “Yep.”

  “How many?”

  “How am I supposed to know? I’m not a computer, but we’re definitely losing, the students, the instructors, they’re all dying.” She paused. “Listen to me.. I’ve told you about being ready to risk your life, but this isn’t a mock battle, you and Sophia are my children, the only people that I care about.”

  "I'll be careful," he said.

  "That's not-" She laughed, a broken sound.

  "I know." He reached up and covered her hands with his own.

  "You better." Her voice was rough. "Or I'll find a way to bring you back just so I can kill you myself."

  "That's the second time you've threatened that."

  Hoshimi moved toward the door.

  "Hoshimi."

  He paused.

  For a long moment, Reina just stared at him. Then, slowly, a smile spread across her face. Not her usual teasing grin. Something sharper. Something that looked almost like pride.

  "That's my pookie."

  She released his arm and stepped aside.

  "Courtyard's the main front. They're trying to push through to the main hall. We've got students holding a defensive line near the fountain, what's left of it anyway. But there's something else." Her expression hardened. "You have experience with a rogue named Malachite don’t you? She’s here, I want you to deal with her.”

  Hoshimi's eyes narrowed.

  “The one me and Audrey fought?”

  "The very same. She's been picking off students one by one, using that sludge form of hers to slip through our defenses. We've lost at least a dozen to her already." Reina's jaw tightened. "I'd deal with her myself, but I've been stuck here playing babysitter for the sleeping beauties."

  "You want me to kill her."

  "I want you to try." Reina met his gaze. "If things get dangerous, it’s not shameful to run. Not that I need to tell you that.”

  Reina studied him for another long moment. Then she reached out, grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled him into a brief, brutal hug.

  "Bastard," she whispered.

  She released him and stepped back. “I’ll stay here, I can’t leave your sister here alone, even if she is the strongest witch.”

  "Go."

  Hoshimi went.