Tessa was far too tired to make her own coffee. This wasn’t anything unusual, but normally she blamed her choice on preference; ordering from a coffeehouse meant more variety, and likely a higher quality drink. Today, while that was still the case, Tessa opted to buy her morning caffeine mostly due to sheer exhaustion.

She was terrified that Imani knew more than she was letting on. If she did, would she tell the Coven? Tessa was already in massive trouble for keeping the truth about the Gate from the Headmistress, and she expected that harboring supernatural creatures would be just as bad, if not worse.

She’d thought back to all her past conversations with Imani, picking apart every tiny comment and look they’d traded, and eventually decided there was no way to know for sure. All Tessa could do was hope that the other students had kept their mouths shut, and that Imani wasn’t smart enough to piece together all the clues.

Focusing on the potential threat Imani represented had only kept her up a few hours, however. Despite everything she knew, and everything she believed, Tessa had spent a large chunk of the night pouring over her notes on the Purgatory circle under Lysander Hall. She’d been furious at Amara for nearly knocking down her door and floating crazy ideas about Chloé still being alive, but in the end, it was hard to deny how desperately she wanted Amara to be right.

In her desperation, she’d burned through an entire notebook trying to puzzle out a combination of runes that might explain Amara’s sighting. As the floor around her desk filled with the crumpled remains of torn-out pages, however, her diagrams grew less detailed. The lines lost their clarity, the symbols became unreadable. The tattered remains of the notebook now sat in her trash can, saturated only with long, miserable smears of tear-stained ink.

Her thoughts drifted back to those pages every few minutes, wondering if she’d missed something or overlooked some crucial detail. It was hard to think on such little sleep, sadly. She slouched back in her chair as she watched the door, waiting both for the barista to finish her order and for Nick to arrive.

What about my knife? Chloé was holding it when the portal closed, maybe she—

“Tessa?”

A hand grabbed Tessa’s shoulder, and she jerked forward in surprise. The chair squeaked as it slid across the floor, and she gasped before looking up at Nick.

“Fuck!” She shouted, grabbing the table.

“Hey, easy there, Tess,” Nick whispered. “It’s alright, you just zoned out for a bit. Here, I got your coffee for you. Looks like you need it.”

Nick gently placed Tessa’s coffee down in front of her, and she sank back into her chair. “Oh, um… thanks, or whatever.” With a heavy sigh, she reached for her coffee and raised it to her lips. It was hotter than she liked, but she welcomed the distraction, even if it burned a little.

“Late night?” Nick asked, sitting across from her.

“…Something like that, yeah.”

“Please tell me you didn’t stay up all night.”

“I mean, not all night.”

“Tess, how late were you up?”

She buried her nose in her scarf before averting her eyes to the table. “Probably got like, an hour of sleep. If that.”

Nick took a slow sip of his drink before setting it down again. “You want to talk about it?”

“It’s fucking Amara, she nearly busted down my door yesterday with this crackpot theory about Chloé still being alive and I just… I know she’s wrong, it’s so obvious. But, at the same time, I wish I could be wrong for once.” Tessa gripped her coffee tight, nearly crushing it in her frustration. “…I wish she were still here.”

“What did you tell her?” Nick asked.

“That she’s a fucking idiot and she needs to get over herself and accept that she’s not the only person that misses her,” Tessa hissed.

“Did you actually?”

“…No. I should have, though.”

“I’m not sure that would have been helpful,” Nick said, sliding a hand across the table before resting it on Tessa’s wrist. “I’d hate to see Amara blow up at you.”

Tessa finally looked up at Nick, meeting his gaze. “Pun intended?”

“Only if it makes you laugh,” he said with a soft smile.

A quiet, reluctant chuckle passed Tessa’s lips, and she repositioned her arm to properly hold Nick’s hand. “We should probably head out. Coven’s got some plans on the quad today.”

Nick nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

The two of them bundled up again, politely nodded to the barista, and pushed out into the cold winter air. Tessa tried to distract herself by explaining what Coven Head Tsopnang had planned today, and why they were asking all the students to help out. She appreciated the chance to talk about something other than Chloé, and it was hard to deny that a few hours of mindless labor might be a welcome change in pace after spending a night pouring over her Purgatory notes.

They were approaching the final crosswalk before campus when they were approached by two strangers. The man was slightly shorter, with hunched posture and short gray hair, while the woman stood a few inches taller, her own long hair still fighting to retain its light-brown appearance.

“Excuse me, you two! Are you students here?” the man asked.

“Um, yes?” Tessa said, casting a confused look at Nick.

“Perfect, perfect. See, we were hoping you might be able to help us out. Our son is a student here, and we haven’t heard from him in a while.”

Shit. They better not be looking for one of the cult members.

“Well, what’s his name?” Nick asked.

“You wouldn’t happen to know Daniel Baker, would you?” the man asked. He held up a hand to indicate height. “About this tall, brown hair, glasses.”

“I’m sorry, that doesn’t sound familiar,” Tessa said, shaking her head.

The woman seemed to remember something, then leaned closer to her husband. “Oh, Stephen, he might be telling people his name is Chloé, remember? He’s still going through that phase.”

Tessa’s eyes went wide as she spoke through gritted teeth. “I’m sorry, you’re Chloé’s parents?”

“Yes! Do you know him? We’ve been trying to get in touch with him, but he keeps ignoring us! He’s been acting so strange ever since he came to this godforsaken school. We’ve got half a mind to pull Daniel out if this keeps up!” the man said, stepping closer to Tessa.

Nick reached out to grab Tessa’s shoulder, but she barely noticed his presence. She began recalling every terrible thing Chloé had ever shared about her parents, about how much she’d hated living at home. Her breathing picked up, and it took every ounce of effort she had not to flare up her magic and try to toss them into the street.

“Chloé is happier here than she’s ever been!” Tessa shouted, stepping closer. “She’s pouring her heart and soul into this campus, and the further she gets from you, the better!”

The older man gasped, her eyebrows furrowing in rage. “Young lady, how dare you—”

“Oh, how dare I?!” Tessa said, jabbing a finger into the older man’s shoulder. “NO! You don’t get to fucking lecture me about manners, when you’re the people that refuse to see Chloé for who she is! You’ve done nothing with your lives but make her miserable, and if she’s not talking to you, it’s your own fucking fault!”

Chloé’s mom tried to speak up next. “We love our Daniel with all our heart, and we only want what’s best for—”

“Then prove it! If you want to do what’s best for Chloé, you’ll walk the fuck away! You are never going to see her again!” Tessa’s voice began to break as she shouted at the older couple, releasing every ounce of hate she’d ever felt over the years she’d known Chloé. They were both left speechless, and the older man looked at Nick as if to plead for a second opinion.

Nick took a deep breath before speaking, his words uncharacteristically chilling. “She’s not here. Go home.”

Without bothering to see if Chloés parents heeded Nick’s advice, Tessa spun around and started walking away. She couldn’t hear Nick following her, and when she turned a corner to continue running off, she saw he was still trying to convince the older couple to leave. Rather than continuing their journey to the quad, Tessa skirted around the edge of campus, angrily walking with no real destination in mind. Before long she found herself running, tears in her eyes, as memories of Chloé’s last moments resurfaced.

She finally stopped at an ancient, elegant manor situated near the edge of a forest preserve. Only days earlier, her Coven had brought her here to interrogate her about the extent of her failures, but now she had nowhere else to run. Everyone and everything on campus reminded her of Chloé, and she needed to escape.

With a quick flare of magic, a hidden bell just inside the front door began to chime, signaling her presence to anyone and everyone inside.