“Yes.”
The word hung between them. Simple. Devastating.
“How long?” Ramona asked. “How long do we have after the binding breaks?”
“I don’t know. It might not be long.” Zara’s voice was carefully controlled. “The pull will be immediate. Once the binding dissolves, Hell will recall me. That’s how it works.”
“Can you… refuse? Even for an hour?”
“Not without consequences.” Zara’s thumb traced circles on the back of Ramona’s hand. “I’m still employed by Hell. Still bound by my contract with them. The accidental summoning gave me temporary leave to be here, but once that’s resolved?—”
“You have to go back.”
“Yes.”
Ramona felt tears threatening. “This whole time, we’ve been planning to break the tether. To free you. And all we’re doing is sending you home?—”
“Sending meback.” Zara’s voice was soft. “Not home.”
Ramona felt the sharp sting of tears threaten at the edges of her eyes. She looked up into the night sky, blinking quickly.
“I don’t love that,” Ramona said, her voice sounding a bit choked.
Zara’s hand came up to cup Ramona’s face. “But that doesn’t change the reality. I’m still a demon. Still bound by Hell’s bureaucracy. Still obligated to return when summoned.”
“So we just… break the curse, you disappear, and that’s it?”
“That’s not it.” Zara’s voice was firm. “We break the curse. Your magic gets fixed. You get to be the person you were always meant to be. And I—” She stopped, swallowing and pausing for a moment as if to compose herself. “I go back to where I belong.”
“Will I ever get to see you again?” Ramona asked.
“I want that very much,” Zara said, and Ramona caught that her answer wasn’t ayes.
“How?”
“I don’t know yet.” Zara’s thumb wiped away a tear on Ramona’s cheek. “But I’ll find a way. Even if it takes months. Years. A lifetime. I’ll find you again.”
“I could start being really terrible and get sent to Hell,” Ramona offered with a small laugh, wiping at her nose.
“You broke into full-body hives just taking the jar of lunar water from work, Mortal,” Zara teased.
“I can change. I could… start a family vlogging channel and profit off my children. I could… start telling people I vote for fiscal reasons. I could light Thornwood Academy on fire. I’m willing to really, you know, fuck some shit up,” Ramona challenged.
Zara laughed, her fangs on full display. “I don’t want you to come to Hell. Besides, no one ends up there as a surprise. Only willing souls are bound to Hell.”
“How can I be a willing soul, then?” Ramona asked.
“I don’t want to entertain that,” Zara said flatly.
“I’d do it. I can give you my soul, and that way?—”
“Ramona, we’ll find another way.” Zara’s voice was firm, final.
Ramona chewed on her lip, leaning into Zara’s warmth. “You can’t promise that.”
“Yes, I can.” Zara’s voice was certain. “I’ve had three hundred years to understand Hell’s bureaucracy. There are loopholes. Technicalities. Ways to request reassignment or extended leave. I just need time to navigate the system.”
“Time we won’t have together.”
