Rory's at my side in the next moment. "So, this looks..."

"Bad? Yeah."

Desdemona shakes her head. "Tiana, you could've just stayed dead. To think that now I have to kill you all over again. Tsk. My Kammie doesn't deserve to suffer that way."

"She's not yours! None of us are!" Rory yells.

A sour look crosses Desdemona's face as she regards Rory. "And you. You in particular should be long dead. Let's remedy that."

Desdemona doesn't lunge for Rory. Instead, she floats off the ground. Vague memories of what happens next burn through my mind. All that power. How it felt.

I grasp Rory and blink us away as a torrent of red, sparking aether burns against the concrete where we stood a second prior. We appear ten feet away from it, but even from here the heat of it is oppressive.

"Hmph! Impressive, Tiana! I guess you're not useless, after all," Desdemona says.

She touches down again, examining the field of raw aether drifting gently off her form. "I always wondered what it would be like to wear this. Did you?"

"You've been inside my head. You tell me."

Desdemona shakes her head, humming. "I don't think you know yourself well enough to tell me."

I feel the smallest flash of indignance at it, only to remember what it was like being connected to Desdemona instead of Kam. I've been inside her mind, too. Feeling her rage when Kam baited her gives me an idea.

It means going away, but I know and love Kam. I trust her with this.

Three homes. My apartment, the hideout, and now here. I'm beginning to think I'm cursed. Lis springs from the bed at the blast, darting a few feet away before she catches herself. Still groggy, I try to stand up and can't.

I settle for sitting down and catching my breath.

"You okay?" I ask Lis. She nods.

"Yeah. Sounds like it's kicked off," Lis says, chuckling nervously. "How're you?"

"I'm good, I'm just... tired. And now there's shard of glass everywhere." I try to stand again, but it's not happening.

"Hey. You go rest. I'll clean up."

"But..."

"No."

I don't have any fight in me, so I lie back down.

"Good. Plus, this'll give me an opportunity to snoop."

I roll my eyes and pull the covers up tight before closing my eyes.

Can you hear me? Tiana asks. I'm asleep again. Gotta be. Never been the "moment your head hits the pillow" type, but—

Kam, you have to answer m— urgh— me! Tiana's voice is more insistent now.

I wanna sleep. I want to rest, even as much as I want to be there. I sigh out a long breath, and accept that this dream isn't going anywhere.

Kam!

Ugh. Fine, I'm here.

Oh, my god, it worked! Okay, whew. I need you.

Can't this at least be a horny dream?

Kam, this isn't a dream. I'm speaking via our bond.

Oh. That makes sense. Dream logic.

I feel a pinch on my arm, just hard enough to hurt.

Ow!

Sorry. Had to find a way to prove it, and I remember how you, y'know...

A flood of warmth hits me.

Oh, shit. Now I am horny, a relentless arousal coursing through me as I feel Tiana's emotions. With it comes something new, though: I feel the memory of it. Of her, lying in this very bed, getting fucked by me while I used my Decay to tease and toy with her.

Hey. Focus up.

Right. Yeah. Okay. Fine. I'm focusing. But how...?

I had a hunch. When Desdemona was in control, I was still in there, and I figured that if our connection worked anything like that...

That it might go both ways. Okay, fine. This is real. This is happening. Fine. That's... weird, but fine.

You're a Skvan'volu who regularly slurps me into void and fucks me senseless with tentacles, but this is what's— Sorry. Sometimes I have a thought and it's mean.

Heh. I love you. Finish the thought.

No time. I need your help. Can you reach into me?

Um... maybe? I guess I can...

Try.

Oh. You're here. It's really weird having you in my head like this.

Told ya.

Desdemona looses a volley of arcane fire and I pirouette and then leap out of the way.

Okay, wow. You're really going at it.

You can see this?

Yeah. It's... I keep wanting to say 'weird'.

I land behind the smoldering wreck of the drilling equipment and roll to the side.

Honestly? Not the worst descriptor. Listen, I need—

An arcane lance punches through where I was moments ago.

GAH!

Don't. Shout. I need to know how to antagonize her.

Desdemona? Why would you...? Oh.

Yeah.

It's hard to explain, maybe if I could...

...Take over.

And then I'm not just seeing through Tiana's eyes... I am her. Tiana's still here, she's just ceded herself to me all the way. I already know that I'm going to abuse this privilege in ways she's going to enjoy.

At the thought, I feel her quiver.

Fuck. Yes. Please?

Promise.

Okay. Focus. I'm Tiana, which means different center of gravity. But I'm also Tiana, which means I know everything she knows. I take a few, halting steps until it kicks in that I am Tiana. I've always been Tiana Mackey.

Things only I would know prove that fact: I grew up with a sister and three brothers. Mom was awful. Dad was gone. When I got chosen to be a Magisorcerer, my mouth tasted of blue raspberry from a sherbet push-up pop. Feeling like I've betrayed the Guild makes me gush thinking about it.

God, I'm a fucking pervert. Kam's gonna have to— No.

I'm gonna have to do something about that. Wow. Okay. Get it together.

Looking at my memories?

Maybe.

That's alright, I like having you snooping around.

Wait. Something's wrong.

What?

It's quiet.

I flatten my ears, discovering that I have a degree of control I didn't know I had. Nothing. Shit.

"Stop hiding, Tiana. It's no fun if I don't get to see you when you die. Besides... I have a present for you."

I hate that. Desdemona doesn't give, and I don't hear Rory.

I step out from behind cover, and feel the horror of the sight for the both of us. Rory's suspended in mid-air, razor thin red and purple lines of aether crisscrossing his body. He doesn't struggle, not even as the I realize the lines aren't red from aether, but from Rory's blood.

I grit my teeth, feeling the fangs dig into my lower lip, as Desdemona floats gently behind him. I can't blink towards him. I know this because Tiana knows this. It'd be too slow, and Desdemona knows Tiana well enough to know she'd try that.

"What do you want?"

"To talk, of course!"

Stall her.

"You've never wanted to talk a day in your life, 'Mistress'."

She drinks in the word like a fine scotch, even when spit as an insult. "That word... I love that I've marked you forever with it."

I feel the rage for both of us.

"I was never yours, not even when I loved you."

Desdemona flicks her fingers, and the aether around Rory tightens against his skin. "Careful what you say, Tiana. And besides... you never loved me. Remember, I've been inside that mind of yours."

Just a bit longer. I think I have an idea that'll work.

I grin. "No? Not even a little?"

If there's one thing that gets under Desdemona Harris' skin, it's not knowing something. And the implication that she missed something as obvious as what love might actually look like? No way she lets that sail by.

"You think I'm a fool?" She seethes, each word vituperative and caustic.

"Yeah, I really do..."

Almost ready.

"...Because if you weren't, you'd have noticed that Tiana isn't here right now."

I feel my body, not Tiana's, moving under the covers. I'd been so still that I didn't notice until now that her consciousness has slipped into my body.

Arcane energy surges through me, and a spell smashes through a wall. From down the hallway, I hear Lis yelp. Meanwhile, Desdemona's nostrils flare.

"Kammie."

I bow theatrically. "In the flesh, lover." I crane my head upward, steeling my gaze. "Ready for me to kick your ass again today?"

She scowls. "How will you do that, when you'll be too busy putting back together the pieces of the slut who defiled my Draxus?"

Desdemona grasps her fingers tight, and the aether constricts. Rory's pained screams echo off the concrete as the lines dig into his flesh.

Just as I think I'll have to risk it, a ball of arcane energy rips across the sky and slams into Rory. The aether web around him disintegrates and he begins to tumble.

Now I blink forward, catching him in mid-air.

I feel the relief for us both.

More on the way. Fifteen seconds.

I blink away again, narrowly avoiding a rageful blast from Desdemona. Now the aether really is red, burning with her malice as she tries to kill me, Rory, and Tiana all in one fell swoop. Rory's limp in my arms, but when I jostle him he moans in pain. Good. Still alive.

Desdemona's in pursuit, hurling even more projectiles as I dodge and weave. The raw power of each one chips off bits wherever it impacts, even with the warding on the concrete, tossing up debris that nicks and bites into my sensitive, unscaled skin.

Never been happier Tiana's a masochist.

I see a glimmer on the horizon and skid into a slide before tossing Rory upwards. Another blast of magic hits him and he disappears — a projectile-based teleportation spell spiriting him away from the battlefield.

He's done his part, and I owe it to Rax to make sure he's alive.

A concussive wave hits off to my left, too close for me to stay upright. I tumble and bounce at speed against the concrete for a dozen feet before I'm able to blink out of it. Each of the cuts sends another thrill through Tiana, followed by a crushing flood of guilt.

I love you.

I'm sorry.

Don't be. I love that you're like this.

An appreciate shiver races through me at the compliment.

More on the way. Just stay alive, alright?

I can do that. Desdemona's so enraged by everything that's going on that it won't take much to— hang on!

I spring back, dodging a thrown drill bit.

It's easily as long as Tiana is tall, and lets out a resonant hum as it rips through a chunk of the concrete. The ground rumbles as it embeds itself most of the way into the slab.

That's probably not great.

No.

How do I fly?

I've never really... tried it. Five seconds.

I feel my body jerk in the bed as Tiana steers a spell. I don't know if this'll work, but I blink upwards as Desdemona bears down on me.

Four...

"If spells won't work, I guess I'll just have to beat you death!" Desdemona screams, burning tears of aether whipping off her face as she barrels at me.

Three...

I go to blink out of the way, but I don't move. It takes me a second to realize what's happened: Desdemona caught me and wrenched me back into place. Oh fuck.

Dammit. Should I abort?

I've got this, if you're okay with it.

...Been through worse. Fuck her up.

Her fist smashes into my face, blood spattering against her gauntleted knuckles. "Why do you make me hit you, Kammie, huh?"

One... Now!

This is gonna hurt. I twist hard to the side, unable to do more than open her up just enough that Tiana's ordinance will hit us both.

I summon just enough energy to shield my back and side from the brunt of it, but the force of it's so much more than I thought possible. Tiana's casting from my body. I can do that? I'm that... powerful now?

If I wasn't speeding at the ground, I'd feel way better.

I turn just in time for my shoulder, still shielded, to crack into the pavement. The shield breaks, only blunting what would otherwise have been a lethal hit. Still, it hurts, and I'm having a hard time getting back up.

You, uh... got any more?

Y-Yeah. Hang on...

Ah, shit.

I don't know how I manage, but I'm back on my feet. Blood drips from my forehead, a gash from where I cracked against the ground. I whirl around to where the impact happened. A cloud of light grey smoke hangs in the air, and Desdemona's nowhere to be seen.

Nah. Don't trust it.

I fire a missile at the cloud, nothing more than a cantrip, and feel the reserves within me straining to complete the spell. Dammit. This is really bad.

The spell zips up into the cloud, a blue glow illuminating within. I see a glimpse of a feminine form before the spell snuffs out.

Desdemona's on me before I can put up my guard, littering my body with blows I can't defend against. The air leaves my lungs in a gasp as I double over, a shot to my stomach stealing my breath. She follows it with a brutal knee that breaks my nose. I feel a gush of crimson down my neck.

Before I can react, Desdemona's on me again. She grips tight to my head.

"Sorry, Kammie. I want to talk to Tiana," she says.

Ka—

I'm shunted back into my own body, back in Tiana's mansion and I feel the connection between us severed. Forcefully.

Fuck. That. Not again. Never again.

"By the power of justice and the great houses...
I call upon the power of granted to me by the Magisorcerers of old.
In the name of those who need protection...
To bring hope to all the hopeless...
I am Magisorcerer Kam!"

I feel the energy surge in my chest. I don't bother stand.

I blink to far above the two and fall from the sky. It's good being back in my body. My tail's hungry.

"Hey! Desdemona!" I shout. She glares up at me as I plummet towards her. Furious, she drops Tiana, leaving her bloodied and beaten, and rockets up to meet me.

Good.

Fuck you, Dez.

My tail lashes out and hits Desdemona square in the chest, flaring out wide. The spines of her armor hurt even as my tail continues to expand outward. Knowing Tiana means knowing how much this scares Desdemona.

That's my advantage, so I take it even if it's a bank shot.

Desdemona flails before her hands clench. I feel my tail's tip begin to close. I fight against it as we tumble toward the ground, but I know I can't fight her. She knows it, too, and I know she's going to win.

Only a few feet off the ground, we slow to a stop as my tip contracts to a point.

She grasps it and laughs. "Stupid girl. Did you really think that would work?"

"Yeah." No.

"Points for honesty." Sucker. She flings me away towards the horizon. I don't have Tiana's shield spell. Maybe I don't need it.

Gotta hope this works. I'm not getting a second chance.

I see Desdemona hurl Kam away, and I want to scream. I want to do anything other than bleed, useless and spent, on the cold, grey stone beneath me. All I have is mute horror as Desdemona turns toward me.

She floats back down next to me, and only then do I see what's missing.

I smile.

God, she really does hate it when people know more than her. I find out just how much as she sinks her heel into my stomach. Just gotta... hold... out...

"Do you find it FUNNY that I had to do that to my precious Kammie? You're lucky I know how hardy she is."

"You don't... know..." I mumble.

Desdemona lifts me off the ground with a flick of her wrist, pulling me in close. "WHAT was that?"

"You... don't know..." I start, and then I see a gleam of something iridescent on the horizon. "How FUCKED you are!" I laugh, spattering droplets of blood on her cheek.

With a furious roar, she shoves me back. I dangle limply in mid-air as she wipes away the befouling remnants of me from her perfect skin.

"I think it's time we end this," she says, summoning forth a jagged arc of raw, iridescent aether. She rears back.

You've got this, babe.

And stabs through me.