“I’m home, pet.”

Silvia shut the heavy door behind her. Esmeralda was sitting by the fireplace, Pru at her feet. The fox stood to greet Silvia, who tussled her head.

Esmeralda watched the scene unfold with a smile. “Welcome home, Vi.”

Silvia kissed her and ran a hand down the side of her face; Esmeralda felt her skin tingle. Her eyes tracked Silvia as the older woman walked over to the fireplace and began stacking wood inside.

“It’s freezing in here. How warm do you run, pet?”

Esmeralda frowned. “I told you I don’t like being teased about that.”

Silvia prodded at the logs until they began to blaze. She turned towards Esmeralda, her golden eyes glowing in the fresh firelight. She drew close; Esmeralda felt her breath tickle her lips.

“I have something special for you tonight.”

Esmeralda felt her heart begin to race, washing away the bitterness Silvia’s comment had inspired. The older woman’s voice dropped. “Just take care of an important job first, and then we can be together.” They kissed.

“What do you need?”

Silvia bared her fangs and whispered into Esmeralda’s ear. The words tickled as she heard them, like the bite of a venomous creature. Silvia kissed her ear and pulled away.

“Make it quick, pet. I miss you when you’re gone.”

Silvia began to stroke Pru’s fur, cooing over her freshly cleaned coat. Esmeralda stood and, propelled by some powerful inner force, swept silently into the night.

Dusk had quickly descended over the city and the sky smudged dark blue to light pink off in the horizon. Esmeralda’s breath hung ghost-like in front of her as she threw the hood of her cloak up and hurried down the dark road, her footsteps clattering off the pavement.

By the time she reached the place Silvia specified, night’s black grip had closed around the city; the streets were deserted, as people fled the cold by fires inside. Esmeralda felt sweat beading on her forehead as she walked up to the front door. Grim-faced she stepped forward and, with a silent blast of magic, splintered the wooden door of the home. She stepped inside with another spell at the ready; when her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the room and she saw what awaited her, she extinguished it immediately.

Sitting before her, hands bound behind her back, eyes wide and glittering with tears, sat Astrid, looking as she had when she’d first appeared at the academy in Rask - just a little younger and fresher-faced than she was now, honey-gold hair cut shorter and tucked behind her ears, gorgeous dress of white linen draped over her small frame. She smiled a little at the hooded figure lurking in the doorway.

The sound that escaped Esmeralda’s lips was not one she consciously made, nor did it sound very human. But Astrid responded to it in a tender, wounded voice.

“Hi, Es.”

Esmeralda couldn’t speak; she could barely form thoughts. All she managed, weakly, was a gasp.

“No.”

Astrid giggled. “Come on, love. I know it’s you.”

“No, please.” Esmeralda sank to her knees; her eyes hadn’t left Astrid, bound as a prisoner in this cold, empty room, left alone to wait for her death with no comfort or signs of hope.

“No. No...”

Astrid spoke again, with an edge to her tone. It seemed to require great effort for her to say. “I know what you’re here to do, Es. It’s OK. If it’s for you, I won’t resist.”

Somewhere Esmeralda found dark amusement in the notion of Astrid - gentle little bookworm, light as a feather soaking wet - resisting in any way Esmeralda, who knew fouler magic than the young girl could even conceive of, the kind they didn’t write about in books.

Mostly she remained numb, her mind drowning in disbelief.

“No.” She hurled questions through her mind, trying to make sense of what was happening. Why would Silvia have sent her here? Wouldn’t she have known? Of course she knew. Was this a test? Esmeralda felt like her lungs had filled with cement. She realized her cheeks were wet with tears.

“It’s OK, Es. I know it feels good.” Esmeralda wished Astrid would stop smiling. “Just do it. I’m OK, if it’s for you.”

Esmeralda couldn’t move. She shook her head. She barely heard anything Astrid was saying, consumed in her own thoughts; of the other students at the academy, and the faculty, what they all murmured just loud enough for her to hear when she passed them; and what her neighbours had said when they caught her with a neighbour, once as kids and again as teenagers, drowning every single word she said as soon as it was spoken; and what people had said to her with elbows and insults before she’d gotten big enough to start fights and win them and caught Silvia’s attention; and what the people in Rask had said when Astrid had turned up at the lighthouse-

“I’m a monster,” The words tumbled out of her lips; they’d gathered too much momentum to be smothered in her throat like all the rest. She began to sob. “I’m vile. I’m a monster.”

Astrid was silent, wearing the same resigned expression she’d had the whole time. Esmeralda was still shaking her head.

“I’m a monster. I like it,” She blinked through tears at the ground she huddled over, where her hands were balled into fists. “I like it. I deserve this. I deserve it all.”

She raised her head to Astrid, who responded warmly. “Do whatever you need to, Es. It’s alright.”

Esmeralda felt as though she were caught in a cyclone, powerless to do anything but get tossed around by the whims of nature. Whatever she wanted didn’t matter; she no longer controlled herself. On trembling legs she stood, her eyes wide in terror and confusion. Astrid’s gaze was luminous in the dark room.

“Go ahead, love. I’m just like all the rest.”

Esmeralda’s body shook as a furious light, barely controlled, began to blaze in her hand. In one swift motion she brought that burning fury down upon Astrid, who didn’t move, only gasped barely audibly as the magic pierced through her body and brought her life to a close. And as it happened, as Astrid’s jade-green eyes showed the same look of disbelief Esmeralda had seen so many times before, she felt herself filled with something ancient and feral, something clinging to her bones like moss, her destiny, a brand upon her soul -

Esmeralda awoke his time with a scream, and Astrid was roused frantic beside her. All Esmeralda could say was that she’d had a nightmare; and shivering, body covered in goosebumps, she clung to the hand Astrid offered her, bringing it up close to her chest and clutching it tightly through the rest of the night.