Tessa was lying in her bedroom in the palace of the Other Side, amused as she watched television from the Other Side.
Yes, the Other Side had its own television channels—at least the paradise section of the Other Side did.
Of course, all entertainment and news channels were controlled by Bennett witches or close relatives. Tessa would never allow her domain to be influenced by another bloodline.
Below them were the members of the three factions: witches from other lineages, vampires, and werewolves.
Below them were everyone else.
The main news story was that Prince Nik (her son) had killed a Greater Demon.
The presenter, a vampire, spoke with emotion as he told the story of how the prince had easily killed the Greater Demon using only his vampire powers.
Tessa rolled her eyes.
Of course he had.
Whether anyone liked it or not, her son was an Original. He was physically stronger than any Greater Demon.
Compared to the true infernal kings… Nik killing a Greater Demon was not a big deal.
The presenters continued speaking and made it clear that Nik's victory had been expected.
Since he was the queen's son, there had never been any doubt he would win the fight.
Tessa turned off the television.
She felt irritated that everyone still talked about Nik as her son instead of as himself.
Tringgg.
The phone rang and Tessa answered.
"Hello," she said into the phone.
"I heard your son killed one of my demons. A count," a voice said from the other side.
"Lucy… how are you?" Tessa replied.
Tessa still held the phone as she leaned back against the enormous bed in the room. The violet sky of the Other Side glowed through the tall windows.
"Lucy… how are you?" she asked lazily.
A long sigh came from the other end.
"Irritated."
"What a surprise."
"Silas is messing with my demons."
Tessa stopped spinning the glass of wine.
"He's finally started bothering you?"
"Bothering is a polite word. He's pretending to be me."
Tessa raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Apparitions, possessions, cults…" Lucy explained, clearly irritated. "He appears to some of my demons and human fanatics claiming to be 'the true will of Hell.'"
"Let me guess…"
"Apocalypse," Lucy said with disdain.
Tessa laughed.
"He was always dramatic."
"He's trying to convince idiots to break his seals," Lucy continued. "Cults, rituals, sacrifices… all that tacky end-of-the-world aesthetic."
She huffed.
"I hate apocalypses."
"You literally rule Hell."
"Exactly!" Lucy replied. "I like things working. Humans living, creating new religions, inventing strange gods… that keeps the gears of the universe turning."
Her voice gained a strange kind of enthusiasm.
"Have you ever noticed how humans do that? They invent gods, then abandon them and create new ones, then invent something completely different…"
"The best part is that the gods are still around, just as powerful as they've always been, even though they were abandoned by their creators."
"Humans have the power to create something perpetual."
Tessa smiled slowly.
"Lucy…"
"Yes?"
"You really love humans."
"I love their creativity," Lucy corrected. "Creating gods and shaping the world without having real power is fascinating. An apocalypse ruins that. Everything becomes dead, static… boring as hell."
Tessa took a sip of wine.
"So you want my help killing Silas."
"Yes. He's your responsibility. He belongs to your faction."
"And you called me because of that… or because of the demon Nik killed?"
Lucy sighed.
"Both."
"Explain."
"The demon your son destroyed was an infernal count. One of the ones being manipulated by Silas."
Tessa gave a small smile.
"So Nik did you a favor."
"Technically."
"Then stop complaining."
Lucy ignored that.
"But it made me think of something."
"Always dangerous."
"We have a problem in common."
Tessa stayed silent.
"Silas," Lucy said.
"I agree."
"So maybe it's time to… strengthen political relations."
Tessa narrowed her eyes.
"Lucy."
"Yes?"
"I know that tone."
Lucy laughed.
"Of course you do."
"You're about to suggest something ridiculous."
"I prefer to call it traditional."
A brief pause.
"A political marriage."
Tessa blinked slowly.
"No."
Lucy continued as if nothing had happened.
"It worked very well when you did that with Hades."
Tessa let out a dry laugh.
"That ended in a catastrophic divorce."
"Even so, you ruled two domains for centuries."
"And now we don't even speak."
"You were best friends."
"Exactly. I lost my best friend because of that stupid marriage."
A short silence.
Tessa sighed.
"Besides… I don't swing that way."
Lucy replied immediately.
"Tessa… I don't have a gender."
"I know. You just look like a woman because you think it's cute."
"And if I ever get involved with Hades again…"
Tessa's expression changed and her voice became cold.
"I will release every dead monster and god from the Other Side onto your kingdom."
"So that's the concept of an evil ex?"
Tessa growled threateningly into the phone.
Lucy completely ignored the threat.
"I wasn't talking about you."
Now Tessa frowned.
"Then who?"
"Your son."
Tessa was silent for two seconds.
"No."
Lucy continued.
"My daughter."
"No."
"She's half Japanese divinity."
"No."
"She's my daughter—half god and half angel."
"Still no."
"She's adorable."
Tessa sighed.
"Lucy…"
"Yes?"
"My son is not going to marry a demon."
"She's not a demon."
"Close enough."
Lucy replied calmly.
"She's very cute."
"Demons are ugly as hell."
"My daughter isn't."
"Lucy."
"Yes?"
"I've known demons for millennia."
"You don't know her."
Tessa shook her head.
"Nik isn't marrying someone who came from Hell."
"She was partly raised on the mortal plane."
"She still comes from Hell."
Lucy sighed.
"You're being prejudiced."
"I'm being a mother."
A small pause.
"Besides," Tessa continued, "Nik already has a girlfriend."
Lucy went quiet for a moment.
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
"That complicates things a bit."
"And I'm not interested in selling my son in a political deal."
Lucy laughed.
"You literally did that with yourself when you married Hades."
"I was young, and I didn't have a son."
"You were six hundred years old at the time. And you had several children. Aren't the Bennetts your descendants?"
"Sorry… I phrased that wrong. I didn't have any sons."
Silence.
Then Lucy changed her tone.
"Political marriages create stability between domains."
"Or wars after the divorce."
"That too."
Tessa crossed her legs on the bed.
"Let's talk politics without trying to marry my relatives."
Lucy sighed dramatically.
"You're ruining all the fun."
"Lucy."
"Yes?"
"Say what you want without the theatrics."
"Fine."
Her voice became more serious.
"You control the Other Side."
"Yes."
"I control Hell."
"I know that too."
Lucy paused.
"Maybe we should cooperate."
Tessa stayed quiet for a few seconds.
Alliances between supernatural domains were rarely simple… but they weren't rare either. She had done it before.
With Hades.
Before the disastrous divorce.
"You still haven't said what you want," Tessa said.
Lucy finished the thought.
"I want to change where my demons go after death. Since you don't want me near Hades… and I don't have good relationships with the other lords of the dead… how about your domain?"
Tessa smiled slowly.
"You want to place spies in my domain?"
"Yes."
"And you admit that?"
"Of course. You have the most complex supernatural faction in existence, and you're a goddess who didn't originate from humanity."
"I was human. A witch, to be precise."
"I know. And that's exactly what makes you more fascinating."
Tessa shook her head.
"Why ask permission to place spies in my kingdom when you could simply try to buy them like you did with some of my descendants?"
"Then I'd have to wait until someone from the three factions irritated you or attacked your son, and I would have no guarantees."
Lucy fell silent for a moment after Tessa's answer. It wasn't the silence of someone caught in contradiction. It was the silence of someone appreciating a well-made argument.
"Fair," she finally said.
Tessa rotated the glass between her fingers, looking at the wine as if she were analyzing a small universe.
"You tried to buy the souls of some of them, didn't you?"
Lucy didn't deny it.
"I did."
"I know."
"Witches are pragmatically corruptible when the offer is good enough."
Tessa smiled slightly.
"Some."
"Some," Lucy corrected.
A small pause.
"But that wouldn't solve my problem."
"Why?" Tessa asked, a smile in her voice.
Lucy answered with almost academic calm.
"Because even if I buy their souls, when they die they return to your domain, and I lose my time and resources."
"And?"
"I would have to wait for someone from the three factions to irritate you… or attack your son to get that soul."
"That happens from time to time," Tessa said.
"Yes. But it's unpredictable."
Lucy continued.
"I like predictable systems."
"Of course you do."
"If I buy a spy… they can die."
"They can."
"They can change sides."
"They can."
"They can simply stop being useful."
Tessa took a sip of wine.
"That can happen too."
Lucy concluded.
"But if I make a direct agreement with you… the system becomes stable."
A brief silence.
"Dead demons going to your domain," Lucy continued. "Under your rules."
"Observing."
"Reporting."
"And alive enough to remain useful."
Tessa raised an eyebrow.
"You really trust that I would let them report everything?"
Lucy laughed.
"Of course not."
"Then?"
"I expect you to filter."
"And you still accept that?"
"Because even filtered information is better than none."
Tessa rested her head on her hand.
"Lucy…"
"Yes?"
"You're basically asking me for official permission to run espionage."
"Exactly."
"That's almost polite."
"I try to maintain a certain level of civilization."
A small pause.
Then Lucy continued, returning to the point that intrigued her.
"You have something rare in your domain."
"Many things."
"Three supernatural systems in balance."
"More or less balanced."
"Vampires who grow stronger with time."
"Yes."
"Werewolves who can create entire species through the curse."
"Yes."
"Witches who manipulate the primordial power of nature."
A small pause.
Lucy then returned to the political side of the conversation.
"Besides… cooperation between our domains solves another problem."
"Silas."
"Exactly."
"He's your responsibility," Lucy said.
"I know."
"But if he breaks the systems of death…"
"It will affect both."
"Hell and the Other Side."
Silence.
"So this is also self-preservation," Tessa said.
"It always is."
Tessa stayed quiet for a few seconds.
Then she asked calmly:
"And the title for my son?"
Lucy answered naturally.
"It's still on the table."
"A noble title in Hell."
"A Hellish Duke would be appropriate."
Tessa laughed.
"He would kill half the infernal court for fun."
"That would only increase the respect."
"You people have a fascinating culture."
"We value results."
A small pause.
Tessa looked again at the violet ceiling of the Other Side.
"Lucy."
"Yes?"
"You're basically proposing an alliance between two afterlife systems."
"Correct."
"With authorized espionage."
"Yes."
"And political cooperation."
"That too."
Tessa stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then a small smile appeared.
"This will irritate Hades."
Lucy laughed loudly on the other side of the line.
"Now you're interested."
"A little."
"I knew it."
Tessa took the last sip of wine.
"I will consider your proposal."
"I knew you would."
"But your demons enter my domain with Bennett seals."
"Expected."
"Any attempt to manipulate vampires, werewolves, or witches…"
Tessa smiled slowly.
"I destroy them."
Lucy answered calmly.
"Fair."
A brief pause.
Then Lucy said again, with that provocative tone:
"I still think my daughter and your son would make an incredible couple. She ia so cut"
Tessa closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
"Lucy…"
"Yes?"
"We were doing so well."