I dissolved into the shadows of the realm, focusing my magic on the spark of The Coven until I was stepping into the sun between Tegan and Savannah. The fight was in full throttle already and it was mayhem. Skyscrapers towered around the park we stood in, though I could not place where we were. Not that it mattered. Demons were everywhere. I flicked my wrists, sending my magic into a few dozen demons at a time. They burst to ash and dust.

Savannah shot magic from the wand in her left hand and led an army the dead

Libby sprinted up to me. “Where the hell did you go?”

“Story for later. We need this fight over now.” I turned to my left. “Tegan, now would be a good time⁠—”

Tegan was suddenly everywhere. Literally. Hundreds of Tegans filled this downtown courtyard, all dressed in identical black jeans and sweaters. Her short brown hair swaying as each copy of her pounced on demons. Wait a second. My pulse quickened. A sliver of happiness sliced through my own grief as I realized what was happening.

That was Devon Bishop.

Not Tegan.

And she was a beast. I watched with a grin on my face as the legend that was Devon annihilated demon after demon. My gaze didn’t know where to look, it bounced left and right and back again. There were hundreds of her. I’d never seen a Chariot Card use this many projections and do it so effortlessly. It was impossible to even tell which one was the real Devon.

And then the demons were gone.

In seconds, Devon and her projections had exterminated them. The Coven stood still, their weapons still gripped in their hands, but their jaws dropped and their eyes wide. The projections stopped and looked around, like they wanted more. When no other demons attacked, the projections all turned to look at the one standing just twenty feet in front of us.

The real Devon.

The projections vanished.

Silence.

I didn’t get struck stupid often, but my God was that a moment of beauty and awe. It was no wonder Devon was chosen to be the mother of the twins, the mother of Tegan. She was every bit the menace her children were, and I was suddenly fiercely protective of her like I hadn’t been before. If we had had Devon in either of the last two arcana wars things may have gone down differently. I felt the first sliver of hope for this new war. The angels had been telling me for decades they weren’t playing fair this time and all of a sudden, I realized the extent they meant. Because they hadn’t just stacked their team with Tegan and Tenn, but each individual Card was the best version of that Card I’d seen yet. Each new addition to this squad was better and better.