Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 28 - Reflection

With our first chapter out of the way, it's finally time to start digging into our new mystery! One neat thing about this book was starting off with a bit of a bang. Book Two had a pretty slow buildup, and many of the early chapters were devoted to Amara struggling with her guilt while slowly uncovering what the cult was up to. Here, she'd been thrown into the deep end, and will need to reverse-engineer what's happened to her.

This whole opening section, although a little shorter, I think works very well as an introduction to this place. I also take time to establish that, whatever Amara's feelings on the matter, she still can't fly. I felt it was necessary to touch on this point again since it's been a while since Amara last tried to fly, but it also serves as a great way to set the stage for anyone who might be starting with this book.

Then, of course, I get the exciting reveal that Vee is also trapped in this strange version of Campus. OooOoOooO spooky!

Then, because I'm a huge tease, we immediately leave and focus on something else. This next scene was pretty important, as it's the first time we follow Tessa's POV in the main series. I needed to establish her perspective as clearly as I could, and I think I pulled it off. Apart from the basics (living with multiple partners, putting on makeup, etc.) I also give her time to reflect back on recent events.

Tessa's been in this series since the beginning, but she's always been a bit of a background character. This was sort of an accident, but one that worked mostly in my favor. She served a couple important mechanical purposes, mostly knowing about magic, but also giving me a way to write some girl-on-girl action. Otherwise, we've only seen her thoughts and opinions from the perspectives of other people. I like to think I've still done a good job of portraying her general pet peeves, though.

She seems to have some beef with the Church, she's mad at Vee for attacking Amara, all that stuff.

This was my first chance to give her time to introspect on screen, and I think this was the right time to do that. If we'd seen any inner monologue earlier, it probably would have been predictable complaining about Vee and Amara's insistence that they partner up with her to stop the cult. Here, now that Amara's gone through some slightly shifts in personality, she has something to be confused over. She loves sex, but recognizes that Amara is grower more needy, perhaps a little egotistical. I'm exited to see more of Tessa, and to explore what happens with her as the story continues.

It's also important, from a narrative perspective, to see what's happening in the real world. Nick and Tessa have some decent guesses, but I also get to confirm that Tessa hasn't had enough time to really figure out the new magical normal now that the Gate is open.

They also have a run in with Naomi! Gosh, I sure hope she didn't say anything that contradicts what Amara said, that would be awkward.

With Tessa's interlude out of the way, I can finally get back to what's happening with Amara and Vee. In my opinion, this chapter is where I firmly plant my flag about what the main dynamic of the book is going to be. Vee and Amara are stuck, alone, in a strange plane. If they don't find a way to work together, they might not be able to escape. Thankfully, they're both easygoing, rational people, that aren't at all prone to bursts of anger. This'll be a blast, right?

Joking aside, they two of them have always had a complicated relationship. Amara spent the entirety of Book Two trying to apologize for what happened, only to face bitter reminders that Vee still hadn't made a decision about how to move forward. I think it's more than obvious here that Amara's opinion on their dynamic has started to change.

Honestly, I don't have too much to say about this last scene. I think it sets the stage perfectly, both in terms of mechanical conflict and character conflict, and we get to end the chapter with the big reveal; they're trapped in Purgatory.

How did they get here? Why are they the only ones here? What problems would being stuck in Purgatory bring? Obviously I know all these answers, but I won't lie and say I'm not excited to see what people think.

Nyx <3