In an instant I was on my back, the thud expelling the breath from my lungs. It was the heat that and the thick hot air that renewed my fear. I didn’t need to open my eyes to know where I was. I was back in hell.

“Open your eyes, Tessa. You can’t hide from me.” It was the sound of Azael’s cold voice that solidified where I was.

My nightmare wasn’t over.

I couldn’t explain how I had been with Joey, dragging him from the car deep under the water only moments before.

It was disorientating and I wondered if it had been a dream. A dream that had felt so real. Water still drenched my clothes which meant it couldn’t have been a dream. It didn’t make sense. There was no logical explanation for any of this.

Fear of what Azael had already done to me kept me still. I wasn’t ready for more. I wasn’t sure I could withstand his cruelty and stay strong enough on my decision to save my father.

I wanted to back with Joey on the banks of the river, tired and exhausted in the sweet relief that this time no one had died, unlike the accident with my family.

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes. The fiery scorched sky was unwelcoming. I sat up, feeling my body ache. Was this from the torture he had inflicted or from saving Joey from the car? I couldn’t tell.

Azael stood towering over me. “Stand girl.”

Azael wasn’t someone you defied without retribution so I reluctantly did as he commanded. I stood, feeling a little unsteady. I still couldn’t explain how I had just been with Joey and now I was back in hell. The air was so hot my clothes began to dry almost instantaneously.

I held myself firm as my eyes held Azael who was studying me in fascination, like I was a puzzle he couldn’t figure out.

“If I was in charge you would already be burning,” he said with such animosity, I took a hesitant step back. The fear of what he had in store for me was palpable.

If he wanted to hurt me, there would be no way to stop him.

“But you aren’t.”

The voice came from behind me startled me. I turned to see such brightness it was difficult to focus on the form with with wings.

I put my hand to my eyes to try and shield them from the startling light. It was only when the form approached me slowly could I make out the man dressed in a long white robe with the most beautiful white feathered wings.

An angel.

He was so beautiful, he took my breath away. I stood mesmerized. His presence blanketed my fear with peace. I wanted to bask in it forever.

“It’s nice to finally meet you Tessa.”

I was speechless. I had no idea what was going on. Still feeling vulnerable I looked over my shower to see the darkness that seemed to grow around Azael as he stood his ground, glaring at the angel.

“You have no need to fear him,” the angel said, bringing my attention back to him.

Now that my eyes had time to adjust I lowered my arm as I took a nervous breath.

“Who are you?” I managed to whisper.

“Michael.”

Michael. My mind echoed, still trying to grasp what was happening. My reality was disjointed between hell and whatever that had been with Joey.

“Why are you here?” I asked, needing more clarity on what exactly was going on.

“I’m here to help you Tessa.” His voice was strong, making me feel safe despite where we were.

I frowned. “How?” I swallowed nervously.

Why would an angel be in hell to help me?

I had made my choice, and I had to be responsible for it. Allowing my father to sacrifice himself was not something I could live with. So I had no idea why Michael was here. I didn’t want to hope where there wasn’t any.

“You are a very brave girl Tessa.” His fluorescent blue eyes drew mine to his. I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to.

I didn’t know how to take the compliment. If I had been brave I wouldn’t have been here in the first place but I didn’t voice the thought.

Michael frowned. “You were very young when you made the choice that set this into motion. There are certain concessions that are made for young people in your situation.”

He still wasn’t making much sense.

“What does that mean?” I wished he would just spit it out.

“It means you get a second chance.”

A second chance. My mind was blank.

“I don’t know what you mean?” I whispered, not wanting to have hope where there wasn’t any. I couldn’t take that type of disappointment in my current situation.

“You saved Joey.”

All the memories of what I had just experienced with Joey came flooding back. It was the dream that wasn’t a dream. It had happened. My hand went to rest against my shirt that still clung to my skin.

“Joey?”

Michael nodded. “You get a second chance.”

“I saved him.” I had broken through my debilitating fear to change what would have happened before.

Michael gave a brief nod in agreement. “You did. But more importantly, you saved yourself. You didn’t give up.”

I swallowed the emotion his words evoked from me. It brought back the sadness that I hadn’t been strong enough when my father had driven the car off the bridge, but refused to allow the emotion to suck me in. I was strong enough now, and that counted for something.

“People in your situation are given a second chance. If they fail, their fate is sealed in hell. But the ones who succeed, they are given another chance.”

I could not stop the hope that bloomed into life at his words.

“Another chance.” I dared to hope.

“Yes. You get another chance at living. It is a very rare thing, it is not be to taken for granted. Your decisions from now on will have lasting repercussions. So choose wisely Tessa.”

I didn’t know what to say, I was stunned. I had fought for so long, the overwhelming knowledge that I would be free from hell, free from the frantic decision I had made when I had been too young to understand the ramifications of it.

Then I thought about the last seven years, how Damien had tormented me. Damien. My heart soared and pained at the same

“Damien,” I whispered.

Michael smiled reassuringly. “There will be no demons this time. You are free Tessa.”

If I was truly free why did my heart ache at the thought of never seeing Damien again? Even if he betrayed me, it didn’t erase my feelings for him. How could he have fooled me so well? I felt like such an idiot. An idiot who still felt too strongly for a boy who had betrayed her so badly.

“Damien did well in bringing you back.” Azael said, from behind me.

I ignored him. I bet he was annoyed that I had passed the test and would not have to endure his plans for me.

For so long I had lived in fear, fear of being weak. I couldn’t imagine being able to live without the constant fear that if I wasn’t strong enough, my fate would be forever in hell.

I should have left it at that. But something deep in me could not let go so easily of the demon who had been a part of my life for so long. Maybe I was a sucker for punishment, especially when that same demon had tricked me into dying. I had believed he had been trying to save me but it had been part of his underhanded plan to get me to hell.

I wanted to hate him. There was a part of me that did. But it was the part that had truly believed he had cared about me even when I couldn’t explain his betrayal away.

“What’s going to happen to Damien?” I asked softy, hating that I still cared.

Michael studied me silently. I wasn’t sure he was going to answer my question.

“He has completed what he was tasked to do.”

I didn’t like how I was considered a task.

“He will be rewarded.”

I swallowed. After everything we had been through, it was going to end like this.

I should have been happy, but I wasn’t. In fact I felt sad. My heart ached.