Brad took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He was back in class, the same class where he thought his life was over, and Alex was gone.
Eyes forward, he tried not to think of the past and focus on the present, but the intrusive thoughts kept coming. The emotional whiplash of the last week and a half had really gotten to him.
First he failed, then Reka took him on a spring break vacation to a beach house for their anniversary. He wanted to be sad but Reka wouldn't let him feel anything but her. She'd been absolutely feral, feral for her. There was no rest that weekend.
When they got back he was shocked to learn that class was cancelled. Alex Kagan had been found dead: no sign of foul play, no word on the autopsy, just nothing. He just went to sleep one night in his own bed and didn't wake up again. People were shocked, but a lot of people were secretly relieved; Alex had really hammered them this semester.
Reka had somehow gotten hold of his midterm and went over it with him line by line, proving to Brad that he didn't really fail. Wasn't that strange? He and Alex had a falling out but Brad didn't think Alex actually hated him enough to falsify his grade. I never suspected anything, shows how naive I am.
His girlfriend was the only one who wasn't surprised at all about Alex. Brad didn't want to suspect her, but suppressed memories concerning her rose to the surface. He heard plenty of rumors about her before they met, rumors about drugs, rumors about other things, unsavory things, things like underworld connections. Did his girlfriend know somebody who was capable of murder?
He shut his eyes, trying to will himself off this train of thought. If she did it, it was for him. He had no right to question her.
So now he wasn't failing. In fact, he'd have to bomb the final really badly to score lower than a B. That wasn't happening, or so Reka promised him.
Is this what it means to have connections? he asked himself.
There she was, his beautiful girlfriend teaching the class, but it was more like she was holding court. It was like an angel had replaced a devil.
"As you can see," she narrated while indicating the reactor diagram powerpoint slide with a laser pointer, "once the control rods are removed, the rate of reaction will grow exponentially, we can model this by..."
Students watched with rapt attention. A blonde girl sitting diagonally from him was positively vibrating with excitement. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the girl wasn't actually taking notes, but sketching Reka's outfit. Today she was wearing a sleeveless blouse and a pencil skirt. Well, spring break was over and it was getting hot. He couldn't exactly blame the girl. Brad liked looking too.
"And that's how you do it," Reka finished her lecture. "Finally, some administrative adjustments are in order."
A wave of silent energy welled up and swept through the classroom. Was the nightmare over?
"I've re-normed the midterm. The late Mr. Kagan's grading methods were highly irregular," she said meaningfully. "You can check your new scores online. I believe most shall be pleased."
That was an understatement. The class cheered!
Reka received their praise with the grace of a beloved monarch. It suited her. "This is an undergraduate class," she continued. "The standard is competence in the fundamentals. If you really want to get crushed by work later, that is your right, just apply to grad school," she joked
Everyone was laughing. This side of Reka was so different. Her charisma, the way she worked the crowd, it was like falling in love with her all over again. She was a great teacher. She'd be a great mom.
The thought made Brad blush fiercely and Reka's eyes immediately locked with his. Somehow she knew.
Reka's smile took his breath away. "I believe that's all, class dismissed."
With no hesitation at all, Reka walked directly to his desk to collect him. Brad put his stuff away so he could be collected. Everybody knew they were dating; there wasn't any sense in pretending otherwise.
The blonde girl sitting diagonally from him finally lost it.
"Ms. Fekete, how are you so beautiful and perfect?" she gushed.
Reka didn't miss a beat, "with consistent effort and attention to detail, you will find anything can be achieved," she said profoundly.
The blonde girl wrote that down. "Omigod, thank you, queen!" She ran out of the class before Reka could reply, but her voice carried. "Alice, you won't believe what I just heard. She really talked to me!"
"What refreshing zealotry," Reka commented, leaning down to kiss Brad.
Brad smiled against her lips. "Queen, huh?" he said softly.
She tilted her head and looked at him. "Am I not worthy to be queen?"
Her words had a certain weight to them, like this was a test.
"Reka, my love, if you were queen I'd be your first subject," he said sincerely.
Her smile nearly shattered him with its intensity. Test passed, I guess.
"I have something for you, my love. Let's go home."
Taking his hand and entwining their fingers, Reka led him back to their apartment.
Once they arrived and shut the door Reka produced a rectangular object. It was cased in plain hard plastic and Brad didn't immediately recognize what it was.
"Your anniversary present," she explained. "It took a little bit longer to make than I intended, but I had to make sure it was working correctly before I gave it to you."
Brad turned it over in hands, inspecting the gift from every angle. "What is it?"
"An infinite laptop battery," Reka said like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Brad nearly dropped it, just barely managing to catch the thing after it went flying from his grip.
"Reka, is this an atomic battery?" he asked tightly. "You can't just make an atomic battery and give it to somebody. There are regulations."
His girlfriend laughed off his concerns. "Worry not, my love, it doesn't give off any radiation at all. It's based on the confinement crystals we've been making at Stardust City, completely novel technology. Just don't tell anyone."
"Wouldn't dream of it!" he squeaked.
Reka held her chin in thought. "Ah, and when it is powering your laptop, if you hear the faint sound of a man screaming in pain, ignore it. That's just how it sounds."
Wow, morbid. Well, his laptop was loud anyway, so he probably wouldn't notice, hopefully.
She kissed him again, a kiss more heat than sweet. "I know what you were thinking about earlier," she purred seductively, taking his hand and placing it on her flat stomach. "You wish to put your baby in my belly, don't you?"
Brad was instantly, painfully hard, but Reka didn't let up, pressing her body against his, leading him down to the bed. "You wish for me to give birth to your heir, don't you?"
Oh god. Were they really about to do this? Was Reka off her birth control? Was that why she was so feral lately?
He was flat on his back now. Reka kissed his neck and murmured into his ear. "You wish for your seed to take root in my womb and make me a mother, don't you?"
Yes, yes, and yes, okay! He couldn't help it. Reka was just too sexy.
She stripped off their clothes with well-practiced ease. Reka took her top off last and mounted him
She felt different, hotter, tighter, wetter, the grip of her pussy walls more demanding than they had ever been. Was she ovulating? Was that the difference he was feeling?
The pace of their lovemaking was gentle, unhurried, yet insistent. When she bent down to kiss him he moaned into her mouth.
The undulations of her hips were a divine dance as old as time, grinding herself on his cock and coaxing it deeper inside her.
The emotions of it all overwhelmed him. "Reka I love you so much!" he cried out, but she only smiled and gradually increased the pace.
She covered him with kisses, his chest, his neck, his jawline, sweet little smooches that sent an electric current right down to the base of his spine. Brad began bucking up into her. His tight, full balls begging for release.
When Brad finally came it was like spring break never happened, like Reka hadn't spent a whole week draining him like a sexual athlete. His seed erupted like a geyser. His vision went black at the edges. Every muscle in his body strained and flexed like he was having a small seizure, determined to pump his essence as deep as possible into the love of his life.
Reka moaned and clamped down on him, her beautiful green eyes alight with inner fire as she milked his pulsing manhood. Were they conceiving their first baby right now? A part of Brad hoped so.
They collapsed into a tangle of limbs and sweat and heavy breathing. After holding her for a while Brad looked into his girlfriend's flushed face.
"Not yet, my love," Reka replied to his silent question. "I promise, one day I shall give you children, but there is still much to do."
"Right," Brad agreed. He had to admit he was a little disappointed, but saw the sense in it. They weren't even done with college. They had time, plenty of time.
"But that doesn't mean we can't practice!" she said playfully, propping herself up to kiss him again.
***************************
Alice's Point of View
Alex Kagan was dead! Her one lead on the magical couple was silenced just as she finally worked up the courage to approach him. Reka Fekete had even replaced him in the class he was teaching. This couldn't be a coincidence!
Alice had been planning to wait outside the classroom and observe the couple leaving. She didn't know much about thaumaturgy but an actual death spell would leave traces, obvious traces. She'd be able to sense it on them easily.
But no, she was stuck here listening to Olivia yap about how great a teacher Reka was.
"Can you believe it? She actually explains things and answers questions without acting offended that you didn't understand it the first time. Reka looks amazing every day but she looked particularly amazing today and somehow I was able to pay attention, like she just draws the eye naturally, I can't explain it," she rambled on.
"Yes, yes, Olivia," Alice tried to brush her off but the press of students leaving the class was carrying them away. Reka and Brad were lingering in there. She needed to get closer.
Damn it!
She caught sight of Reka leading Brad away at a brisk pace; Alice could barely see them and too many people were in the way.
Oblivious Olivia just kept yapping, "She gave me really good advice, like the kind of advice life coaches charge for; it's all about consistent effort and attention to detail! I want that on my tombstone, Alice! I'm basing my life on this philosophy. Reka is my religion!"
Alice sighed. If she couldn't get close to Reka then she'd have to get close to Alex, what was left of him anyway.
She gave the coroner a sob story about being Alex's girlfriend and asked to see the body but they rejected her, "family only" they said.
Still, Alice Glass wasn't the summoned Hero for nothing. Rickard the ranger taught her how to pick locks and move unseen. You couldn't compare her to a real rogue in the other world but Alice was confident in her abilities by Earth standards.
She infiltrated the coroner's office under cover of darkness, creeping through an unlocked window and stepping lightly through dimly lit hallways.
Unfortunately, the office was a lot bigger than she anticipated and Alex's corpse could've been anywhere. She was about to give up and go home when she heard voices.
Completely frozen and blended into the shadows, Alice listened in on a conversation.
"There's nothing wrong with him," the first voice, a man said. "Organs are fine, better than fine. This guy was young and healthy."
"Nothing in his blood either," the second voice, a woman added. "No signs of trauma or distress, nothing. He should be alive."
"I just don't get it. It's like he didn't die at all, more like he was 'switched off' if you know what I mean."
"Or like a toy with the batteries removed," the woman speculated. "It's not like he's dead. It's more like he's not alive. I've never seen anything like it."
Alice was in full blown panic now. She only knew of a few arcane arts that could do such a thing. If she was right, Alex didn't just lose his life, but his immortal soul! This was the blackest of magic. Reka and Brad were far more dangerous than she realized. They had already killed. It was only a matter of time until they killed again.
This wasn't playtime anymore, a little side project to keep her connection to the other world alive. People were in danger, and she was a hero. As she was now she had no chance against a real black mage, let alone two of them. Alice had to get stronger.