#because belos Will find them if they stay on the isles even in a remote cabin somewhere. he is devoting Many Resources to looking

[crimeronan]

honestly the thing i wanna see most in the timeline where hunter luz and vee skip town is fucking. amity's pov. as the crown princess gets kidnapped by her personal bodyguard and the emperor probably quietly loses it lmao. because she's still in school at that time and all But she's also lilith's protege and i don't think lilith would be able to hide the stress she's under and even if she didn't tell amity the details i think enough would slip out that amity could get a two-thirds-accurate picture of lilith's understanding of the situation (which is itself like maybe one third accurate)

lilith keeps stomping around going "THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T!! PUT!! TEENAGERS!! IN CHARGE!!" immediately before giving amity a terribly ill-advised amount of responsibility like "not you tho amity. you're an angel and we're thrilled you're here"

god belos would be fucking Terrifying though. losing his last grimwalker (if we don't count soon-to-be-ill-fated basement boy), the only human he's known in four centuries, AND the basilisks all in the same night?? king of fucking around and finding out. i do NOT envy lilith OR amity here.

[3laxx]

Maternal Feelings

There she was.

Her tiny granddaughter.

She had a bit lighter skin than Luz and just about Amity’s hair color. And she was so damn tiny.

Eda found herself getting scared, suddenly. This was a really small kid. This was like, a stupidly small child. She would not hold that baby for any number of snails.

---

Eda meets her newborn grandddaughter for the first time.

I don't know man I'm just chucking out words rn like I'm running from something.

But I had this thought of Eda meeting a very small child and my stupid brain was like "We can do that instead of sleeping" xD

So yeah, have this incredibly fluffy oneshot about Eda coming to terms with her Momma feelings and adjusting to being a grandma.

I just really wanted Eda to get emotional over a baby

Don't even ask Idk

Have fun reading! <3

Ao3 / FF.net

---

Eda had never been the most maternal.

Not in her youth, not when she had found King, and not when she had sort of adopted and sheltered Luz until she had graduated and been able to stand on her own two feet.

Not when King had taken her name and not when Amity had asked her for Luz’s hand, which had in truth just been a mockery of her parents’ traditions and had given Eda nothing more than an excuse to drink some apple blood with her future daughter-in-law.

Of course, she had seen Luz as a daughter at some point, had called herself her mother, had cared for her.

She had made their meals, had helped Luz with the homework – even if that had disgusted her – she had taught Luz and King everything she knew, she had tucked King in, cared for Luz when she had gotten sick or sad. She had of course done everything in her power to make sure her kids were content and happy.

That didn’t mean she had felt as though she was a mother. She had liked pretending to be the sort of crazy aunt, in charge of all the bad decisions.

But she had never seen herself as maternal.

Well, she supposed that came from not really setting any rules. When she had been younger, she had always been under the impression that mothers had to set rules, educate their children, and raise them. She had never really raised King or Luz.

She had just sort of made them laugh, given them food, and then they hadn’t left anymore. Like the free-loaders they were. Kind of like pests, actually.

It had always made them laugh if she had called them that. It had made her laugh.

Because she loved them, of course. She didn’t know love alone could turn her, the irresponsible, free-spirited wild witch a mother.

She supposed she had been a mother for King and Luz. Without setting rules, without all the raising stuff. She supposed her kids had turned her the littlest bit maternal.

Was it normal for friends to stay up at night and change the cold applications on Luz’s forehead in the hopes of bringing her fever down? Was it called caring and loving when she went out of her way to get King’s favorite toy, to get Luz the food she could actually digest, to make sure King was free of fleas and bathed and tucked in at night?

Did it make her a mother if she risked her own life to ensure they could lead a happy life?

Eda never knew the line between loving, as friends, and maternal.

Raine had started calling her out on her maternal feelings once she got the littlest bit protective of Luz.

Well, it wasn’t her fault that everything made her jump after Belos had almost – had, in fact – killed Luz on the day of unity. It wasn’t her fault that she woke up at night in a cold sweat, rushing to check on her daughter in the room next to hers sleeping peacefully, only to return to a sleepy Raine dazedly grinning at her with a smug, shit-eating expression of “Told you so”.

Every time, they would roll over their mattress in her nest and wrap an arm around her waist and tell her she was such a sweet mother.

Well, she was. She was the Momma of the Owl House.

But maternal?

Eda supposed she was.

After all, even if friends would do the same as her, a mother would make sure everything stayed safe and protected in her house. Making sure there was food on the table that Luz could eat. Making sure King was feeling loved, despite having discovered his past.

Making sure Luz had all her school materials, spending money on icky, stupid books. Giving her an allowance. Keeping her and King safe.

Well, Eda had never really tried finding a definition for maternal. All the love she had gained for King and Luz had just been that to her – love. And it had been enough.

She had loved calling herself Momma and had loved treating Luz like her daughter and King like her son, and she had loved calling them her kids. She just supposed the word itself – maternal – didn’t exactly describe what she was. She, herself, as Eda the Owl Lady, the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles, an agent of chaos and the most daring criminal history had ever seen.

She had just assumed a mother wouldn’t call herself these titles.

Seemed like her view of a mother had been wrong.

Any person could be a mother, a parent, a father, or anything remotely close to this. And she supposed, caring for Luz and King, taking them in, giving them food, kind of did make her a maternal person, while never losing her pride as a criminal and generally irresponsible person.

A mother.

Well, whatever a mother was, or whatever maternal feelings were, or whatever she defined herself at and whatever she did for Luz and King.

Here she found herself, fidgeting next to her spouse, her excited teenage son in tow who was already towering over her height, in front of the healer’s coven building.

Whatever a mother was, she would probably feel that way. Well, Camila – Luz’s other mother – next to her other side was buzzing in excitement just as much as she was. The two women exchanged a glance before Camila gave her a small smile and she felt Raine taking her hand.

King gave a groan when he finally placed his claws on Eda’s and Camila’s shoulders and pushed them up the three steps into the main entrance, rolling his eyes.

After Belos had been taken down – after he had actually very much killed Luz, Eda had just brought her back to life – Luz and her friends had taken on graduation while the Boiling Isles had experienced a change in the government. Covens were no longer used to steal or limit magic. Instead, they had been used as a way to form a working parliament, with an elected group of government heads. After the gang had graduated, Luz had worked towards getting a way back home while helping establish a stable government form from the makeshift temporary one they had managed to create after Belos’ defeat. Luz had actually helped them quite a bit by telling of experiences made in the human realm, where politics were apparently a lot more twisted than here on the Isles.

Eda and Lilith had been elected as part of the group forming the government, even if Eda had dropped out after one or two periods, while her sister had taken charge like it had been the most natural thing for her.

Discovering that politics hadn’t really been up to her alley – she was way more interested in rebellions than anything else – she had begun building a legal business since she didn’t have to fear being captured anymore. It had gone pretty well.

Raine had started working in the government as well as Amity, while Luz had started working to mastering all forms of glyphs she could find, admitting her studies to the academics, and shortly after, had been offered to become a teacher at Hexside by Bump to teach magicless witches and demons glyph magic.

After traveling the Isles and working on her studies, Luz had accepted and finally settled down with Amity. It really hadn’t been a surprise to Eda when Amity had come to her and Raine with a ring and asked them to marry Eda’s daughter.

After already asking Camila that is.

Eda faintly felt King pushing her into the cool building that smelled like disinfectant – a nifty cleaning drug from the human realm that Luz had introduced them to – before hearing herself asking the receptionist where the room of the Noceda-Blights was.

A kind of bored-looking demon sighed and looked the room number up in the list, before pointing them in the direction. Again, Eda’s feet felt like they had been planted into the tiles below her.

Only after Raine gave her a light push, she moved again.

So, the world now had some sort of order. Nobody was forced into covens anymore, and the coven seals had been removed, setting the magic free again.

Raine and she had married shortly after her daughter had accepted Amity’s proposal, and now, ten years after Luz had first set foot on the Boiling Isles chasing after her book, Eda found herself feeling more maternal than ever. Whatever that meant.

Her hands were fidgety, and not even Raine’s steadying grip could calm her. Camila tried not to look around too much, even after so many years of knowing the Boiling Isles and having visited her daughter regularly, she still wasn’t used to all of it.

Stopping in front of their room, Eda tried breathing through. King sighed again, but Raine shot him a glare and he shut up. At least her spouse understood that this was a big step for her. Looking to her side, Camila tried another smile and Eda nodded at her.

“If you want to, you and King can go ahead. I’ll-… I still need a minute.”

More than willing, Camila accepted. She knocked, and upon hearing Luz’s call, she stepped in. Eda shuffled to the side to let King through, so he could duck through the doorframe and maneuver his broad shoulders in without hitting anything. The door closed and Eda breathed through once more, feeling Raine’s grip tightening.

“How do you feel?”

Shooting them a grin, Eda turned, shrugging and trying to play it cool, “Old, honestly.”

Laughing, Raine pulled her aside to the row of chairs and made her sit down.

“No, I mean, how do you feel about Luz and Amity?”, they tried again and Eda sighed, staring at the blank wooden door with the small eighteen next to it.

“… Proud. I’m proud of them for making this commitment.”, looking back to Raine, she added, “And kind of scared. I haven’t really been the most-… Well, involved.”

Unimpressed, Raine lifted an eyebrow.

“… You’re kidding, right?”

Groaning, Eda shrugged again and leaned back, before closing her eyes, resting her head against the wall.

“I-… I never made the commitment they made. King has his father and Luz has her mother. I was more a friend to them than a mom. Sure, I liked seeing myself that way, and they liked seeing themselves as my kids, but-… It was fun having them. King had always been mostly independent and Luz was already a teenager when I met her. I’ve never-… Well, been around-…”

Raine softly placed their hand on Eda’s hands that she had folded in her lap and when she opened her eyes again, the gaze of her spouse was humored.

“Come on, Eda. How hard can it be to be a not-grandmother?”, at the joke, Eda groaned, “It’s not much different to being a not-mom to your kids.”

Grumbling, she got up again before straightening her back and nodding.

“You know what, you’re right. That kid is family now and whoever the hell cares what a mother or a grandmother is.”

A little confused, Raine got up after her and pumped a fist, albeit half-heartedly.

“That’s the spirit?”, they laughed and Eda huffed, before knocking and getting her own call to be let in.

The room was warm and humid. Eda let in Raine and quickly closed the door after them, not to let too much of the warmth escape, before turning back to her daughter.

Luz looked tired when she approached them.

Well, that wasn’t a surprise, given that she and Amity had arrived in the hospital two days ago before their little daughter had been born just this morning in the earliest hours. She had probably been awake all this time to be there for Amity.

Giving Eda a big hug, she nuzzled her face into the crook of her mother’s neck, before deeply breathing out. Eda could tell that Luz had just overcome a big step for herself.

“… I’m glad you’re here…”, she breathed and Eda wrapped her arms around the now-grown woman, tilting her own head into the embrace. The younger witch snuggled close while Raine squeezed past them to join Camila and King around the crib next to Amity’s bed.

Eda tried so hard not to cry.

This was a happy occasion and she would sure as hell not shed a tear about this. Just when she pressed a little kiss to Luz’s head, a tear rolled into her dark curls as well. Well, there went this promise.

“I’m proud of you, kid.”, she whispered and Luz held her tighter, smiling against her neck, “I’m so, so proud of you. If you ever need some help, I’ll do my damn best to provide.”

Sniffling, Luz nodded, before parting from her.

The exhaustion was evident on her face. She wiped her cheek before Eda placed a hand on her shoulder and caught her gaze. They exchanged a silent smile, then she looked up and around her daughter to her future daughter-in-law on the bed, obviously exhausted as well.

Amity gave a small wave, but it was obvious to see she was under the influence of some strong sedatives. That was the logical thing to do, Eda supposed, to keep her from acting protective over her child while all her family and friends wanted to meet the newest family member.

Witches only carried six months until giving birth, before incubating their pup for another three months. Which was why this room was so damn hot.

But upon giving birth, new mothers would also become a lot more protective of their pups than humans would. Luz had been new to all of this and Eda had had to educate her on the reproduction of witches, because Amity had been too busy laughing. Well, Eda had laughed as well, but not as hard as Luz’s fiancé.

Looking back to her daughter, she finally noticed the bandage she was wearing around one hand. Smirking, she gestured to that.

“Don’t tell me your weak nerd arms gave in.”, she joked and Luz huffed, rubbing the bandage with the healing sticker.

“Amity just had to transform her hand into a damn abomination while in labor. Seriously, who even does that? She sliced my hand right in half.”, grumbling, she looked back to her fiancé and gave her a small smile before looking back to Eda, “I almost missed the birth because the healers had to patch me up first. But there won’t even be a scar because they had my hand reattached just a second after it happened.”

Still grinning, Eda punched her shoulder, then Luz leaned closer to her, lowering her voice.

“Just don’t tell Mami. She’d lose her cool.”

Shaking her head and laughing, Eda walked past her.

“I won’t, don’t worry.”, after making her way around the bed, she sat down on the edge and caught Amity’s dazed gaze, taking her hand after permission, “Hey Minty. How’re you feeling?”

“… ’M good.”, the young witch slurred, trying a small smile, before breathing through and looking to the side where she kept her pup in view, “… Tired.”

Eda nodded, cupping her hand with both of hers, before softly patting the back of her hand.

“Lily will be here this afternoon to look after you two. Your siblings are still in Latissa on Government business, they asked me to tell you because they couldn’t get a hold of you. But they’ll be back tomorrow.”

She could tell that was a lot of information for Amity to process so she made a note to tell Luz as well. Leaving the witch to try and observe the room again – probably to make sure it stayed safe for her pup – she turned to the crib now finally.

There she was.

Her tiny granddaughter.

She had a bit lighter skin than Luz and just about Amity’s hair color. And she was so damn tiny.

Eda found herself getting scared, suddenly. This was a really small kid. This was like, a stupidly small child. She would not hold that baby for any number of snails.

Camila seemed a lot more comfortable around the baby, though. She had respected Luz’s wish to leave her in her crib for the time being, so Amity could get used to so many people around her pup so suddenly, but she was already reaching in and brushing the tiny thing over her cheek.

Well, okay, that seemed easy enough. Eda could do that, someday, when the kid was like twelve or something.

King and Luz were talking about something while Raine looked just about as amazed by the small creature as Camila was.

Sensing their amazement and figuring that Raine didn’t exactly have that much experience with children, either, Camila took the hand of Eda’s spouse and guided them down into the crib, brushing their knuckles against the incredibly soft skin of the baby’s cheek.

Amity didn’t even flinch at that. Either the sedatives were really strong or she felt incredibly comfortable with the people in the room. Looking back to the young witch, Eda confirmed the latter. Through half-lidded eyes, Amity was leaning back against the pillow, her other hand that was not held by Eda draped across her belly, while she was calmly watching Camila guiding Raine’s hand against the infant’s cheek.

She wondered how much Amity had actually adopted Luz’s family as her own once her parents had been imprisoned for their crimes against the public.

Judging by her calm reaction, she didn’t mind them being around her and her loved ones in the slightest, even in the now starting incubation period. Finally, Luz leaned around King and reached into the crib to lift her little daughter up and cradling her close to her chest. The baby didn’t even wake up, which made Eda chuckle.

“She’s got your sleeping habits, kid.”

Amity’s hand in hers shook when she started laughing alongside the older witch and Luz flushed in deep red when her mother confirmed.

“Sometimes, not even me shaking her would wake her up to school.”, Camila added and Luz huffed, bopping the infant in her arms.

“You guys are being mean to me in front of my daughter.”, she tried pouting, but King deadpanned.

“In front of your sleeping daughter. She won’t hear any of this.”

They started laughing again while Luz couldn’t suppress a little smile herself while looking down at the infant. When they had all quieted down a little, Luz pressed a soft kiss to her daughter’s forehead, before approaching Camila. Shooting a gaze towards Amity first to ask her permission, she then placed the baby in her mother’s arms and kept her hand cupped on the baby’s head, smiling.

“That’s your abuelita, mija.”, Luz mumbled softly and Eda almost felt her own heart breaking with the light sniffle Camila gave. After all these years of calling Luz her mija, Luz starting to use that label for her own daughter now made the human tear up.

While Camila greeted the little pup, Eda turned back to Amity whose head was softly nicking every time her eyelids fell. She had to be exhausted.

Tugging on her hand, Eda got her attention, then she lightly pushed the crib away to get up and adjust Amity’s pillow for her.

“C’mon, let’s get you lying down. We’ll take care of your pup.”

A sleepy gaze crossed with Eda’s but before Amity could object, the older witch was already adjusting the settings of the mattress to be flat again, before helping Amity lie down on her side.

“You can stay awake for as long as you want, but you should be comfortable with it at least.”, shooting her a grateful gaze, the younger witch yawned, then she adjusted the blanket around her future daughter-in-law and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Don’t worry about your pup, okay? Luz is taking care of her.”

That seemed to soothe Amity. She mumbled a soft “thank you” towards Eda and curled up a little, before continuing to watch the scene before her, the blinking of her eyelids already getting slower.

When Eda turned back to Camila, she discovered that Luz had taken her daughter back already and was safely cradling her before going around the crib and catching Eda’s gaze.

She knew that Luz wanted her to say hi, too.

“Luz, I’m not so sure about holding-”

Chuckling, her daughter adjusted the baby, before taking Eda’s hand.

“You can greet them like this first if you don’t wanna hold her. Or you can sit down if you like.”

Huffing, Eda fidgeted shortly, before rubbing her hands together and breathing through.

“Just, uh-… Sitting would be nice. I’m-… Holding the bat kids was an entirely different thing, you know? They could fly. Your kid can’t fly.”

Luz had to laugh at Eda’s rambling, pulling on her hand, she ushered King out of the chair by the window, before letting her adoptive mother sit down in it. Camila helped out by placing a pillow on Eda’s lap, then she was all set. Luz studied her face again.

“If you’re too nervous, you don’t have to hold her. I can hold her over your lap if you want to.”

Trying to wave her off, Eda forced a laugh.

“Pfft, you can just say you don’t trust me holding a baby, kid.”, she tried to joke around, but Luz just gave her a smile.

“If you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to. That’s all I’m saying.”

But Eda wanted to. She definitely did kind of want to hold the tiny fragile baby that Luz had made together with her fiancé. Even if she was nervous and a little bit scared and so amazed by how small such a tiny thing could actually be, she did kind of want to hold that baby. Patting the pillow, she finally breathed through, then she opened her arms.

“Okay, I’m ready. Bring it, kid.”

Smirking at her antics, Luz leaned in and kneeled, then she slowly placed the baby in Eda’s arms. It was so tiny. It was so stupidly tiny, it wasn’t even as long as Eda’s forearm. Hiccupping, the older witch instinctively cradled the tiny, tiny infant in her arms and a warm feeling overcame her.

A really warm feeling.

If that was maternal feelings, then Eda swore she was going to be the best dang grandmother she could be for that child.

She brushed over her temple and the baby squirmed slightly. Apparently, she had woken up sometime during Camila holding her and was now kind of fighting against the snug swaddle blanket she was trapped in. Eda didn’t even notice she had tears in her eyes when she already felt the first tear rolling down her cheek.

“Wow… You’re my granddaughter now, hm?”, she asked and that tiny thing yawned, her arms struggling in the swaddle, before softly smacking her incredibly small lips. Eda found herself smiling immediately, “Titan, that’s new.”

Luz’s hands undid the blanket that was wrapped around the baby, then Eda laughed tearily when the infant stretched, her absolutely tiny fists stretching up to her face and rubbing her cheeks. She was apparently waking up and while she knew that incubating infants didn’t open their eyes yet, she found herself wondering what eye color the child would have. Adjusting the baby, she cradled them closer, then she smuggled a finger into the fist and giggled in delight when the baby grabbed it, despite not wanting to open the fist at first.

Looking up to Luz, who was still kneeling in front of her, she managed a smile, her teary expression probably matching the one on her daughter’s face.

“She’s perfect, Luz. But, let’s be honest, you two made a stupidly small baby.”

Laughing under tears, Luz nodded then she brushed over her daughter’s head and pressed a small kiss to her forehead to which the baby responded with a huff.

“Yeah, when I first held her, I was so scared she’d just slip right through my arms. But I think Amity would have killed me if I had so much as stumbled so I concentrated really hard not to let that happen.”

Eda’s gaze shot up from her granddaughter to her future daughter-in-law who was calling from the bed, her words slurred from the sedatives and sleepiness, but still very much poised if needed.

“… You better not drop our child, Luz.”

Raine had to laugh at that and went to soothe the new mother, while Eda turned back to the baby in her arms with a smile.

“Titan she’s small…”

The following few minutes were pretty much filled with tearful giggles and a very excited King who almost knocked the crib over when Luz called him to say hi as well. When Eda and King had calmed down a little, Camila had taken Luz outside for a little mother-daughter walk in the nearby park and King had gone with them for snacks. The older witch got up and carried the baby back to the crib, smiling when she lifted them up to her face. Resting her forehead against theirs, she kept like this for a moment, before stopping in front of the crib.

Amity had fallen asleep by now, even if she was flinching with every littlest sound her daughter made, so Eda looked over to Raine.

“Wanna hold the baby, too?”, she asked and Raine blushed.

“I’d-… I’d rather wait until she’s a little bit older.”, she admitted and Eda nodded before still gesturing her spouse over. Raine got up from the edge of Amity’s bed and joined Eda, putting an arm around her waist while Eda still cradled the baby close, taking care not to jostle her too much.

She yawned again and from the corner of her eyes, Eda saw Amity’s eyes opening, unfocused and probably very much still asleep but still attentive to her daughter. Chuckling, she turned back to Raine.

“Boy, I’m sure glad I only had two adoptive children.”

Shrugging, Raine caught the baby’s fist with their free hand and tickled their tiny fingers, but she wouldn’t open her hand this time.

“I’m sure you would’ve made a great biological mother as well. As you’re already a great adoptive mother, too.”

Shrugging, Eda brushed over her temple again, leaning into Raine.

“Nah, I’m glad I never had a baby. I don’t think I would’ve wanted to go through that.”

“Fair enough.”, Raine whispered, but their tone indicated that they had stopped listening to Eda, engrossed by the child in her arms. She softly kicked, which caused them to chuckle, before she settled back against Eda’s chest, curling in slightly and breathing through, apparently getting ready for her next nap. Raine sighed softly.

“Honestly, I’m glad I never had a baby, too. But having a grandchild is amazing.”

Grinning, Eda kissed their forehead, before carefully maneuvering the baby back into the crib and swaddling them the best she could, watching her breaths deepening and calming as she fell asleep again. Then, Eda pushed the crib next to Amity’s bed, to which the young witch immediately responded by reaching into the crib from the side and resting her hand on her daughter’s belly. Smiling, Eda took Raine into her arms and watched as both her future daughter-in-law and her granddaughter slept peacefully, leaning her head against Raine’s.

“… You’re right this is amazing.”

She already knew that this child would have the two best mothers she could ask for. And she knew that her entire family, including her furry uncle, three grandmothers, and one grandparent, and their twin uncle and aunt would do their damn best to make sure this child had everything she needed.

Smiling, Eda reached down to brush over the baby’s cheek and pulled Raine closer.

Maternal feelings or not, this was amazing.

---

Let me know if you liked it!

[sergeantsporks]

Another Shot at Life

Rating: General Audiences, Gen

TW: Child abuse, emotional manipulation

Ao3

Hunter accidentally makes his way into the human realm and can't get back home. But he's discovering that might not be such a bad thing.

Ch 5/7: Wake from Your Dream

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4

It’s over… isn’t it? Isn’t it over? You won, and she chose you—

There was a knock on the door, and Hunter stretched. “I got it!”

Vee scrambled for the remote to pause the recording, while Hunter padded to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open.

“Hello, Hunter.”

Hunter froze, his heart beating a frantic tempo so loud he thought that Vee could probably hear it in the other room, even over the sound of Pearl’s singing.

It’s over, isn’t it? Why can’t I move on?

“Do you mind if I come in?”

Belos didn’t wait for an answer, just glided past Hunter, while he remained frozen in place.

Belos was here.

Belos was here!

The music from the show halted.

“Hunter, who is it?” Vee called.

Her voice snapped him out of his head as she padded into the hallway, spotted Belos, and screamed. He whirled around, pushing past his uncle, and pushing her towards the stairs, Red fluttering after him. “VEE, RUN!”

They bolted into their room while Belos slowly followed, unconcerned, and Hunter slammed the door shut, locking it. He threw open the window. “Go, go, go!”

Vee slung one leg out of the window, making it out onto the roof. “Hey, Hunter, come on!”

The doorknob rattled. “Hunter, open this door,” Belos’ voice ordered, calm and cool.

Hunter reached under his pillow, pulling out the training wand he’d stolen from Jacob. “He’s not here for you. He’s here for me. If I go with you, he’ll chase us, but if I stay, I… I think he’ll leave you alone.”

“Hunter,” Belos said threateningly, rattling the doorknob harder.

“Hunter, no!” Vee protested, starting to crawl back into the window.

Hunter shoved the training wand into her hands. “Run. I don’t think he’ll chase after you if he has me, but if he does, eat the magic in this. Use it to change your appearance and hide. Okay, Vee? I’ll be—I’ll be fine.” He clenched his hands into fists to hide how hard they were shaking. “He can’t hurt me that bad—he needs me. And, Vee?”

“What?”

“D-don’t tell Camila.”

“Hunter, I—”

“I don’t want her to get hurt. Promise me you won’t run and get her, Vee, she’s no match for the emperor.”

“But—”

“Promise, Vee! Promise you won’t tell her!”

“I—I promise.”

Hunter felt a very, very small splash of relief. “Stay safe,” he ordered, then shut the window, closing the curtain and turning to face the door.

It burst off of its hinges, and Belos glided across the floor. “Even stranded from home, you managed to find an escaped basilisk for me. Impressive.”

Hunter planted himself defiantly in front of the window, knowing deep down that if Uncle Belos decided to go after Vee, there was nothing he could do. Red landed in his hands, and he tucked the palisman out of sight. “You—you c-can’t have her,” he stuttered, while every instinct screamed at him to just step aside.

“Oh, Hunter. You don’t need to play the hero—not around me.” Belos reached out, putting one hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure this world has confused you, frightened you. But I’m here to bring you home.”

“H-how?”

“The portal, of course. The titan’s blood in the key is important to me. But I was willing to use it to get you back.”

Something about that didn’t seem quite right. “Th-then why did—why did you take so long?”

“Oh, I know how frightened you must have been to be stranded here. I would have come sooner, but…” Belos sighed. “I had to gather all of my strength to come here.” He crouched down, his eyes burning right through Hunter. “It hurts me to be here, Hunter. You are hurting me. Is that what you wanted?”

A wave of guilt swept over Hunter in a dizzying rush. He hadn’t known what being here would do to his uncle—but Belos had still come for him anyway.

“No! Of course not!”

Belos straightened, his grip on Hunter’s shoulder tightening enough to hurt. “Good. Then let’s go home.”

“…Hunter?”

Hunter peered around his uncle to see Camila standing in the doorway, a shopping bag hanging off of her arm. No. She couldn’t be here! “Vee said she wouldn’t get you!”

Camila slid around Belos to stand behind Hunter, putting her hand on his other shoulder. An overwhelming feeling of smallness swept over him as she narrowed her eyes at Belos, like he was stuck between two tidal waves that were about to collide. “She didn’t. Who is this?”

“This is… the emperor.”

Uncle Belos removed his hand from Hunter’s shoulder. “You have the coven’s gratitude for assisting the golden guard. We will be returning to our own realm now.”

Camila’s hand tightened just ever-so-slightly, but unlike Belos’ grip, hers felt protective and supportive. “You aren’t taking him back,” she said calmly, “He’s staying here with me.”

The relief that hit him made his legs go weak—and made him feel even more guilty. No—he needed to go back. Belos had come for him, specifically. Even though it hurt him. But he wanted to stay. But he couldn’t stay, and he shouldn’t want to stay.

“That’s not up to you,” Belos said quietly, dangerously.

Camila glared at him. “No. It’s not.” She turned Hunter to face her. “Hey. Hunter. Mijo. This is your decision.” She gripped his shoulders. “If you don’t want to go back, you do not have to go back, do you understand? I won’t make you. I won’t make you stay, either, because this is your choice. You hear me? You get the freedom to decide what future you want.” She sighed. “I should have given Luz that freedom. I didn’t. But I’m giving you that choice. Do you want to go with Belos?”

No.

The thought jumped to his mind with absolute clarity. He didn’t. He wanted to stay here.

“What a lovely speech,” Belos drawled, “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like a word with him. Alone.”

Camila looked to Hunter, and he nodded. “’s okay. Go.”

She shot Belos another glare, but went outside, closing the door behind her.

Hunter took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. “I don’t want to go.”

The words seemed to lift a massive weight off of his chest, one he didn’t even know had been crushing him until it was gone.

“What was that?”

“I said, I don’t want to go back to the Boiling Isles. I want to stay here. With Camila, and Vee.”

Belos loomed over him. “Oh, Hunter. You can’t stay here. You’d never fit in. What would you even do? With me, you have a future, a plan! Here? There’s nothing for you. No future. Just meaninglessness.”

Hunter’s ears started to quiver, and he slapped his hands over them, shutting his eyes. “Camila—Camila said she’d help me figure out my future.”

“Oh, she did, did she? No one knows you like I do, Hunter. I know better than anyone what the right choice for you is—I especially know better than you. So why don’t you just let me make all of the hard decisions, and you just do what I say, and everything can go back to the way it was.”

Hunter’s legs wobbled, and he collapsed to his knees. “I don’t want to go back to the way it was,” he whispered, but he could barely even hear himself.

Belos knelt down next to him. “Hunter, she’s poisoned your mind against me. Your own family. The only one who ever saw you as something. You’re special, and she wants to take that away.” He reached out, tilting Hunter’s face up. “Come back with me, and I’ll forget that this whole thing ever happened. I know what’s said about me, but I can be merciful. You won’t be allowed to leave your room, of course, but I’ll forget you attacked Kikimora. I’ll forget I ever saw the basilisk. I’ll even let you keep your little palisman pet.” His fingers tightened on Hunter’s jaw, making him wince. “But if you don’t come back, well, I have more than enough titan’s blood for another trip here. The coven wants their leader back. They’ll be with me. I’m sure Warden Wrath will just JUMP at the chance to regain his lost experiment. And if the human gets in the way, well… who can say.”

A thrill of panic shot through Hunter, and his chest grew tight.

Belos didn’t make idle threats.

Belos let him go, standing up. “But I want this to be your choice, Hunter. I want to give you the chance to choose the right option. Prove that you’re still loyal. Prove that the titan didn’t choose wrong. That I didn’t choose wrong.”

He swept out of the door, and Hunter heard a scuffle at the window, but when he looked, no one was there. He sat down with a whump, running a hand through his hair.

If he didn’t go now, Belos would just get him later. Red would die, Vee would get locked in a cage again, and Camila-!

Hunter threw open the closet door, where his uniform was waiting for him. The armor seemed to gleam smugly at him, and he tugged it off the hanger, not even caring when the pin on the cloak tore the fabric a little. He slipped back into the uniform, folding the clothes Camila and Vee had given him up neatly. He squeezed the pile of clothes to his chest, fighting back tears.

Red warbled sadly at him, and Hunter picked the bird up. “You don’t have to come. In fact, you probably shouldn’t. It’s not safe. You should stay here, with Camila and Vee.

Red snuggled up against him.

Hunter knew it was selfish of him to take his palisman back—he would just be putting the bird in danger, and for what? A friend? He’d just be someone else Belos could threaten to get Hunter to do what he wanted.

He tucked the palisman into his cloak pocket anyway.

Xxx

Camila finally broke off her glaring contest with Belos when Hunter shuffled down the stairs. Her heart sank to her shoes as she looked him up and down. “You’re… going,” she said flatly. She’d sort of suspected, but she’d always hoped…

He gave her a short nod. “I appreciate your assistance,” he said stiffly, glancing at Emperor Belos, “But it’s time I went home.” He thrust out the clothes she’d given him. “Thank you for letting me borrow these.”

Camila pushed the clothes back to him, barely holding back tears. “Keep them. In case you don’t want to wear your armor all of the time. Or—or if you want to visit.” She squinted at his jaw. “Are those… bruises?”

He pulled away, hiding behind Emperor Belos, looking so very small and alone and scared. Belos gave her a smug look, and Camila marched right up to him. He was much taller than her, but she glared up at him, tilting her head back, and jabbing one finger at him. “Listen here,” she snapped, “you might have convinced him to go back with you. But you will be making changes in how you treat him. If I catch so much of a hint of you hurting him in any way, even just a feeling in the back of my mind, I don’t care how many dimensions are between us. I will find you. And I will end you.”

He stared down at her, cool and unconcerned. “The idea that I would hurt one of my own is simply sad,” he drawled, “I’ll take your… paltry threat under consideration. Come along, Hunter.”

He swept out the door, Hunter scurrying after him and not even looking Camila in the eye. She crossed her arms, fighting back tears. “That wasn’t a threat,” she muttered, “That was a promise.”

Xxx

Vee crept into the house, poking her head cautiously into the living room. Camila was on the couch, crying, and Vee felt her heart drop. “Camila?” she asked softly, “Where’s Hunter?”

Camila swiped at her eyes. “He’s—he’s gone back. Belos took him.”

“What?! And you let him?!”

“He wanted to go—I didn’t want to keep him prisoner here.” Camila buried her face in her hands. “Vee, am I really so bad that everyone would rather go to the Boiling Isles and danger than stay here with me?”

Vee put her hands on Camila’s cheeks, tilting her face up. “He didn’t want to go!” she cried.

Camila sniffed. “Wh-what?”

“He didn’t—he wanted to stay, Camila, he told Belos that, but Belos threatened to hurt us if he didn’t go back—I heard the whole thing. He said he wanted to go in order to protect us! He was lying! Belos made him go!”

Camila blinked at her, then jumped to her feet. “Oh, no—we have to go get him, we can’t let Belos take him—Vee, grab the pepper spray!”

Vee ran to the bathroom, tugging the pepper spray out of a drawer. Camila was already halfway down the path to the old house, and she ran to keep up, her feet pounding on the dirt.

Camila slammed the door of the house open, revealing a rift to the Boiling Isles. Hunter and Belos were already on the other side, Belos’ grip tight on Hunter’s shoulder.

“Hunter!” Camila yelled, panting, “You don’t have to go—we’ll fight for you, just come back!”

Hunter turned around, his eyes widening. “Camila?”

He shook free of Belos, running back towards the portal. “Camila-!”

Belos moved too fast for Vee to even catch, seeming to appear next to Hunter and ripping him back, his grip on Hunter’s shoulder so tight, Vee saw tears of pain spring into his eyes. “Too late.”

Camila ran towards the portal. “Hunter-!”

Belos clicked the key, and the portal closed. Camila charged through empty air. “NO!”

Vee’s legs wobbled, and she staggered to Camila, who grasped her tightly. “No…” Camila whispered, “How could I let him…?”

Vee hugged her surrogate mother. “He’ll be okay,” she whispered, trying to convince herself, “He’s tough. He’ll—he’ll find a way out. He did before, he’ll do it again.”

Please let him be okay.

Ch 6