At the marketplace, King was trying to advertise his snacks at Eda's stand. Eda herself relaxed with her feet on the table. "Partake of my free snack samples! Take it! I demand it as your ruler, the King of Demons!" There were no takers. King slammed his snacks onto the ground. "Why isn't anyone paying attention to me? I'm their rightful overlord, intellectually and such."

"Uh, guys," said Strix, looking up from the magazine he was reading. "Haven't you noticed something odd about these people? Like the fact they're carrying books?"

"Yeah," Eda said, also taking note. "Hey, you!" She grabbed one passerby and sniffed him "It reeks more of nerd than money today."

Suddenly, Luz appeared with a very excited face. "Guys! You will not believe what's going on!" She brought them to an area of the marketplace were a large banner reading "Book Fair!" was hanging. "It's a book fair," she cheered. "Where books come to life!"

In this case, quit literally. One book hopped off its stack and said, "Hello!" In response, Luz kicked it away in surprise.

"A fair without rides?" King questioned.

"Who needs rides when this can take you anywhere," a boy with a huge backpack full of books asked, shoving a book in Strix's face. In response, Strix shined the light spell into his face. "AUGH! MY EYES!" he screamed and ran off.

"Don't worry, you'll get your sight back in twelve hours," Strix called out with a chuckle.

Eda took one of the books from a stand and skimmed through it before saying, "A...ew, B...I'm bored, C...I feel like pickpocketing some dork while they browse." She dropped it onto the ground and walked away with a bored look.

"No, wait!" Luz called out to her before she turned to King, "Will you give it a chance? I'll let you ride in my hoodie!" King seemed to agree as he hopped into Luz's hoodie. She then asked Strix, "What about you?"

"I can't fit in that hoodie."

"No! I mean will you join us in the wonderful world of books?"

Strix thought it over. "Well, I have been wanting to add another spell book to my own library. Eh, why not?"

"Hooray!"

The trio walked past the stands, seeing some of the more bizarre aspects of literature. A reviewnicorn, a literal ghost writer, and man-eating comics. "This book fair's got everything," said Luz. A scene making workshop, meet and greets, and- what's that?" She gasped when she saw a stand with a banner that read, "Writing Competition! Enter Today!" Manning the stand was a witch author in a blue jacket, red scarf and sporting a green mohawk and a three-eyed lizard in a red robe and a blue fez. Luz was ecstatic. "A writing competition!? I've always wanted to be a writer."

King asked, confused, "Writer? What? I thought you wanted to be a witch?"

"Of course I want to be a witch, but where I'm from that's kinda...impossible. So my runner up dream was to be a writer. I've had this about-the-author picture since I was seven years old." Luz held up a picture of her seven year old self in a purple space dolphin sweater. "I know my good angle. I'm gonna enter the competition."

Suddenly, a laughing teenage girl ran by, bumping into Luz's shoulder in the process. King made a face and said, "Ugh! What are these basement dwellers doing out in natural sunlight?"

Tiny Nose, carrying a book too big for her said in a snooty tone, "Um! We're in line for John De Plume, the most famous writer on the Boiling Isles, famed author of the Realm Warriors series!" She pointed to the author manning the "Writing Competition" stand, currently signing autographs. "I'm gonna have him read my story...and marry me."

A demon pig held up his infant son to De Plume. "John, will you sign my child?"

"I'll sign anything!" De Plume laughed wickedly.

King was impressed by the author's laugh and the way his fans put the "fan" in "fanatic". "Such power...such command he holds over his minions...I must have the same! Luz the Human! I too shall enter the competition."

"Really?" Luz gasped with joy. "We could work together! It'll be perfect! We're best friends, so we'll make the best team!"

"Team...yes...my name goes first on the cover."

"Strix, you want in on this?"

Strix made an uncertain face and rubbed his upper arm. "I don't know. I've never been that much of a writer."

"Don't worry. We'll show you the ropes," said Luz.

Meanwhile, Eda was browsing books and tossing them over her shoulder. "Boring, boring, boring." Then she saw her reflection in a mirror book and gasped in horror. "Another wrinkle! The curse is quickening!"

"You, lacky," a woman's voice said. Eda ducked behind a banner. She poked her head out to see Lilith talking to a cat demon.

"Lilith," Eda growled.

"Do you have the item we discussed?" Lilith asked.

"Oh! Yes, right here." The cat demon handed her a map. She grinned at it. "This is excellent. A map to the bloom of eternal youth. I think the Emperor will be very pleased."

The guard accompanying Lilith asked, "Ma'am, shouldn't we be searching for the Owl Lady to join the Coven? Remember that whole plan."

Lilith laughed. "My sister's curse has left her frail - she'll still be here when we get back." Eda growled. "This comes first, it's for the Emperor after all"

"Yeah! All hail the Emperor," the guard exclaimed as he stretched his arms out in declaration and knocked over the cat demon's books off the counter by accident.

"Very good Steve," Lilith complimented him like he was a dog.

"Shoulder pads for Steve!"

When she saw Lilith and her bodyguard leave, Eda came out of her hiding spot and asked the cat demon, "Hey bub, what'd you sell my prissy sister?"

"Oh! It's a map to the bloom of eternal youth. A rare flower that only grows once a millennia. Like the name says, it gives eternal youth to whomever holds it."

"Interesting. So Lilith wants to nab this power for the Emperor, huh. Well, won't she be surprised when I get there first and get it for myself! Hah! That'll show her who's frail."

"Well, we'll see won't we. Can't go without a map of course." The cat demon handed her another map and she grinned. Who's frail now?

Back at the Owl House, Luz dragged a cork board to her room and said to King and Strix, "Now, let's write down some ideas that we want to see in the story," she said.

King asked, "I can write anything?"

"Yeah!" Luz handed him and Strix some flashcards and a pen. "We're brainstorming, every idea is a good idea."

"Mhm! Done!" King tacked his idea onto the cork board. All it said in big red letters was "VIOLENCE!" Strix made an unimpressed look. "Seriously? That's all you can come up with?" King added another flashcard. All this one said was "BLOOD!"

Luz made a thoughtful grunt. "Strix, any thoughts?" The boy added his idea to the wall. King made a shocked, "Oh, my!" Luz made an uncomfortable laugh and said, "Uh, let's keep this PG rated, okay?"

"How about I be the editor instead?" Strix asked. "Philistines," he muttered under his breath.

Luz added more notes to the board. "Romance! Magic! Heartbreak with shimmer tears. And, the main character is, of course," She held up a card and sang like an angelic choir, "Ahhh, Luzura! I know it's kind of cliche, but what's wrong with cliche?"

"And my main character is the King...err...the Ruler of Demons! With this totally original, all star cast, victory will be ours!"

Luz took out a crocodile-headed typewriter and added some paper to it. "Now for the easy part," she said.

And so began the writing process. However, there was already a creative differences issue no more than five pages in. Luz wanted to add more romantic elements to it while King wanted to add more violence. Very graphic violence at that. They did reach a compromise and decided to make it violent romance.

All it needed was a title. "Lazura's Awakening!"

"'Luzura's tear fell on the frozen prince, bringing him back to life.'"

"Well, what do you think?" Luz asked Strix, eager.

He gave her and King a weird look and said quite brutally, "It's garbage." Luz and King made a hurt face. "There are a couple of plot holes, spelling and grammar errors, half of these 'then's' should be 'than's' and King, you wrote a waaayyyy too detailed paragraph on Luzura and Ruler's battle with the demon army! This is no better than those food fan fictions that woman writes!"

Luz crossed her arms and grumbled, "Now who's a philistine?"

"I told you it just seemed kind of unrealistic," King said to Luz.

"I see what you're saying, but in your version, Ruler just destroys everything. I think a little romantic tension could help the scene."

"Hey, there's more to life than shipping."

"Don't you dare insult shipping in my presence!"

Strix inched away from Luz. "You scare me," he whispered.

"Apprentice! Child! Living room," Eda called out.

"I'll be back, we'll figure this out, okay writing buddy?"

As King watched Luz and Strix leave, he eyed the typewriter. "My turn to write!"

"What is it, Mom?" Strix asked.

Eda placed the map into her pocket and raised up her hood. "I'm popping out for a few days to an undisclosed place to do undisclosed things. You're in charge."

"Okay."

"No questions," Eda said as she headed for the door.

"I said okay."

"No questions!"

"Would you get out of here, you old bat?!" Strix suddenly shouted.

Eda narrowed her eyes at him. "Remind me to pickle your tongue when I get back," she said, slamming the door behind her.

Luz and Strix returned to the former's room as she said, "Well King, it's just you, Strix and me for a while-" The kids suddenly stopped short. The banner now read "Ruler's Reach". All of Luz's ideas and even her draft were lying in a garbage can and the cork board was covered in King's ideas. King himself was typing away on the typewriter. "Hey hey Luz, great news," he said.

Luz was aghast. "What have you done?!"

"I just made a few tiny edits and this baby is humming!"

Strix took King's draft and read a page from it. "Luzura dies?" He winced at it. "Oh, that is a really gory death, too."

"I know right! What a twist!"

"King, I know you're trying to help," said Luz, pinching the bridge of her nose. "But I think you're crossing a line."

"Yeah, into greatness. Don't you want us to win?"

"If this is how you want to win, maybe you should submit the story on your own," Luz said in disappointment as she left the room.

"What? Bah! What does she know? WENK!" King grunted as Strix pushed the draft into his chest. "You hijacked her story," he said angrily. "Not cool!" He left with a huff.

King just scoffed and said, "Who's a philistine now?!"

"What the heck man? Learn to collaborate."

"Hush you," King snapped at the typewriter. "I'll prove to all three of you my story is superior."

King burst open the doors to Grimgrub's Pub and said to the reprobates, "Hey you scum! Which one of you wants to read my literary masterpiece! Anyone brave enough?" In response, they literally kicked him out of the pub and into what he hoped was mud.

"I'll read your story," someone said. It was the three-eyed lizard man at the book signing. He quickly read through King's story with his third eye glowing and asked, "You wrote this?"

"Yep, that's me! Only me," said King as he wiped the mud off himself.

"Let me get you a fruit punch," the lizard man said as he escorted him back into the pub. True to his word, he gave King a cup of punch as he introduced himself, "I'm Piniet, of Piniet Publishing House, and your name is...King?"

"It's more of a rank than a name," said King.

"I loved your story, so much better than the submissions we got for the competition. I want to buy it and publish it for everyone to read. I'll make you as famous as John De Plume."

King looked to the right to see De Plume being worshiped and carried around by his fan girls. "I've always wanted a people chair! I'm in! This will be my first step in my reclamation of power!"

"Then all you have to do is sign here," Piniet said, handing King a contract. King stamped his paw print onto the signature line and the paper started to glow.

"You're ominous...I like it," said King.

Piniet shook hands with the little demon and said, "Get ready to be famous, Mr. King."

Ruler's Reach became an overnight sensation in just a matter of hours. His story became published and thousands of copies were hitting the shelves in just minutes and were being sold faster than they were being printed. King suddenly became the most popular author on the boiling isles and his work was being praised by critics with the Reviewnicorn saying, "It's the perfect blend of heart and heartlessness! Like two authors mashed into one!" If only he knew how right he was.

One day, King was walking down the street, wearing a brown jacket, red sunglasses and a green scarf, when he was suddenly swarmed by a group of his new fans, begging for him to autograph their copies of his book. One of them was Tiny Nose who said, "Mr. King! I love your writing, pwease wead my story!"

King autographed her book without even taking one look at it and laughed. "Oh my, always good to meet minions- I mean fans."

"You're my inspiration."

Meanwhile, Eda followed her map until she found a statue of a Minotaur covered in vines. "Okay, from the Minitaur, I head due North, and with luck, I'll get to the bloom of eternal youth before Lilith!" She laughed. "Who's frail now, Emperor Dork?" She suddenly heard a twig break. "Someone's following me." She ducked behind the statue and conjured a ice blade and fire ball spell. "Spicy toss!" She ran at the follower only to stop when she realized who it was. "Lilith?"

"Edalyn?" Lilith's hair was a tangled mess with leaves and branches in it and her dress was soiled by soil. She frowned at Eda and said, "Ugh, and of course you would be here just to be a nuisance. Why don't you go home and rest, wouldn't want you breaking a hip."

"Sorry sister, I'm stronger than you think. I'm here to save the bloom of eternal youth from the likes of you." Eda paused then took off running. "And I'm gonna get there before you!"

Lilith chased after her, shouting, "No you won't!"

Back at the Owl House, Luz was in the process of writing another story with Strix when King suddenly came in with a red envelope. "Hey Luz! Guess who won the writing competition and became a blockbuster writer superstar? You're right, it's me! Me! Do you wanna touch my scarf? A fan crocheted it out of their own hair! It smells so bad!" Luz and Strix ignored him. "My publisher is throwing a huge party for my book, Ruler's Reach, and I-uh-I'd like for you to be there."

He handed Luz the invitation, but she dropped it into the ground without even looking. King turned to Strix. "What about you?" In response, Strix let out an angry screech. "Alright fine! Be that way I guess." He left the room in a huff. Luz exhaled in frustration.

"Girl, you don't need him," the typewriter said to her.

"But I don't want to be mad at him either."

"Are you kidding," exclaimed Strix. "That mongrel hijacked your story!"

"I know! But I still want to congratulate him on his success! Even if he doesn't really deserve it."

At the library, King was having a book signing with Piniet by his side. One of the fans asked the little demon, "Your fans are dying to know when Ruler's Reach 2 comes out!"

"That's between me and my publisher, right Piniet?"

The lizard publisher said, "Yes, oh pardon me, I need a few moments of King's time." He pulled King behind one of the shelves but not before the little demon gave his fans one more wave. When they were out of everyone's earshot, King asked, "Where's John De Plume at? I wanted to compare sunglasses."

Piniet waved him off dismissively, "Oh he's taking a break to finish his latest masterpiece - fame can really box you in, you know? Speaking of, how's your second book coming along?"

"Coming along? Or finished! Bam!" King showed him the draft for his new story. "Haha! Ruler's Reach 2 - now with more swears!"

"Ahhh! Splendid!" Piniet read through the pages using his third eye. When he was finished he laughed. "Oh you cad! Not only are you a great writer, but a practical joker as well!"

"That's true- wait, what?"

"Oh this is truly awful! Looking forward to the real draft."

As King watched the publisher go, he was in a state of panic. Was he really not as talented as he originally thought? "Truly awful? But I'm a best selling writer, how?" Then he saw it. Luz and Strix walking through the crowd of is fans. He realized, "Luz! I can't write without her!" He ran up to to the kids and said, "Luz, buddy! I'm so glad you could make it!"

"Hey King, I didn't wanna be angry at your success - you're my friend, so congratulations!"

"Great to hear, cuz I really need your help with my next book!"

Luz and Strix weren't sure they didn't hear that right. "What did you say," the latter asked.

"Apparently I can't write my daring works of genius without rebelling against your gushy fantasy slop," explained King.

Luz was offended. "EXCUSE ME?!"

"We make a great team! So, here's a pen, writey writey, clocks-a-tickin'!"

Luz angrily dropped the pen. "I'm not writing for you after you made fun of all my ideas!"

"Hey! What the heck?"

Strix suddenly grabbed the little demon by the tail and snarled at him, "You're unbelievable! You're not a team player! You're just a thief!"

"Why do you care? You don't even like my story!"

Luz practically turned red. "'MY' story?!"

"Truth be told, I still do," said Strix. "I honestly don't know how it became a major hit, it's so badly written. But that's not the point. The point is, you don't team up with someone and claim all their work! You don't deserve these glasses!" He took the glasses off King's face and smashed them before dropping him and turning to leave.

"Luz!" whined King.

But Luz was all out of sympathy. "Congratulations on all your hard earned success," she said sarcastically.

King dropped to his knees as he watched his friends leave him in his mess. "What am I gonna do? I can't write without her!" What he didn't know was that Piniet had overheard everything.

Back in the forest with the Clawthorne sisters, they were still racing each other with Eda in the lead. "Ha! Doesn't this remind you of how we used to race to the kitchen, Lilly?" No response. Weird. "Lilly?" Eda turned back and saw Lilith wrapped up and in the claws of a giant crab spider. "Lilly!" Eda used her magic to blast the monster into the sky and free her sister. She helped her up with an "Allyoop!"

Lilith brushed herself off and said, "Thank you Edalyn! I wasn't certain that you'd save me."

"Stow it! Yeah we may fight, but you're still my sister. Besides, if someone's gonna be putting you down, it's gonna be me." She slapped her shoulder with a laugh.

Lilith couldn't help but chuckle. Then she saw something with a gasp. "Is that...?" There, sitting in a fountain of a woman was a glowing pink flower. "The bloom of eternal youth," Eda exclaimed. And then she pushed Lilith to the ground, "Alright back off, that baby's mine."

Lilith let out a growl as she chased after her, "Why are you always like this?"

"Because Lilith, you think I'm just some tired old biddy. Oh but I'm more than that. And with the bloom of eternal youth's power, I'll show you!" Before Eda could grab the flower, it suddenly disappeared. "What the-"

Suddenly someone started laughing. The Clawthorne sisters looked up to see the demon cat salesman that sold them the maps standing on top of the fountain, giving them a wicked smile.

While leaving the library, Luz spotted a poster of King. She had to admit it, "They got his good angle." Strix made a snort. Before they could leave, they were suddenly blocked by two big lizard men. "Uh, can I help you?"

The lizard men parted to let Piniet approach. "Perhaps," he said. "I hear you're an aspiring writer."

"Let's not use the W word too loosely," said Strix.

At the convention center, King hid behind a curtain as he watched the theater fill with thousands of fans chanting his name. "I can't wait for the sequel," they shouted. "If it's disappointing in any way, I will spend the rest of my life trashing it!"

King hid backstage, sweat starting to form. "Oh boy, Aw man, Aw jeez." He couldn't take it anymore. "Piniet, I gotta come clean. We can't announce book two. I can't write without...without..."

"Without your writing partner?" King looked up at the lizard publisher. How did he know that? The lizard made a smirk as he escorted him to the dressing room where Luz and Strix were, trapped in a purple cube of magic.

"KING!" Luz cried out.

"Luz!"

"Your publisher trapped us in this shrinking box," shouted Strix. Piniet clenched his fist and the box grew smaller. "Get us out!"

King confronted the lizard man, "What are you doing with them? Let them go!"

"You wrote Ruler's Reach together, so if you don't want them crushed, you'll write together again. Oh don't give me that look. Most of the best books were written under literal crunch time." He made the box smaller.

"Hey! I wasn't involved in that story," Stix shouted.

"And besides," said Luz. "That's a toxic mentality that contributes to burn out and unrealistic expectations! King, do something!"

"Set them free, now," demanded King.

"Not until I get my best seller, you recall you are under contract." Piniet grabbed King and tossed him into the box with Luz and Strix. Then he tossed a pen and some paper into the box as he said threateningly, "Make your deadline, or else you'll never be able to hold a pen again, just like..." He held up a briefcase and opened it, revealing dozens of shrunken, cube-shaped people, all pleading for help. Luz, Strix and King recognized one of them as John De Plume. Well, that would explain why he disappeared all of a sudden. "I'll leave you to it. Looking forward to your next volume!" He left the dressing room with a smirk.

The box shrunk even more. "I did not learn my first spell just to get crushed!"

"We're not getting out of here until we write a book, and that'll take forever," King said frantically. "We're cube meat!"

"Well, I have my story," Luz said, taking out her version of the story from her bag.

"That gushy fan fiction," exclaimed Strix. "You honestly think that overgrown tuatara is going to buy it?!"

"Well, it's all we got!"

King scoffed, "But it's all hugging and crying! I can't put my name on that."

Luz frowned at him. "King, that is why we're in here," she chided him. "Because YOU can't compromise! All I wanted was to write a dumb story with my friend."

King sighed, disappointed with himself. "Luz, you're living your dream. You're becoming a witch with Strix, but this celebrity thing is the closest I'll ever get to my dream. It all went to my head, and I hurt you. I'm sorry."

The girl made a smile and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, being with you is one of my favorite parts of this dream." The box shrunk even more, making her yelp. "I have a plan. But we need to work together this time."

"Just tell me what to do," said King.

"What should I do?" asked Strix.

"You can be our editor," said Luz.

"Sounds good."

Back at the forest, the salesman was monologuing to the Clawthorne sisters, who didn't look that impressed with him. Not that he noticed it. "I know you must be confused. The bloom of eternal youth- dead? What if I told you the bloom never existed at all! And now that I have led you to my nest, I'll suck all the life out of you to satisfy my unending hunger!"

"He scammed us," Lilith deadpanned. "Can you believe he scammed us."

"I thought there was a 50/50 chance going in," agreed Eda. "Hard not to admire the tenacity though."

"Good entrance, but that outfit? Hah!"

"Look at his little shoes!"

The salesman was not amused by their mocking him. "Well maybe you've never been led into a lethal trap before, but the response should be 'Aah! No! Spare us!'"

The Clawthorne sisters nodded and slowly advanced toward him. "Ah sure, spare us," Eda said sarcastically.

"Woe to us whose fates are sealed," Lilith said in that same sarcastic tone.

The salesman backed away in fear as he stammered, "That's right witches! Cower! Cower?"

Meanwhile, Piniet was playing building Jenga using his victims as the blocks when the tower toppled over. "Oh, darn."

King called out, "Hey Piniet! We're done!"

Piniet entered the dressing room. By this point, the box was so small, there was no more leg room. Or elbow room. "Faster than I expected!"

"It's the miracle of teamwork!"

A hole opened in the box, allowing Luz to hand the lizard man the draft. He read it all the way through with his third eye. He said to the kids and the demon, "This is much more...gushy...than your last book."

"Skip to the finale, because it is quite a payoff."

Piniet skipped to the last page only to find a weird symbol. "What is this?"

"LIGHT SPELL!" Luz pressed her hand on the glyph and the draft turned into a flash of light, blinding the lizard man.

"Ugh, I just realized I should've said enlightening. Skip to the finale, you'll find it enlightening."

"KING! The contract!"

King took off his scarf and twirled it like a lasso. "Pretentious scarf, go!" He grabbed Piniet and dragged him over to the box. Luz grabbed the contract from his pocket and ate it, resulting in the box disappearing.

Piniet tore the scarf off him and said angrily at King, "I made you a star, and this is how you repay me?"

"No, this is!" King released the cube people and they attacked him. Luz grabbed King and she and Strix bolted for the door only to be blocked by the two thugs. Piniet sent the cube people scattering as he advanced toward the kids and King. "You are making this harder than it needs to be! And believe me, I am being very patient!" He squashed one of the cube people and turned his pen into a huge axe. "But let's cut to the finish."

"Actually," Strix said as he put on the Mask. "I like to make a critique of my own!" He pulled out a machine gun and was about to fire at Piniet's head when suddenly Tiny Nose burst into the dressing room. "King! I am your biggest fan! And I fought my way back here for you...to read my story?" She stopped when she saw what was going on.

"Uh, this isn't really a good time," said Strix awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, my lawyer advised me not to look at unsolicited work," said King, acting like they weren't in danger.

Tiny Nose looked heartbroken. "But...but..."

Piniet snatched the draft out of the little creature's hands and said impatiently, "If I read this, will you go? So I can annihilate them in peace?"

"Of course!"

The lizard man read through all the pages with his third eye and when he was finished, he was close to tears. "Ohh, it's beautiful! You, you must let me publish this! I can make you a star!"

Tiny Nose's eyes sparkled with joy. "Really?"

"What about me?" whined King to the publisher.

Piniet snatched the jacket off King and gave it to Tiny Nose. "You're old news, she on the other hand is the future!"

"Hey!"

"King!" Luz stopped him from attacking the publisher. She asked him, "We're good then?"

Piniet waved them off, "Yes, quite."

But then Strix grabbed his suitcase and said, "Oh, no! You're not getting out of this that easily!"

"What are you-" There were squishing and stretching sounds as the boy shoved the suitcase into Piniet's mouth. Everyone gasped as his head took the shape of the suitcase, his three eyes bugged out. "How's that for a critique," Strix laughed as he took off the Mask.

There was a moment's silence. Then King said, "I think I'm going to have nightmares." Luz nodded in agreement.

The Clawthorne sisters dusted themselves off after they gave the salesman a well-deserved beating. "Well, we wrecked this chump," Eda said with some satisfaction. "But I guess the bloom of eternal youth isn't real."

Lilith said, "Well, if it makes any difference, I don't consider you to be a tired old bitty."

"Really?" Eda asked, surprised.

"If you were, you'd be much easier to catch."

"Oh great, you're gonna cart me away to the coven now, are you?"

"Not now, because I want to give you a chance to join on your own! Join me in the Emperor's Coven. He could even heal your curse. Your son's curse."

For a moment, Eda considered it before she shook her head. "No, I'll heal it on my own terms, I don't wanna owe him anything. Catch you later sis."

"Not if I catch you first."

The sisters gave each other a sad smile before Eda flew off on her staff, saying, "I'll see you around."

Lilith sighed as she watched her go. Then the salesman said, "You're welcome for the chance to bond." She used her magic to zap him, making her yelp.

Eda returned to the Owl House, finding her apprentice, her son and King resting on the couch. She cracked her back and plopped down next to Luz. "Hey kids, woof. That was a rough couple days."

"Yeah, I'll say," said Luz.

"You have no idea what we've been through, Mom," Strix groaned.

"Nothing a bit of apple blood and a good book can't mend," said Eda.

When she said that, Luz, Strix and King's eyes widened. "Books?"

"Nope, I don't know nothing about that," said King.

"NO!" Strix slammed a fist on the coffee table. "NO BOOKS!"

"We hate books. Wow, look at the time!" Luz frantically got up and ran off with King and Strix following her.

King asked, "What's a book? Good night!"

Eda just blinked in confusion. Then she saw a copy of Ruler's Reach sitting on the coffee table. "Huh? What the-"

"Girl, you do NOT want to know," said the typewriter.