The door shut behind her, much harder than she intended it to, making her flinch slightly. She stood there, fists clenched so tightly she was trembling in place. Chest heaving, she clutched at her heart, feeling it pound furiously, painfully against her chest. Her legs were weak and shaky, no longer able to withhold her weight, she fell back, leaning against the door and sliding down to the floor of her bedroom.

"I'm sorry, Amity," she said, shutting her eyes tightly and leaning her head back against the door, her ears acute to any possible sound that could come from the living room. But she heard nothing, only her own shallow, slow breaths permeating the still air. How badly did she desire to burst through the door, rush down the stairs and apologize, beseech Amity to stay and relish in the comfort of a friend. The safety of having someone she could turn to, share this burden and fear that plagued her mind. The pang of guilt instantly struck down those thoughts. No matter how willing or adamant Amity was, she couldn't possibly be allowed to carry any part of this self-inflicted misfortune.

Luz had already been the cause of so many conflicts around the Boiling Isles, building her renown amongst the locals as a bit of a troublesome, unruly human that had somehow managed to defy all odds and survive the hostile lands. And, to be quite honest with herself, she was proud of all that she'd managed to accomplish, including the infamy and notoriety that had accrued rather incidentally. Back home in the human realm, her out of turn antics and eccentric nature ostracized her, garnering only the words of admonishment and ridicule. Rarely had she allowed that to really get to her, but it wasn't as if it never did. At times, it was easy to recall back to those lonely days and the disparaging feelings that accompanied them. At this moment, those feelings seemed far too familiar.

Deep down, she couldn't help but hope that Amity would come after her, a rapping at the door would come to reveal her standing on the other side, unfazed by Luz's rejection. Still, she listened intently, but her strenuous thoughts seemed to mute the world around her. Again and again, the thought of simply allowing Amity to stay crossed her mind. But just as quickly as it came, would it be shut down. Luz knew that Amity meant well, but her words were the truth, a truth that she had attempted to ignore since the prior day's miraculous escape. At the time, everything seemed great. The adrenaline of the moment coursing through her entire body, the euphoria of success overwhelming her, the relief of witnessing the beginning of a reconciliation between Eda and Lilith. It was all too much. Too perfect. There was no way it was meant to last. No matter how much Luz wanted it to.

By now, she was tired, both physically and mentally, having spent the entire night and morning attempting to quell the emotions that swelled in her heart and the thoughts that stormed in her head. Always the optimist, the situation at hand seemed so far beyond even her own hopeful desires.

Clutching her legs against her chest, she rested her chin on her knees, thoughts unconsciously drifting towards Amity once again. The sight of her worried, thoughtful, wide eyes, the awkward, uncertain movements and postures that had just until very recently become much more apparent. It was all very endearing to Luz, witnessing what she assumed was a side of Amity very few were ever allowed to witness. Thinking back on their encounters, their journeys and experiences, the idea of somehow gaining the usually aloof girl's friendship and affections was a true wonder. How? She found herself asking that question when her thoughts would aimlessly wander towards her.

At first, it was all a bit of wishful thinking, somehow proving herself to the top student of Hexide and befriending her, living out her wildest witch fantasies on the Boiling Isles, free from her prior restraints and doubts. Now, the thought itself made her stomach churn. Amity was right. This wasn't a game or one of her fantasy novels. In the beginning, the Boiling Isles were simply an escape from the reality of back home, avoiding her troubles, avoiding her mother. But now it all meant so much more to her. Her actions, her mistakes, the consequences she would have to answer for were all real. But so were her friends and family. So was Amity. And she would do anything in her power to protect them.

The sound of a knock and the shuddering of the door against her back startled her, then quickly excited her, newfound energy bringing her to her feet as she lunged for the handle.

"Amit-" the word started but was caught in her throat as the door was fully swung open.

"Good morning," came the cool and firm tone of Lilith, her imposingly tall figure standing erect before Luz. Her formal posture clashed harshly with her borrowed, moth-eaten t-shirt a few sizes too big and baggy pajama pants, colors long faded with age.

In an instant, Luz's face of joy and relief was quickly wiped away and replaced by bewildered disappointment. And then her brow furrowed, there was the slightest curl to her lip, and steely eyes locked onto Lilith's own, a spark of resentment growing at the pit of Luz's gut.

"Oh," was all Luz could say, her unconscious glower unwavering. Lilith had obviously taken notice of this, her own countenance softening, a thin frown coming to her face as she broke their gaze, looking away in an uncharacteristically bashful manner. With a hand to her lips, she cleared her throat rather loudly before speaking.

"May I come in?"

"Yeah," Luz said rather flatly, turning away and heading for the window, a faint, lingering hope in catching sight of Amity outside, but knowing full well to expect disappointment. Luz could feel Lilith's presence in the room, her eyes watching her, the silence lingering for far too long, allowing the discomfort and vexation to fester within.

"I know there's still much we should discuss," Lilith began, "but I want to begin by properly thanking you… Luz." Her voice was hoarse and strained, another long pause came to accentuate the awkwardness, as if she hadn't really prepared for exactly what would be discussed. "I'm not absolved of my past mistakes… of what I did to Edaline. What I made you endure. But I want you to know that I am here to help."

Luz still didn't turn to face her, sitting on the window sill in a rather casual way, propping a leg up, crossing her arms, and leaning back, a thoughtful gaze focused towards the distant nothingness. She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Lilith… even after everything you told me. And what's happened. I still don't know how to feel. I-I don't think I can trust you just yet," she said, at last looking back at the older witch, "I know you made a sacrifice to save Eda, but you're right about not being able to forgive everything you put us through."

The dejection was clear on Lilith's face, "I understand… at the very least, is there anything I can do to prove to you that I no longer mean you or, most of all, my sister any harm?"

Luz eyed her critically. "Tell me. What's Belos' plan? Why did he want the portal to my world? Is he going to come after us? How, when?" Luz spoke louder, more frantic, standing up straight, fists clenched and shaking. "How… how do I beat him?" she cried, voice nearly cracking through trembling lips. No longer able to control her body, she felt her entire self shaking in place, she felt so cold, yet her insides were on fire, blazing in a wild flurry of fear and anger.

Lilith watched her, countenance reserved but eyes swirling with concern, regret. Gone was her stoic ferocity, the powerful, striking, awe-inspiring image of the Emperor's Coven leader. Whoever stood there now was a complete mystery, aimless, whatever prior drive and purpose no longer there. To look past her hard features, the events of the prior evening were starting to become evident. The darkening bags below her bloodshot eyes were the telltale signs of nothing less than a restless night.

Lilith sighed, again looking away to the floor, avoiding Luz's reproachful gaze. She opened her mouth a few times, but there were no words, fidgeting slightly, she crossed her arms and held her elbows in a defensive manner.

"Well!" Luz snapped, pulling back Lilith's attention.

"I don't know," she said in a near whisper.

"What?"

"I said… I do not know." Her tone was serious, steady, each word punctuated clearly as she shot a glare back at Luz.

"H-how… how?" Luz gesticulated wildly into the air, "A-arent you, weren't you Belos' right hand? The leader of his coven? His top dog, witch, whatever?"

"I may have been the leader of his coven but by no means did he impart me with his true intentions. The emperor is shrouded in secretes-"
"I don't care about that!" Luz snapped, breathing hard, no longer able to look directly at the stoic faced witch as she knew her impassive expression would only enrage her further. Neither of them spoke for a moment, the palpable tension escalating, the pressure making it almost unbearable to even remain standing. "H-how… how can you not know anything? Did it never cross your mind? Did you ever think what you were doing was wrong?"

"Of course I did!" she retorted, once again regaining her commanding disposition, "I knew what I was doing. I knew what I was involving myself with. I did what I had to to ensure the safety of my sister and I. It was the only possibly thing I could have done-"

"No! That's not true… that-that's just selfish! Eda was fine! We were… happy." Her voice fell, quavering from her anger, words caught in her throat. She shut her eyes tight to smother away the involuntary tears that were forcing their way out. "But… but you just had to come after her. Over and over again. Doing Belos' bidding. For all I know, you haven't changed a bit."

Lilith inhaled heavily, leaning back slightly as her eyes closed in vexation. "That's absurd. Eda couldn't continue down this anarchistic path. It was only a matter of time before all her transgressions caught up to her. I had to insure it was me who got to her first." She approached with a confident stride, eyes narrowing oppressively over Luz. "This is not a game, human. There are consequences to your actions. Severe consequences."

"Like what? Getting yourselves petrified and needing to be saved by a mere human?"

The distance between them had closed, both unwavering beneath the weight of each other's furious glare. Once again, a shiver coursed through Luz's entire body, trying hard to suppress her emotions of anger, disillusionment, regret, guilt, and so much more that she couldn't even begin to comprehend. Neither of the two would dare yield at this moment, the grueling seconds passing them by, the tension fully taut and ready to snap at any moment.

"Can't someone get any sleep around here? What gives?" came the perturbed voice of Eda from the doorway, pulling their attention and extinguishing the near overwhelming anguish in the room.

"Yeah! What gives?" echoed King as he emerged from a messy tuft of Eda's hair. Neither Luz nor Lilith responded, still recovering from their swell of emotion, only able to look on dumbfounded, embarrassment beginning to settle at their judgmental gaze. Eda stepped into the room, still draped in sleepwear, her movements were slow and lackadaisical, a tired, but vexed expression on her face. Her arms were crossed in disapproval as she looked between the two that were now attempting to avoid her admonishing stare.

"Lily, what are you doing? Trying to pick up where you left off? Not getting rid of Luz that easily, I should know," she said with a wry grin.

Lilith scoffed, her brow furrowing, "You know full well that is not my intent."

"Yeah, yeah," she said, waving away her sister's exasperation, "you're smart enough to know she'd totally kick your butt." Lilith could only scoff in return, knowing full well escalating the situation now would be fruitless. "How about this… King, why don't you take my sister on a tour of the house."

"Aww, why me? I wanna sleep," he groaned.

"Well, it's either you show her around or she's gonna find your secret snack drawer on her own. We both know how devious she can be."

Instantly, he was invigorated, jumping down and pointing an accusatory claw towards Lilith. "Let's go, you've gotta know the dos and don'ts of this place before I let you out of my sight!" Without a response, he turned and started out the door. Lilith was clever enough to take a hint, acquiescing with nothing more than a sigh and a side glance towards Luz, still facing away from her. Nothing else was said as the footsteps sounded out of the room, and then the door shut behind Lilith, the two now left in silence.

"That takes care of-" Eda's words were cut short as Luz had rushed forward, taking Eda into an unexpected embrace, arms wrapping tightly around her waist, face buried deeply into the oversized t-shirt. Eda stiffened for a moment, wide eyes softening as a hand came to fall gently upon Luz's head, not speaking as she slowly felt the girl's trembling begin to fade away.

"I-I'm sorry, Eda," Luz mumbled into the fabric, her embrace still unrelenting. Eda cooed gently, fingers now brushing against Luz's hair.

"Sorry?" she couldn't help but snort, "You saved me, kid. And Lilith… we'd both be lawn ornaments if it weren't for you." Another pause, the motion of her hand had become natural now, brushing back Luz's hair with every careful stroke. After an indiscernible amount of time, her hold loosened, hands falling limply to her sides as she took a tentative step back, eyes downcast towards the ground. Eda watched her, a sincere frown on her face. She knelt down, hand reaching out to grasp Luz's shoulder, leaning forward slightly to catch her eyes.

"Luz. Listen to me. I need you to know something... Listen." With a gentle shake, Luz's wide, swirling, thoughtful eyes were pulled upwards, peering deeply into Eda's own. "I am so proud of you. Everything that happened… I should have been there to protect you. But I failed."

"No, Eda-"

"The only reason I'm here now to say that is because of you, Luz. Thank you. And no matter how prissy my sister might be… she's grateful, too."

For a moment, a split second, everything felt fine. The catharsis of fear and trepidation allowed her to take a steady breath, feel her heart settle, and the suffocating weight on her body finally began to wane. To have Eda back, to see her there again, comforting her with that reassuring and confident smirk. It was not easy to miss, but her mentor's two-toned irises suddenly caught Luz's attention, the feeling of dread once again resurging. It was her fault. Because of her, Eda was overtaken by her curse. She was captured and nearly petrified. And even though she somehow managed to save them and perform nothing less than a miraculous escape, the once most powerful witches on the Boiling Isles could no longer cast magic.

"But… but what about Belos? What about the Emperor's Coven and the rest of the Boiling Isles? How can I protect everyone when I'm the reason everyone is getting hurt?"

"Luz, that's not-"

Eda couldn't finish as Luz had already hurried around her towards the door, opening it and shutting it behind her.

"Luz! Wait!"

Eda's words fell on deaf ears as Luz had quickly made her way down the steps, through the empty living room and out the front door. She ran down the dirt path, uncertain of her purpose, of her goal, only paying attention to her feet to propel her forward. Her eyes shut as she felt tears begin to well, allowing the cool winds to wisp them away.