For the last eight years, there hadn't been a single day that Camila hadn't missed her husband. Eduardo had been a shining light in her life, filled with boundless energy and enthusiasm. If Camila was the brains of their partnership, then he was assuredly its heart. And then one day, that heart stopped beating. Some random person in a Nissan had ran over Eduardo and left Luz without a father.

Camila had done her best, but without Eduardo, without the dream team that they had been for so many years, she feared that her best was just not good enough. When Luz started acting up in school, Camila had sent her to a summer camp that was supposed to help her "think inside the box."

It had been a mistake. She knew that now. The truth of the matter was that Luz was just following her father's legacy. Eduardo had been strange and weird, and the world had stomped on him relentlessly for that. But Eduardo had persevered and made the world face him on his terms. He found love, a career as a journalist that made a difference, and he had been content. Camila should have known better than to think that Luz could not achieve these things.

She had expected…well, she was not exactly sure what she had expected from Luz when she returned home. She certainly had not expected to learn that instead of going to the summer camp, Luz had instead gone into an alternate universe where she learned magic, made friends, and fell in love. And there were days when Camila worried that she herself had been hallucinating the fantastical things that had been happening over the past eight months.

But it was all real. Her daughter could do magic, and that was beautiful. Not for the first time, she cursed the person who had taken Eduardo away from her. There was no doubt in her mind that he would have the happiest man in the universe to see the incredible, supernatural things that Luz was capable of.

Now it was yet another grey, drizzly Saturday in May, and Camila was busy doing spring cleaning. She enjoyed cleaning. It had a meditative quality for her. She was never able to focus her thoughts better than when she was dusting or polishing something. And she'd had a lot to think about recently. During spring break, Amity had visited Earth and had ran into a distinctly menacing human who knew about the Boiling Isles and had made vague but serious threats towards the ones who had killed Emperor Belos – including Luz.

Since then, all of Lilith's attempts to uncover his identity had gone nowhere. Nor had he popped up again. But Camila knew that it was only a matter of time. She took the threat so seriously that she had even bought a gun just in case she needed to defend herself. After all, she didn't have magic like Luz did. She needed all the advantage she could get.

But for now, she could enjoy the satisfying feeling of clearing dust from her furniture while Luz was hanging out with her friends. Naturally, that was the moment that the doorbell rang.

Camila peered through the keyhole and was shocked to see Amity Blight on the doorstep. She quickly opened the door and let the newly purple-haired witch inside her house. "Amity, cariño! What a surprise! I hope all is well in your neck of the woods?"

Amity looked confused. Ah, that was right. She probably didn't know that expression. "I mean, there isn't an emergency?"

"No," Amity said. "Everything's fine in the Isles. I…came here on a personal errand."

"Well, Luz is with her friends, but I'm sure they'd be more than understanding if you needed her to come back here."

"No!" Amity yelled, and then shook herself. She looked incredibly, phenomenally nervous. "I mean, no, thank you, Señora Noceda. I apologize for my outburst." And that, too, was a bad sign. Amity often retreated into stiff formality when she was stressed, and she had, up until this point, generally been fine with calling Camila by her first name.

Amity was a wonderful person, but her parents had been utter, total assholes. They had been psychologically abusive and had messed Amity up considerably. There were days that Camila longed to strangle them. Metaphorically, that is. She was actually certain that if she had gone to Eda and asked permission to kill the Blight parents in the prison cells they were rotting in, Eda would have gladly let her done so, as long as she could watch.

Camila, therefore, always treaded extremely carefully when dealing with Amity. She wished she didn't have to. And there were days when she didn't. The more time Amity spent away from the toxic influence of her parents, the easier she was finding it to heal. But it was a long, painful process. Camila could not force her down that road. All she could do was try her best to be as kind and compassionate as possible.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that this is just a social call," Camila said, giving Amity a friendly smile. "It's a delight as always to see you. Why don't we sit down and you can talk about what's troubling you?"

Amity crossed her arms, nodded, and sat down in an armchair, while Camila sat on her couch. Amity's face could have been carved from stone, she was showing so little emotion. A bad sign indeed. Mrs. Blight had despised it when her daughter showed emotion in front of her. Camila had done everything she could to decouple Amity's perception of her with her perception of Mrs. Blight, but she could only do so much. Whatever Amity wanted, she was expecting Camila to react badly to it.

"I'm here to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage," Amity announced, and Camila nearly fell off the sofa in total shock. Whatever she had been expecting, it certainly was not that.

"¿Qué?" Camila said. She could not have just heard that.

Amity looked like she was ready to just bolt and run away screaming, but she steeled herself and said, "I want to marry Luz."

Well, so much for the harebrained theory that she had misheard Amity. "You can't marry Luz, Amity. You're too young."

Amity let out a soft laugh. "Oh, no, of course I wouldn't be marrying her now. I'm just talking about a betrothal. I'd be perfectly happy to make the betrothal last until she's reached marriageable age."

She waved her hand in a circle, and a large binder appeared out of thin air. "This is the betrothal contract. It's already signed by the head of the Blight family, my sister Emira. She gave her consent to the marriage." She scowled. "Eventually."

Amity passed over the binder. Camila skimmed over it, but only halfheartedly, because there was no way she was signing it. Even if she had been okay with a betrothal – which she most certainly was not, given that Luz had just turned fifteen – she would have needed to consult with a lawyer first before signing anything. Did the Boiling Isles even have lawyers? A question for another time.

Camila put the binder on the coffee table. "Does Luz get a say in this?"

"Oh, certainly! This wouldn't be legally valid without our consent as well." Well, that did make her feel a tiny bit better. But whether it was wise to sign the contract was a moot point, as nothing could make her sign it. Luz was too young to get married, and that was the end of it.

Nor was that the issue at hand. This was clearly exceptionally important to Amity, and if she made the wrong move, she'd devastate the poor girl. But how to break the news gently to her?

"I can see that you have thought this through quite thoroughly," Camila extemporized. An idea came to her, and it may even have been a good one. "I'm sympathetic to your proposal, but tradition here simply mandates that one shouldn't get betrothed until one has become an adult."

That should do it, she decided. Amity was from an upper class family, and the rich adored tradition, as long as it was benefiting them. It was an argument that allowed both of them to save face, and nothing should be wrong with it.

"You're lying," Amity said softly. Camila blinked. She had expected a lot of reactions to her comment, but that was not one of them. By the looks of it, Amity hadn't expected to say that either. She looked positively mortified by her "defiance" towards a figure that she couldn't help but think of as an authority figure.

"It's not because of tradition," she went on. "It's because I'm not good enough for her. I don't blame you for thinking that. I haven't been good enough for anyone ever, and I was foolish to think that would change." Oh, this was not good at all. Camila was going to have to do major damage control. "Besides, who would be good enough for Luz? She's absolutely incredible."

She stood up and walked over to the door. "I apologize for disturbing you, Señora Noceda. I won't take up any more of your time."

"Amity, please, that's not what I think at all!" Camila told her, but it was too late. Amity was already gone. Camila swore, long and loud. She had screwed up so badly. Her hand reached into her pocket to grab her cell phone. She would need to get Luz to cheer up Amity before things got so bad.

Only for the front door to open and Amity to suddenly walk back in. "What am I thinking? How can I give up?" she asked, presumably rhetorically. "I'm the best student at Hexside. I defeated Grometheus. I helped kill the emperor. I'm not going to just give up."

Amity looked over at Camila. "Señora Noceda, I'm sure that I can get you to change your mind. I've prepared a presentation about why adding me to your family would be an advantageous choice. I implore you to let me show you."

Well, if it was a choice between watching Amity give a presentation or letting her walk out the door again, Camila knew what choice she would make. "All right, Amity. Show me this presentation of yours."

Amity had a gift for blending magic and human technology, so when she cast another spell to make a laptop appear out of thin air, Camila's hopes were particularly high. They shouldn't have been, as it turned out. Amity's presentation turned out to be a PowerPoint presentation, and while Camila was impressed that Amity could figure out the mysteries of PowerPoint when she herself knew full-grown adults who were utterly hopeless at it, she had been hoping for something more…magical.

There was nothing less magical in the entire universe than PowerPoint. Camila was abundantly certain of that.

Amity cleared her throat and put the laptop on the coffee table next to the binder so that Camila could see it. "Thank you for joining me today. The Blight family has long been a powerhouse in the Boiling Isles. Blight Industries, the premier abomination-based weapons manufacturers in the Demon Realm, was founded in the human year of 1265 and has risen to become the third largest corporation in the entire world."

She summoned a remote out of thin air and moved to the next slide. Seriously, Camila was going to have to ask Amity how she did that; if there was a comparable glyph to do that, Luz wouldn't have to worry about losing any of her school supplies anymore. The slide showed income and expenditure charts. "Since the defeat of Emperor Belos, our revenue has increased by 165%. Everyone fears a return to the Savage Ages and correspondingly seeks to protect themselves, though, of course, those fears are needless. My 30% share in the company makes me the ninth richest person in the Boiling Isles, and, correspondingly, a superb asset to the Noceda family."

Camila kept her face carefully blank. There was no need to discuss just how messed up this whole thing was until Amity was done.

Amity moved to the next slide, which had multiple images of signed affidavits. "Now, practicalities. I know that you might have reservations about the viability of a witch-human hybrid, but I have consulted multiple gynecologists, and they assure me that any child that Luz and I have together will be able to be carried to term successfully."

Now Camila was bewildered. They'd have a child together? "You mean…any child you raise together?"

"I mean, any child that we sire together," Amity said slowly, as if explaining something to a child.

"I was thinking that you'd adopt or get a sperm donor…"

Amity's eyes widened in horror. "A sperm donor?! EW! Oh, Titan, just the thought of someone's sperm in me…no! Under no circumstances, no! Disgusting!" She cleared her throat. "As I said, I truly believe that our pairing would result in viable offspring. Though if it does not, adoption is indeed an option."

"I'm sorry, I'm not quite understanding. Only a union between a sperm and an egg can create offspring in our world. Is that different in your world?"

"Yes," Amity confirmed. "It's most common to use a magical ritual to conceive children. Two eggs would, in this case, be able to cause gestation. No sperm has to be involved. And I assure you, Señora Noceda, that the genetic stock of the Blight family is truly exceptional."

Camila shuddered. She didn't even want to think about Mrs. Blight's ideas about unexceptional stock, and what should be done with it. "Um, yes, well, any family line that was able to produce you must have something to it."

Amity beamed with pride. Yeah…that was a discussion that would have to wait for another day, Camila decided. One thing at a time. "Thank you kindly, señora. By joining your daughter's fortune to ours, your own economic situation would be greatly enhanced. For starters, we would be willing to offer a dowry equivalent to at least 5 million United States dollars."

Camila blinked. She would die before accepting such a payment, but still, it was somewhat amazing that it was even being offered. She wasn't exactly below the poverty line, but still, the idea of even possessing millions of dollars just made her flabbergasted. "Um, let's…table that for now."

"Angling for a larger price," Amity said with a nod. "Very shrewd. If your daughter's business acumen is half yours, then truly, the company will be blessed to have her insight." She paused for an instant. "There is one final matter. While I fervently hope that our realms will otherwise stay ignorant of one another, the possibility that this state of ignorance will not continue is not one that should be discounted. Should such a turn of events occur, your connection to the Blight family would put you in a prime social position in your realm by proxy."

Amity turned off the presentation and nodded politely at Camila. "Joining our bloodlines is a sensible move. It would be best for both our families. So what do you say?" She looked bashful for a moment. "And…well, what did you think of my presentation?"

"To be perfectly honest with you, Amity, I thought it was derivative," Camila admitted.

"What." Amity's face was contorted in hatred, but none of that hatred was directed at Camila. It was all directed at herself.

"You see, you were talking, but the words coming out of your mouth…they were your mother's."

Amity's eyes widened in shock. "No…"

"This is exactly how your mother taught you to approach marriage. As if it was a business deal. It is not. Not in this household, anyway. When I married Eduardo, it wasn't because I thought our genes would be compatible or because I wanted his money. It was because I loved him, and he loved me. End of story."

Camila gestured at the laptop. "This doesn't tell me anything about what you want, Amity. It doesn't tell me about how you'd treat Luz. It doesn't tell me what you'd do when she's sick, when she's in a bad mood, when it's her time of the month. It doesn't tell me how much you love her. If I had to judge solely by this presentation, I would say that you didn't love her at all."

"I do!" Amity protested. "I love her so much! How dare you tell me that I don't love her?!"

Camila put up her hands placatingly. "Of course you love her, cariño. I'm not disputing that. I know that you love her. I've seen it. But marriage is – that is to say, it should be about more than just business. I understand why you think of it that way, though. That was what your parents' marriage was about."

"Yes," Amity admitted.

"Amity, I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this. I know there's a very decent chance you won't believe me, but it has to be said nonetheless. Your parents never loved you."

"NO!" Amity shouted. "Of course they loved me. If they didn't love me, they wouldn't have wanted me to succeed so much. They would have kicked me out long before they did. I wasn't good enough for them, that's all. If I'd just worked harder, if I'd been stronger…"

Amity started shaking, and Camila helped her onto the couch. She held the girl her daughter loved more than anything, giving her the affection that she should have gotten from her parents all along. "Amity, that's not true. Your parents only loved the idea of you. Nothing in either of our universes could have made them love the real you. Nothing."

Camila stroked Amity's purple hair. Amity leaned into it, purring under her breath. So that was something witches did. Good for future reference, she supposed. "You deserve to be loved. You do. And not contingent on anything you do or anything you are, but total, unconditional love. And since your parents failed abysmally in that regard, I am going to step up to the plate."

Amity looked Camila in the eyes. "You mean…?"

"I do. I love you, Amity. I love you because you're you. I don't need another reason."

Amity tried to pretend that she wasn't crying, and Camila knew that Amity's pride was important to her, so she did her the courtesy of pretending that her ruse was working. "So about the proposal?"

"Why do you really want to marry Luz now?" Camila asked. "It just seems to have come out of nowhere."

"I…I'm scared," Amity admitted. "What if Luz suddenly realizes that I'm not worth it? What if she comes to her senses? I don't want to return to the person I was. I hated that person. If I marry her…then that's insurance against that happening."

Camila sighed. "Amity, you need to think more highly of yourself. You're a good person. That matters more than how many snails you have. I can't promise you that Luz will be with you forever. But I can promise you that right now, she knows the same truth that I do: That you matter, that you have value, and that this will never change."

Amity's tears turned to full blown sobbing. "I'm so sorry, Camila. I'm making such a fool of myself."

"Cry as long as you want, Amity," Camila said. "It doesn't mean you're weak. It means you're acknowledging your emotions, and that makes you strong."

It took several minutes for Amity to stop crying, but when she did, Camila could tell that she was better off, emotionally, than when she had started. "Thank you. I guess the marriage thing is off the table?"

"It's only because of your age, Amity. When you ask me again after you turn eighteen, I assure you, I will gladly give my permission. I can think of no better honor than to have you as my daughter-in-law."

Amity hugged her, looking as if she was feeling guilty for doing so. "Gracias, mami."

"De nada, mija. Is there anything else I can do for you? Get you something to eat, maybe?"

Amity looked at the floor. "Uh…well, you'll think it's silly. Childish. I really shouldn't…" Camila looked at her steadily. "When I was a kid, I always wished that my parents would read to me. Of course, when I asked them to, they just derided me for 'dwelling in the realm of fantasy instead of developing sensible habits like a proper Blight should.' That's why I decided to volunteer at the library. I wanted the children to get what I couldn't. Could you, maybe…?"

"Of course I can. I'll be right back." Camila walked upstairs into Luz's bedroom. She was sure that Luz wouldn't mind her borrowing a book, especially in the service of such a good cause. Now which book would she pick? She cast her eyes on the bookshelf filled with fantasy books, until she came to the perfect one.

When Camila came downstairs, Amity was lying on the couch, covered up with a blanket. Camila sat on the armchair. "This book is called So You Want to Be a Wizard. I read it to Luz when she was younger. 'Part of the problem, Nita thought as she tore desperately down Rose Avenue, 'is that I can't keep my mouth shut.'"

As Amity listened, enraptured, to Nita discovering her powers and swearing to protect the universes from the Lone Power, a genuine smile came on her face for the first time that day, one filled with wonderment and awe. Camila vowed then and there that she would do whatever it took to make sure that she saw that smile again.