Boscha had been having a perfectly lovely day before Emperor Belos showed up in her apartment.
Her mother had tried loophole after loophole to get around the terms of the Everlasting Oath, and nothing had worked. She couldn't order other people to hurt Boscha. She couldn't even harm Boscha by inaction. Tasha Hart was powerless to harm Boscha physically, and it was a beautiful thing.
Tasha had tried to bluff her way out. She'd threatened to torch Boscha's future if she didn't fall in line. Boscha didn't care. Her future wasn't with the Emperor's Coven or as the chairwoman of Hart Industries. It was as Willow's wife, the co-owner of her flower shop. She'd threatened to hurt all of Boscha's friends, but Boscha didn't give a crap about them, because they weren't her friends. They'd been forced upon her, and Tasha actually had deluded herself into thinking otherwise! It would be hilarious if it wasn't so sad.
In any event, as Boscha pointed out, Tasha needed her a lot more than the reverse was true right now. The upper class of the Boiling Isles didn't really care what happened behind closed doors, so long as those doors remained closed. But Tasha's cruelty had been exposed by Amity to a public audience. And Belos had more or less tacitly confirmed it all through his inaction. He could have lied and said that she was innocent. Even if no one believed him, everyone would have been forced to pretend they did. But Belos had forced Tasha into the duel, made her do the Everlasting Oath. Tasha was on thin ice with him and her associates.
Tasha may have been a sadistic sociopath, but she wasn't stupid. She was a shrewd businesswoman. So she made a deal with Boscha. Boscha would publicly deny the accusations that Amity had made, as well as privately in one on ones with several of Tasha's business partners. In exchange, Tasha would pay for her to live on her own in an apartment in central Bonesborough. They would have no further contact with each other. She would not inherit Hart Industries. Boscha would be on her own.
Tasha probably thought she was punishing Boscha, giving her a deal heavily weighted in her favor. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Boscha jumped at the opportunity to finally have the freedom she'd long sought out. Sure, living on her own would be tough, but it sure as hell beat the alternative.
Not only that, but Willow could be a part of her life more! Unfortunately, they'd still have to keep their relationship a secret for the moment, as Boscha knew that Tasha wouldn't hesitate to use Willow as leverage if she found out. But that wouldn't last forever. Tasha's time was coming to a close. She thought she could regain Belos' favor, but she thought wrong. Once lost, one never regained the emperor's favor. Sooner or later, Tasha would meet the same fate as the previous owners of her company, and then Boscha would be free to love and marry Willow openly.
Or so she had thought.
After spending a lovely morning with her girlfriend, Boscha returned to her apartment to find none other than Belos waiting for her. For a second, Boscha thought she might have been hallucinating, or that someone had broken into her house dressed as the emperor as a joke. But she just needed to take one look at him to know that this was not the case.
Belos was calmly sitting in one of the rickety dining chairs that Boscha had bought in a yard sale as if it was an elegant throne. He looked at Boscha straight in the eyes. "Miss Hart. I decided to let myself in. You don't mind, I trust?"
"My house is your house, my liege," Boscha said dutifully, curtsying as her mother taught her.
Belos nodded approvingly. "Please take a seat," he said, as if it was his house and his seat to give. Boscha didn't argue and sat down across the table from the mouthpiece of the Titan. If Belos wanted her dead, she wouldn't be alive right now. He wanted something, and she had to admit that she was curious to find out what it was.
"The accusations levied by Miss Serrano against your mother are…disquieting to say the least," Belos said softly. "I do wonder…is there any truth in them?"
"Yes!" Boscha shouted, and then she paled upon realizing that she had just raised her voice to Belos. But Belos just motioned for her to keep talking. "She has abused me since I was a child. She's hurt me in ways that most people shouldn't even contemplate, much less experience." Boscha's heart raced. She'd tried to tell people, but very few people had believed her. And those who did met with "unfortunate accidents." But Tasha couldn't do that to Belos, could she?
Belos nodded at Boscha's comment. It would appear that Boscha had confirmed his suspicions. "It is tragic, of course, that she has done this to you. But she is still a valuable ally to the throne…for now. So I am afraid I will not be willing to act on these accusations." He stroked his chin, or at least the part of it that the mask covered. "Later, however, would be a different story. There is another matter, of course. The question of the legitimacy of your mother's hold on her company."
Boscha blinked. "Wasn't it settled that it belongs to her?"
Belos gave a soft, menacing laugh. "Nothing is settled, little girl. Ever. I would hope you had learned that lesson already." He was silent for a while. "It is a thorny legal question. The Titan is silent on this matter. Therefore, I have decided to circumvent this issue by betrothing you to Miss Serrano."
Boscha's whole world went unsteady. Sure, she'd known that she'd be forced to marry someone else, but she'd thought that threat was gone! Not to mention that it made no sense! Boiling property law followed primogeniture; it was Edmond or Emma, depending on which one of them was older, that Boscha should be marrying, not Amity. "My liege…I don't want to marry her," Boscha said, her voice quiet and firm.
"Your wants are irrelevant," Belos intoned. "As are your mother's; as you may well imagine, she was displeased with this decision as well. But the crown's authority supersedes all. You will marry Amity Serrano…at Grom." Wait, what? Even in the upper class, people didn't get married before they turned sixteen. "I will officiate the ceremony. You will not evade it."
"No," Boscha said, and then there was an explosion of pain in her head. "Yes! Fine, I'll marry her!" The pain went away as if it had never been here to begin with. "Please…" Boscha wasn't sure what she was begging Belos to do or not do. She could barely focus at all.
Belos stood up and walked over to her. He grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look into the eyes of his mask. "Understand this, Boscha: I am far smarter and more powerful than your mother. I know things she cannot begin to comprehend. I know, for example, about your relationship with Willow. And if you defy me, your mother will know too. Now go and tell Amity of your betrothal." He released Boscha and Boscha was running out of the door before she could do anything else. She wasn't sure if her feet were moving of her own accord or not, and it didn't matter anyway.
She ran to the Owl House. She was worried that she was being followed for a while, but then she realized it didn't matter. Belos knew well where she was going. It wasn't like the fact that Eda was looking after Amity was a secret. She banged on the door to the house, heedless to the fact that Hooty screeched in pain after each knock.
The door opened, and the Owl Lady was on the other side. "Oh, it's you," Eda said in probably the same tone of voice that she'd use to talk about some fungus she found growing on her. "What the hell do you want?"
Boscha laughed and laughed, realizing that she was sounding hysterical, and not caring. Since when did what she wanted matter? She'd freed herself from one cage, only to be placed in another one. And now Amity would be caged up with her, and she barely even knew Amity, much less liked her. Eda frowned and dragged Boscha inside.
Amity was sitting on the couch with Luz beside her. Luz was braiding Amity's hair, looking absolutely ecstatic that she was getting the chance to do it. For the first time in a long while, Boscha felt a spasm of guilt. She'd hurt Luz so much already, and now she was going to hurt her even more with this news. But it couldn't be helped.
"Belos says I'm supposed to marry you," Boscha blurted out. Luz's eyes widened in shock and probably understandable horror. "Not you! Amity! The wedding…he's going to make it happen at Grom."
Amity looked disgusted. "That's horrible. You're the same age as I am, right? 14? I mean, what kind of person forces a fourteen year old into an arranged marriage?" She sighed. "Oh, well. We'll just have to grin and bear it."
Boscha was shocked that Amity was treating it so cavalierly, and by the looks of it, for once, Luz was exactly on the same page as her. "How can you say that?! I mean, we're dating now, right? You're my girlfriend!" That last sentence was said with an equal mixture of pride and bewilderment, as if Luz could not comprehend how or why Amity could even want to date her. "You shouldn't be talking about marrying someone else!"
Amity shrugged. "Luz, I'm going to be returning to Earth in a few weeks, and once I'm back, there's nothing Belos can do about the 'marriage.'" She used air quotes on the last word. "If people want to call you my wife, Boscha, then let them call you that. It's just a word to me."
Eda scowled at her. "It ain't just that to some of us."
Amity was silent for a few moments, looking confused, and then her eyes widened as she got what Eda was saying. "Oh, no, of course not! But I don't consider this marriage to be legitimate without Boscha's consent. It's not real, not like what you and Eduardo have." She squeezed Luz's head and gazed at her adoringly. "If you and I got married…that'd be real." Luz let out a squeak.
"Well, you're right about now being way too young to start talking about that stuff," Eda said, directing a glare in Amity's direction.
"Can you take me and Willow with you to the Human Realm?" Boscha blurted out. "I know I won't be able to use my magic again, but I won't care, as long as she's there with me."
Amity frowned. "I don't know…the eye thing might be a problem." What eye thing? Boscha was a touch farsighted (not that she'd ever admit it), but her vision was pretty sharp, all things considered. "Humans have two eyes. Not three. You'd stand out and probably end up getting vivisected."
"You humans are hardcore," Boscha observed.
Amity laughed caustically. "Oh, Boscha, dear, you have no idea." She sighed. "Okay, well, we don't have to figure this out now." She looked directly at Boscha, sympathy lining her expression. "It's going to be okay. We're going to find a way to save you and Willow. I promise. And Luz will help, right, Luz?"
Luz nodded. She looked distracted and upset. Clearly, despite Amity's words, the news that Amity was willing to marry someone else, even if just for political reasons and not out of anything vaguely resembling love, had shaken her. "We…yeah, we'll figure something out. Can you leave us alone for a while?"
"Sure," Boscha said. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news."
Luz wasn't exactly sure what had happened on her date with Amity. There was a massive hole in her memory and every time she tried to fill it up, she was beset with the mother of all headaches. Someone had clearly messed with her mind. And she wasn't the only one – everyone in the square had the same issue, including Edmond, Amity, and Eda. The official story was that Belos had personally held back a giraffe incursion and wiped everyone's memory as an act of kindness so they didn't have to have nightmares about the dreaded giraffes. Luz knew very well that was bullshit. The giraffes were harmless animals now, and she honestly still had difficulty reconciling them with the horrifying monstrosities they were known as in the Demon Realm.
But Luz had pressed ahead. They'd rescheduled their date and Luz had actually gotten the courage to formally ask Amity to be her girlfriend. Again! Luz felt a warmth inside her just thinking about it. Zoe may have thought that she was so smart and so cunning, but Luz was winning. Amity was her true love, and this had proven it. She'd get her Amity to wake up. She was sure of it.
Luz was disturbed, though, at how calmly Amity had taken the news that she was about to be married off to a girl who was basically a complete stranger to her. At least, she had been, up until the point when Amity started shaking pretty much the exact moment Boscha left the house. It was then that Luz realized that her calm attitude had been a ruse the whole time, and now she was seeing how Amity really thought.
"I can't believe this," Amity muttered. "I just…this can't be happening. I'm too young to get married! Oh, God, what if I'm expected to consummate it?" Luz screamed internally at the very thought. "Eda, is there any way to get out of this? What if I marry Luz? Then I can't get married to Boscha, too, right?" Luz couldn't help but feel a sense of wonderment that anyone – much less Amity – was thinking about marrying her, even if it was just out of convenience.
What would it be like, she wondered, to be Mrs. Luz Blight when her Amity wanted to marry her? Or, no, probably Mrs. Luz Noceda, because Amity would want to take her name, no doubt.
"Sorry, kiddo, but that wouldn't do the trick," Eda said sympathetically. "It's legal to be married to more than one person around here. Besides, Belos is the law. There's no loophole we can use to get around him. But like you said, Belos isn't going to pursue you when you're back in the human realm. You'll be safe there."
Luz squeezed Amity's hand. "It's okay, cariño. I won't let anything bad happen to you."
Amity gazed at Luz with an expression of pure adoration. Sure, Amity wasn't in love with her yet, as evinced by the fact that she wasn't home yet, but she was definitely heading in that direction. "You're the best girlfriend I've ever had."
"Aren't I the only girlfriend you've ever had?" Luz said teasingly and kissed Amity on the cheek. Amity let out a squeal of joy. Eda groaned, looking like she was seriously considering every single life choice she had ever made.
Luz stood up. "I've got to get to Hexside. I'm doing some extra credit for Näkijä, but I'll be back in time for my date." Eda made a face; clearly the idea of her daughter going to the trouble of doing extra credit went against her rebellious sensibilities. "I love you, Amity."
Amity stammered for a few seconds. Luz put up a hand. "It's okay. You don't have to say it back. I know you don't love me yet." She knew that all too well, after all. "But I love you, and I want you to know that. I'll see you later…novia."
And before her mind could tell her otherwise, Luz reached over and kissed Amity on the lips. It was just a light peck but Amity was looking as if it was the most incredible moment of her life. Good for her. She was going to need those happy memories to hold onto when Luz went home.
Luz had been telling a half-truth when she mentioned that she was going to be meeting with Näkijä. She did intend to meet with the oracle teacher, but not about extra credit. Instead, she was going to try to see if Näkijä could figure out precisely what had happened on the date that Luz couldn't remember. If someone had done something to her mind, Luz wanted to know what it was, especially if it had been Belos who did it. If Belos knew she was from the future, she'd be kidnapped and tortured for information about the future. And since Luz knew exactly how Belos had been defeated in her timeline, Belos learning that information would be a very, very bad thing.
As befitting her position, Näkijä did not look remotely surprised to see Luz. In fact, she seemed almost relieved. "Miss Noceda, I presume you were present at the…incident in the central square?"
Luz nodded. "I was hoping you knew what happened."
Näkijä was silent for a few moments. "I do not know. I have been trying to figure that out myself, only to be stymied at every turn. It does not bode well. There are only a few things that could block the spells I utilized, especially when cast by an individual of my skill level, and none of them are very pleasant." She stroked her chin. "There is, however, something you can do to help. If you could give me access to your mind, I could try to unlock your memories."
Luz took a step backwards instinctively. The last time she'd let someone into her mind, it had been Amity. Her inner self, believing that she had been having a coma dream since she arrived in the Isles, was about to torture Amity to figure out how to "wake up." Thankfully, Amity managed to talk down Inner Luz, but Luz still wasn't sure it was precisely safe for Näkijä to be there.
Näkijä must have misunderstood what Luz was thinking, because she put on a sympathetic expression and put her hands up. "Miss Noceda, I assure you, I would do nothing without your consent. I can ensure that you are present to make sure that I access only the memories you wish me to access. Moreover, no consequences will attach by your refusal – I have no desire to pressure you in any way."
"I trust you," Luz said. And it was true. She really did trust Näkijä. But she didn't really know Näkijä that well. Giving Amity access to her mind had been nerve-wracking enough. Näkijä wasn't all that more than a stranger. "It's just a big ask, that's all."
"I understand," Näkijä said, trying and mostly succeeding from keeping the disappointment from her voice.
"But I'll do it anyway," Luz went on. "For Amity's sake. I need to know what happened."
Näkijä favored her with a rare smile. It was clear why her smiles were rare; the smile just looked incredibly freaky on her bull face. Luz really did not want to see that smile again at all. Ever. "Then lie down on that couch over there, and I will put you to sleep."
Luz laid down on Näkijä's couch. It was surprisingly comfortable and big. It pretty much felt like she was lying on a bed already, it was so soft. Näkijä put her hand on Luz's forehead and poured energy into her. Her eyes felt heavy, so she closed them, and just like that, she was in the Overlibrary.
Luz had been amused to find that her inner landscape matched that of the Overlibrary, the library of infinite knowledge from the Good Witch Azura series. It was fitting, really, given how much the series meant to her. Azura was more than just a book she loved; it was a core part of who she was.
"So this is how you look in reality," Näkijä noted. "It suits you."
Luz summoned a mirror to her hand – she was in her mindscape, so she could pretty much do anything she wanted – and looked into it. Sure enough, she looked how she really was, human with round ears. Now that she was looking closely, she could also see that there were numerous subtle differences in her face. Which made sense, given that she had different DNA being passed down. Her skin in her real form was also darker without Eda's genes.
Näkijä looked around her, looking surprised. "I am surprised to see that the core of your mindscape is that of a library. You have not seemed particularly academically inclined since your arrival here."
Luz just stared at her. "Seriously?! I invite you into my mind and you're insulting me?! Look, I'm a lot of things. Selfish. Cowardly. Foolish. But I'm not stupid, and I really wish you'd stop saying I am."
Näkijä looked taken aback. It was probably the first time that anyone had dared to be defiant to her in quite some time. But more than that, Luz could tell that the words had resonated with her. "I…am sorry," she said, slowly but utterly sincerely. "You are quite right. I am a guest, and as such, it is incumbent upon me to be more polite. But more than that, I apologize for making you think you are stupid. Because you are not. You are a very smart person, Luz Noceda. More than that, however, you have a great heart, which is even rarer than having a great head."
Luz was touched. Praise was rare from Näkijä, much less a heartfelt defense of her. It was unquestionably the nicest thing a teacher had ever said to her. "Thank you," she whispered.
"I take issue with some of the other things you said, however," Näkijä went on. "I do not believe that you are selfish or a coward."
"Or foolish?" Luz asked, somewhat teasingly. Näkijä's stoic silence was all the answer she needed to hear for that question.
In any case, even if she had wanted to answer that question, she never got a chance. There was a thunderous booming sound and Näkijä was thrown backwards, a massive hole in her chest and pinkish blood cascading outwards.
Camila had never planned on having children. Perhaps if she'd found the right person, she would have, but her luck in love had always been atrocious, and she'd mostly resigned herself to living alone for the rest of her life. She'd made peace with the idea when she heard crying coming from the alleyway near the Starbucks closest to the hospital where she worked.
She hurried over and discovered that it was coming from a dumpster. She opened it and was horrified to find that there were three children inside! One of them was just a baby, and the other two – twins by the looks of it – were just two years old. They were strange looking children, no doubt. The twins had green hair and they all had pointy ears and an eye color that was a strange shade of gold.
What sort of monsters left their children in a dumpster? No one who deserved the title of parent, to be sure. Camila immediately called the police and the poor children were put into the system. And for a few days, she told herself that she would leave it at that. But she couldn't stop thinking about them! She realized, in a flash of horror, that they'd stay in the system through their whole childhood. No parent would ever adopt such strange looking children.
No one but Camila.
It had been hard adjusting to being a mother to three children. There were days when Camila felt like tearing all her hair out, like just giving up. But she never did, because Amistad, Edmundo, and Emilia (she'd given them the names because they were the closest ones to the syllables that the twins used when trying to tell Camila their names) were her children and she loved them. And nothing could change that. The fact that they weren't human hadn't altered that. Camila loved her children, and she wasn't about to let a minor thing like them being stuck in another universe get in the way of her keeping them safe.
If she hadn't been expecting to raise three children, then she certainly hadn't been expecting her fourth child. Camila felt horrendously guilty that she hadn't noticed the fact that her own daughter had been replaced by an imposter. What kind of mother was she? She'd just blithely accepted the amnesia story and hadn't even noticed the total change in "Amity's" personality. Maybe, she worried, the problem was that she wasn't Amity's biological mother. Maybe she'd have had some sort of instinct if that was the case.
But now the truth was revealed and Camila had decided that she was Vee's mother. It was that simple. Vee needed a mother, and no one else was going to do the job, so Camila had stepped up to the task. She didn't blame Vee for the actions that had gotten Edmond and Emma stuck in the Demon Realm. She wasn't in her right mind at the time. But convincing Vee of that was easier said than done. And what she had to do wouldn't make it any easier.
Camila reached out and kissed her new daughter on the cheek. The two of them were sitting in Camila's van outside of the MacKinnon residence. "Mija, I promise I'll come back for you," Camila said. Vee said nothing, but her expression said it all anyway – she did not believe Camila. Unsurprising, but still sad. "This is not a punishment. It's just that I have to go to the Demon Realm to look after my other children, and I want you to be safe here."
"I can go with you," Vee said, her voice trembling. "I can be brave."
Camila reached out and hugged Vee. "You don't have to be, Vee. You've had to go through so much. You deserve to be happy, and I won't put you in any more danger. You are safe here. Clara will keep you safe." Vee looked reassured at the mention of her girlfriend.
Perhaps a better mother would have reservations about having her daughter and her daughter's girlfriend living under the same roof, but this was clearly an extraordinary circumstance. Vee would feel much safer with Clara close at hand. Besides, Camila was pretty sure that Vee didn't even know about the things that she and Clara could be doing, and Clara, while still in favor of their relationship, was determined to take things slow.
Camila knocked on the door of the MacKinnon residence and Jack, Clara's father, opened it. That was something of a relief. Naomi MacKinnon was a lovely woman, but it'd be much tougher to sell her on the idea. "Hi, Camila," Jack said. The two of them were on good terms given how close their daughters were, even before this Demon Realm stuff had started. "Everything okay?"
A perfect opening. "Actually, no," Camila admitted. "There's been a family emergency. I have to go to the Dominican Republic. I already sent Emma and Edmond ahead of me, but there isn't enough money to have me and Amity both go. Jack, I know it's a big ask, but could you look after Amity while I'm gone?"
"Of course I can," Jack said without an instant of hesitation. Camila breathed a sigh of relief. "But how's about I loan you the money instead? Why, you're practically family now!"
"No!" Camila shouted. Jack blinked. "I'm sorry, Jack, but I can't accept your charity. Look, I don't know how long I'll be gone, but I promise you, I'll be back as soon as I can. I'll probably be out of contact for a while, though." Camila made a gesture and Vee emerged from the car in her Amity disguise. "She's had a tough time of things recently, so if she gets upset with you, just be gentle, okay?"
Jack nodded. Camila wasn't sure if Clara had told her about Vee's true nature. She didn't know anyone with a better poker face than Jack; he regularly cleaned her out when they played the game. It didn't matter anyway. She trusted him completely to keep Vee safe. "Thank you, Jack. I owe you big time for this."
She looked over at Vee and bent down so that they were looking eye to eye. "Mija, it's going to be okay. I promise that everything will be okay. Now be a good girl for Jack, all right?"
"I will, mami," Vee mumbled, sounding like she was barely trusting herself to speak. "I love you so much. I miss you already!"
Camila ruffled her daughter's hair. "I love you too, dear." She stood up and looked over at Jack. Eh, in for a penny, in for a pound. "Um, Amity's going by the name Vee now. If you'd call her that, I'd really appreciate it."
"Absolutely, Camila," Jack said without hesitation. "Come on, Vee. Let's get you inside. I'll show you our guest room, and then you can spend some time with Clara. With the door open. How does that sound?" By the look on Vee's face, that sounded heavenly to her.
Camila went back into the van and looked over at Jane, who was sitting in the passenger's seat, looking resigned to whatever fate Camila intended to put her through. Camila had officially broken up with Jane. She understood why Jane did the things she did. She could even forgive her in time. But at the end of the day, Camila couldn't trust her, and she refused to be in a relationship with someone she couldn't trust.
Nonetheless, Jane had resolved to help Camila with getting to the Boiling Isles. According to her, temporary portals to the Boiling Isles opened on a completely randomized basis, both temporally and spatially. Jane's abilities (which were apparently not magic but some sort of weird psychic power?) allowed her to sense when those portals opened, and there was one open right now in the Colville National Forest in the northeastern corner of Washington.
Camila drove as fast as the speed limit would allow her (and sometimes faster when she thought she could get away with it). She only stopped for sleep, food, and bathroom breaks. The portal could close at any moment, and Camila intended to be on the other side of it before it did. It took her several hours to reach the other side of the state, and several more hours to make the very difficult hike to the portal.
Camila wasn't sure what she was expecting. A wardrobe in the middle of the forest, like in Narnia? No, wait, there was a lamppost in the forest. It had been a long time since she read the books. The point was, she was probably expecting something that looked fancier than the two dimensional hole in reality that stood before her.
"I'm coming with you," Jane announced. Before Camila could utter a protest, Jane said, "Don't argue with me, Camila. It's going to be dangerous there. It's not so bad in the urban areas, but the wilderness is full of hostile creatures that could kill you or worse."
"Okay," Camila said. They didn't have time to argue. Besides, Jane was right. Jane looked surprised, but gave Camila a grateful smile.
Camila stepped through the portal, and then, instantaneously, it closed. Just like that. And Jane was stuck on the other side of it. Spectacular. But if there was one thing Camila was defined by, it was her stubborn unwillingness to give up. People had told her that it was impossible to accomplish her objectives. "No, Camila, you could never be a nurse, you should marry and be a mother." "No, Camila, you can't raise three children as a single parent, it's just too much for you." "No, Camila, you can't bungee jump so soon after breaking your leg, what the hell is wrong with you?" And the like.
But Camila never listened to the doubters. She was going to find her children, and if anyone dared to stand in her way, she'd kill them stone cold dead. She was prepared. She had the antiquated World War II era revolver that had been passed down from her grandfather in her purse, alongside a wicked sharp bread knife and a wooden stake just in case she ran into any vampires. The Boiling Isles' predators would soon know the name Camila Serrano.
Camila had been deposited by the portal in the middle of a forest, but she could see the lights of a city or at least some sort of town in the distance. She had a destination, and a goal. So she started walking. Before she'd gotten more than a few steps, there was a rustling from the bushes. Camila pulled out her revolver. And then a cute looking pixie emerged from the foliage. Camila breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hello, little one," Camila said. "I'm trying to find my children. Have you heard of any children coming here from Earth?"
"GIVE ME YOUR SKIN!" the pixie thundered and it lunged at Camila.
Maybe this was going to be tougher than she thought.
Luz instantaneously healed Näkijä. They were in her mind, and it was as easy as just thinking it. They had much bigger problems, like Näkijä's shooter, a girl a few years older than Luz who was holding a double-barreled shotgun in her hands and looked disturbingly happy for a woman who had just shot someone, even if it was just a mental construct.
The girl was Luz's inner self. Inner Luz was paranoid, cynical, and distrustful, the exact opposite of Luz. Well, maybe that wasn't true. After all, they were two sides of the same coin. It had been Inner Luz who had gotten Luz through the worst times of her life, toughened her up in the face of relentless, unending bullying and gotten her to power through the utter misery that had defined her life before she came to the Boiling Isles. Inner Luz didn't trust anyone, but she especially didn't trust herself. In fact, Luz was pretty sure Inner Luz hated herself, and had a very difficult time of believing that anyone could think differently of her.
The first time Luz had met Inner Luz face to face, as it were, Inner Luz had knocked her unconscious and almost tortured Amity. She had deluded herself into believing the Isles weren't real, and that she was in a coma. The concept of anything good happening to Luz was just something that didn't compute for her.
Luz had thought she'd cured her inner self of these destructive beliefs. A mental construct of Eduardo had vowed to protect and help Inner Luz. Apparently, he hadn't been picking up the slack as much as Luz had hoped if Inner Luz was going around shooting people.
"What the hell are you even doing?!" Luz screamed at her.
"What are you doing?" Inner Luz retorted. "You let a teacher in here! A teacher!" She said the word as if it was a swear word. "Don't you know that teachers are the enemy, Luz? They do nothing but drag you down and mock you. The myth of a good teacher is just that. A myth. Näkijä won't hesitate to kill you if she thinks you're a threat to the timestream, and you let her into your mind. How dumb are you?"
Näkijä stood up. "She's not wrong. I will kill you without an instant's hesitation if I believe you to be a danger to the fabric of space time. It is my responsibility to do so, and it would be foolish to do otherwise. I'd rather you be dead than all reality." She turned to face Inner Luz. "But you underestimate me, and more importantly, yourself. Luz has made significant progress in her goal, if the rumor mill is correct."
Luz couldn't help but give a dopy grin. She still couldn't get over the fact that she'd gotten Amity to be her girlfriend again. She'd thought it was a fluke the first time around, but now she had concrete proof that it wasn't, that they were true love, that they were meant to be together.
"She has taken my advice, and acted, dare I say it, responsibly in the pursuit of her goal," Näkijä went on. "She had an opportunity to reverse the events that led her here, despite the ruinous cost that would entail, yet she did not take it."
Inner Luz was silent, so Luz pressed the advantage. "Look, Inner Luz –"
"Lucia."
Luz blinked. "What?"
"My name is Lucia," Lucia announced. "If you can have a name, then so can I."
Should Luz be alarmed that her inner self had given herself a name? For that matter, was it alarming that she could even interact with her inner self at all? Näkijä didn't seem alarmed, but Näkijä probably didn't know much about human psychology or physiology. Then again, she'd interacted with Willow's inner self…though she hadn't exactly been a pinnacle of stability either.
If it was a problem, then it was a later problem, Luz decided. "Yeah, you have bigger fish to fry," Lucia said, and Luz jumped in surprise. "I'm you, Luz. We're the same mind, just different aspects of it. I know everything you've ever thought. I am everything you've ever thought."
"We would like to access memories of your most recent date with Amity, please," Näkijä said, sounding more polite than Luz would have suspected from her, especially given the fact that Lucia had shot her. "It is potentially extremely important."
Lucia stepped forward and peered at Näkijä suspiciously. Well, more than average, anyway. "You're not like the others," she conceded. "Why? What's your angle? What do you want from us?"
An expression of profound pity formed on Näkijä's face. "You did not have a very good experience with academics before you came to the Boiling Isles, did you?" She put a hand on Lucia's shoulder and then took the shotgun out of her hands. She flinched, but didn't resist. Luz made the shotgun disappear. "Humans couldn't handle your nontraditional neurology, am I correct?"
"They called me stupid," Lucia whispered, sounding younger than Luz now. "They didn't always say it outright, but that was always the implication. I couldn't focus, I couldn't…think the way they wanted me to. I tried. Oh, God, how I tried. I thought that if I just tried hard enough, I could be like everyone else. I could be normal. But I couldn't."
Luz wanted to say something, to deny this, but she couldn't. Because it was true. This was how she had felt deep down, and she'd never even verbalized it until now.
"I got accommodations, but they just made me stand out," Lucia went on bitterly. "They made me look like more of a freak. I was the freak Luzer. The…" She couldn't even say the words. They were too painful. "I was alone. I was so alone. And none of my teachers bothered to help. I was just a burden to them. Sometimes…sometimes, I even wondered what I had to live for."
Luz shuddered. She'd put those thoughts aside long ago, stuffed them in a box that she'd closed and locked. "That's enough," she said sternly. "She doesn't need to know that."
Lucia blinked. She seemed to have forgotten that Näkijä was even there for a second. "So, yeah," she said back in her normal deeper and more gravely voice. "Now you know. What do you have to say to that?"
Näkijä was silent for a very long while. "You didn't deserve that," she said finally. Lucia looked gobsmacked. No one had ever told her that before. Luz had told her therapists about some of these feelings, and Camila about even fewer of them, but no one had ever told her that she didn't deserve the treatment she'd gotten. "You did nothing wrong. You were yourself. And you were punished for it. And you didn't deserve any of it."
"Didn't I?" Lucia whispered. "If I didn't deserve it, then why did it happen?"
"There is no reason," Näkijä said calmly. "We think of destiny as a painter who painstakingly creates a masterpiece stroke by stroke until we are overwhelmed by its beauty. But in reality, it is a painter who just throws a bunch of paint at a canvas randomly and calls it art and leaves us to find the meaning in it." Luz was shocked to hear her say this. If the greatest oracle of all time didn't really believe in destiny, then it must not really exist.
"Lucia, I am sorry that all this happened to you in your past," Näkijä said, and she meant it. Luz could tell. "But if you want your future to be good, you're going to need to give us access to the memories that we want to see."
Lucia turned towards Luz, her face looking plaintive. She acted so tough that it was difficult for Luz to remember sometimes that in a lot of ways, she was even more immature and stuck in the past than Luz was. Luz had moved on. Lucia had not. "You really trust her?"
"Yes," Luz said without an ounce of doubt. "I trust her. There are very few people I'd let in my mind. She's one of them. She may assign way too much homework," she glared at Näkijä, who stared back at her without changing her expression one iota, "but she's good and fair and even kind sometimes."
Näkijä crossed her arms. "That was not quite the ringing endorsement I was hoping for," she muttered. Luz just smiled angelically at her. "But it will do, I suppose."
Lucia summoned a book to her hand, but Luz put a hand on her arm before she could open it. "Näkijä, can you give us a few moments to talk alone?"
"Of course," Näkijä said with a bow of her head. "May I call you Luz? I feel that you have earned it, and deserve it."
Lucia shrugged. Luz nodded. "Very good. If you have any academic concerns, please feel free to come to me in the future, Luz. I know I can be standoffish. It is my nature. But I want you to feel comfortable in my class."
"I do," Luz assured her. It was true, too. Well, as comfortable as she could be when suddenly thrust into the midst of a class that she wasn't very good at, but that was hardly Näkijä's fault.
Luz made it so that Näkijä was unable to overhear what she was about to say to Lucia. Even if Luz had shouted in her face, Näkijä wouldn't be able to hear her unless Luz desired it. There were benefits to being inside Luz's mind. "Are you okay?" Luz said softly to Lucia.
Lucia was so stunned by the question that she dropped the book in her hands. Clearly, the idea of anyone asking that question to her and meaning it was still foreign to her. Luz's heart couldn't help but crack a little bit at that thought. "I'm fine," she said reflexively. Luz put her hands on her hips and glared at her. "Okay, no, I'm not fine. I mean, I'm never fine. You know that. It's my job to not be fine so you can be fine. But still…"
"Dad," Luz said, knowing exactly what was bothering Lucia, because it was bothering her too. They were, after all, one and the same person, even if her brain was acting as if that was not the case right now.
"We're going to have to leave him again," Lucia said, anguish lining her every syllable. "And I don't know if I can do it. I don't know what it'll cost me, cost you. We're not even going to get a chance to say goodbye again!" She started pacing. "But we can't tell him, because he'll try to kill us. He'll hate us. I know he will."
Luz wanted to find the words to protest, but it was hard when the thoughts that Lucia was verbalizing had been rattling around in her brain so frequently. Even though any arguments to the contrary may well have been true, Luz couldn't believe them. "We need to savor our time with him, then," Luz said eventually. "Any advice about dealing with Amity?"
"Oh, hell no," Lucia said. "My advice with love stuff sucks. You know that. I was the one who thought we could win Clara's heart with the eyelid trick." She gave a wistful smile at the thought of Clara. Clearly, she hadn't moved on entirely from the cheerleader. "I think you'll save her, though." Luz raised an eyebrow, surprised. Lucia was the cynic, the hardened pessimist. If she believed it, then Luz must have been on the right track.
Luz grabbed both of Lucia's hands and squeezed them. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
"Find a bird and morph it," Lucia suggested. "I could do with the freedom of flying." Actually, now that Luz thought about it, that sounded like a really good idea. She wouldn't have morphing when she was back in her original body, so she should take advantage of it while she still could. "Luz, I'm sorry I've made things so difficult for you."
Luz quickly enfolded Lucia into a hug. Though Lucia scowled, Luz knew instinctively that it was all an act, and the desperation with which she leaned into the hug proved it. "You haven't made things difficult for me at all, sweetie. You've helped me through my worst moments. Without you…I wouldn't have made it here." She planted a kiss on Lucia's forehead. "Relax. I've got it all under control."
Luz clapped her hands and Näkijä could hear them again. Though she could tell that Näkijä desperately wanted to know what had occurred during the conversation, she knew that it was not her place to ask, and so she didn't. Lucia opened the book, and Luz was back in the memories of her date with Amity, seeing them in her mind's eye.
The only thing that surprised Luz about learning that Belos was actually Zoe in disguise was the fact that she wasn't surprised. Näkijä had warned her that something was wrong with Belos after all, and naturally, Zoe would want to put her finger on the scale to prevent Luz from winning. The arranged marriage was a nice touch. Luz was probably supposed to be distraught about it, lose her concentration, maybe even be jealous of Boscha. Well, she knew better than to do that now.
Näkijä did not say a word as the memory played inside her head as well. She looked as if what she was seeing confirmed her suspicions. Finally, the memory came to an end once Zoe teleported away. "So…this isn't good," Luz said, attempting to make a joke of it.
"On the contrary," Näkijä said, sounding almost cheerful. "This is quite good news indeed. Zoe does not know that we know her secret – which means that we have the upper hand. We know where she is. We know what her weakness is." Just like Edric's cast iron knuckles, the iron knife in the assassin's hand had harmed Zoe grievously. "We know what she wants. And now we can finally stop her from getting it."
Luz felt the faint stirrings of hope in her. "You really think so?"
"I do not speak cavalierly or dishonestly, Luz," Näkijä said. "You know that by now. If we can kill Zoe, it would reverse whatever enchantments she has laid." She frowned. "Of course, that will hardly be easy. But it can be done. Zoe is not the only fae queen to have ever lived. She killed her predecessor, after all. The fae are not immortal. They are un-aging, yes, but not undying."
Luz felt uncomfortable with the idea of killing anyone in cold blood, let alone someone like Zoe who deserved it. Sure, she had killed Adegast, but that had been in clear self-defense, and she still had nightmares about it. Näkijä appeared to sense what Luz was thinking. "Do not worry yourself," she said gently. "Let others handle these things for once. Just…enjoy yourself. Let your relationship with Amity progress naturally. Be the child you were robbed of being."
"Okay," Luz said. "I don't know if I can do that. But I'll try." She snapped her fingers and then she was back in the real world, sitting up from Näkijä's sofa.
She was halfway to the door when Näkijä said, "I note that you did not take issue with Zoe's assessment of your character."
Luz turned around. She was confused about what Näkijä meant. "She was right about me, though," Luz said. "I'm a selfish coward. I was given a vision of a reality where I never told my mother. Where I chose to stay here. I abandoned her, just so I could live out some witch fantasy."
"When you first confessed to me," Näkijä responded, "I was tempted – very tempted – to snap your neck. Just…kill you. And I know that in some realities, in quite a few, no doubt, I did just that. Yet should I be blamed for your murder when you are still alive? Of course not. You are not responsible for the actions of your alternate selves. Taking that responsibility is a path to madness."
"But…but I lied to Mami for so long! I put myself in danger! I could have died! And all because I wanted to be special. Because I was thinking about me, not her."
Näkijä sighed. "Luz, there is nothing wrong with wanting things for yourself. It is only when those wants negatively impact others that you are actually 'selfish.' You may have made a mistake in hiding your activities from your mother, but you made it right in the end. It does not make you a bad person." Luz had never thought about it that way. "Everything you have been doing – including your ill-advised and impulsive decisions – has been conducted for the benefit of another. Were you truly selfish, you would try to lose the bet, so that you could have an Amity as your girlfriend and your father back in your life."
Luz laughed softly. "I guess I was being pretty silly, wasn't I?"
"No one was born knowing any of this, Luz, not even I. Zoe cannot lie knowingly, but she can utter untruths out of ignorance, and I assure you, she has gravely misjudged you."
Luz hugged Näkijä and didn't even realize what she was doing until it was too late. She was worried that Näkijä would shout at her or sternly reprimand her for excessive informality. But Näkijä just hugged her back.
Amity hadn't actually taken the news that she was being forced into an arranged marriage with the calmness that she had displayed to Boscha. She was in shock, partly, but she was also trying to act cool so that Boscha wouldn't be upset. Boscha was firmly committed to Willow, so the news that she'd be forced into an arranged marriage would be equally upsetting to her, if not more so. Amity still didn't like Boscha very much, but she didn't have to like her to want to do something nice for her, especially in the wake of Belos' monstrous announcement.
In fact, Amity was freaking out about the thing the whole day. She was fourteen years old! She wasn't supposed to be getting married! That was just creepy! It wasn't even normal for the Boiling Isles. She knew why Belos was doing this, of course. It was her punishment for defying his authority and smashing her way through the Conformatorium. He thought that it would send a message that everything, including Amity, was firmly under his control.
Well, he couldn't be more wrong. Amity would return to Earth and stay there. She'd still date Luz, but all of their dates would have to be on her side of the portal. It would work out fine. There were all sorts of cool things that Amity could do with Luz on Earth. Maybe Clara would have some ideas. Though Clara would probably have her own problems when she learned that she'd been dating an imposter.
In any event, when Luz finally returned to the Owl House after much longer a period of time than Amity had suspected, she looked almost drained, and Amity feared that she was responsible. "Luz…I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have treated the whole marriage thing so cavalierly."
Luz looked befuddled, as if she had forgotten about the marriage. "Oh! Right, no, I know you were just trying to put a brave face on things. I'm…kind of a mess right now, but give me some time, and I'll be ready for our date."
"Can I ask what happened?" Amity asked tentatively.
"It's personal, sorry," Luz said shortly. "Nothing to worry about." Well, Amity would have to take her at her word. "Don't worry! We're going to have an awesome date. I have some surprises planned!" She kissed Amity on the cheek. Amity was a little disappointed that she didn't get another kiss on the lips (she had no idea it could feel so good to be kissed!), but she supposed she'd get one later that evening.
Amity spent the rest of the afternoon doing homework and catching up on her reading. Her peaceful existence was interrupted by a screeching erupting from Hooty, shouts from Luz about him having to capture something alive, and what sounded like a bird squawking. Amity knew that she probably should have done something about it, but then again, she'd heard weirder things since her arrival at the Boiling Isles. Luz probably had the situation under control. Probably.
At last, Luz emerged from outside the house with a bird in a cage. Much to Amity's shock, the bird appeared to be a passenger pigeon, an Earth creature that had been extinct since 1914. Evidently, some of them must have made their way to the Boiling Isles before that. "Are you ready to morph, Amity?!"
Amity's head shot up with excitement. "Seriously? We're going to morph a bird?! We're going to fly?"
"Yes!" Luz said, sounding as jubilant about the opportunity as Amity felt. Her arms were flapping and if Amity hadn't known that she was stimming, she'd have thought that Luz wanted to get a head start on the flying. "And trust me, there's no one I'd rather fly alongside than you, dulzura." Man, was Luz a charmer. It was amazing that she'd only had one significant other before Amity.
Amity reached towards the cage, and then hesitated. "What about the time limit?"
"We'll just fly to the restaurant," Luz said. "It'll take us fifteen minutes, tops."
Tobias had probably thought the same thing. But, hey, you only live once, right? So Amity reached out and she placed the pigeon in the acquiring trance. Luz then did the same thing. Amity closed her eyes as Luz morphed. The last thing she needed was to deposit what was left of her lunch on the floor. Then she also morphed. It was…a uniquely unpleasant experience. But the end result couldn't be denied.
Amity felt light. She felt calm and composed, like absolutely nothing was weighing her down. This was what it was like to be a bird. To be an animal. Pigeons didn't have to worry about grades or thwarted destinies or some creepy old man trying to force them into a marriage. They just focused on what was in front of them. Eating. Flying. Other bodily functions. To be a pigeon was to be free.
I got to admit I'm biased, Luz said, but you're the cutest pigeon I've ever seen.
Amity laughed inside her head. Luz, we morphed the same pigeon. We look absolutely identical!
Luz pouted, an expression that looked bizarre, a human expression on a bird that should not have had them. Come on, let your girlfriend give you a compliment here!
Amity strode over to Luz and pecked her lightly on the top of the head with her beak. Okay, compliment accepted, you silly goose.
Pigeon, Luz corrected her. I'm a silly pigeon! The two silly pigeons – for Amity could admit, at least inside her head (certainly not in front of her siblings) that she got silly around Luz too sometimes – flew through the open window and out into the sky.
Flying was…amazing. That word felt too small, too confining, honestly. It was an experience completely unlike anything that Amity had ever experienced. She was free. She could fly thousands of miles and still know exactly how to return home. Nothing could possibly tie her down. Every worry that Amity had ever had just felt absurd in the face of flying. She understood now just why Tobias had chosen to remain a hawk after the war. Even now, some part of Amity wanted to keep this. She wouldn't let it win, of course. But it was there.
In an awesome turn of events, it turned out that she had an internal clock that allowed her to know exactly how much time was passed. This was almost certainly a pigeon thing, not a morphing one. It took exactly seventeen minutes and thirty-two seconds to reach Le Sceptre Magique. It made Amity sad to morph back to human (witch, whatever), but the fact that she was rewarded with the sight of her awesome girlfriend in her true form made up for it.
Le Sceptre Magique had amazing food, but there was a fly in the ointment (metaphorically): the couple sitting at the table across from them. Edmond and his new boyfriend Hunter were dressed in a pair of absolutely pathetic disguises. How dare he spy on her? Didn't he trust her to be responsible and mature? Seriously, Edmond had gotten arrested thanks to his last boyfriend. He was in a huge glass house and he had no right to throw stones.
Well, if Edmond wanted to mess with her, then she could mess right back. "Say, Luz, remember when we talked about eloping?" Amity asked her. Luz looked bewildered, but Edmond's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets. Oh, this was going to be so good. Amity subtly pointed in Edmond's direction, and, thank the Powers, Luz got it immediately.
"Hey, I'm good with absolutely anything you want from me, babe," Luz said with a wink. "And if I recall correctly, you sure wanted a lot from me earlier today." Heh. Chew on that, Edmond.
"Next time," Amity said, her voice a seductive purr, "you get to be on the bottom. How does that make you feel, mi amor?" Edmond knocked over his glass of water with a yelp.
"Or maybe we could do it as birds…?" Luz suggested. Edmond looked like he was going to be sick. And with good reason. That option was always and forevermore off the table.
Amity had had her fun, and now it was time to put an end to things. She strode over to Edmond's table and crossed her arms. Edmond had the gall to look innocent. The nerve of the man! Edmond was a lot of things. Innocent was not one of them. At least Hunter appeared to realize immediately that the jig was up. "There's only room for one amazing member of the Serrano family here," Amity snarled at him.
"Oh? Are you and Luz going to eat somewhere else?" Edmond joked. Hunter gave him a disapproving glare. "Look, I can't leave now. I have to protect your virtue!"
"My virtue is fine," Amity hissed. "If you want to protect it from anyone, protect it from that creep Belos who intends to force me to marry Boscha."
Edmond's eyes widened in shock. "What?! Oh, we are not going to let this stand. Don't worry, Mittens. We'll get you out of this. Come on, Cazador."
"Nice to meet you!" Hunter called out as his boyfriend pretty much dragged him out of the restaurant. Amity almost pitied him, having to deal with Edmond. Almost.
Amity returned to her seat and leaned back in satisfaction. "And that, Luz, is how you deal with interfering siblings. Seriously, though, we're not doing it as birds. Ever. That's never going to happen."
"Oh, yeah, yeah," Luz assured her quickly. "Utterly off the table. No question. Uh…so had any homework troubles recently?"
The rest of the dinner was a much more subdued affair. They quickly shrugged off the awkward start and were soon laughing and joking like they'd known each other all their lives. It was strange, though, how Luz shied away from telling any personal anecdotes about herself. It was all about the wacky things that Gus and Willow had gotten up to, or some shenanigan that Eda had pulled, or things like that. Maybe she just didn't think of herself as all that interesting. Amity found that kind of sad.
After the dinner was over, Luz took her to the Bonesborough Botanical Garden. Amity thought that sounded kind of boring (she must have gotten advice on planning the date from Willow), but she didn't say anything. If Luz liked plants, then she'd indulge that. And, honestly, maybe Willow had a point. The plants had a lot more teeth than Amity was used to (90% of them appeared to be carnivorous), but there was a pleasant, calming, soothing atmosphere.
And then she rounded a corner and saw statues of her biological parents. A placard read "Odalia and Alador Blight, thus always to traitors." Luz let out a strangled gasp and a frantic expression came upon her face. "Oh my gosh, Amity, I swear I didn't know they were here! I never would have taken you here if I'd known, I promise!"
Amity was a bit bewildered as to why Luz sounded so horrified. And then it clicked. These weren't statues of her parents.
They were her parents.
Odalia and Alador had been petrified, turn to stone, and their stone forms were what stood before her. Amity dearly hoped they weren't still conscious underneath there. No one deserved such a fate, even the assholes who'd callously abandoned her in another world. Amity couldn't help but feel a vicious sense of satisfaction, though, looking at their stone form, and she felt immensely guilty for doing so.
"Could you give me a few moments, please?"
"Sure," Luz said immediately. "Take whatever time you need."
She walked away. Amity studied her parents carefully. Odalia looked defiantly at some spot in the distance. Despite her hatred of her, Amity could not help but admire her coolness in the face of what had to be one of the most horrifying deaths imaginable. She was a tall, regal woman with facial features that resembled the twins more than her. Amity instead resembled her father, at least from a physical perspective. Alador, by contrast, looked like he barely understood what was going on. He looked almost bored.
"I don't know if you can hear me," Amity said. "I really hope you can't. But if you can, I want you to know that you lost. I'm here, and I'm a total, complete lesbian. I have a girlfriend. I think boys are gross and disgusting. Hell, I'm being forced into an arranged marriage with a girl, what do you think about that?"
There was, of course, total silence from the statues that used to be her biological parents. "We could have been a happy family, and you threw that all away because of some antiquated social mores that hardly anyone else in this damn realm even has! What sort of monsters could just abandon their own flesh and blood?" Amity directed a fearsome glare at her mother. "And you! I've seen just how bad you are. You don't even know what it means to love another. You deserve this. You both do! I don't forgive you. I'll never forgive you. And you can both rot in hell!"
Amity stormed off. She felt great. Some people believed in forgiveness, but Amity wasn't one of them. She'd been wanting to tell off her stupid parents for abandoning her in a dumpster for her whole life, and it was even more satisfying than she thought it was going to be.
She walked over at Luz, who had clearly heard the whole monologue. "I didn't frighten you, did I?" Amity asked.
"Nah," Luz said. "Well, maybe a little. I sure wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that anger!" The memory of the vision of her receiving just that echoed through Amity's head before she firmly dispelled it.
"Don't worry, mi amor," Amity said, and kissed Luz on the cheek. Luz looked ready to pass out from sheer excitement. "You'll never have to worry about that."
The two of them morphed back into pigeons and flew back to the Owl House. Once they were back in human form, Amity just stood there awkwardly, unsure what the etiquette was for requesting a goodnight kiss, especially if they lived in the same house. "Um…"
Luz grabbed Amity and put her into a kiss. Well, kiss was something of an understatement, Amity realized, as the kiss deepened in passion and intensity. This was full on making out. Luz's tongue made its way into Amity's mouth and then the door opened and Luz shrieked and fell to the ground. Amity turned around, a spell circle ready to fire, as a woman stepped out of the house.
"Hola, mija," Camila Serrano said. "Did you have a nice date?"