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Luz stood hugging the corner of the wall, waiting for the signal. She was just out of sight of the main atrium at Hexside, with Gus right next to her. Standing at her locker, trying to look preoccupied, was their lookout, Willow. After an agonizing wait, she finally took her textbooks out and walked away. The signal! Gus spun a small circle, and suddenly Luz was wearing a rather faithful costume resembling the Good Witch Azura. With his other hand, Gus conjured a much larger illusion: the fearsome Gildersnake, right in the middle of the atrium.
The illusion was actually pretty incredible. A few students screamed and ran away in its presence, while others seemed pretty used to seeing something like this at this time of year. Luz still couldn’t see the person this was all for, but she didn’t exactly have the greatest view of the hallway that person was coming from. But Willow had given the signal, so it was time to put the juicy part of the plan into action.
Luz leapt out into the atrium, her robes blowing in a nonexistent wind. Gus was really showing off a flair for the dramatic today, wasn’t he? “Stop right there, Gildersnake!” She commanded. “I, the Good Witch Luzura, shall slay you!” The Gildersnake simply looked at her quizzically for a moment.
“Luz?” A familiar voice called out from the side. Luz turned to see Amity running up to her. “What’s going on? Please don’t tell me you actually tried to bring that fanfiction we wrote to life in Oracle classes!” Luz made a big show of grinning sheepishly. She really didn’t have a cover story for why she was supposed to be fighting the Gildersnake, but if her girlfriend was going to just hand her one on a silver platter, she’d take it.
“I’m sorry Ams, I just couldn’t help it!” Luz “admitted.” She turned to the Gildersnake. “It’s over for you now! Not only am I here to stop you, but so is the greatest Abomination witch Hexside has ever seen!” She glanced over to Amity, who had a slight blush on her cheeks from that remark.
“Foolish mortals!” The Gildersnake responded. “You cannot stop me! The only thing that could ever defeat me is a stunning and beautiful display of love!” He began cackling maniacally; Luz would really need to thank Gus for such an incredible job at the illusion.
“Well if that’s the case…” Luz began, then turned to Amity. “Amity Blight, will you be my date to Grom?”
Amity’s eyes went wide for only a moment before she put all the pieces together in her head. She erupted into a bright, wide smile and shouted, “Yes! Of course Luz! I’d love to go to Grom with you!” The look in her eyes said the unspoken: As a real date this time, too.
The pair hugged each other, and Gus must have decided to have one last bit of fun, because the Gildersnake started wailing in agony. “Noooo, this is too adorable! I cannot withstand the happiness these two share!” He cried, and then crumbled to dust. The students left over in the atrium cheered; “gromposal season,” as it was often called, was for many kids at Hexside the most entertaining part of the year. For her part, Luz was just happy to share this moment with Amity.
The moment was soured, only slightly, when they were interrupted by the voice of Boscha. “Oh great, the luz-er and the loser-by-choice are going to Grom together… again. Imagine being so afraid of Grom you need your little girlfriend to save you,” She laughed. Luz scowled, and was just about to give her a piece of her mind when they were all interrupted by Principal Bump through the intercom.
“Students of Hexside! I am pleased to announce that this year’s Grom Royalty will be… Boscha Stryder!” He said with far too much excitement for someone sentencing another person to duel a fear demon. Boscha’s haughty and collected demeanor suddenly shattered, and Luz couldn’t hold back the petty grin that spread across her face.
All in all, it was turning out to be a very good day for Luz Noceda.
It was turning out to be a very horrible day for Eda Clawthorne.
“I’m sorry. I tried to stop it, to change his mind somehow, but he is certain of this. You have a day at most to get her out,” Raine said dejectedly. Usually when they had these secret meetings, they came with less horrible information. But today, Raine had come to the Owl House with some of the worst news Eda could imagine.
“Is there anything we can do that will be less… permanent? I mean, she’s my kid for Titan’s sake! I can’t just lose her like this!” Eda pleaded, though deep down, she knew Raine’s response before they said it.
“Eda,” Raine said, and Eda looked into their eyes and saw so much sorrow behind them, “He said that he needs the human more than he needs the portal itself. The only way to keep both her and the entire Boiling Isles safe is to send her back and destroy the portal. That way he can’t get to her at all. I’ve seen his plans for the Day of Unity and they’re… they’re awful, Eda. He’s shown us the Titan rising in the Human Realm, and I’ve found out he plans to do it by using a draining spell on every coven witch on the Isles. We can’t let him succeed, even if it means we have to make sacrifices.”
“Oh, you’re right, Rainestorm. I just… I’ve gotten so attached to her, and I know this is going to completely break her heart. She was doing so well here. She even has a girlfriend here, and you should see how disgustingly adorable they are together. I just wish there was something we could do.”
“I know Eda, and believe me when I say I tried to find another way that wasn’t… this.” Raine placed a hand on Eda’s. That simple touch was all it took to break the dam on Eda’s emotions. She could no longer contain herself and broke down crying. For their part, Raine said nothing, offering only their presence to comfort her.
Eda knew this was the right decision. When Luz went back to the human realm last fall and told her mom the truth about where she’d been all summer, it had been a hard battle to convince Camila to let her come back. In the end, the only things that swayed her mind was seeing how much Luz was flourishing on the Boiling Isles, and the promise Eda made that she would do everything in her power to keep Luz safe. Luz still went back to the human realm every weekend, and spent her weekdays here in the demon realm so that she could go to school. And for the last year, the arrangement had worked incredibly well.
Honestly, it was incredible to see how happy Luz was with that arrangement. She had even tried to get a camping trip with both Eda and Camila organized, saying something about how cool it would be to spend some time with both of her families at once. But Camila was significantly less excited about the idea of spending a weekend in the forests of the Boiling Isles than Luz was, and Eda physically could not spend that long in the Human Realm. She’d learned long ago that she could only spend a day at the longest there. For some reason, being in the human realm drained her bile sac and when that sucker got empty, it was bad news for any witch.
And now, Eda knew that she had to ruin all of that happiness for Luz. Even if she thought they could find a way to fix everything, Eda still had made a promise to Camila. And over the last year of getting to know her, Eda knew that the woman loved Luz more than anything in the world, and couldn’t bear the thought of losing her without even getting to say goodbye. It hurt immensely, but Eda knew she had to do the right thing, even if it was also the hardest thing.
When the tears had finally subsided, Eda asked, “How long does she have?”
“The Emperor sounds pretty ready to do this. She needs to be gone by tonight,” Raine said, and Eda burst into another bout of crying. This wasn’t fair! She wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the kid yet. Raine’s hand interlocked with hers, and Eda was grateful that they were here for her. Their presence was, if nothing else, a small damper on the waves of grief washing over Eda. They gently comforted her until Eda had calmed down again.
“Thank you at least, for letting me know. At least now I can keep her safe. And thank you for being here for me.” Eda said.
“Of course, Eda. If there’s anything I can do for you, let me know and I’ll do it.”
“Thank you Rainestorm. Though right now, I think I just need some time alone to figure out how I’m going to break the news to Luz.”
“Of course. I’ll get out of your hair.” Raine started to get up, but Eda stopped them and pulled them into a kiss. She wasn’t entirely sure why she did it. Maybe she just couldn’t control the impulse this once. Maybe she just wanted to make sure that Raine knew how she felt; she never knew when the last day she’d see them was, and today was a painful reminder of that. Either way, the feeling of her lips pressed against theirs was just as magical as she’d always remembered it, and Raine returned the kiss with a warmth that Eda absolutely needed in that moment.
It didn’t last long, but it still meant everything to Eda. When they broke, Raine looked a bit stunned, though not displeased by the kiss. Awkwardly, they sputtered out, “Well, I guess I’ll see you around Eda. And I am truly sorry for everything.” They looked back at her with a melancholic expression before quietly exiting out the front door of the Owl House.
Eda slumped into the couch, forcing herself to hold back the tears. She had to be strong when Luz got back, and she needed to figure out the easiest way to break the news. She agonized for what felt like hours trying to think of something to say, and she only had a jumbled mess of a plan when she heard the front door swing wide open as Luz danced in. “ Guess who’s got a date to Grom!?” She announced in a sing-song voice, though her excitement seemed to instantly deflate when she saw the look on Eda’s face. “Eda?” She asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Hey kiddo. We need to have a talk.”
“No! No, you can’t do this!”
“I’m sorry Luz. It’s the only option we have left. I don’t want to do this either, but we don’t have any other choices.”
This couldn’t be happening! Tonight was supposed to be one of the most exciting nights of her life! And she had such a bright future here! She couldn’t be sent back to the human realm, least of all tonight!
“No! We’ll fight the Emperor! We’ll stop him! We’ll do something! We have to!” Luz begged.
“It’s too late for any of that Luz. If he gets his hands on the portal door, or worse, you, it’s game over. Not just for you, but for everyone,” Eda explained.
“I don’t believe that! There has to be some way to defeat him!”
“Don’t you think I tried thinking of that!? That I didn’t try to find a way not to have to lose my kid!? Titan Luz, We tried, we really did. But the Emperor’s plan is almost airtight, and if he captures you, the Day of Unity will happen, and that would spell doom for everyone both here and in the human realm. The only thing that can stop him at this point is this. And besides. I made a promise to your mother that I’d keep you safe. And if you’re the most wanted person here, you will never be safe on the Isles.”
That made Luz pause. She didn’t really know much about this Day of Unity, but she couldn’t imagine letting everyone she’d ever known get hurt because of her recklessness. “Well, maybe there’s still time to do something about it! We can still come up with a plan, right!?”
“No, Luz, we can’t! There is nothing at this point we can do! Titan, I want you to stay as much as everyone else, but that just isn’t possible! My mind is made up. I’m sending you back tonight. Please, Luz, I don’t want to do this either, but we have to.” Luz had never seen Eda look this deflated before. She thought everything over. Eda had never been one to give up so entirely. And Luz knew next to nothing about the Emperor. Sure she could try to stop him, but without any sort of plan, she would likely just end up getting captured before she could even get close to foiling his plans.
“Okay,” She said, deflated, “I’ll do it. But can I at least go to Grom tonight? I want to be able to see everyone one last time.”
“Of course kiddo. I’ll help you get ready.”
Luz had actually been preparing for Grom for a while, and she had gone with Camila one weekend to find an outfit to wear. She’d settled on a suit that, on anyone else, would probably have been gaudy and almost tacky, but Luz thought she was able to pull it off. Besides, she loved it. It was a deep purple, with just enough glitter on it to give it a slight speckle. The lapel was a beautiful lavender that reminded Luz of Amity’s hair color, and she just had to get it.
Of course, she had gotten that back when she was still excited for Grom. Before she knew that it would be the last night of the best part of her life. She felt out of place now, wearing a bright and exciting suit while having an expression befitting someone who’d just learned they had to leave almost everyone they loved behind.
Eda was chaperoning the event again, so they both rode over to Hexside on Owlbert. Luz sat in front of Eda and the older witch did her best to try to soothe Luz, who was very clearly on the edge of breaking down. They landed at the front doors of the school, and before Eda went off to check in, she asked, “Are you gonna be alright out there?”
“I don’t know,” Luz answered honestly. “But at least I’ll have my friends tonight.” Eda pulled her into a tight hug, and it was all Luz could do to keep from crying right there. They both said nothing, just holding each other for a long while. Eventually, Luz pulled away. “Thank you, Eda,” she said, “For everything. For taking me in, for watching over me, and for doing everything you could to make it so that I could stay here.”
“Of course Luz. It was my pleasure. We’re all going to miss you, kid.”
And then Luz couldn’t hold the tears back anymore. She buried her face in Eda’s jacket, sobbing into it. Eda did her best to console her, but it was just too much to bear at the moment. And then, to further complicate things, Luz heard a voice that she’d been both dreaming about and dreading all afternoon.
“Luz? Are you okay?” Amity asked. Luz pulled away to look at Amity. She was absolutely beautiful tonight, dressed in an elegant, burgundy dress and a dark blazer, and Luz wanted nothing more than to run up to her, hold her, and never ever let her go. But she couldn’t. She was almost afraid of Amity, or, more accurately, of breaking the news to her. But she had to: Amity deserved the truth.
“No. I’m so sorry Amity. Everything went all wrong.”
“Luz, I don’t understand. What’s going on?” Amity asked, concern written all over her face. She quickly closed the distance between the two and took Luz’s hands into her own. There was so much love and worry in her eyes, and it took everything out of Luz to form a response
“Can we find Gus and Willow first? I only wanna have to say it once.”
“Of course.” She pulled Luz into a tight hug, and said, “Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together, alright?”
Luz didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was wrong.
Eda spoke up from behind them in a somber tone, “I’ll leave you kids to yourselves. Try to enjoy yourself, Luz.” Luz nodded, an unspoken I’ll try . Amity wrapped an arm around her and the two of them walked into the school together, intent on finding Gus and Willow. The two weren’t hard to find, especially since it seemed they were looking for the pair themselves. Upon seeing Luz’s deflated expression, they quickly showed the same worry as Amity, and Luz finally found herself in the unfortunate position of having to explain what she’d learned earlier in the day.
“That’s awful!” Gus exclaimed. “There’s gotta be something we can do to stop it!”
“There isn’t anything. Eda would never have told me this if there was another way and I’d never agree to it unless I knew that she had tried to find any other way to do things.”
“Can’t you just hide there for a while and come back when it’s all over?” Willow asked.
“The Emperor needs the portal door too. He’s known that Eda’s had it this whole time and was just biding his time. But now he’s out of patience, and it sounds like he always just knows where it is. There’s no way we can hide it from him. It has to be destroyed,”
Gus and Willow moved in to hug her, and Luz accepted them into her arms without a moment’s hesitation. However, she noticed that the familiar warmth of Amity was missing. She looked over to her girlfriend, whose head hung low with eyes clenched shut. Her hands had balled up into tight fists on her dress; she looked as though she was barely able to keep standing. “Amity?” Luz asked.
“This isn’t… This isn’t fair!” Amity sobbed. “They can’t do this to you! Not when you’re so happy here! Not when we still have so much ahead of us!” And in an instant, Luz had her arms around Amity, with Gus and Willow surrounding the two of them in an even larger hug.
“Hermosa, I’m so sorry. I…” But she couldn’t think of anything to say. There was nothing that could ease the pain of their impending separation. So instead she tucked her head into the crook of Amity’s neck and they cried into each other’s arms. The four of them stayed like that for a long while: Gus and Willow doing what they could to console the devastated Luz and Amity.
Eventually, Luz found the strength to regain her composure, and not knowing how long it would last, she spoke up. “I still wanted to come out tonight though. I wanted to have one last night with all of you. I wanted us all to have one last chance to have a good time together.” She bit back the tears as she said, “I want to have fun with you guys tonight, so we can all at least remember that my last night here was a good one.”
Everyone agreed to that, and they made their way to the gym, wiping the tears from their eyes and trying, for the moment, to forget the crushing news they’d been delivered. It was awkward and difficult at first to take their minds off of things, but a few jokes told and good times remembered helped the four focus on the positives, and after a while they were all able to push the inevitable to the back of their minds, at least for the time being.
And then, far too soon, it was time for the main event. The lights in the gym dimmed and everyone made their way to the bleachers. The center of the gym opened up, revealing the arena Luz had stood in last year. Grometheus looked just as he had when Luz faced him: an amorphous blob of black ooze shifting around in a horrifying and unnatural way.
Naturally, the students of Hexside cheered.
The cheering only intensified though, when Boscha stepped into the gym, having taken a few minutes before the battle began to find her grudgby pads and throw them on over her dress. As she strode in with a swagger, she raised her hands to her face, smearing black eye grease across her cheeks. The crowd roared in excitement, save for Luz and her friends, who merely rolled their eyes.
Boscha grabbed a hefty morningstar and descended into the arena. The moment she was inside, Grom seemed to take notice of her, as the whole arena turned into a miniature grudgby pitch. Grom itself took on the form of someone whose figure Luz couldn’t quite place, holding a grudgby ball, and then began sprinting across the pitch. Whoever it was, they were incredibly good, deftly making their way past Boscha and scoring an easy goal. As the figure celebrated, it was revealed to be none other than Willow, which prompted a series of eyerolls from the group. Of course Boscha was still hung up on Willow not being her personal punching bag anymore.
Another grudgby ball formed in the Grom Willow’s hands, and she broke into another sprint across the pitch. As she took off, her form shifted again into that of Amity, only as she had been when Boscha was friends with her, green hair and all. Boscha swung at this cheap imposter of the real thing, but nonetheless Luz found herself gripping onto Amity’s hand and holding her close. The fake Amity just barely managed to dodge Boscha’s attack, scoring another goal. Grom created another ball, and this time took the form of someone Luz wasn’t expecting: herself.
Luz wasn’t sure how to feel about the fact that apparently she was related to Boscha’s worst fear, but she had little time to contemplate that, as her doppelganger charged straight at Boscha. The triclops swung wildly at Grom, but the impostor Luz barreled through her with a strength that Luz herself surely didn’t possess. As Grom scored a third time, a crowd of students Luz knew to be in Boscha’s circle of friends appeared. They began laughing at her and surrounding the Grom Luz, lifting her up to parade around their new star grudgby player.
“No! Boscha yelled. “No, stop hanging out with this Luz-er! What about everything we had?”
A version of Bo stepped forward. “What about it?”
Cat followed up with, “Did you think we actually cared about you?”
Amelia was next. “We only hang out with you because of what you can give us.”
The Amity on the pitch had shifted to have the lavender hair that the real person next to Luz currently sported. “Compared to someone like her,” She said, pointing at the Grom Luz, “You’re just not worth that much.”
With each person that came forward, Boscha’s resolve was weakening. But what made her truly crack was when Skara came up to her and said, “Honestly, I can’t believe you’d ever think I actually cared about you.” Boscha fell to her knees at that statement, and all of the students began surrounding her. It looked like she was actually about to lose to Grom, when suddenly, from across the gym, a voice rang out.
“Enough!”
All eyes turned to the source of the sound. Skara, the real one, was leaping down the bleachers. She formed a spell circle as she bolted down to the arena and summoned a lyre. As she skidded to a half in the middle of the grudgby pitch, Skara played a stunning chord that blew back all of the imitations that Grom had made, leaving Boscha alone, on her knees in the middle of the pitch. Skara rushed up to Boscha, helping her up. They exchanged a few words that Luz couldn’t hear from her seat, but Boscha gave Skara such an earnest smile that Luz couldn’t help but feel happy for the triclops, even if she had been a bully the entire time that Luz had known her.
On the far end of the pitch, Grom was reforming, but it didn’t get a chance to attack again. Skara and Boscha launched themselves into an all out assault on the monster, making short work of it. When Grom was fully beaten into submission, the two let out a few labored huffs before throwing their hands up in celebration.
“Well everyone, it looks like for the second year in a row, we have two grom queens!” Principal Bump announced. “Give it up for Boscha and Skara, everybody!” The crowd erupted into thunderous applause, and even Luz had to admit that Skara jumping in to save Boscha was cute. It reminded her of her last Grom, with Amity jumping in to save her. Of course, it was nowhere near as magical as when Amity had asked her to dance, or when they created that beautiful tree that ended up being so special to them. It was their tree, and whenever Luz needed a moment alone to think, she knew that she could always go there to gather her thoughts.
After tonight though, that would be gone. So would the person who helped her to make it. Watching Boscha duel weird fear demon versions of her friends had done an excellent job at taking her mind off of things. But now the dread of going back to the Human Realm was seeping into her, and suddenly even the idea of staying for the afterparty seemed insurmountable. She turned to Amity and grabbed her hand, asking, “Hey, do you mind if we get out of here? I wanna spend a little more time alone with you.” Amity just nodded, fully understanding why.
She and Amity got up, and Luz told Gus and Willow they were going to head out. She exchanged long, tearful goodbyes with both of them, full of hugs and I’ll never forget yous. Willow thanked her for everything she’d done, for helping her get on the Plant Track, for helping her and Amity become friends again, and for just being a good friend. Gus told her that she would always be the coolest human to exist, and that he was so glad to have met her. Luz tried to thank them for being the best friends that she ever could have asked for, but she found herself constantly getting choked up.
Eventually, they had said everything they could think of to each other, and Willow and Gus let Luz go, sharing a silent understanding that she’d want to spend her last moments with Amity. Luz said her final tearful goodbyes to the two and made her way out of the gym hand in hand with her girlfriend. There was only one place she could think of for them to spend their last moments together.
The Grom Tree was just as beautiful as it had been a year ago when it was created. The moment was forever etched into Amity’s memory: an incredible first dance with the girl she’d been crushing on for weeks that culminated in the creation of a majestic tree.Despite her worries leading up to Grom, the night had been one of the best of her life.
Tonight was the complete opposite.
Amity sat down at the base of the tree, Luz taking a seat beside her. She leaned into Luz’s shoulder, wanting to to feel her touch as much as possible while she was still here. “What do you think would have happened if I had worked up the courage to ask you out to Grom last year?” Amity asked.
“I think we wouldn’t have spent so long being so awkward around each other,” Luz joked, and that got a small laugh out of Amity.
“We could have had so much more time together,” Amity lamented, wrapping her arms around Luz.
“It’s just not fair…” Luz agreed. “It feels like we just sorted everything out! There’s so much I wanted us to be able to do together!” Amity squeezed her tighter in silent agreement. She couldn’t bear to think of Luz being stuck in the human realm, forever separated from her friends.
From Amity.
“What if…” She began, trying to parse the idea in her head before she said it fully allowed, “What if I went with you? To the Human Realm?”
“Amity, I’m sorry, but you can’t.”
“Yes I can! I don’t care if I have to run away! It’s not like Mom and Dad ever actually cared about anything but what I could contribute to the family! Luz, I just want to be with you, and I’ll do anything I can for us to stay together.”
No, Amity, you don’t understand!” Luz snapped. There were tears in her eyes as she said, “You physically can’t go with me. Eda’s been to the human realm so many times, but she only goes there for a few hours at most. Witches can’t survive in the human realm. Your bile sac will drain after a few days, and I’ve seen in healing classes what that does to a witch. I could never let something like that happen to you.”
Amity was stunned for a moment. “So then, what can I do?” Amity asked. “ What can I do to not lose you!?” She nearly shouted.
“I’m so sorry, amor,” Luz sobbed. “There isn’t anything. We lost.”
“If that’s the case… let me have you, even if it’s just for tonight.”
“Of course, Amity. Of course.” Luz was staring into Amity’s eyes. They were so sorrowful, but still so beautiful, and in that moment Amity lost any control over her impulses. She leaned forward and pulled Luz into a kiss. She felt her girlfriend’s lips on her own for the first time, and they were perfect. It was only a small comfort in the raging storm of emotions in Amity’s head, but it was there nonetheless; an anchor to keep her from being washed away in her own misery. She reached up to cup a hand on Luz’s cheek, brushing away the tears with her thumb.
The two of them spent so long together, their lips pressed together like if they were close enough to each other, they wouldn’t have to ever be torn away from each other. And Luz’s kisses were so incredible. Every time they met in another kiss, a wave of sparks shot their way through Amity, and it was so easy for her to lose herself in Luz’s embrace. The entire world disappeared to her, and even the Grom tree at their backs felt like it was miles away from her in this moment. Everything was just her and Luz, and she wanted for it to never end.
Of course, it was not to be. Their time together was cut short far too soon when Amity heard the sound of footsteps in the forest behind them, and Eda emerged with the portal door in her hand, folded up to look like a simple briefcase. The looming sense of dread Amity had been trying to force down all night began rising uncontrollably and her heart started racing. No, this couldn’t happen, right? Surely something would save them at the last second, and Luz would be fine and able to stay!
But nothing came. Luz stood up and looked to Eda, sad resignation written all over her face. “Are you ready?” Eda asked.
“No,” Luz replied honestly, “but it’s not like I really have a choice. If this is the only way to keep everyone safe…”
“It is, Luz. I’m sorry.”
“Then we’d better get it over with before I change my mind.” She was clearly struggling to hold back her tears, which admittedly was much better than Amity, whose sobs were wracking her whole body. How could this happen? After they had both finally found happiness together? But Amity was powerless to stop it. As far as any of them knew, Eda was right. Luz’s very existence in the Boiling Isles was dangerous, not just for herself, but for every witch, demon, and human in either realm.
Eda set the portal down, fished the portal key out from around her neck, and tapped it. The portal unfolded into an ornate wooden door. The door swung open, and Amity could see a quiet forest in the dim moonlight on the other side. Luz took the key from Eda, and then, with a deep breath, she stepped through the door into the human realm. She turned to look back at the two witches in front of her.
“Eda, thank you for everything. You never had to take me in, but you did, and this has been the best year of my life,” Luz said, and for the first time since Amity had met Eda, she saw the older woman crying.
“Of course Luz. I’ll always remember you. You really have a way of changing our lives for the better,” Eda replied, and Amity couldn’t have possibly agreed with the Owl Lady more. It was strange to see someone she’d thought for so long was just a petty criminal being this vulnerable, but of course it made sense. Luz had left an impact on her as well, because of course she had.
And then Luz turned to Amity, and the tears flowed harder for both of them than ever before. “Goodbye Amity,” Luz said. “I don’t know if there are any words to describe how much you mean to me. I love you Amity, forever and always.”
“I love you too Luz,” Amity sobbed. “I’ll always love you, no matter what!” and then her whole body was wracked with uncontrollable sobbing. They exchanged a few more goodbyes, neither willing to finally say goodbye. But then, Eda’s ears perked up and she looked towards the forest, suddenly alert. Amity paused, and she thought she could hear rustling in the thickets.
“Luz,” Eda shouted. “There’s no more time! You need to go now!” Luz nodded and grabbed the portal key in both hands.
“Goodbye Eda. Goodbye Amity,” She said, and she snapped the key in two.
Amity acted without thinking. She screamed out and lunged for the portal. She didn’t care if it would kill her, she was going to stay with Luz! The portal was closing fast, but she was mere inches from it. She closed her eyes as she tumbled forward, landing on the soft grass of the human realm. It felt... surprisingly similar to the grass on the Boiling Isles. She opened her eyes, expecting to see Luz standing before her. Instead, all she saw was the Grom tree. She’d been just a split second too slow.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
She screamed, losing all ability to form any coherent thought. She wailed and shrieked, writhing on the ground. Her Luz was gone forever, and there was nothing she could do to bring her back. This wasn’t fair! Their first kiss shouldn’t have also been their last! From what felt like so far away, she could hear Eda shouting at her that they needed to go, and now, but Amity didn’t care. She had just lost everything; why should she go anywhere?
Eda, however, seemed to have a different perspective. She grabbed Amity and hoisted her onto Owlbert, quickly taking off with Amity in her arms. From below, Amity saw dozens of coven scouts emerge from the forest, spell circles at the ready. A few of them fired at Amity and Eda, and in her fury, Amity summoned an abomination greater than anything she had ever created before. The thing was massive, larger than she would normally think herself capable of making.
But in this moment, she didn’t care how she did it. She just wanted everyone associated with Belos to suffer for taking her Luz away from her. The abomination charged into the scouts, wreaking havoc on them as Eda flew the pair away. Eventually, they got far enough that the scouts were unable to reach her, and likewise she could no longer control her abomination. She released the spell, and a wave of exhaustion overcame her, both from casting such a large spell, and from the emotional turmoil she’d been through tonight.
“Hey,” Eda said, gently rubbing Amity’s arm. “It’ll be okay. We’ll make it through this. I know everything is…well… this sucks. But you will make it through this.” Amity appreciated Eda’s words, but they rang hollow right now. Luz was gone, and everything was worse because of that.