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All is quiet in the Blight manor.
No pitter-patter of abomination feet emanate from Amity’s room.
No teenage giggling waft out of Emira’s.
No muffled explosions erupt from Edric’s.
Odalia Blight sits in her study, trying not to think about how she might never hear any of those sounds again. Trying not to think about how she might never see her children again. Trying not to think about how it's all her fault.
Because four days ago, the Clawthorne sisters and their human apprentice launched a suicidal raid to disrupt the Day of Unity ceremonies. Amid the chaos and confusion, a cruel twist of fate forced Emira, Edric, and Amity to choose between Emperor Belos and Edalyn’s insane war against him.
Odalia's children chose the inconceivable. They sided with the Clawthornes, and they’ve run away from home, and now they’re gone.
So Odalia sits in her study, trying not to think about how the three most precious things in her world might never come back. Pages of Oracle Coven documents cover her desk: without mindless paperwork to distract her, she’ll spiral into ruminating on how she drove her own children away.
But it’s a trap. Because with mindless paperwork to distract her... she’ll spiral anyway.
What happened? They all used to be so happy together. Odalia still remembers her oldest daughter talking dreamily about one of the teens her father had introduced her to; her only son proudly showing off a new illusion he mastered; her most powerful child squealing with glee after Hieronymous asked her to make a presentation for an Emperor’s Coven inspector.
And now they’re gone. Run off to live with a wild witch, a traitor, and a magicless human. What happened ?
Only two months ago, everything was going to plan. Emira, charismatic and sociable, was going to assume control of her father’s many businesses and her mother’s sprawling estate. Edric, skilled with illusions and curious about magic, was going to join the Illusion Coven, and someday take it over. Amity, hard-working and talented, was going to join the Emperor’s Coven and become Lillith’s right-hand witch and Emperor Belos's third-in-command. Together, the Blight siblings would be unstoppable .
“What happened?”, Odalia whispers aloud. But she already knows.
Alador doesn’t understand what happened. He refuses to understand. He’s been drowning his sorrows in the absinthe his distilleries make. But Odalia. . .
She understands. Just consider the Covention’s fallout. Lillith had publicly humiliated Amity, trying to fix a magic duel between her and that human studying under the Owl Lady. And so Odalia spent dinner that evening ranting about how this wouldn’t stand, raging at Lillith for betraying the Blight family, and declaring that Lillith would rue the day she tarnished Amity's honor. After dinner, Amity had said, in that delicate voice Odalia remembers so clearly, that she had lost her trust in Lillith, and she had asked for a new mentor. Odalia promised that she would do everything she could for her daughter.
The following day, Odalia stormed into Emperor Belos’s castle, looking for a new Emperor’s Coven higher-up willing to train her daughter. She had intended to break with Lillith as soon as practical, and hang the effects on her plans. But then Emperor Belos stumbled into her, somehow, and he had struck up a conversation. Odalia can’t remember exactly what he said, for some reason. She only remembers that over the course of that conversation, her fury mysteriously... died. And her analytical side assumed firm control.
Amidst the small talk with her Emperor, Odalia had remembered that Lillith was still head of the Emperor’s Coven, still Emperor Belos’s most powerful subordinate, and still the second-most important witch on the Boiling Isles. Odalia had remembered that Amity’s future depended on a solid relationship with Lillith Clawthorne.
So she had used Amity’s request as leverage to demand more of Lilith’s time . All the better to prepare Amity for adulthood.
And if Amity had been crushed when Odalia told her the news? She’s still young. She still needs to learn how the game is played. She’ll be thankful later.
Gradually, Odalia's thoughts start to wander. She begins looking for other things she’s done to drive her children away. In hindsight, they're tragically easy to find.
Emira and Edric had been stood up at Grom. . . Odalia had lectured them about planning events of such importance.
Amity had made up with that Park girl. . . Odalia had lectured her about the political implications of friendship.
Emira had been cruelly pranked by her friends. . . Odalia had lectured her about constant vigilance.
Edric had failed an Illusion practical exam. . . oh Titan, Odalia had hit him.
She's done so much to hurt her children. A thousand little things, each so small that she never bothered to stop and tally the cumulative effect.
She had her reasons, for all the good they did. She holds her children up to high standards - because Titan knows the entire realm looks up at their family with jealousy . She’s emotionally distant from them - because Titan knows that’s how she was raised. She’s. . . hit. . . them. But is the Titan’s Will not “spare the rod, spoil the child?”
Well, Odalia Blight doesn't have to worry about spoiling her children. Not anymore.
Wa there ever a time she could have reversed course? A time she could have prevented her plans, her future, her family from turning to ash?
She still remembers the last tender moment she had with any of her children. Less than two weeks ago. Several hours earlier, she had introduced Amity to the eldest son of another noble family. Alador had added significantly that he and Odalia met under similar circumstances. That evening, Amity had asked to speak with her mother. In private. About something important.
“Mother, I... you see... I... like girls. Not boys,” Amity had said. Looking so small, so scared. “I don’t want to meet anyone you think of as... as a future husband. For me.”
Odalia’s first thought had been: This ruins my plans for you.
But her second thought had been: This is Amity’s moment. My plans can wait.
That had started a conversation that went on for hours. Odalia and her youngest daughter talked, about so many things. They talked about whether Amity wanted to keep this in the family, and who she wanted to tell. They talked about the truth of the world: that sometimes people marry out of necessity, not love. (Once upon a time, Odalia’s parents needed money but had status, while Alador’s parents needed status but had money. The parents thus negotiated an agreement, and Odalia married a man she barely knew, and Alador married a woman he barely knew.)
And they talked about if Amity’s mother would still love her.
Odalia had hugged Amity tight, and responded “Of course I will, my little angel. You’re my daughter . I will always love you.”
They sat like that, for a few minutes. Just holding each other close. Odalia felt tears drip onto her shoulder. After the hug broke, Amity had smiled a small smile, and Odalia, sensing a turning point in their relationship, had gently asked:
“Is there a specific girl you like?”
And Amity had paused. As if she was gathering her courage. And she had responded, very quietly, her eyes glued to the floor: “No.”
Odalia Blight has done her best to be a good mother. All she's ever wanted is a bright future for her children. But in her last, best chance to keep them by her side, Odalia Blight had done too little. And she had done it far, far too late.