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“Hecate!” Azura cried.
She was too late. Malagos raised his infernal staff and from the tip shot a blistering bolt of frost. Hecate had just felled the last of the Lich King’s undead minions when the bolt struck her. She was flung back and there was a sickening sound of flesh crashing against stone as she was hurled against the black, crumbling wall of the fortress. Hecate’s body crumpled and stilled. Shards of ice and a glittering expanse of frost covered her robe and clung to her fiery red hair.
Azura ran to her side, desperately calling her name. She knelt down beside her companion, brushing away the frost in her hair while Malagos laughed, a demented, rasping sound.
“Foolish mortals! You are but infants playing with forces you cannot even begin to comprehend! I have spent ten thousand years mastering the darkest and most ancient magics. The secrets of this world and the next have revealed themselves to me! I weave the very threads of life and death! And you, witch…” he pointed a long, skeletal finger at Azura. “You are nothing without your companions. You rely on their strength to hide your own weakness. You stand upon their shoulders and think yourself tall! And now you stand alone, small and helpless in the face of a titan!”
Azura glared at the lich, her lips twisted in a furious snarl. A cold hand clasped her own and she glanced down at Hecate, whose eyes were full of an intensity that nearly took Azura’s breath away.
“You are not alone.” Hecate said. Her voice was weak and trembling, but Azura could hear the fire of conviction which burned behind her words. “You are never alone. You carry with you the hopes of all those who put their faith in you. Your bonds are not a weakness. They are your greatest strength!”
Hecate took Azura’s hand in both of hers. The space between their fingers began to glow brightly.
“I have faith in you.” Hecate whispered. “Take what remains of my power. Finish what we started together. Put an end to this nightmare. Bring back the summer for all those who have-“
“Hey, are you listening?” Luz chuckled into the head of soft, lavender hair resting on her shoulder.
A sleepy and half-hearted “Mhmm,” was her only reply.
Luz just smiled, set the book down on the bed next to her, and wrapped her arms around her adorable, sleepy girlfriend laying on top of her, content to simply enjoy this rare moment of peace. The Owl House was unusually quiet this evening. Eda and King had gone on some errand in the night market and Hooty was (blessedly) entertaining himself. Luz glanced out her bedroom window at the darkening sky outside. The sun had just set beyond the horizon, the last fleeting rays of twilight retreating as night fell.
“Do you have to go home soon?” Luz asked quietly, dreading the answer.
“No.” Amity mumbled. Her arm wrapped tighter around Luz’s middle and she snuggled her face further into the human’s shoulder in a way that made it very clear that she was not done with her yet. “Ed and Em are covering for me. I can stay as long as I want.”
Luz grinned and delicately ran her fingers up the length of Amity’s sleeve. “Good.”
It was getting too dark to read by the sunlight but – more importantly – it was almost too dark in the room for Luz to properly admire the gentle curves of her girlfriend’s face. That just wouldn’t do. Luz reached out to her side, careful not to jostle Amity thoroughly curled around her, and grabbed her glyph notepad and pencil from the floor. She bent her knee, the one Amity’s legs were not tangled around, propped the notepad up on her thigh, and drew a light glyph.
Luz tapped her finger to the paper and it crumpled and glowed, a soft ball of light that drifted lazily toward the ceiling. She watched it float away before letting her eyes wander down to Amity’s face. Amity’s eyes were closed, her expression perfectly relaxed as she dozed. She looked so… comfortable. Serene, even. At peace. Luz felt affection swell in her heart at the sight.
Amity had been working so hard lately. Extra classes, her job at the library, not to mention all she had been doing for Luz, the time and work she put into being a generally awesome girlfriend. If anyone deserved a rest, it was Amity Blight. And the way Amity curled around her so naturally, the way her shoulders slacked in Luz’s arms, like the weight of all her fears and burdens just slipped off them for a while, the way her meticulously constructed walls came tumbling down when they were alone together and she could just relax … Luz felt something like pride pull at every one of her heartstrings.
Eventually, Luz turned her attention back to her notepad and began idly drawing more light glyphs. She watched as each new one floated up to join the others. Draw, tap, float. Draw, tap, float. As she worked, she stole glances at Amity, whose eyes were now just barely cracked open, following the movement of Luz’s hand. Draw, tap, float. Draw-
Luz’s finger paused over a finished glyph as Amity’s hand jerked and reached toward the paper. Seemingly thinking better of it, Amity shyly pulled her hand back, instead tightly gripping the fabric of Luz’s shirt. Luz just smiled, pulled her hand away from the glyph, and waited. A silent invitation. After a moment, Amity slowly lifted her hand to tap the glyph.
Amity watched as the paper crumbled and another small ball of light drifted into the air. Luz watched the soft wonder bloom across Amity’s face. She drew another glyph and waited. Amity reached out and tapped it. Draw, tap, float. Draw, tap, float.
When about a dozen little lights bathed the room in a warm glow, Luz put her glyph pad back on the floor while Amity closed her eyes, wrapped her arm snuggly around her girlfriend, and commenced dozing against Luz’s shoulder. Luz smiled, and sighed. She leisurely ran a hand up Amity’s arm, past her shoulder, and gently brushed her fingers against Amity’s cheek. Something in her heart tugged as she watched the corners of Amity’s lips twitch in the smallest hint of a smile.
“You’re so beautiful.” Luz whispered.
Amity did not answer. Instead, she tilted her head up, nose brushing Luz’s neck, and planted the gentlest whisper of a kiss right under Luz’s jaw.
Luz inhaled sharply. Her entire body tensed. Her heart hammered in her chest. Amity froze and flushed, surprised by her own boldness. The air between them was suddenly charged with uncertainty and something much more exciting. It wasn’t the first time. They had been stumbling through the mire of exploring physical affection for a couple weeks now. But it was all still so new and frightening and this was… different. In ways neither was quite sure how to explain.
A handful of seconds passed in which Amity apparently decided to double down. She did it again. She pressed her lips to Luz’s skin and the girl came apart at the seams.
Luz forcefully exhaled the breath she didn’t know she was holding and her whole body went limp. She was melting. She was sure of it. This is what melting felt like.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.” she wheezed.
Luz could feel Amity’s lips curl into a self-satisfied smirk against her neck. “Good.”
Amity kissed her again and Luz made a noise that was halfway between a groan and a gargle.
“Here lies the puddle of goo formerly known as Luz Noceda.” she muttered.
Amity laughed and mercifully laid her head back against Luz’s shoulder, closing her eyes and getting comfortable again. Luz wrapped her arms around her and pressed a light kiss to Amity’s forehead before relaxing back against the pillow, idly running her fingers through Amity’s hair.
Amity made a small, contented noise that sounded to Luz like, I am safe.
Luz sighed a soft, delighted hum that sounded to Amity like, I am home.
After a few quiet moments, when it seemed like Amity may have finally drifted off to sleep, Luz reached for the Azura book still lying next to her. She rested the book on her thigh and had intended to pick up where she left off and read quietly to herself but… as she flipped through the chapters, a very different scene caught her eye: Malingale’s monologue to the Fairy Queen. Maybe Amity could hear how her heart was thumping, as she stirred and snuggled her nose further into Luz’s neck. Luz smiled and began to read softly, almost reverently.
“The winter of my life has ended. Spring eternal now blooms in my heart.
I am as one who has lived in darkness and for the first time, I have stepped into the light.
I am blinded.
I am overcome.
I am whole.
I am undone.
Summer Queen on Winter Throne, I pledge to you all that I am.
I have walked the pilgrim’s path to find you,
To bring offerings of sweetly whispered words
And lay my devotion in a halo at your feet.
Wherever you go, I will follow,
Though shattered worlds and twisted tyrants would tear us apart.
I will stand by your side and shield you from harm
And live the rest of my days in the home of your arms.
If ever you are lost, I will guide you.
When doubt clouds your thoughts, I will comfort you.
You plant seeds of laughter in the shadow of my sorrow
That bloom into something that smells like wildflowers
And tastes like absolute surrender.
I had forgotten the person I wanted to be
Until your gentle hands led me down lanes of memory.
Your eyes ignite cold embers of childhood wonder and faith
I am a falling star, caught in your embrace.
Pull me from myself and I am made anew,
Woven from strands of you.
With you my life has just begun.
Paint me in tenderness,
Wrap me in dreams of days to come.
I love your smile, I love your soul, I love the ground on which you stand.
All my br- umph! Mmm...”
Amity had abruptly lifted her head, brought her hand up to cup Luz’s cheek, and was kissing her - slowly, urgently - and Luz absolutely melted on the spot for the second time that night. When Amity had had her fill, she pulled back just enough to pick up where Luz had left off.
“All my broken pieces turn to promises in your hands.”
Amity trailed her thumb along Luz’s jaw, their foreheads still pressed together, as she continued.
“I could sing of sun and stars as lovers often do,
and whisper that not sun nor stars could shine as bright as you.
All the words in all the worlds lose all meaning in the face of what you mean to me, but perhaps these meager few will do,”
Amity brought her lips right next to Luz’s ear and whispered,
“I love you.”
Luz felt something very strange then. Something she had never felt before. It felt like sinking upward. Not floating, but flying, crashing, careening toward something limitless, something profound. Like her heart was beating a wordless oath. Every other thought was silenced and all that existed was this feeling, and Amity - Amity - curled up around her. She wondered if this is what falling in love felt like.
Instead of coming up with something coherent to say, all Luz could do was sputter something that sounded like, “That’s a really good book.”
Amity chuckled and kissed the tip of Luz’s ear. “It’s my favorite for a reason.”
“You have really good taste.”
Amity pulled back to meet her eyes and smiled. “Yeah, I do.”
Amity rested her head back on Luz’s shoulder. Luz wrapped her arms tightly around her and listened to her breathing until the only sound to be heard in the room was their soft snoring.