Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Four days after Hunter went missing, and four days before the Day of Unity, Darius’ Penstagram feed blows up.

He’s getting direct messages from witches he hasn’t spoken to in years - old school friends in degrees of disrepute, primarily. The messages vary, but all share a theme: Is it true?

It takes Darius a minute to wade through the chaos, to find the common thread linking these witches together:

They’re all parents of current Hexside students.

(Adrian Graye is at Hexside today. Branding students.)

Darius flicks more urgently through the mess that his feed has turned into, searching for additional context, when he comes across a video.

Hunter is in the thumbnail.

Darius sits down before his knees have the chance to give out from under him.

He’s alive. He really is alive.

The thumbnail of the video shows Hunter standing in front of a crowd of (hostile?) students, with scratches on his face, somehow looking even more tired than he usually does, and wearing a tattered patched-up makeshift blue cloak.

That isn’t all Hunter is wearing. He also has on a - his? - bright green flyer derby jersey, a gray neckerchief, and, to tie it all together, a little yellow shoulder bag.

The entire ensemble clashes atrociously.

Under any other circumstance, this would be terribly embarrassing for Hunter.

Under this circumstance, of course, it is so very incredibly not important at all.

(Darius is stalling. Darius is scared to watch the video.)

Darius grits his teeth and hits ‘play.’

The video starts out pointing at the ground.

“Sorry,” Hunter says in the background. “There’s a lot to explain.”

“Then you’d better get started.” The camera pans up to reveal - that Darius is right; that is, indeed, his former Vice Principal Bump.

Whoever’s holding the camera shifts to the side, putting Hunter in the center of the frame.

“Okay,” Hunter says, clearly nervous. “So. It’s like I said.” His face twists. “Belos is a liar. The Day of Unity was never about the Titan! It isn’t just targeting wild magic. It’s - they called it a draining spell-”

“Who did?” someone asks. It opens up a floodgate of questions. Darius picks out “How do you know?” and “What’s a draining spell?” among the din.

Darius pauses the video before it can get any worse. He’s, what, ten seconds in? And it’s already too much to process.

Hunter knows. Hunter knows what Belos is, now - what does he know?

(Belos is a liar.)

Hunter knows about the draining spell - he knows more about the draining spell than Darius does, it seems.

The draining spell isn’t just targeting wild magic.

(Is this the cost of information?)

Belos is going to find out about this. There’s no way Belos won’t find out about this.

(He might already know.)

Darius presses ‘play’ with renewed urgency.

“Everybody settle down!” Bump calls with mildly more success than he’d managed when Darius was a student. “Save your questions for the end! Although, I am curious as to how you came across such information, Golden Guard.”

Darius’ stomach drops.

(He doesn’t dare press ‘pause’ again.)

Hunter bristles. “I learned it from Belos! I was in his mind, I saw his memories, he showed me-”

“What do you mean you were in his mind?” someone calls from the crowd. “Is that even possible?” “I’ve heard of this before! There’s no way he actually-”

“Quiet!” Bump commands. A tentative hush falls over the crowd once more. “Everyone needs to stop asking questions, or we’ll never get through this. Now,” he says, addressing Hunter again. “What did you see in the Emperor’s mind?”

(This isn't worth it. This is too high a price.)

“I saw…” Hunter hesitates, shifting uneasily. “I saw a lot. Most of it wasn’t important! But, I did see the truth about the Day of Unity. Belos is- the draining spell doesn’t just drain magic. It was- I saw-” Hunter grabs his own forearm, glaring at the ground, and takes a deep breath. “What I saw is, everyone with a coven sigil is going to die. That’s why Adrian was trying to brand you. Belos is-”

The crowd erupts. “Liar!” “This can’t really be true, right?” “My parents have sigils!” “This must be another trick!” “Hey, leave him alone!”

The video ends.

Darius stares blankly at the thumbnail for a long moment.

The implications of what he saw catch up to him in pieces:

Hunter is alive, and more-or-less well, and possibly in enemy territory.

(Everyone with a sigil is going to die on the Day of Unity.)

Hunter knows the truth about Belos, and about the Day of Unity, and apparently about other things he doesn’t want to talk about.

(He's known the truth for days and seems to have been coping with it all alone.)

Hunter knows the truth, and he learned it in the most traumatic way possible, and that is Darius’ fault.

(Does he know who the traitors are?)

Hunter knows the truth, and he chose to tell everybody about it.

(He should have never been involved in any of this at all.)

Darius tries calling Hunter’s scroll.

Hunter, of course, doesn’t answer. Darius still doesn’t know if Hunter even has his scroll on him. He sends another message: I heard what happened. Call me.

(This is bad. This is very bad.)

Hunter is in a tenuous position, at best. Bump is a wild magic sympathizer, and he knows Hunter is the Golden Guard. Hunter just gave some very bad news to a group of already distressed teenagers. Belos is going to find out, and he is going to do- something.

Darius scrolls frantically through his Penstagram feed again, looking for any additional information. There are pictures and more video thumbnails: students calling their parents; the school gym, filled with students and emergency cots; too many students holed up in the Healing homeroom, looking scared. Interspersed are infinitely more text posts, offering scraps of information, or misinformation, or rumors:

Is Hexside really on lockdown?

I heard they’re turning the school into a shelter :/

The Titan is testing us!! Don’t be fooled!!!!

ATTENTION HEXSIDE PARENTS: you need to contact the school directly if you want to pickup, take ID.

Is that really the golden guard??

Bump “strongly recommending” kids stay at the school until after DOU

OOTL what’s going on with the sigils???

How stupid r u, that’s the GOLDEN GUARD of course its a test!

The school’s disappeared off the map. Illusions? Wasn’t Graye there today? Is he involved?

It’s all staged, their actors.

My daughter is refusing to come home lol never thought I’d spend another night at Hexside.

There’s too much happening to glean any useful information. But maybe it doesn’t matter.

(What else is there to know?)

Hunter has taken an unequivocal stance against Belos. His uncle. His apparently genocidal uncle.

Darius needs to do something. Hunter is at Hexside. Or, at least, he was there very recently. Darius can get there in, what, 20 minutes? Tops?

He’s halfway to the door when one of his roving abominations appears with a note: MEETING. NOW. DON’T DO ANYTHING STUPID!

“Adrian was just there,” Raine says, far too distraught for the stance they’re taking. “The school is on lockdown. You’re a coven head. You can’t just pop down there and-”

“Well, we have to do something!” Darius snaps.

He paces as he schemes, thoughts racing.

Raine is, unfortunately, right. Darius’ knee-jerk reaction is, perhaps, not the best move, for a variety of reasons. Darius knows what he wants to do, and he knows what he should do, and there is depressingly little overlap between the two.

(But there is some overlap. There is an opportunity.)

“And we will!” Raine assures. “But, it looks like Hunter is safe at the school. You can’t just-”

“What precisely about this situation makes you think that Hunter is safe?” Darius bites, scathing.

(There are two approaches he can think of. The first would be to leave Hunter out of it entirely, and instead take advantage of Adrian’s failure. But that risks someone else-)

“Relatively speaking,” Raine qualifies. “I heard that the students and teachers managed to fight off Adrian and his scouts. Hunter is safer there-”

“You don’t know that,” Darius argues. “For all we know, Bump is trying to ransom him back to Belos as we speak!”

It’s true. For all they know, Hunter is on his way back to the castle at this very moment. But if he isn’t-

(The other option is to leave Hexside out of it instead. Admit he's been spotted. Try to-)

“So we’ll figure out a way to get in touch with him!” Raine claims. “But we have to be careful about it. We can’t help Hunter if we’re in jail! Or… worse.”

“You think I don’t know that, Whispers?” Darius retorts, venomous.

(They can’t afford to get caught in a lie.)

“This isn’t helping!” Raine snaps.

That is enough to at least give Darius pause.

(But Hunter can’t afford to get caught in the truth.)

“Just, listen to me, please,” Raine pleads. “Now that… now that Hunter is talking about what he saw, Eda and Luz might be more willing to risk coming out of hiding. We need to-”

Darius laughs harshly. “Oh, well, that’s great for them! I’m very happy for Eda and Luz, I assure you!”

It isn’t fair. They do still need the Owl Lady.

But they also need to help Hunter. This is their fault.

(If any part of this mess is salvageable, it has to be this.)

“So then what’s your plan?” Raine demands, vexed. “Blow your cover and run off with him? Get him to the CATTs so he can help with the Day of Unity plans? If the goal is to keep him safe-”

“I’m going to talk to Belos,” Darius interjects.

Eber finally looks up from his scroll, where he’s desperately scrolling through Penstagram. Raine pales, finally rendered speechless.

They aren’t reassuring responses.

(It’s risky. Possibly suspicious. If it backfires, it could backfire on Hunter. Again.)

“You’re right,” Darius admits reluctantly. “I can’t- I don't know where he should be, or where he’s… safe. But he isn’t safe now. Belos is going to find out about this at any moment, and when he does, he’s going to send someone to collect Hunter. That has to be one of us.”

It’s true. They must know it’s true. Whatever the risks, whatever happens - the cost of doing nothing is too high this time. Belos is looking for Hunter, and Hunter has just taken a very public stance against Belos.

“Darius-” Raine starts, as if they actually might protest.

“If I’m the one to tell him," Darius interrupts, "I can- downplay it, and offer my services. Then, I can talk to Hunter, explain what’s happening, figure out what’s going on, and decide what to do next.”

Eber and Raine exchange nervous looks.

But if either of them have any better idea, they don't share it.

Finally, Eber nods haltingly.

“Alright,” Raine concedes anxiously. “Alright. Just… please be careful, Darius.”

Darius didn’t become the Head of the Abomination Coven out of any love for politics.

Darius became the Head of the Abomination Coven by being the best Abomination witch on the Boiling Isles.

(In his opinion, of course.)

It’s a major flaw in - or, arguably, feature of - the coven system: few, if any, of the coven heads were chosen due to any sort of inclination towards effective leadership. Coven heads are, at least in theory, simply the masters of their respective brand of magic. They are not, necessarily, good at playing the sort of mind games that run rampant in the castle. After all, the logic goes, only those who aren’t powerful or competent enough to maintain their positions on their own merit need to resort to any sort of groveling.

(That is the sort of logic that results in such a remarkably high turnover rate among coven heads.)

The coven heads who tend to keep their position, then, tend to have a certain… skill set. The job requires a precarious balance of knowing when to assert authority and when to suck up; of reading a room and successfully forming the most effective alliances with the least irritating options at the most opportune times; of taking the correct opportunities to flex power, while also being able to feign humbleness when necessary.

Darius didn’t become the Head of the Abomination Coven because he likes politics. But Darius is the Head of the Abomination Coven, and so Darius has grown quite good at politics over the years. Call it ambition or call it perfectionism, the fact's the same: Darius put in the time and effort to become the best coven head he could possibly be.

(The same skill set, unfortunately, clearly only goes so far when it comes to being a rebel.)

Yes, Darius is good at being a coven head, and Darius is good at acting, and that, if nothing else, puts Darius in a fairly unique position.

(Maybe it’ll even pay off.)

The key to pulling this off is to simply not care too much at all.

(How hard can that be?)

Darius knocks on the obscenely extravagant door to the throne room.

“Come in,” Belos calls. He sounds more surprised than annoyed, which is… not a bad sign, at least.

Darius does not, as a general rule, spend much time in the throne room. Because of this, there’s an interesting quirk to the room that Darius somehow always manages to forget about: the heartbeat.

The room is filled with the ceaseless thudding of an enormous heart that sits above the throne, echoing endlessly throughout the cavernous chamber. It’s a grating sound that Darius can hardly tolerate for the handful of minutes he ever spends in the room at a time. It must be enough to drive any witch mad. Any witch must be mad to set up a throne in this room in the first place. Belos is flanked, as always, by a line of coven scouts, and Darius wonders whether their assignment here is meant to be a reward or a punishment.

(How long has Hunter spent in this room?)

Darius approaches the throne and bows deeply.

“Head Witch Darius,” Belos greets, surprise more evident now. He’s slumped in his throne, mask in place, presumably waiting for Adrian’s return. “To what do I owe this… unannounced appearance?”

Darius offers Belos his best smile. “I apologize for the intrusion, Lord Emperor, but I do believe the matter is urgent. It is my understanding that you’ve been searching for the Golden Guard?”

Belos sits up straighter then. He nods slowly, but offers nothing else.

“I’ve heard through the grapevine that the Golden Guard has been spotted, but is unable to return,” Darius continues, blasé. “But I’m sure I can retrieve him from… whatever situation he’s found himself in.”

Belos hums, leaning forward to give Darius his undivided attention. “And, what situation might that be, precisely?”

Darius’ smile tightens. “I’m afraid I don’t have all of the details, yet. But, from my understanding, he… appears to be under some sort of coercion. I-”

“Coercion?” Belos repeats sharply.

(It’s plausible enough.)

Darius blinks, but does not falter. “Yes, well, as I said, I’m not entirely certain of the situation. But, it does appear that he is... spreading lies about the Day of Unity,” he says carefully. “Presumably under coercion. But it’s nothing that I can’t handle, I’m sure. I will collect him, and… bring him home,” he offers with a wan smile.

Belos is very still and very silent for a long moment, expression unreadable behind his mask, leaving only the sound of the pervasive heartbeat to fill the room.

(How much does he know?)

“...I see,” Belos says slowly. “Well. As much as I appreciate the offer, Head Witch Darius, I’m afraid your services are unnecessary.”

“Lord Belos,” Darius tries, cajoling. “I-”

“Save it, Darius,” Belos says curtly.

Darius shuts up.

(Belos knows everything.)

Belos then sighs and takes off his mask. It is either a show of benevolence or an intimidation tactic.

“I’m sure we don’t need such formalities,” Belos continues more casually. “The Day of Unity is nearly upon us, after all. I do admit I am… disappointed,” he says with a disingenuous frown. “I’m disappointed, but not entirely surprised, to learn that my nephew has disappeared because he has been led astray. Truthfully, it’s something I’ve feared for years now. But, with the Day of Unity drawing so near… well.” Belos offers Darius a gentle, kindly smile. “I’m sure that the Titan will lead my nephew to where he is meant to be. But I do always appreciate your concern for my Golden Guards, Head Witch Darius.”

Darius does not wither. Darius does not show any weakness.

(Darius does not feel anything at all.)

“Of course, Emperor Belos,” he says graciously, jaw clenched.

“Now please, return to your duties,” Belos politely orders. “There’s much work left to do, after all.”

Bustling coven scouts clear a path for Darius as he stalks down the labyrinthine corridors toward his room.

(Anger can be a remarkably productive emotion.)

Darius should try to track down Eber. Or Raine. But what’s the point? There’s no use to it, and there’s no time for it.

(Even if he wanted to, Darius doesn’t know how he would explain it.)

It could have gone worse. It could have gone worse, and it could have gone better.

It just doesn’t make sense. Belos must have already known what Hunter saw in his mindscape. So why try looking for him in the first place?

…Because he didn’t know how Hunter was going to react.

(Has Belos really been ‘fearing’ this for years? Darius hadn’t expected a damn thing until-)

It doesn't matter.

Belos genuinely didn’t seem to know anything until Darius told him. He’s almost certainly looking for more details now. He doesn’t know where Hunter is yet, but it won’t be hard to find out.

Assuming Belos is in fact looking for Hunter.

(Maybe he really has written Hunter off as a lost cause.)

If that’s true, then it isn’t good news. There are implications to this, too - to the idea that, whatever Hunter saw, whatever he might be saying about it, it doesn’t pose a serious threat to the Day of Unity.

(Hunter says everyone with a coven sigil is going to die.)

No, it’s more likely that Belos is still planning to track Hunter down. He just doesn’t trust Darius.

(Belos knows that the Golden Guards haunt him.)

At best, nothing has changed. At best, this has been nothing but a waste of time. Darius still needs to contact Hunter, still needs to explain what’s happened, and still needs to figure out how to get him somewhere safe.

(Nowhere is safe if Belos is after him.)

All that’s really happened is that Darius has failed to find an excuse to contact Hunter. He can’t go to Hexside; he’ll have to do this covertly.

It isn’t ideal. This isn’t a conversation Darius wants to have over the phone.

(This isn't a conversation Darius wants to have at all.)

It isn't ideal, but Darius can’t afford to make this situation any worse than it already is.

(It’s fine. Darius is used to the kid's face being hidden.)

The first thing Darius does when he makes it to his room and secures the locks is to try calling Hunter’s scroll again.

There is no answer, again.

Darius starts pacing.

If Hunter is still at Hexside, and Hexside is on lockdown, then Hunter is surrounded by students and teachers. Darius must be able to get in contact with someone. Darius will talk to- to Alador if he has to.

He starts with the school’s number.

Darius expects to get a busy line, so he’s thrown off by the sound of Vice- of Principal Bump’s voice on the other end of the line.

“Hello?” Bump says tiredly. He sounds… like someone dealing with an endless parade of worried parents, Darius supposes.

“Er, yes, hello,” Darius says blankly. “I, uh. Need to speak with one of your students.”

Darius was so worried about his conversation with Belos that he somehow failed to prepare for this conversation at all, which could be another dangerously stupid mistake.

(There is, it seems, something uniquely intimidating about talking to an authority figure from one’s childhood.)

“Is this to arrange pickup?” Bump asks wearily.

“…No,” Darius says carefully. “I just… need to speak with him. I’m not sure he has his scroll on him.”

“Ah,” Bump says with a hint of relief. “And, what is the student’s name?”

Right. His name. Darius recalls, suddenly and with striking clarity, the way Bump addressed Hunter in the video. Golden Guard. “…Hunter,” he says haltingly.

There’s a pause accompanied by the sounds of shuffling papers. “…Last name?” Bump asks more irritably.

Darius falters.

(Does he not have a last name, or does Darius just not know it?)

This is ridiculous. If nothing else, Bump is going to figure out who Hunter is when he’s handing the phone over to the kid. So Darius grits his teeth and says, “You might know him as the Golden Guard?”

There’s another, tenser, pause this time. Darius winces; there was surely a better way to handle that. “I see,” Bump says, sounding much more alert now. “And, erm… to whom am I speaking?”

Darius debates lying. Darius also debates telling the truth. Then Darius sighs. “Does it matter?”

(It’s a no-win situation.)

“It matters very much, I’m afraid,” Bump says shortly. “Only parents and legal guardians may talk to the students at this time. What is your relation to Hunter?”

That brings - a rush of emotion. Possibly relief.

(He’s calling Hunter by his name. Hunter might really still be at the school.)

“Hunter isn’t a student,” Darius responds evasively, because it’s all he can think to say. In his defense, it’s a stupid question; Hunter’s legal guardian quite possibly wants Hunter dead.

(Darius has no claim over Hunter at all.)

“I suppose not,” Bump replies coldly. “So allow me to rephrase: nobody may talk to any of the children here without my permission. Everyone at this school is under my protection. Do I make myself clear?”

Yup. That is definitely relief.

(It’s nearly overwhelming.)

“Is that a promise?” Darius asks plainly.

It’s difficult to tell what Bump might thinking over the phone, but his tone does soften when he responds. “And a threat, yes. To whom am I speaking?”

Darius tenses again. He still needs to talk to Hunter - or, at the very least, he still rather desperately wants to talk to Hunter - but Hexside is on lockdown, and Coven Head Graye had something to do with it.

This shouldn’t matter at all. “I just want to talk to him,” Darius says, aiming for a reasonable tone.

(It comes off more like pleading.)

“I’m sure you do,” Bump says cooly. “But I’m also sure you can appreciate why I am particularly reluctant to allow an unidentified caller to speak with this student.”

Right. That’s… fair. It’s probably a good thing, even. If anyone else is also trying to get to Hunter…

(It just feels like despair.)

“Darius,” he admits, resigned. “Deamonne.”

“Darius Deamonne?” Bump echoes, sounding far too pleased, considering. "Well, it has been quite a while! It is always nice to hear from my former students, of course. Although, I must admit, I would have hoped for better circumstances than this,” he says, tone taking on an edge.

Darius winces again. Just what is he supposed to say to that? I’m not like Adrian? Why would Bump believe him? “I just need to talk to Hunter,” he repeats, not bothering to mask his tone anymore.

“So you’ve said,” Bump replies, clipped. “But surely you must see how this looks, Darius. Your- colleague was at my school today, claiming to be working against Belos, trying to- to trick my students into getting sigils, and then attacking them when they figured it out!”

Darius’ heart drops. Tricking them. Pretending to be working against-

“And as I recall,” Bump continues, “you were quite the actor yourself when you were a student. So I don’t know what games you’re all playing up at the castle, but I will not allow my students to get dragged any further into it. So if you think-”

“Good,” Darius says before Bump can finish and, presumably, hang up on him and block his number.

Bump stops, and he does not hang up.

Darius should probably expound on what he said. That, or he’s said too much already and should shut up. It’s getting increasingly hard to tell anymore.

“How bad is it, Darius?” Bump asks. He sounds exhausted again.

Bump is a known wild witch sympathizer. He’s prioritizing the safety of his students. He’s actively protecting them from Belos.

(Bump is potentially a very useful ally, at least for Hunter to have.)

There's no reason Darius can think of not to trust Bump. But there's also no reason Darius can think of for Bump to trust him.

Finally, Darius just says, “You heard what Hunter said.”

There’s a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line. “So, it’s… it’s true, then?” Bump asks weakly. “The Day of Unity. The sigils are… what, a death sentence?”

“I… believe so,” Darius says because, Titan help them all, it’s true. Everyone with a sigil is- “It’s a draining spell. The details are- unclear. But, whatever Hunter saw, he isn’t lying. There are- plans, to stop it. It’s… we’re working on it. But the Day of Unity is…”

“Bad,” Bump concludes heavily.

There’s silence while Darius tries and fails to think of anything more useful to offer. But what else matters?

(Nothing has changed. The Day of Unity still needs to be stopped.)

“So,” Bump says, palpably pulling himself together. “You want to talk to Hunter.”

Darius nearly flinches at the name. “Yes,” he says, too quickly.

“Why?” Bump asks, dubious. “What do you want with him?”

“I don’t- I don’t want anything,” Darius protests, because Bump still doesn't trust him, and if he thinks Darius is trying to- to collude with Hunter, or something- “I just- he isn’t working for Belos anymore, he shouldn’t be involved in any of this, I’m just trying to-” protect him, fix this, check that he’s coping okay.

Darius steels himself. “He. Disappeared. Now he’s- I just want to make sure that he’s alright. Okay? Is that really such a crime?”

(What right does Darius have to care now?)

There’s a pause long enough that Darius is certain Bump is about to hang up on him.

Instead, Bump finally says, “I’ll be honest, Darius. I don’t trust you. I… can’t. Not after I heard it all from Adrian Graye just this morning. But I do believe that Hunter is being genuine. He said he isn’t the Golden Guard anymore, and I believe him.”

Darius almost drops his phone, fumbling to catch it, and sits down heavily.

(What ever happened to that old cloak anyway?)

“So I’ll leave the choice up to him,” Bump decides. “Please don’t make me regret this, too.”

Chapter Text

Darius tries and fails to pick out Hunter’s voice over the muffled roar of far too many students. He can barely hear Bump asking if Hunter is willing to talk to him, much less any other specific voice.

By the time the roar fades to distant background noise, Darius no longer knows who’s on the other end of the line. He waits with increasing resignation once more for the click and dial tone.

As a result, Darius manages to once again be caught off-guard when someone speaks.

"Hello?" Hunter greets warily.

The relief absolutely is overwhelming this time.

(Darius shoves it down viciously, because he needs to think clearly and relief is not productive.)

“Hunter,” he begins urgently, “I know what happened. I-”

“I’m not going back to the castle!” Hunter interrupts.

Darius freezes. He thinks I’m-

“I’m not going back to the castle,” Hunter repeats, adamant, before rushing to explain. “I can’t go back! Belos isn’t who he says he is-”

“I know,” Darius tries to interject.

Hunter doesn’t pause. “-and if I go back, he’s going to - he’ll kill me, Darius, I can’t-”

“Hunter-” Darius tries again, before this gets any worse.

“I can't go back, please don’t make me go back!” Hunter concludes, frantic.

(Darius’ heart breaks a little bit.)

“Okay,” Darius says, trying to tamp down on his own panic. “Okay, Hunter, listen to me: do not come back to the castle.”

Hunter, thank the Titan, actually seems to hear him this time. “…What?”

“I heard what happened,” Darius repeats. “I know… I know you can’t come back to the castle right now, Hunter. You shouldn’t come back to the castle. I’m agreeing with you, okay? You need to stay away from this place.”

There’s a pause before Hunter mumbles, “You… believe me?”

“Yes,” Darius says firmly. “I believe you.”

There’s another pause. Darius scrambles to figure out what to say next; so much has happened that he doesn’t even know where to begin.

Hunter beats him to it. “Oh,” he says, sounding strangely crestfallen. “I get it. You aren’t real either, are you?”

“What?” Darius croaks, taken aback.

“You’re another illusion, aren’t you?” Hunter asks more confidently. Accusatory. “Like Willow and Belos!”

“What?” Darius repeats more sharply. An illusion? Of Belos? What did Adrian-?

“Prove that you’re really you!” Hunter demands. “Tell me something only the real Darius would know!”

Darius gapes at his phone. Of all the things- “I- are you serious?” he asks, dumbfounded.

“Of course I’m serious!” Hunter retorts, chagrinned.

(Of course he’s serious. He just had his whole life ripped out from under him.)

Darius fails to contain a near-hysterical bark of laughter. “I sincerely hope there is nothing only I know about you!” he says, because it is very much true.

“Wh- you know what I mean!” Hunter whines. “Come on, Darius!”

“Alright, alright,” Darius capitulates, wracking his brain. “Let’s see, um. I know you have a scroll, where you’re Penstagram friends with your flyer derby teammates. I know you have a cardinal palisman that you have chosen to call ‘Flapjack’ for some Titan-forsaken reason. I know you’re starting to learn how to sew properly.”

Darius strains to think of more.

(The sewing thing might actually be unique.)

“Does any of that suffice?” he asks, trying to stave off a headache.

There’s silence before Hunter says, shakily, “Well. I really hope no one else at the castle knows all of that.”

Darius grimaces. Out of everything to worry about now- what did Adrian do to this kid?

(How much of this is actually Adrian’s fault?)

“Okay,” Hunter continues more steadily. “So, you… you heard what happened? And you believe me?”

“Yes,” Darius confirms, anxiety spiking.

(This can’t possibly end well.)

“What did you hear?” Hunter (reasonably) asks.

“You were in Belos’ mind,” Darius says slowly, scrambling for a suitably vague answer. “You saw the truth about the Day of Unity.”

“Yeah. I saw…” Hunter hesitates. “What do you mean by ‘the truth’?”

Darius cringes. “I… there’s a video circulating of you explaining what you saw,” he explains. “About the sigils, and the draining spell.”

“Oh,” Hunter says awkwardly, and for a split second Darius actually believes he’ll move on.

Of course he doesn’t. “But, I mean. You really believe me?” Hunter asks again, doubtful. “Just like that? Why? You’re working for Belos! I… I didn’t want to believe it, at first. Why are you being so…?” he trails off, frustrated.

The thing is, Darius never meant to lie to Hunter.

(Darius never meant to have anything to do with Hunter at all.)

“I- right,” Darius sighs, resigned. Clearly, he can’t avoid this topic and still be seen as trustworthy.

(Assuming Hunter is willing to trust anyone at this point.)

“Alright," Darius begins anxiously. "There’s… something I need to tell you. But I’m not sure you’ll want to hear it.”

“Oh no,” Hunter says, like Darius already told him something terrible. “What does that mean?”

(There’s a popular saying among the coven heads: Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to.)

“It’s not- look,” Darius says, standing up to pace again. “You must have at least heard the rumors, surely. About… traitors, in the castle?”

“Traitors?” Hunter echos. He at least sounds more bewildered than betrayed.

(So far.)

“Yes,” Darius says tightly. “There are… well, I suppose ‘rebels’ is a… preferable term. I don’t- the reason it’s so easy for me to believe you is because I was already questioning the Day of Unity,” he confesses haltingly. “We were trying to learn more information about it. Which is why I- we-” Darius stops pacing and takes a deep breath, bracing himself. “What I’m saying is, I was one of the rebels in the Night Market a few days ago who tried to enter Belos’ mind. I was-”

“No you’re not,” Hunter interrupts, giving Darius pause. “You couldn’t be! I- I tried to arrest-!” Hunter chokes off.

(Surely there are worse responses than flat-out denial.)

“I’m sorry,” Darius says, because it’s both true and possibly the most important part. “I’m just- I’m sorry, Hunter. You weren’t supposed to get involved - we never meant to drag you into it. But then, it all happened so fast, and you were just- gone.”

(Now that it's over, Darius is perfectly content to never think about it ever again.)

It takes a few false starts for Hunter to form coherent words again. “But- so- what, you just- you knew the whole time? About Belos? And we were- what, we were enemies? Is that why you hated me?”

“No,” Darius says fiercely, panicked. “That’s not-”

Hunter gasps. “That’s why you were so weird about Flapjack, isn’t it?” he says in awe, like he’s having some sort of epiphany. “That’s why you were so weird about the recruitment mission! You didn’t want me to recruit anyone at all, you were just-! I needed to prove that I was-”

“Hunter, no-” Darius tries again, struggling to both follow and stop Hunter’s spiraling thought process.

Hunter laughs.

(It is not a happy sound.)

“No wonder you hated me!” he says, laughing harder. “This whole time, I was - you were-! Wow. You must think I’m a real idiot, huh?” he concludes, so abruptly and severely bitter that it leaves Darius reeling.

“No,” Darius denies hoarsely. “Hunter, please, just listen to me.”

He waits for Hunter to say- something.

(Hunter is silent now.)

Darius still hasn’t figured out what to say, but the opportunity to do this right has clearly come and gone.

(This is a triage situation.)

“You are not an idiot,” Darius says, first of all. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I was the one that was wrong, alright?”

Hunter still doesn’t respond.

Darius grits his teeth and continues. “The ‘recruitment mission’ wasn’t - I wasn’t trying to, to get you to prove yourself or anything, I was just-” Just trying to get rid of you.

Darius winces and changes tack. “I didn’t mean for it to - it shouldn’t have happened that way, Hunter. None of it should have happened like this.”

But what difference does that make now? What does Hunter need to know now? “You didn’t do anything wrong,” Darius says again. “And you certainly aren’t stupid for- trusting your family. You should have been able to trust Belos, and, I’m sorry that you couldn’t. And, I’m sorry that I never- gave you a chance, or, other options, or- What I'm saying is, I’m sorry that I didn’t try enough, Hunter, but that isn’t your fault.”

Hunter remains silent. Or, at least, Darius can’t pick out any sounds over his own ragged breathing.

(Hunter shouldn’t forgive him.)

Finally, Hunter says, resolute, “It is my fault,” and Darius’ heart plummets. “I was doing bad things for Belos! I never even-”

“No,” Darius refutes, a thousand new arguments leaping to his tongue. “You-”

“Yes! Stop!” Hunter demands, resolve giving way to desperation.

Darius stops.

He’s hit, then, with a sudden wave of pure, unmitigated revulsion for this entire situation.

It’s unacceptable; intolerable.

(Hunter isn’t allowed to blame himself for being an abused child.)

“If it isn’t my fault, then!” Hunter tries to explain, distraught. “Then- what’s even the point? You’re saying that- what, that nothing I did ever mattered? None of it made any difference? That can’t be true! There must have been something I could have done differently, to, to - for things not to have happened this way.”

The disgust settles deep into Darius’ bones, cold and unforgiving.

Because the truth of the matter is that there was nothing. There was nothing that Hunter could have done differently to change the hand he was dealt. The game was rigged against him from the start, manipulated by a homicidal sadist who hurt the kid and called it love.

But how could Darius explain that without making the kid feel helpless?

(He was helpless. For years, he was nothing but a helpless child.)

“I’m sorry, Hunter,” Darius repeats, at a loss. “I’m so sorry.”

Hunter says nothing. Darius can now pick out the muffled sounds that he can’t mistake for anything else: Hunter is crying.

Darius closes his eyes and wishes he could disappear.

(Is this the worst-case scenario?)

Darius tries to take the opportunity to think of something better to say, something that might fix any of this.

Hunter was an abused kid sent down a path of evil who grew into a good teenager despite being failed by every adult around him.

Hunter spent years doing bad things for good reasons, and Hunter also spent years suffering alone, and nobody ever helped him with any of it, and he never really understood why. He still doesn’t understand why. And what explanation could Darius possibly give him now that amounts to anything more than just life isn’t fair?

It takes a few minutes, but Hunter manages to calm down. “Darius?” he says finally. Hesitantly. “Are you still there?”

“Yes,” Darius admits. “I’m still here.”

Hunter sniffles, then sighs, seeming at a loss himself.

There’s a lot left to discuss.

(Where could they possibly go from here?)

“Darius?” Hunter mumbles again.

“Yes?” Darius says again, drained.

“Are you afraid of dying?” Hunter asks quietly.

Ice floods Darius’ veins, panic reigniting.

(Despite everything, the Day of Unity is still four days away.)

“I don’t know, and I don’t have any intention of finding out,” Darius says sharply. Reflexively.

It definitely isn’t a good way to broach this subject.

(It’s too honest, maybe.)

“But, you said you know about the Day of Unity,” Hunter argues. “You said you believe me! It’s true! We’re going to die, Darius.”

(Hunter doesn’t sound sad anymore. He doesn't sound scared. He says it like it’s a challenge, like he’s daring Darius to disagree.)

“And that’s why we’re going to stop the Day of Unity,” Darius says with far more conviction than he’s ever managed to actually feel about it.

(It has to be true. They can’t afford to fail.)

When Hunter speaks again, it’s with such blatant newfound hope that Darius physically recoils. "You are?”

“Well,” Darius hedges, “We’re certainly going to try.”

“Okay,” Hunter says, and Darius can practically hear the gears turning now. “Okay,” Hunter repeats, more determined. “How can I help?”

Darius winces. He really should have anticipated this one.

He wants to say please just let the adults handle this one, but how can he?

(He certainly never prevented Hunter from going on whatever Titan-forsaken missions before.)

“Look, just,” Darius says, pained. “We’re working on a plan. You aren’t- you’ve already helped by telling the truth about what you saw. That was… that was brave of you, Hunter.” Brave, and very, very stupid.

Hunter doesn’t respond immediately, seemingly unappeased by Darius’ approval this time. Darius can hear the argument brewing already. He clambers for some task he can give the kid, something to let him feel more useful.

(Nobody wants to feel helpless.)

“Is there anything else you saw that you think might be useful?” Darius offers. And who knows? Maybe there is.

(What difference could it possibly make at this point?)

“Oh,” Hunter says in a tone that Darius can’t quite name, but it’s enough to make him regret bringing this topic up again at all.

“I, uh… saw a lot,” Hunter continues evasively. “I don’t think most of it is useful, but, uh… Belos is- he used to be a human? Is a human, I guess. Did you know that?”

A human? “No,” Darius says faintly. The Emperor of the Boiling Isles is a human? Does that matter?

“Yeah, but not like Luz! Belos is- oh! Right, he’s also, working with someone? Someone I… never knew about. Do you know about the Collector?”

For the first time, Darius genuinely wishes that he had seen Belos’ mindscape.

(What else have they missed? What other questions do they not even know to ask yet?)

“No,” Darius repeats, mouth dry.

“Yeah.” Hunter doesn’t seem properly frightened by how unprepared they are. If anything, he seems bolstered by the idea that he has more useful information after all. “I don’t know what the Collector’s deal is. I think he’s… trapped? Or just, like, a shadow, or something? But, he’s helping Belos with everything, and… I think he showed Belos how to do the draining spell? And, he also knows about the…”

Hunter trails off, giving Darius a moment to try to process this new information. The Collector. The title is… vaguely familiar, perhaps. A legend, or a rumor, that Darius can’t quite place at the moment. But if this person is helping Belos-

“Did you know?” Hunter asks quietly, unexpectedly fragile. It sets Darius’ frayed nerves freshly on edge. “You didn’t actually know about it, right? If you did, you wouldn’t have…” Hunter trails off again, uncertain.

“Know what?” Darius asks, dread pooling in his stomach.

“About…” Hunter says, sounding stricken. “Darius, what- what happened to the last Golden Guard?”

It’s as if a rug has been pulled out from underneath him. Darius sits down again, knees suddenly weak.

(It shouldn’t matter anymore. But it will always matter. The Golden Guard will always haunt him.)

“Darius,” Hunter repeats more insistently, almost frantically. “What happened to the last Golden Guard?”

“I don’t know,” Darius replies bitterly, before the kid can ask it again.

(Hunter isn’t the Golden Guard anymore.)

“I- never found out,” Darius bites out, the truth as raw and painful as ever. “He just. Disappeared.”

Darius forced himself years ago to accept that he would never find out the truth.

(But Belos knows. And now Hunter knows, too.)

Darius struggles to regain some form of composure before he forces himself to ask, “Why?”

There’s a fraught silence on the other end before Hunter responds. “Nothing,” he says miserably. “It’s… nothing. It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to talk about it.”

It clearly isn’t nothing, and it clearly does matter, and Darius also does not want to talk about it.

(Darius knows better than to ask questions he doesn’t want to know the answer to.)

“Okay,” Darius agrees, frazzled. “Alright.” He struggles to regain his focus; there’s still a lot they need to discuss. Logistically, if nothing else.

“Oh!” Hunter says. “Did you know Luz was in there, too? In Belos’ mind?”

Darius blinks, thrown by the topic change. “Yes,” he says with mounting apprehension. He had, in all honesty, nearly forgotten about the human entirely. “She got out,” he says uncertainly. How much worse can this possibly-

“Yeah,” Hunter agrees easily. “But, do you know what happened to her afterwards? Gus said she hasn’t been coming to school.”

Gus. School. It occurs to Darius again that he has no idea what Hunter’s relationship with Luz the human actually is, or what it was before Darius and the others got them trapped in Belos’ mind together.

“No,” Darius says cautiously. “She… Luz and the Owl Lady have both gone into hiding. We… Raine is taking the lead on the search. The plan is to intercept them if they show up.”

“Oh,” Hunter says, sounding surprised. “So… Raine is a traitor, too?”

Darius flinches. He really regrets using that term now. “A rebel, yes,” he says tightly.

“And, you’re all going to help Luz?” Hunter continues doggedly. “When Belos finds her?”

“If she shows up,” Darius amends, because Hunter is still too young to be as cynical as him. “Yes. That is the plan.”

“Good,” Hunter says emphatically. “So, then, is that why you’re calling me? Because Belos is looking for me and Luz?”

Darius grimaces. It’s a loaded question, for any number of reasons, and it’s another dangerous one for Darius to botch.

“Belos is…” Darius says carefully. “On an official basis, Belos is no longer looking for you.”

“But he’s a liar,” Hunter says immediately. Darkly.

(A week ago, Hunter would have gone to the ends of the Isles to deny it. Right?)

“Well. Yes,” Darius confirms, steeling himself. “I… won’t pretend to understand Belos’ thoughts or actions very well, particularly in this regard. I suspect he’s too busy with the Day of Unity preparations to try much else, but you definitely need to stay on alert. Are you… do you feel safe, staying at the school?”

There’s a rustling sound that might be a shrug. “I guess?” Hunter says, nonchalant. “I mean, all my friends are here, and they’re super strong! But, I don’t… I mean, do you think I’m… putting them in danger, staying here?”

Right. Of course he’s concerned about putting all his friends in danger.

(The problem is, it’s a perfectly valid point.)

Darius massages his temples. “In all honesty,” he says, “I imagine they’re in a similar amount of danger either way. But I did hear that you all successfully repelled Adrian Graye.”

(It’s absurd, the thought that this might really be Hunter’s best option at this point.)

“Oh, yeah, Gus made Graye cry!” Hunter exclaims, sounding downright pleased now. “He might not recover from it, actually. I think he was having sort of a nervous breakdown by the end there,” he says with barely repressed mirth.

Teenagers are terrifying, Darius thinks. Of course, then Darius recalls the tidbits he’s learned about Adrian’s actions at Hexside, and he feels his own vicious stab of satisfaction. “Well, then,” he says with only partially feigned optimism, “I’m sure you’ll all be alright so long as you stick together.”

(Only four more days.)

“So I can stay?” Hunter asks eagerly.

Darius is decently confident that he’s reading the situation right, but then again he has been (very) wrong before, so he asks, “Do you want to stay?”

“Yes!” Hunter replies instantly, enthused. “They’re setting up cots in the gym, and Principal Bump already said I can stay here, and Gus and Willow are both planning to stay until after the Day of Unity. Gus says it’ll be kinda like a ‘sleepover.’”

“Uh… huh,” Darius says hesitantly. He strongly suspects that Hunter has never actually been to a sleepover before, but he decides to leave it up to the lauded ‘Gus and Willow’ to explain. “Alright. Good. And, they’re feeding you, right? Has anybody shown you the gym showers? Are they-”

“Yes,” Hunter interrupts, grumbling. “My friends already made me shower. And Principal Bump found me a new set of clothes from the lost-and-found.”

“Oh, I can’t believe I almost forgot!" Darius exclaims. "Your clothes." Lost-and-found, great. Bump is a hack, too. "Does this new lost-and-found outfit actually fit you?”

There’s a shuffling sound before Hunter answers, shiftily, “I mean, it gets the job done.”

“Right,” Darius says, decisively. “So, I’m going to send over some of your clothes, which will both fit better and won’t clash atrociously.”

“I don’t need-” Hunter tries to protest.

“Is there anything else you want sent over?” Darius interrupts.

That at least seems to distract the kid. “Uh…” he says tentatively. “Not... that I can… think of?”

“Alright,” Darius says, squashing the disappointment he has no right to feel. “Well, if you do think of anything - oh. That’s another thing; do you have your scroll on you?”

There’s a long enough pause that Darius suspects he knows the answer.

(Hunter didn’t want to talk to him. For any number of perfectly justifiable reasons.)

“...yes,” Hunter mutters sullenly.

“And it’s working?” Darius confirms, clipped.

“Yes,” Hunter repeats, resentful.

“Good,” Darius says, because it is good. Or, at the very least, it’s one less thing to have to worry about now. “So, message me if you think of anything you want. I’ll… keep you in the loop about what’s going on here.”

“Um- oh,” Hunter says, seeming confused. “That’s- yeah. Okay.”

“Okay,” Darius echoes, trying to think of anything else he’s forgotten to address, brain fried. If he remembers something later... then Hunter has his scroll. So it's fine. “Good. Now, go along, play with your little friends. I’ll keep in touch. Oh! And Hunter?”

“Yeah?” Hunter asks warily.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” Darius thinks to tell him.

(Just in case it matters.)

There’s the surprisingly distinct sound of a phone being fumbled before Hunter responds. “Oh. Um,” Hunter says, flustered. “Yeah. Me too. Thanks Darius,” he mutters quickly, and then hangs up before Darius has a chance to respond.

Darius stares at the phone for a long moment, too exhausted to think much at all.

(It almost feels like peace.)