Changeling Witch

(S2) Reaching

"Dad?" Amity exclaimed, backing up. "How—how did you find me?"

Alador stepped down from the goo platform, looking extra pissed. "Not only did you ditch Coven tryouts, but someone set off your Abomaton's alarm. I just followed its signal."

Hunter froze in place as Amity whirled toward him, murder in her eyes. "Didn't touch it, huh?"

"I just—I didn't wanna worry you—"

"Oh, that is rich!" she yelled. "Do you ever let things go, Hunter? I don't tell you one thing, and you decide to ruin all other aspects of my life?"

"I was trying to help!" Hunter shot back. "You're the petty one, not me!"

Amity started to say something else, then paused. "You know what? I'm not talking about this here."

"Mittens—" Alador started.

"You can yell at me later, Dad, but the long and short of it is, I'm not going to the damned tryouts. If you'll excuse me, I have someone to berate." Amity grabbed Hunter's sleeve and dragged him into the trees.

Yelling sounded in the background as the Warden lunged for Alador—only to get a faceful of goo—but Amity looked unbothered by that.

"Uh, shouldn't we—" Hunter started.

"You." Amity jabbed a finger into his chest. "You are going to listen. There is a good reason I didn't tell you about Luz, and it has nothing to do with you, okay? Because—shocker—not everything is about you."

"Well, maybe you should explain why you're such a hypocrite!" he burst.

Amity raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"I just—I just don't get you, okay?" Hunter said, waving a hand around. "You say you hate the Emperor, but you're dating his kid? The head of the coven? His second-in-command? What the hell?"

"Oh, gee, lemme think," Amity said sarcastically. "Why do you hate Odalia if you're dating her son? Huh?"

Hunter stared at her. "Is that even a question? She's a toxic, controlling, manipulative bi—"

The puzzle pieces clicked in his mind. "Oh."

Amity barked a laugh. "Yeah. Oh. You've met the emperor up close and personal, Hunter—what makes you think he'd be a good parent?"

"I—I mean, Luz doesn't seem that scared of him, not really," Hunter stammered, starting to feel like the biggest idiot who'd ever existed. "I didn't think—"

"That's Luz," Amity told him. "She never wants to acknowledge how Belos treats her, but trust me, it's not that hard to ignore. For the love of the Titan, she's a fourteen-year-old kid in charge of a coven. And she barely sleeps, and she doesn't get enough to eat, and I just know—" Her voice hitched. "I know that she didn't get those scars because of training accidents, okay? I'm worried about her, and she won't let me help—"

Guilt started to settle in, making Hunter feel worse than before. "Amity..."

"Just—don't," she sniffed, shoving him away. "Just don't. I have to go fix this and disappoint my dad."

As he watched her leave, Hunter started to feel sick to his stomach.

I'm an asshole, he realized.

I knew Luz wasn't happy, and I ignored that so I could be judgmental towards my friend. I ruined Amity's chance to show her dad who she really is. And—