Distressing Dominance | Owl House x Reader

Chapter 6

Eda's eyes narrowed as she recognized the speaker. It was Hunter, the Emperor's right-hand man, and one of the most feared individuals in the Boiling Isles. "Go," she whispered urgently. "All of you, hide."

Without a second thought, I darted back to the library, my new demon form giving me an unsettling sense of both power and vulnerability. The room felt too small, too easy to be found in. Willow and Gus followed closely behind, their faces pale with fear. We ducked behind a bookshelf, the ancient tomes towering over us like silent sentinels.

The door to the Owl House crashed open, the sound echoing through the hallways. Eda's voice was firm, though I could hear the tremor of fear beneath it. "Hunter," she called out, "what brings you to my humble abode?"

I held my breath, listening to the heavy footsteps approach the library. "Your little masquerade is over, Eda," he said, his tone cold and calculating. "The Emperor wants what is his, and I've been sent to collect it."

From our hiding spot, I could see the shadows of Eda and Hunter on the wall, their forms stark against the flickering candlelight. "And what makes you think you'll find what you're looking for here?" she retorted, her voice filled with bravado.

Hunter's chuckle was sinister. "Let's just say we've had a... tip-off."

My heart hammered in my chest, and I swallowed hard, trying to keep the fear from giving me away. Willow's hand found mine, and she squeezed it reassuringly. We had to stay hidden. We had to stay safe. But the pressure was unbearable. The library was no longer a sanctuary, but a cage with the door left wide open.

"I don't have time for games," Hunter barked, his footsteps drawing nearer. "Where is the human?"

The room grew tense, and I could feel the magic in the air thicken. Willow's hand trembled in mine, and Gus's eyes grew wide. We had to think of something, and fast. I took a deep breath and whispered a desperate incantation, one that I hoped would conceal us from prying eyes. The bookshelves groaned and shifted, and suddenly, the space we were in was swallowed by darkness. The room around us had become a void, a silent sanctuary amidst the chaos.

Outside our little bubble, the argument grew heated. "You have no right to come barging into my house, threatening us!" Eda's voice was a mix of anger and fear.

"Your house is on the emperor's land," Hunter retorted, "and you have no right to harbor a fugitive. We have reports of a human, and I will not leave until I find them."

The sound of his footsteps grew closer, and I could feel the warmth of Willow and Gus beside me, their hearts racing in sync with mine. The incantation I had hastily thrown together was unstable, and I knew it wouldn't hold for long. "We need to get out of here," I murmured.

Willow nodded, her eyes wide with determination. "I know a spell that can create a temporary portal," she said. "But it's risky, and we have to be precise. One wrong move, and we could end up anywhere."

Y/N gulped, the gravity of the situation sinking in. "What do we have to do?"

"We need a focus," Willow whispered, her eyes searching the room. "Something that connects us to where we want to go."

My mind raced, and then it clicked. "Amity," I murmured. "We need to find her. She's the link to my past, and maybe the key to my future."

With newfound urgency, we scoured the house, avoiding the areas where the guards' footsteps grew louder. We eventually found Amity in her room, her eyes red from crying. She looked up as we burst in, hope and fear warring on her face. "What's happening? Is Hunter still down there?" she whispered, clutching the book we had studied together.

"We need to go," I said, my voice low and firm. "Now."

Amity nodded, understanding the severity of the situation. She slipped the book into the fold of her cloak and took a deep breath. "Where?" she asked.

"To the human realm," I said, the words feeling foreign on my tongue. "It's the only place we'll be safe. Willow, can you create a portal to my world?"

Willow nodded, though the tremor in her hands betrayed her fear. Gus produced a handful of mystical herbs and a glowing crystal, and together, we began the incantation. The air grew thick with power, the very fabric of reality stretching before us. A swirling vortex opened up in the center of the room, a gateway to the safety and familiarity of my lost world.

Amity took my hand, her grip tight and reassuring. "We'll go together," she said, her voice steady despite the quiver in her voice. "We'll figure it out."

The world outside the portal grew fainter as the guards' shouts grew closer. The pressure was unbearable, but we had to hold on. Willow's eyes glowed with the power she was wielding, and Gus chanted under his breath, his tiny wings fluttering with the effort. The air grew colder, and I could feel the pull of the human realm. "Now!" Willow exclaimed, and with a final burst of energy, she pushed us through the swirling mass of light and color.

We emerged in the attic of my uncle's house, the mundane human world feeling like a stark contrast to the vibrant chaos we had just left behind. The portal snapped shut with a sound like a book slamming shut on a particularly nasty bug, and we all stumbled, gasping for air. The quiet was deafening after the cacophony of the Owl House.

I looked around, taking in the dusty, familiar surroundings. The warm glow of the streetlamp outside cast a comforting light through the window, and for the first time in weeks, I felt a semblance of home. But the comfort was short-lived as the reality of the situation settled upon us. "We can't stay here," I murmured. "We have to keep moving."

Amity looked at me with a mix of awe and apprehension. "Where will we go?"