"Hi Mom… I’m back."

The woman with glasses was in shock—she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. After so many months—almost a year, exactly—her daughter stood before her, smiling through teary eyes.

"Mom, I think you should let them in."

Hearing her adoptive daughter’s voice snapped her out of her daze. She quickly moved aside, allowing the younger girl to step inside, followed by a group of unfamiliar teens, all visibly injured—including the brunette.

She didn’t understand anything.

"Sweetie…" she finally spoke, and without wasting another second, pulled her into a hug. "It’s really you…" she whispered. "You’re here! You’re not just a reflection!" she exclaimed. "How have you been? Have you been eating well? No colds or curses I should know about?" she asked, anxiously inspecting the girl. "Sweetheart, your eye! Who did this to you? What happened?"

The younger one returned the embrace, quietly sobbing against her mother’s chest. She really needed to let it all out.

"You have no idea how much I missed you, Mom," she murmured, avoiding the questions.

She was still overwhelmed.

The older woman smiled, gently stroking her short hair.

"I missed you too, honey. You have no idea how happy I am to see you. I knew you’d make it."

Since the moment she saw her daughter in the reflection of the rain, she had time to think, to process and reflect on everything that had happened. Her daughter had chosen to stay in an unknown world, and the first thing she did was scold her instead of asking why. But thanks to a certain basilisk, she’d come to understand that maybe she’d influenced that choice. She always said she admired her daughter’s imagination, yet tried to push her away from it by sending her to a camp designed to change her true nature. Indirectly, she’d made it clear she didn’t support her interests—her way of being.

In the end, she realized she had driven her to make that decision. But now she was ready to start over.

Camila was determined to apologize, but as she felt curious gazes upon her, she turned her attention to the young people who had arrived with her daughter.

"Luz… who are they?"

The brown-eyed girl stepped back from her mother and, after wiping her tears, approached the group.

"This is Willow, Hunter, Augustus, and Amity—my best friends," she introduced them, shooting a discreet glance at the girl with purple hair, who shook her head, letting her know it wasn’t yet time to reveal her as her girlfriend—not until they’d explained everything. "We had some issues on the other side, so we all ended up here," she explained. "Mom, I know it’s sudden, but they have nowhere to go. I was wondering if we could give them shelter—just until we find a way back."

A sigh escaped the veterinarian’s lips, still confused.

"You’re not going to tell me what happened, are you?" Seeing her daughter look away, she smiled. "It’s okay, I won’t force you. It must’ve been hard for you all, so no pressure," she said, watching the newcomers visibly relax. "Vee and I were making dinner before you arrived. You must be starving." The teens nodded shyly. "Alright, but before dinner, you all need to change. Luz can lend some clothes to the girls, but for the boys..."

"Don’t worry, Mrs. Noceda, we can stay in these clothes. It’s not a problem," the dark-haired boy said with a smile.

Camila shook her head.

"No way am I letting you stay like that. You’ll get sick," she warned. "Vee, sweetie, could you go down to the basement? I’m sure there must be some of Luz’s father’s clothes that they can wear—at least until we can buy something in their size tomorrow." The girl—who now looked similar to the brunette—nodded and quickly left. "Sweetie, go with the girls to your room and get changed. When Vee gets back, she’ll take the boys to mine so they can do the same. Meanwhile, I’ll grab the first aid kit. I’ll patch you all up before those wounds get infected."

The newcomers thanked her warmly, and soon after, the brunette led the two girls upstairs.

Once they reached her bedroom door, Luz opened it and let the guests go in first.

No one spoke once they were alone. The short-haired girl silently handed them sleepwear, avoiding direct eye contact.

"I’ll step out for a bit so you can have pri—"

"It wasn’t your fault," the golden-eyed girl interrupted, catching her attention. "None of us are to blame for what happened. Only Belos is. He deceived everyone on the Isles. We did what we could—we stopped the draining spell. Now we just have to find a way back and talk to the Collector. I’m sure we can reach an agreement."

The girl with glasses nodded.

"Amity’s right. We’ll work together to get out of this, so don’t blame yourself. The only one responsible has already… well, he paid for what he did."

The brunette didn’t respond. Instead, she fell to her knees, covered her face, and began to sob again. She couldn’t hold it in anymore.

"You don’t understand! I’m just as guilty as Belos!" she cried, leaving the girls stunned. "A few months ago, Lilith and I traveled through time to speak with Philip. I needed answers to build the portal, because my first attempt failed. Then we saw him—he turned out to be a jerk who wanted to sacrifice us for his own gain." She was still shaking. "But before I knew his true intentions, I was naive. I showed him a glyph. In the end, without knowing, I helped a lunatic who, years later, tried to destroy the Boiling Isles!"

Hearing that, the girl with purple hair looked at her partner in shock. She then carefully approached and knelt in front of her.

"What do you mean?"

Luz lowered her hands and looked at the girl.

"Philip Wittebane—the guy who wrote the journal—was Belos," she revealed. "I helped that maniac without realizing it!"

Amity said nothing—she simply pulled the brunette into a tight hug. The girl with glasses joined in too, both of them trying to comfort their best friend.

Now they understood why she wanted to act alone. She was trying to fix her mistake.

"It wasn’t your fault. You said it yourself—you showed him something because you thought it was good. You were excited. You didn’t know who he really was. So..."

"Even so, if it weren’t for me, Belos wouldn’t have become Emperor. The Day of Unity wouldn’t have happened. King wouldn’t have freed the Collector. I—"

"If not for that, you wouldn’t have come to the Isles. You wouldn’t have met Eda. Willow would still be stuck in a coven that didn’t suit her. Gus wouldn’t be an expert on human customs. I’d still be in my perfect little bubble. Hunter would still be under a tyrant’s control. But more than anything… we wouldn’t have met. And believe me, without you, our lives would still be boring. With your arrival, everything became more exciting," the youngest Blight confessed. After pulling away from the hug, she gently caressed her beloved’s cheek. "You helped all of us when we needed it most, so now… let us help you." She then took her hand—and their friend’s. "Repeat after me: We can do this together."

Luz couldn’t help but blush, her tearful eyes looking into theirs—and finding something she thought she had lost: hope.

"We can do this together," she whispered.

The girls smiled. Without another word, they hugged her again, letting her know she wasn’t alone, that they would find a solution, that everything would be okay.

A sudden shout from her mother downstairs snapped them out of the moment. They quickly got dressed and headed down to be treated by the woman with glasses.

That day had been filled with all kinds of emotions. In a heartbeat, they’d ended up in a world different from their own—without their families, completely alone. But still, they tried to stay calm. After all, they were a team, and they’d find a way back home.

Somehow, they would return. They would fight. They would save everyone.
The real battle had only just begun.