Back to the Beach House

Theo hadn't expected to spend the rest of the week in the Enson manor. Then again, they still had so much to do. The prison might be gone, but the prisoners still needed safe places to go before Oliver's parents came back home.

Some prisoners had already chosen to leave by themselves, intent on blending into society or finding wizards. Others Meg referred to a few contacts she knew, like someone who ran a secret boarding house for Tielans with nowhere else to go. Unfortunately none of them had any hope of returning to Tielos anytime soon, even if they'd been kidnapped like Jin. Like it or not, they would all have to adjust to life on Earth.

As for the guards, while some had slipped away in the initial chaos, most had been rounded up and imprisoned inside the manor's many rooms. After that, a fierce debate raged about what to do with them. Sam insisted on letting the prisoners loose on them, while Darian protested it'd be pointless since the guards had no power without their contracts with Oliver.

In the end, Darian got her way. The guards were marched out of the manor with stern orders to never come near any of the former prisoners again. Sam spiced things up with a warning: "If you do, we'll hunt you down and burn all the hair off your heads!"

Next to her, Ryllis gave her spear an idle twirl, embers flashing around the tip. The former guards wasted no time scampering away.

That left just Oliver. The kid had spent the entire week locked inside his room with Gratiano, a guard always stationed and monitoring in case they tried escaping or contacting his parents. Darian meanwhile had taken his phone and replied to his parents' none-the-wiser texts with cheerful updates.

Of course, Oliver wasn't handling it well. He spent all his time pounding on the door, crying and screaming and begging for the crystal back. Every time Theo started to feel the slightest bit sorry for him, he only had to remember everything Oliver had done. So what if he had to endure being locked up for a week. He and his family and put hundreds of Tielans through far worse.

Theo wished he could help, but he didn't have Meg's connections or Darian's knack for organizing people. The best he could do was stay out of their way. At first he tried to get his summer homework done, surreal as it felt to study inside this big fancy mansion. And alongside Zenith, at that. Even though Zenith didn't have to, he perused Theo's history and science textbooks as dutifully as if preparing for a test himself.

Which, Theo wouldn't lie, he found absolutely adorable. He'd seen this same nerdy side of Zenith back at the aquarium. Such a small thing, but he'd come terrifyingly close to never getting to experience it again.

From now on, he wouldn't take anything about Zenith for granted. Not his calm presence, not his every subtle gesture. And not his Levia, that steadfast light bolstering Theo's own. Something he hadn't even realized he needed until he had lost it.

But after two days, he finished pretty much all of his homework. With nothing else to do, he decided to join Sam in the Enson library, where she was busy studying glamour spells. Apparently she wanted to do the honors of creating the glamours for Ryllis and Jin, who'd be living at Meg's place for the time being.

Meg had created Zenith's glamour so Theo didn't need to do anything himself, but he figured it might be worth learning anyway. So he spent some more days poring over grimoires with Sam, copying and memorizing spells. It almost felt like a return to their old routine, though the airy library couldn't be more different from Meg's cramped basement.

As for Ryan, Theo had no idea where he had gone off to. He and Avia seemed to be lying low, not even showing up at most mealtimes. Well, once or twice he caught Ryan outside Oliver's door jeering into the keyhole. Hard to remember which of the two was twelve years old here.

Every day, the mansion got quieter as more prisoners left. They mostly kept to themselves, so Theo didn't get to talk to them that often. A few did stop to thank him, which always made him feel horribly awkward. Wasn't like he'd done much for them in the end, especially compared to Sam.

The demons among them kept their distance, probably catching onto the aura of stiff wariness that Zenith exuded. He wasn't happy about just letting them go, but it wasn't like they had any other option. Besides, the demons were as much victims as everyone else.

At the end of the week, the last prisoners had found places to go. With great relief, Theo got ready to leave the Enson manor for good.

Of course, first they had to release Oliver. "I'll tell my parents as soon as you're gone," he seethed. "They'll make you pay for sure!"

"Looks like you didn't learn a thing in timeout," Meg said dryly. "Well, good luck with that."

Theo was all too eager to get into the car, cramped as it might be. Even though Ryan and Avia had left on their own earlier, Theo still ended up squeezed so tight between Zenith and Sam he could barely breathe. On Sam's other side, Ryllis needed to hold Jin in her lap.

Theo couldn't get used to seeing her in a plain T-shirt, but her glamour wasn't half as dramatic as Jin's. No fox ears or tail in sight, his eyes and hair jet black. If it weren't for his freckles and shy little smile, Theo wouldn't have recognized him.

Jin spent the entire ride with his face plastered to the window, gasping in amazement as the trees and roads zipped by. Ryllis, meanwhile, looked like she was trying her best not to vomit. When Sam patted her hand, she scowled and the tips of her ears turned red.

It took all of Theo's efforts not to grin. More than anything, he was happy for Sam. She and Ryllis already seemed off to a great start.

The sun hung low over the horizon by the time they reached the beach house, scattering glittering golden shards across the sea. Theo couldn't wait to get out of the car and take in the gorgeous sight from the deck, but before he could get there the front door swung open and Ryan came stomping out.

"Took you guys long enough," he declared with his hands on his hips, a familiar smug grin on his face.

Great, he was back to his usual obnoxious self. Theo opened his mouth to shoot back a retort, but that was when Ryan stepped aside from the doorway.

An unfamiliar person emerged from inside, taking careful, precise steps. A woman, tall and slender, her brown hair pulled back from her face. Fine wrinkles surrounded her green eyes, a bright emerald hue unlike Ryan's duller olive.

Theo stared at her, then blinked. "Wait a minute...are you Avia?"

The woman lowered her head in a solemn nod. Ryan's grin got even bigger, if possible. "The one and only."

"Well, uh…congratulations." Having to give Ryan a genuine compliment left a sour taste in Theo's mouth. "Um, you look good, Avia."

"You're older than I thought," Sam blurted tactlessly.

Ryan's eyebrows twitched, but Avia remained impassive as ever. "I have lived for centuries," she said, her voice surprisingly deep.

"Yep, and that's why she's better than all your crap familiars." Smug again, Ryan puffed out his chest.

"Hey!" Sam shook her fists, while Theo sighed. Some people never changed.

"Is this guy really your friend?" Ryllis cocked an eyebrow at Sam.

"What?" Sam huffed. "Not a chance!"

"That's my line," Ryan shot back. "By the way, I still haven't forgiven you for what you did to my dad."

He pointed an accusing finger at Ryllis, who shrugged and flipped her braid. "Cry some more."

Ryan sputtered, but before he could get out anything more coherent, Meg swept in front. "Glad to see you're still a daddy's boy to the bone. Now, would you kindly let me into my own house?"

Grumbling under his breath, Ryan stomped off. Avia swept after him, calm as ever.