Changeling Witch

(S2) Cracked Facade

"Real mind?" Luz repeated, wrinkling her nose. "What are you talking about? That gallery—"

"Was made of the lies he tells," Hunter finished, slowly turning the concept over in his mind. "A way to keep his real memories hidden, like a locked box in a sealed-shut room... that's ingenious, I'll give him that." He ran his fingers along one of the damaged portraits. "Amity had something similar in her mind—well, not to this extent, but her memories of you were behind a locked door. And since her parents seem like they'd be thrilled to know she'd be dating the Golden Guard..." He looked back over at Luz, raising an eyebrow. "For your benefit, I'm guessing?"

Luz's eyes flicked to the side. "Can we—can we not talk about this here?"

"How come you guys are so secretive to begin with?" Hunter said, folding his arms. "You worried that Papa Belos won't approve? Is it because she's a girl?"

She gave him a look. "No, idiot, we don't care about that on the Isles. And Bels is only interested in men, so obviously that's not an issue."

Hunter's mind short-circuited a little bit at that, but now that he thought about it, it was actually pretty damn obvious. The sinister drama in pretty much everything Belos did definitely wasn't the work of a straight guy, and the androgynus look added to that.

"Okay, well, then, what is it?" he asked. "Are you just... not allowed to date?"

Luz narrowed her lips. "That's none of your business."

"Amity's one of my best friends. It is my business."

"Well—" She paused for a split second, as if searching for the right words to say. "Okay, no, I'm not allowed to date, which is exactly why I don't want to be talking about Sweet Potato in my dad's mind. Especially now that you provoked his Inner Self—"

"Yeah, well, his Inner Self had a million glowing eyeballs," Hunter pointed out.

Luz gasped melodramatically, draping a hand over her forehead. "Eyeballs? Oh, the horror!" She rolled her eyes. "Titan, you humans are so easy to scare."

The walkie-talkie crackled from Hunter's pocket, causing Luz to let out a little squeal and get into a defense position.

"Hunter!" Eda said frantically from the other line. "Hunter, are you—" She paused. "Oh. Hey, Princess, your friend wants to talk to you."

A series of chirping sounded.

"VIOLA!" Luz grabbed the walkie-talkie from Hunter's hands. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"Give it." Hunter snatched it back, pressing the talk button. "Heyo, Eda. So..." He sucked in a breath through his teeth. "Me and Luz might be kinda, sorta, trapped in the Emperor's mind."

"You WHAT?!" Eda exclaimed. "How in the world did you even—" She took a deep breath. "No, no, we don't have time for that. Has the Inner Belos spotted you yet?"

"Yeah... sorta. We got away, though." Hunter looked up at the skeletal trees. "Just outta curiosity... can there be two Inner Selves?"

A pause came from the other end.

"No," she responded, "but I have heard of strong emotions materializing. You guys stay safe. If you're devoured in his mindscape—"

"We'll get trapped," Luz finished, a stony expression settling on her face. "Dragged down into his subconsciousness forever."

King's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Well, we'll get you out! We'll make a return spell as fast as we can!"

"Just don't lose the walkie-talkie," Eda added. "It's our only connection to you."