TW: Brief mention of suicide/ suicidal thoughts

Milo's POV

I'm putting on my armor, getting ready for the fight. I'm terrified. We have no idea what to expect.

How strong is The Onyx Coven really? No one really knows. No one knows who's a part of it. And that's the scariest part about it. They could be incredibly dangerous and powerful, but we just don't know and just have to do our best.

As I'm done putting on my armor, there's a knock on the door.

"Come in."

My mom walks inside and smiles softly. "Hey, sweetie."

I smile back a little. "Hey."

"Are you feeling okay?" she asks gently, sitting down on the bed next to me.

I shrug. "I don't know."

She takes my hand. "Baby, I know you miss him a lot. And I really wish I could tell you something better, but I promise you he loves you as much as you love him. Let him be your source of strength today, okay?"

I nod and look down. My mom squeezes my hand.

"We have to go. I love you a lot, okay?"

I smile a little and look at her. "I love you too, mom."

"Be careful," she adds and hugs me.

"You too," I mumble into her shoulder.

So a few hours later, we're out, hiding in front of what's going to be the battlefield. It's silent. The only thing I can hear is my own breathing, and I hate it. My surroundings are so quiet that they amplify my thoughts, and my own mind is screaming at me. What if someone gets killed? What if my mom gets killed? I only got to spend so little time with her after she returned. It's nearly impossible not to start panicking right now.

This has to go well. I'm gonna take my mother's advice and have Amon be my source of strength. I know that even after everything that went down, he would still believe in me. He would smile at me and tell me that I am so much stronger than I think.

Suddenly, I hear someone say: "It's starting."

I clench my fists and start walking out of my hiding place. I'm gonna lead our coven into this fight. Blue sparks emerge from my hands.

As I walk closer, I see that The Onyx Coven is a lot bigger than I expected. I try not to get too scared and just focus on the fight.

I lift off the ground and charge an attack at the first person that runs towards me.

And then, well... we fight. And it's rough.

Many of our opponents are using dark magic, and it's getting increasingly harder to fight back. More and more members of my coven are getting injured, and I'm starting to feel exhausted. If I'm honest, it's hard to be hopeful.

Is it even worth it for me to keep fighting? I mean, if Amon never comes back, I don't know if I even wanna stay alive.

Maybe it's easier to just... give up.

I get distracted for a moment, and an attack slashes open a part of my arm. I start bleeding and groan, stumbling to the ground. I look around for a moment, panting. Everyone's fighting, and honestly, it seems like we're losing. I feel blood running down my arm.

Maybe this is it, the end of The Crimson Coven.

Maybe I am the last leader, the person who ruins this coven... Maybe it's all my fault.

There might be nothing left for me. I exhale shakily and look down, feeling like this is the end.

But suddenly, there's a bright, purple blast, and everyone gets blinded for a second. I look up and blink a few times to see what it was, and my heart skips a beat.

No, it can't be. I'm dreaming. Or maybe I just died. Either way, this can't be happening. Is it really him?

I see Amon flying through the air, and people start attacking him. He fights them off, and he seems more powerful than ever before. I've never seen his glow be this vibrantly purple.

I can hear cheers around me, and it seems to immediately lift everyone's fight spirit. Our biggest hope is back. Our strongest sorcerer is returned. The love of my life came back to me.

After a few minutes, Amon flies over to me and lands in front of me. He quickly puts a strong shield around the two of us. Then he looks at me, and I think he's tearing up.

"Milo," he says softly and tries to hug me.

I take a step back. "I'm not hugging you until I know you're not leaving me again."

He smiles softly and sniffs. "I'm here to stay. I promise. I-"

Before he can say another word, I throw my arms around him, sobbing.

He hugs me back. "I-I'm sorry," he chokes out, and he's crying too, "I'm sorry that I didn't come back earlier."

It's hard for me to stop crying. I let go and take some deep breaths and look at him. "It's okay. I'm just glad you're back."

He smiles softly and wipes some tears away. "Me too. I missed you so much."

"I missed you so much too."

He blasts someone away. "I-I'll explain everything once all of this is over, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." I smile a little at him.

He cups my face, pulls me closer, and kisses me quickly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," I reply softly.

He smiles and looks up. "Let's finish this."

He removes the shield, and we turn back to the fight.

I feel much stronger than before. It's like all my hope suddenly has been restored, and with this help, I think we can win this battle.

I'm still bleeding a little, but I can handle it. I've been through worse. And now that I have Amon back, I feel almost invincible. Or maybe hopeful is the right word, or strongly optimistic, a little bit of everything.

I frown and kind of squint at an opponent a bit away and suddenly realize that I know him.

It's Jasper. I can't say I'm surprised. He had to go somewhere after he left him, and it's not surprising that someone like him would go to that side.

After all, he was the one who wanted us to kill Amon. And now look at him. He's nothing but a dumb coward, hiding behind sorcerers that are more powerful than him.

My thoughts get interrupted by another person attacking me, and I have to focus on the fight again.

But now, everything seems to go so much smoother than before. My attacks are stronger, my defense is more stable, and my glow is brighter than it's been in a long time.

We can win this. Amon being here is motivating everyone else. He's giving everyone hope again. And honestly, he's just oozing confidence - which is both crucial for this fight and honestly, it's also very attractive.

God, I missed him so fucking much. I don't know what I would've done if he hadn't come back. But I don't wanna think about it. I'm just glad he's with us again.

Back where he belongs. With me, with Philo and Sophia, with his family at The Crimson Coven.