"You didn't have to walk me all the way home, you know," Remy said, though in truth she was grateful for as much time with Maksim as she could get. They had reached the block of flats, her home, and she stopped before he was to get any closer and see how run-down her house was compared to his. She had never been embarrassed before now, not when she was always seeing how Maksim lived and never the other way around.

The day was bright despite the heavy clouds lingering in front of the sun and she inhaled deeply as a breeze whipped through her. Even here, she could always taste the saltiness of the sea air, always feel it entangling itself in her hair and clinging to her clothes. It was something she had never used to notice, but Astracia felt like a vacuum compared to Calderdale and it was perhaps one of the only things she liked about her own home.

Her eyes froze suddenly on the road in front of her. There was a police car parked outside the apartments and though it might not have been for her, she wouldn't have put it past her mother to get them involved again.

"Oh no," she said under her breath, beginning to walk in the direction of her flat without looking back to see if Maksim was following her.

He was, she realised as she began her struggle with the steps, pulling her dress up when she nearly tripped. He caught her, putting his hands on her hips gently. "You are lethal in that dress."

"Elegance has never really been in my nature." She steadied herself quickly using the railings, trying to ignore the electricity that jolted through her with his touch. "Look, you should go. I have some stuff to handle."

"And leave you to fall and break you neck? I do not think so." Even without looking at him, she could tell he was frowning. "Is everything alright?"

"My mum has just been a bit melodramatic since I got back, that's all." She thinks you kidnapped me, she wanted to say but didn't. "Honestly, you don't want to know."

They reached the top of the stairs and she was glad. Her words were coming out breathlessly, her heart racing from the sudden exercise. Maksim caught up to her, marching down the corridor by her side. This was the last thing she had wanted—for him to see who she was when she was not in Astracia, for him to be among the grimy walls and dingy hallways, where he would never belong. She wondered if it made her look more mortal, more insignificant. It certainly made her feel it.

"I fear I do," he responded, narrowing his eyes. "Are you in trouble because of me?"

"No." She reached the door and placed her hand on the knob, leaning against it to prevent Maksim from going in. "I'm in trouble because of me. Look, thanks for bringing me home. I'll see you..." later, she was going to say before realising with a pang that it might not be true, "I'll see you when I see you, I guess."

"Remy..."

"Remy?" Another voice interrupted from behind the door. "Is that you?"

The door was opened before Remy could move and she stumbled backwards, being pulled straight into her mother's arms. "Thank God," Bianca whispered, her voice heavy with tears.

She opened her mouth, ready to apologise, but her mother was already pulling away with glassy eyes, her gaze flickering to Maksim, who stood awkwardly in the doorway, his head bowed so as not to bang it on the frame. "Is this him? Is this the boy who took you?"

"He didn't..." She noticed the police then, Officer Smith and a woman she didn't recognise, standing behind Bianca with calculated expressions. "It's not like that. I've told you. Why are they here?"

Bianca shook her head and turned to the officers expectantly. Remy looked around, thankful when there was no sign of any of her siblings.

"Well," her mother said, "arrest him! He took her away—twice! Aren't you going to do anything?"

"No!" Remy shouted, but it was too late; Officer Smith pushed past Remy to get to Maksim, pulling handcuffs from his pocket and waiting for the other officer to pull his hands behind his back.

Maksim's eyes were narrowed in anger. "What on Refilyn are you doing to me?"

Remy could not help but hope that he wouldn't use his magic in his surprise, and she looked at him pleadingly, shaking her head and flinching at the sound of the handcuffs clicking into place.

"Please," she begged. "He didn't do anything. This is stupid. Mum, tell them!"

"I'm sorry, sir," Smith spoke, ignoring her, "but I'm going to have to arrest you on suspicion of the involvement in Remy Morgan's disappearance. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."

"This is ridiculous," Maksim spat, rolling his eyes as though this was more of an inconvenience than a serious problem. The fact he was not throwing the officers off him, which she knew he very well could do, was enough to calm her down slightly. "Get these silly things off my wrists, you idiotic mortals."

"How can you arrest him when I'm stood here telling you he didn't do anything?" Remy's voice was strained as she stood in front of Officer Smith, glad to find that he was relatively short and thus not too intimidating. "He didn't hurt me. He would never hurt me." 

"Remy, just let the police do their job," Bianca said calmly from behind her, pulling away from Maksim.

"It is fine, Remy," Maksim sighed. "I am fine. Let's just get it over with, shall we?"

She shook her head, but it was too late. They were already escorting him out, the door banging shut behind them. Remy could no nothing but watch in bewilderment, her mouth half-open and her heart clattering against her ribs. She knew, of course, that they could not hurt Maksim, but she couldn't help but feel embarrassed and hurt knowing that he was being punished for this, knowing that soon he would be sat in the very room Remy had sat not too long ago, cold and in a world that was not his own. He would feel as she had felt when put on trial by the Principle Warlock; alone.

"I can't believe you did that," she whispered when she could finally speak coherently again. "Max has done nothing wrong."

"And what was I supposed to do, Remy?" Bianca's voice was loud in the empty apartment, her cheeks streaked with tears and her face as drawn as it had been the last time Remy had come home. "You went missing. Again. It's obvious you're in some sort of trouble. You're so nervous and pale all the time. You don't eat or sleep. And then what? You go away again, and I have no idea where you are!"

"I told you that I chose to go away," Remy said through gritted teeth, resting her hand on her forehead in frustration.

"And don't even get me started on what you're wearing," Bianca continued as though she hadn't heard Remy. She was pacing around the living room, wearing her nurse uniform just as she always was. Remy was surprised she had stopped working for long enough to notice she was gone. "How on earth did you afford a dress like that? And don't tell me you got it from a charity shop, because there's no way they sell something like that here."

"It's...fancy dress. I went to a fancy-dress party." Remy's cheeks prickled with heat at the sudden realisation that she was still wearing her funeral robes. She had not thought about what her mother would think of them before, only that she would have to think of a lie when she got home. It was easy to push such silly problems away when one was in a different realm.

"Right, you went to a fancy-dress party. What kind of fancy-dress party lasts over two days?"

"It was a very long one—more of a festival thing, really. A weekend one. I stayed at Sarah's overnight."

Bianca nodded sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest. Her grey eyes were flashing with hot anger, her whole body trembling. There it was again: the guilt, tearing Remy apart from the inside as she realised what it was she was doing to her mother.

"A weekend festival fancy-dress party that takes place from a Tuesday to a Thursday morning. You know, it's one thing to keep doing this to me but it's another to lie about it. Did he ask you to do it? Is he threatening you?"

Remy squeezed her eyes shut to prevent her own tears from falling. "No, mum. You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Because you don't tell me anything!" she erupted, her neck blotchy with anger. Remy had never seen her like this before, not even when she was a naughty five-year-old who had covered the whole bathroom with paint. "You lie to me constantly. You disappear when you feel like it. I don't know who you are anymore!"

"You left me first!" Remy sobbed, unable to stop the words from falling out of her mouth. "For the last five years all I've done is babysit while you're gone, working. You stopped being there for me. You walked away, mum, and now that I don't need you anymore, now that I've found a new life that I actually like, you've decided you want to play the loving parent again. It's too late. I'm not your little girl anymore. I need to do what's best for myself, and I'm sorry if it's selfish and horrible, but I can't live my whole life in this tiny flat anymore!"

A thick silence smothered the both of them, one that was fragmented only by Remy's stifled cries. She had been waiting to say these words for years but never could. Now they were finally out, and she felt no better about them than she had when she'd locked them away.

The door swung open suddenly and Sarah popped her head through, looking as bemused as Remy felt. "I, er, did knock. Sorry. Should I come back later?"

"No," Remy croaked, wiping her eyes quickly. "It's fine."

"Look, I'm really sorry." Sarah inched into the flat guiltily, her hands behind her back as though she did not know where else to put them. "I did try to tell her you were okay and that you'd be back. You were just...gone for too long, and I didn't know what else to say."

"It's okay. Thank you, Sarah."

"It's not okay," her mother mumbled from behind her, but any anger she had left had seemed to have deflated, and when Remy looked back at her, she looked numb, hollow.

"I should come back later," Sarah nodded, turning on her heel.

"No," Remy repeated, sniffing before composing herself. "They've arrested Max. I need to get to the police station. Just give me a minute to get changed and then I'll explain everything."

Remy didn't look at her mother again as she left the living room. There was no relief when she closed her bedroom door, resting her head against it and wondering how she could ever possibly fix the things she had broken now—especially when she knew the key was still hiding beneath her dress.

[AN: I've been so excited for these chapters because I've had them planned since I finished the first book but now they seem kind of shitty idk what's going on with my life pls don't hate me x

and thank you for reading even though I've lost all ability to write a decent chapter I do not deserve your lovely comments xx ]