1. Chapter One
Chapter One
Ena
Ena’s horse plodded through the snow, its hooves crunching through several inches with each step.
The rhythm of the horse’s movements caused her quickly growing uterus to press against her bladder, making the urge to pee nearly constant, but she’d grown used to the feeling over the past couple weeks of travel.
She kept her eyes in front of her to distract herself, watching Ty’s broad back as their horses moved single file through the dark, narrow pass between two mountains.
It was quiet here—barren. At this elevation, there was almost no plant life, and even fewer animals, and she felt the lack of signs acutely. Her Knowing felt almost starved—as if something was missing from the world. It was unsettling, and that she hadn’t gotten used to.
A gust of wind barreled through the pass and, shivering, she pulled her cloak tighter around herself to protect from the cold.
“You feeling alright?” Ty asked, twisting in his saddle to look back at her, as if sensing her chill. His green eyes locked on hers and she felt instantly calmer—cared for—and her chill dissipated.
“I’m fine, just a bit tired,” she replied with a small, reassuring smile.
He’d been incredibly attentive these last few weeks since they’d left Auster—making sure she rested and ate regularly.
But truth be told, no matter how much she rested, she was still exhausted, not to mention either starving or nauseous—sometimes all three.
It had not been easy traveling in such rough conditions during the early weeks of her pregnancy, but she’d had no choice.
None of them did. As she reminded herself daily, it was either this or risk being found by Cole or one of his daemons, and she couldn’t just wait around for the threat that was coming for her and her unborn child—whatever ominous event the death of the Canus Elk had portended.
At least this, as torturous as it was, made her feel like she was doing something.
Mel had seen them with the worshippers of Omnis and with Kaya, Ty’s mother.
Ena Knew that meant something—that it was important.
So here they were, traveling deeper into the Chasm Mountains than anyone she knew had ever gone, hoping to Gaia they’d find what they were looking for.
The unknown of it all scared her, but she was getting used to facing the unknown, and at least she wasn’t alone.
“Do you want to stop for the night soon?” Ty asked, his deep voice soothing to her spirits. “I think we’re almost through this narrow part. Looks like it widens up ahead.”
“Sure,” Ena said, smiling at her protector, her lover, her…husband. The thought of their sudden handfasting still brought her a bubble of excitement whenever it crossed her mind. She was still getting used to the novelty of it.
The sun was setting, casting Ty and the sky above in a gorgeous array of oranges and pinks that reflected off the snowy canvas around them.
She wouldn’t lie—calling it a day sounded extremely appealing.
She was ready to lay down in their tent and eat something, but hopefully the dried hardtack crackers they’d brought for dinner would sit better in her stomach this time.
“That okay with you, Turner?” she called behind her.
“Fine by me,” he replied in his normal cheerful manner. “Just don’t expect me to make a fire. I haven’t seen a single thing to burn in miles.”
Ena sighed. A fire sounded glorious right about now, but Turner was right. Until they could scrounge up a scrubby sage brush or got back down to a lower elevation with more trees, fires were not in the cards.
They continued on for another half mile until, as Ty predicted, the pass opened up, funneling into a broad plain surrounded by towering, jagged peaks backlit by the setting sun.
Ena would have been in awe of the view if she wasn’t so exhausted.
Instead, she focused on leading her horse towards the protected spot tucked behind an outcropping of snow-covered boulders that Ty was headed for.
Just as the sun set, they stopped. Ty came around to help her dismount before rummaging in his pack for their food stores. His hand emerged a few seconds later with a large round biscuit which he handed to her without asking. He already knew what she wanted.
She smiled up at him as she took it, his face becoming hard to see in the dark.
“Are you sure you’re alright, viper?” he asked, reaching out to stroke down her arm. “You seem quieter than normal.”
“Yeah, I think so. Just normal pregnancy stuff. I won’t pretend I feel great, but nothing to be concerned about, I don’t think.
” She didn’t exactly know how to explain the feeling of disquiet she’d had all day.
They’d been camping in these mountains for weeks already, but something had shifted as they’d ascended higher. Something felt off.
“Okay,” he said, grasping her cold hand in his warm one. “Don’t be afraid to tell me or Turner if you—”
“Uh, guys…” Turner said. The man had been clearing the ground of snow to set up their tent, but the sounds of him doing so had stopped.
Ena and Ty both turned their heads towards his voice, sensing his fear.
“What is it?” Ty asked, moving towards him, his body unconsciously blocking Ena from the open plain. The sun had fully set now, and the sky was filled with clouds, so without a fire, all they could see around them were the vague outlines of the mountain peaks and the pitch-black darkness.
“I don’t know,” Turner said, staring intently. “I thought I heard something moving out there, but it’s hard to say.”
Ty looked, using his venator to see what Turner could not. “I don’t see anything,” he said. “What did you hear exactly?”
“I don’t know,” Turner said. “Like a shuffling, or a huffing, but the mountains make it so echoey, I’m not sure where it came from.”
Ty stopped to listen. “I hear it too,” he said, looking around cautiously as he unstrapped his ax from his back.
“What is it?” Ena asked in a whisper, fear creeping in at what she couldn’t see.
“I don’t know, but it’s—”
Just then, a huge, hulking shape burst out of the dark from the mountainside behind them, knocking Ena to the ground. The snow was cold and hard underneath her as she fell, the wind whooshing out of her lungs as she was smothered by dense white fur.
She heard the thunk of Ty’s ax, and the animal on top of her bellowed, rearing up and off her to turn towards the man who had struck it. As it raised up, she saw it in all its fury—a great white bear, two times the size of Ty, and it was pissed as fuck.
“Ena!” Ty said, locking eyes with her as he gripped his ax, his face barely visible in the dark. “Run.”
Then the bear launched itself at Ty, slashing out at him with its claws.
Ena scurried backwards, struggling to catch her breath as her blood pounded through her ears. She could hear the bear grunting, roaring at Ty. What the fuck was happening? She could barely see her hand in front of her face.
Then she heard Ty cry out in pain.
“Get off him!” Turner yelled, and she saw through the dark his hand began to glow red, like a hot coal, as he used his incendia to heat it, and in his grip…a dagger that began to glow red hot too.
Turner launched himself at the bear, stabbing it in the back with the scalding dagger. The bear reared back once more, its sound of pain and anger sending a chill through Ena’s bones.
It was feral now, absolutely insane with rage as it thrashed out blindly at both Ty and Turner. Ena could hardly make out where the three of them were as they struck and wrestled each other in the dark.
She couldn’t sit here and do nothing—she had to act, had to help them. Had to do something.
Reaching into her Knowing, she felt for the bear. Even without seeing it, she could sense it—hear the raggedness of its breaths, the tone of its growls and grunts—and she Knew how it felt. It was distressed, it was confused—disoriented. But worse than that, it was absolutely starving and desperate.
She stood up, feeling her Gift surge through her.
Reaching for it was automatic—the control it gave her always called to her when she was most afraid.
She let it flow through her, spreading like wildfire through her bones, as she felt for the channel that connected her to the bear’s frantic mind, and she spoke.
{Stop moving.}
The shuffle of the fight stopped immediately. She couldn’t see the bear, but she could hear it. Its breathing was still ragged, but it no longer grunted and growled.
“Ty!” she called, her voice normal once more as she forced her Gift to retreat. “Where are you?!”
“I’m here,” he gritted out, his voice tight with pain.
Blessedly, whatever clouds had covered the sky began to lift, and the moon emerged, reflecting off the snow to give her more light.
First, she saw the bear—frozen in its movements as it had sought Turner, who lay underneath it, his chest inches from the bear’s gaping jaw.
He scrambled out from under it, his dagger still in his hand as he stared at it in shock.
Then she saw Ty laying on the ground behind it, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
“Ty, you’re hurt!” she exclaimed, rushing towards him.
She lowered herself down next to him, blood covering her own hands as she put pressure on his wound. It drenched her fingers, seeping between them. She was about to tell Turner to get something to stop the bleeding, but then the smell of it hit her.
It was metallic yet sweet, and involuntarily, she took a deep breath, filling her nose with the scent of his life force. Her mouth flooded with saliva, and all other cares began to melt from her brain as she stared at it, feeling it congeal around her fingers—smooth and thick and—
“It’s not too bad,” Ty said, the sound of his pained voice snapping her out of whatever trance the sight of his blood had put her in. “We should stitch it, but first…” He looked towards the bear where it stood, still frozen in attack.
“W-what should we do with it?” she said, her voice shaking with adrenaline and confusion at what had just happened.
“Leave it to me,” Turner said, bending down to pick up Ty’s ax where it lay on the snowy ground.
Gripping the ax with both hands, he moved in front of the enormous white bear.
It was still conscious, and its eyes tracked him as he moved.
Its face was frozen in a snarl, its sharp teeth bared, as Turner lifted the ax and swung for its neck.
The ax connected with a thunk as Turner hacked off the bear’s head.
It took two or three swings before its gruesome face toppled to the ground, landing in the snow, crimson soaking into the stark-white earth.
Its body collapsed after, blood spurting from its neck as all its limbs went slack, finally freed from Ena’s visanis.
Ena swallowed, the sight of it both disgusting and somehow mesmerizing at the same time, but she felt relief, and a hint of sadness, all the same.
“Are we gonna talk about how strange that was?” Turner asked as he dropped the ax and came back over to them.
Ena immediately refocused on Ty as she began tugging at his clothing, getting him to remove his blood-soaked wool coat and shirt so she could see the wound better.
“What do you mean?” Ty asked through gritted teeth as Ena eased his shirt over his head, baring his sculpted, onata-covered chest to her, and revealing the wound.
Three slashing cuts ran jagged across his shoulder and chest—clearly from the bear’s claws—and despite what Ty had said, it was fairly deep, but, Gaia be blessed, not dangerously so. She was infinitely glad she’d intervened when she did, or likely both of them would have gotten much more hurt.
Wordlessly, Turner passed her some clean cloths and a needle and thread from their first-aid supply pack. “Why was it acting so aggressive? It beelined right for us. Attacked us out of nowhere. Shouldn’t it be hibernating this time of year anyway?” he asked.
“You’re right,” Ena replied, trying her hardest to ignore the alluring smell of Ty’s blood as she poured some woodwater onto his wound.
He gritted his teeth to the pain, and she quickly dumped some on the needle as well before beginning to stitch it up.
“It should have been hibernating, if it’s anything like the cassia bears back home.
But when I used my Knowing on it, I could tell it was starving. ”
“Maybe it’s been a harsh winter,” Ty offered as he pointedly looked away from what Ena was doing and stared at the star-filled sky.
“Maybe,” Ena echoed. She finished stitching his wound and tied off the thread before wrapping a clean bandage around him. He would heal fast—as all daemons did—as long as they kept it clean and he didn’t strain himself.
She glanced down at his blood-soaked shirt, intending to replace it with a new one from his pack, but as she picked it up, the smell of his blood hit her again.
Her mouth watered, and she brought it to her nose, inhaling the scent.
She knew that was a strange thing to do.
She had no idea why she did it, and yet…
she also could not stop the unbidden thought that maybe she should taste it.
She could slip her tongue from her mouth right now, just to see what it would be like, and then…
“Well, now that you’re taken care of,” Turner said, clapping Ty on the shoulder and drawing Ena from her odd line of thinking, “I’m gonna go check on the horses and make sure they aren’t too spooked after all that.”
He walked over to where they had tethered the horses, leaving Ena and Ty alone.
“How are you feeling?” Ena asked Ty, reaching up to stroke his face. His beard was full and rough after weeks of travel, but she secretly relished its wildness as she ran her fingers across it.
“I’m fine, I promise,” Ty said, covering her hand with his own. “Come on, let’s finish setting up the tent so we can get you warm.”
She felt calmer knowing he was alright. Being in this foreign place, and with all the changes she was going through, she didn’t know what she would do if he’d been seriously injured. And she didn’t even want to think about the possibility of losing him.
Ty stood up, going to his pack to get their well-used canvas tent, and began to unfurl it in the spot Turner had cleared before the attack.
She watched him move—so confident, sturdy, protective.
She knew she should tell him about the strange things going on with her, and she would.
It wasn’t the first time she’d had that weird reaction to his blood.
The last time had been after the unbinding ritual, and if anything, it was getting worse.
But for right now, she just basked in his presence.
Because she truly didn’t know what she would do if she ever lost him.