28. Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ena
Time was of the essence with Ena so close to her due date, and the possibility of another storm was always imminent, so Ena, Ty, Turner, and Xena set out on foot the next day for the cloud lake.
The path they took was too steep for the horses, so Ena had to make do walking on her own, and while hiking several miles a day when she felt like she had a boulder attached to her front was no easy feat, the prospect of talking to Greya again made the whole trip worth it.
The weather was pleasant enough as they hiked, and Ena found herself walking beside Xena on the morning of their second day as they climbed the final ascent to the cloud lake.
Xena was stoic, as always, but Ena was bored, and wanted something to distract herself from the uncomfortable feeling of the baby pushing on her lungs, so she struck up a conversation.
“So, you excited to travel to the other side of the Chasm Mountains?” Ena asked casually.
Xena looked over at her, as if surprised by the question. “Yes, I suppose,” she replied. “Though I will miss…home.”
“I understand that,” Ena said, thinking of her own home, and the way she missed it too.
Or rather, the way she missed how it used to be when she still belonged there.
“But I think you will find life easier there, eventually. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that we can’t always stay home, no matter how much part of us wants to. ”
Xena sighed, as if this same thought had entered her own head many times too. “I do wonder, though, if you think we will be accepted?” she asked. “By witches and…by the daemons?”
“I hope so,” Ena answered truthfully. She wasn’t quite sure how everyone would react.
“Is it true that daemons and witches are forbidden from being with one another?” Xena asked, almost hesitantly, like she was dancing around the question she really wanted to ask.
“Well, not expressly forbidden, but our races are enemies—foil opposites—so it is not encouraged, hence why Kaya was banished, and why I did not feel comfortable delivering my baby amongst my Coven,” Ena explained.
“And what about the stryx? Do you think that will…be allowed?”
“Relations between the stryx and witches?”
“Or…daemons,” Xena replied nonchalantly. Almost too nonchalantly.
“I don’t know,” Ena replied cautiously. That was certainly a strange question. “Why? Are you looking for a partner?”
Xena side-eyed her, as if the question was ridiculous.
“No, of course not,” she said dismissively.
“I have chosen to be a solux—someone who does not mate, so we can redirect resources to those children who already live. But I do wonder, for Xoe, you know. The stryx mate for life when they choose a partner, but there are not many stryx men of eligible age for her.”
“Oh, I see,” Ena said, wondering if she did, in fact, see—because, granted, Ena didn’t know her that well, but Xena’s reaction seemed a bit defensive, even for her.
The two of them fell quiet then, and hiked the rest of the afternoon in companionable silence.
By the afternoon, they arrived at the cloud lake.
The beauty of it was breathtaking, just as it had been the last time.
The air was colder this high up and though the clouds were heavy in the sky this time, Ena still felt like she stood at the very top of the world.
Once they arrived on the rim, Ty, Turner, and Xena stayed behind while she ventured down a small path to the water’s edge.
The vastness of the lake stood before them, its crystal-blue water sparkling in the afternoon light as Ena approached the rippling surface.
She hadn’t noticed it last time she’d been here, but now, this close to the water, she Knew what Kaya was talking about.
The lake, while not bubbling up from a cold spring like the Sacred Pool, was filled with centuries of rain and snowmelt. The water was calm—still—and in its final resting place. She Knew it was sacred—special, powerful, and ancient—in the same way the Sacred Pool’s water was.
She smiled to herself, feeling slightly foolish for not having realized this last time, because now it felt like she was…familiar with the water. Like being around an old friend that she hadn’t seen in many years, yet whom she still knew intimately.
Taking her knife from her belt, she reached into her Knowing as she prepared to do the spell.
She felt for the water’s intentions, felt the clouds in the sky gathering, heard the call of a unknown bird in the distance—grounding herself in the signs all around her—and then she turned her mind toward her sister.
She pictured Greya’s face—her hair, her eyes, her smile—then she slit her palm with the knife, allowing the blood to drip into the water’s edge as she spoke her spellword.
{Sanguis}
The blood swirled into the water, blurring Ena’s own reflection, as she willed it to show her Greya—visualizing her face as if she were right in front of her. After a minute or two, her own reflection began to change, until it was replaced by that of her sister’s.
“Ena?” Greya asked, her voice muffled through the water. “Oh, Gaia, how is this possible? How are you contacting me?”
“Greya,” Ena said, a smile of relief coming to her face. “I found another source of sacred water, on this side of the Chasm Mountains. Ty’s mom told me about it and—Gaia, I have so much to tell you.”
“Start with this: are you alright? How’s the baby?” Greya asked, her brown eyes excited and frantic for news.
“Yes, I’m fine. The baby is fine—just, large,” Ena said, laughing slightly. “And, we found Ty. Or, more accurately, he found us.”
“He’s alive?!” Greya asked, the relief in her voice palpable.
“Yes,” Ena said. “And we found the stryx, the Omnis worshippers. We’ve been with them the last several months, and they are good people, Greya. You would like them.”
The relief on Greya’s face deepened as she smiled widely at Ena. “Oh, Ena, I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear that. I have been so worried. So, so worried.”
“I know. I’ve been worried about you too. How are things with the Coven? Last we spoke, you had been attacked and were holding Steig captive. Did you let him go?”
“Yes,” Greya said, sounding slightly guilty about it. “I let him go. After speaking with you, I realized he was not a threat, and instead, could maybe be our ally. So we let him go on the condition that he keep us informed of the king’s moves, which he has been—occasionally.”
Ena was so curious to hear how things were going in the Underworld, and what else Greya knew, but she could only lose so much blood for the spell in her condition, so she got right to the point.
“Greya, I need to tell you this while I can, because I have big news: we’re coming back,” Ena said.
“Back? Like back home?” she said, her eyebrows jumping up in hope.
“Yes. After the baby is born, Ty, Turner, and I need to come back to the Coven for a while, and we’re bringing the stryx.”
“Bringing the stryx? Why?”
“Because, long story short, they can’t stay here. The weather, the game…there’s nothing left for them here. Just like the story you used to tell me about the people on the other side of the Chasm Mountains. It was true. It was all true.”
Ena debated revealing what she knew about their stryx heritage, too, because Greya certainly deserved to know. If she ever drank blood, or found her bloodmatch, it could awaken her bloodlust as well. But she figured that was a conversation best had in person.
“Oh, Gaia, okay,” Greya said, rubbing the space between her eyebrows. “I will have to warn the Coven, I guess.”
“And there’s more,” Ena said, flinching slightly. She felt bad dumping all this on Greya’s plate so suddenly.
“More?”
“Yes. I don’t know how much Steig has told you about the Underworld and its king, but we’re coming back to overthrow him, and we’ll need your help—all three Covens’ help—to do it.”
Ena felt butterflies in her stomach as she spoke her intentions aloud.
She hadn’t discussed this with Ty and Turner yet, but she knew it would be necessary for their success.
If she, Ty, and the baby ever hoped to have a place to be accepted, then they needed to help the Covens and the Underworld to lay down their enmity, and if nothing else, coexist more peacefully.
“Steig did not mince words about the king,” Greya said.
“I know that he needs to go; that’s part of why Steig has been feeding me information—so we can mitigate the damage he is causing.
But I’ve been stuck about what to do beyond that.
What do you have in mind?” Greya asked, and Ena didn’t miss the way she didn’t question this.
Almost as if she’d been mentally preparing herself for it for months, and Ena felt herself swell with pride.
“Talk to the other Coven matriarchs, see if you can convince them to support the transition to a new ruler,” Ena explained.
“If they don’t want to fight, then at least ask them to pledge their good faith and alliance, should the king be overthrown, and their cooperation in ushering in a new era of peace for witches and daemons. ”
Greya nodded, seeming happy to have a plan.
“Aquilo will be one thing, but do you think Occidens can be convinced? They hate our guts after the way you and Ty fled. We barely made it out last time,” Greya said.
Ena had yet to hear the full story about her and Heran’s time in Occidens, but she didn’t doubt that it was bad, and she felt guilty that it had been her actions that had led to it.
“I know,” Ena said. “But deep down…Syrelle is reasonable. Plus, she already knows about the binding ritual. She might actually be easier to convince than Northe.”
Greya sighed. “Maybe, but Ena, there are things you don’t know,” she explained, sounding melancholy.
“The king has been sending out daemons regularly. There have been more attacks on witches, on mortals. Open violence. Word has gotten out about our magic working on one another again, though most people don’t know why.
Even our own Coven has been split—some wanting to engage the daemons openly, and others refusing to be involved.
I’ve been slowly convincing people that a different path needs to be taken, but it will be a tough sell for many.
Working with daemons—helping them—goes against everything we have been taught. ”
Ena’s heart ached to hear that—the chaos and the pain that had been happening back home, and without her there to help her Coven and her sister.
“Do you think it’s not the right time?” Ena asked seriously, valuing her sister’s guidance as matriarch.
Greya paused, considering that, before shaking her head adamantly. “No, if anything, this is a period of intense change. The witches can feel that, and if we are ever going to do this—to push for a new way—then it needs to be now.”
Ena’s heart swelled with pride again to hear that Greya was on her side. The two of them had always been a team, and their falling out when she had gone to the Underworld had been so painful for Ena. She was infinitely grateful to have her back.
“I have faith in you, Greya,” Ena said with an honest confidence. “As my sister, and my matriarch.”
Greya smiled warmly back at her. “Thanks, sis,” she said.
“One more thing, before I let you go. You said you were still in contact with Steig?”
“Yes, why?”
“I need you to get a message to him. Tell him we’re returning in a little over a month’s time, and to meet us. We’ll need him for this too.”
Greya nodded. “Got it. Oh, and Ena,” she added, her image getting blurry as Ena’s blood started to coagulate and stop flowing. “Blessings for a safe birth, don’t forget to—” she started to say, but was cut off as the flow of blood abruptly ceased.
“Damn it,” Ena said, grabbing her knife to cut herself again. She wanted to say goodbye to her sister, at least.
“Ena!” Ty called her from above on the ridge just as a loud clap of thunder sounded and snow began to fall around her. “Ena! A storm is rolling in. We have to move!”
“Fuck,” she cursed, as wet globs of snow started pelting her hood. Putting her knife back in its sheath, she moved to scramble back up the path and rejoin Ty and the others.
“Did you contact her?” Ty asked as she ascended the final few steps of the path.
“Yes, she’s on board,” Ena said huffily. “But I didn’t get to say goodbye.”
“We have to go,” Xena said, speaking loudly to be heard over the increasing sound of the wind. “There’s no telling how bad this storm will get, and our travel tents won’t do much to protect us. We need to start heading back—now.”
Suddenly, Ena felt a sharp twinge in her lower stomach—like something stretching, tearing. She leaned over, holding her rounded stomach as she exclaimed in pain.
“Ena?” Ty asked frantically. “Are you alright?”
Ena felt something burst inside her, and a gush of warm liquid spilled down between her legs.
“I think—I think my water just broke.”