31. Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-One
Ty
The storm mercifully broke the next day, and the seven of them decided to head back to the stryx camp. Ena was, of course, exhausted and healing, so he, Turner, and Max in his bear form, took turns carrying her, while Xena and Kaya carried the baby close to their bodies to keep him warm.
The deep, fresh layer of snow made it difficult, but they made it back to camp a few hours after sundown with little issue.
When the nearly-hidden shelters finally came into sight, Ty was flooded with immense sense of relief—both to be back with the rest of the group and their more weather-proof shelters, but also because it meant the ordeal was finally over.
He felt like part of him was still reeling from it all, because even though the birth had been successful in the end, he was still haunted by everything that had happened—the fear of losing Ena, of losing the baby.
Watching Ena scream in pain and not knowing what to do to help her.
He’d never felt so useless in his entire Iblis-damned life.
And even though she was okay now, and so was the baby—thank fucking Iblis—he had never been more reminded that her life was so fragile, and it only served to solidify to him what his true purpose was—to protect them both above all else.
As soon as they arrived at camp, he ushered Ena and the baby into their awaiting tent and built up the fire. Then he took some of the sleeping furs from his and Turner’s sleeping platforms and arranged them on hers so she would have extra.
Ena sat by the fire, holding the baby and watching with an amused look on her face as he took out his knife and sat down on her platform, nodding at her to join him now.
“What are you doing?” she asked, smiling and shaking her head.
“Just getting my goddess’s throne ready,” he said. “And…her drink.”
Ty pressed the knife into the freshly healed skin of his wrist. He was likely to have a permanent scar there now, after all the frequent blood-drinking, but he secretly loved it. It was, after all, a permanent mark on his body that represented his love for her.
“Ty, I don’t need—”
“Just take a little bit, just in case,” he insisted.
On top of everything else she had been through, the last thing she needed was to go into bloodlust again. Plus, part of him could admit that he liked the closeness of it. The way he could care for her with his body alone. He didn’t always have the right words, but this…this he could do.
Ena reached out to grab his offered wrist, licking up the blood that had dripped down before sucking on the cut gently. It stung, the pull of her mouth causing the cut to open more, but the bite of pain sent a thrill through him, as always.
After a minute, she released him, insisting she was good for now, so he handed her her waterskin instead.
As she drank, the baby in her arms began to stir.
He had slept most of the journey here, but was awake now, his tiny cry filling the tent.
Ena looked a bit lost as she fumbled at the front of her clothing.
Ty had given her one of his shirts that tied up in the front, so the baby could easily access her breasts for feedings, and Kaya had given her a brief tutorial on how to breastfeed before they’d left the cave.
He’d seen other women breastfeed before—Lara mostly—and she’d always made it look easy, but as the baby squirmed at Ena’s breast and failed to latch, she let out a frustrated growl.
“I have no idea if I’m doing this right,” she said. “And my nipples are so fucking sore already, I don’t know how I’ll be able to keep doing this.”
Ty felt for her—he knew she was stressed by everything that had happened, just as he was, only she was still recovering physically as well as mentally.
“You’ll get the hang of it. I know you will. Do you want me to get Kaya?” Ty knew this type of advice or assistance was far out of his depth, and it brought up another wave of helplessness inside him, but he wanted to do whatever he could to help her.
Ena never got a chance to respond, though, because at that moment, Turner popped his head inside their tent. “Got a minute?” he asked them.
“Sure,” Ty said, gesturing for him to come all the way in. “What’s up?”
“The stryx were talking and they’re worried about another storm hitting and snowing us in even further. Apparently, there’s a narrow pass we’ll need to get through on our way back over the Chasm Mountains from here, and if any more snow hits, it will be impossible get through.”
“So what does that mean?” Ty asked, his frustration growing. This was the last fucking thing they needed.
“It means they want to leave as soon as possible.”
“What?” Ty asked, shocked they would even suggest such a thing. “Ena just gave birth. She needs time to recover.”
“How much time?” Turner asked, glancing over at Ena.
“I don’t know, a week or two at least, according to Kaya,” Ty said.
He knew they needed to leave soon—that the longer they waited, the more damage was being done in the Underworld, and the harder it was for the stryx without enough game.
But after everything they had just been through…
didn’t they deserve to rest, at least for a little while?
“Well, we need a few days to prepare anyway and gather supplies, so maybe we can wait a week,” Turner said, seeming torn between what he wanted and what the stryx said was necessary. “I can see what they say about that.”
Ty felt his anger rise at the situation. He wanted to go—they needed to go—but he had to protect Ena and Ladon. He didn’t want to put them in harm’s way by traveling too soon.
“I can do it,” Ena said, as if sensing his frustration. “I have to do it. There’s no other choice. We need to leave as soon as possible.”
He looked over at her to find her looking down at the baby, a softness and sadness in her eyes.
Something about the look pained him. He never wanted her to have to go through hardship—ever—but he was learning the hard way, again, that so many things were out of his fucking control.
He couldn’t protect her from everything, no matter how much he wanted to.
“Are you sure?” Ty said. “There’s no shame in taking the time you need, Ena.”
“I’m sure,” she said, nodding with confidence. “I’ll be well enough to ride, or at least walk, in a few days.”
“Okay,” he said, taking her at her word, though he sensed something more was going on with her. She seemed too dismissive of her own discomfort. “Then we’ll get ready and leave in a week’s time.”
Turner left to relay the message to the rest of the group, but as soon as he did, Ty felt his stomach tighten with nerves.
Not just because they needed to leave so soon, with both Ena and the baby so fragile, but also because he knew—this feeling, this conflict between protecting those he loved and doing what he needed to do for his people, for the stryx—it was about to get worse.
And he had this sinking feeling that he might fail her—again.