34. Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Four
Greya
Greya sat before a small campfire on the outskirts of Aquilo, waiting for Perse to return. It was fall now, and the weather had finally turned cool after a long, hot summer, but the crisp air did nothing to soothe the riot of butterflies in her stomach.
Perse had been gone over an hour, sent as her envoy into the village to warn Northe, Aquilo’s matriarch, of her arrival and to set up a time for a meeting, as was customary.
But it wasn’t his long absence that troubled her—it was the fact that not only was this her first official meeting with another matriarch after becoming one herself, but it was likely to be a difficult conversation.
She had no idea what daemonic troubles Aquilo had been dealing with, but if it was anything like the situations Auster had been dodging and reacting to, she had the sense that convincing them to help daemons by overthrowing their king would be a hard sell.
But she had a plan to help with that. That was, if the daemon her plan relied on ever showed up.
She had no way to know if Steig would meet her here. It was one thing to pass her information from afar—it was another entirely to associate with her in person. After all, she had held him captive for a few weeks.
Greya heard a stick snap behind her and Knew it was Perse before she even turned around.
“How’d it go?” she asked, standing up to greet him.
“Good,” he said, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. “She was definitely curious about what you wanted to discuss, but I didn’t give any hints, like you said.”
Greya nodded. Perse was the best person to accompany her on these sorts of visits. Not only because he was her husband, and she loved him, but because he was so unimaginably calm, even in the face of her nerves. He could deescalate any situation, just with his kind, patient presence.
“Good,” Greya said, nodding at him. “I don’t want her to have a chance to build her arguments against me until I can convince her in person.”
The two of them got to work preparing their dinner over the fire—she’d brought some biscuits and cheese, as well as dried rabbit meat she turned into a nice stew.
They were just sitting down to eat when she heard a rustle of leaves in the darkening woods behind them—only this time, she Knew it wasn’t Perse.
It was someone else. Someone whose gait she didn’t recognize.
It was no secret that they were camping here—she’d purposefully made themselves known, hoping a certain daemon could find them easily—but it was entirely possible a mortal or witch was seeking a trade as well.
But as she turned around to look, she saw that her first instinct was right, and she felt both relief and a sudden alertness as Steig’s large, familiar shape approached them.
“Steig,” she greeted, smoothing the front of her dress as she and Perse stood up to face him.
He was just as large and intimidating as she remembered—his dark eyes and hair giving him an air of danger.
And, of course, he was dangerous. He was stronger and faster than both of them, but while his Power might make them both want to fuck like rabbits, she had to remind herself that her Gift was deadlier, and she was prepared to use it if he made any sudden moves.
Not that she didn’t want to trust him—she knew he was Ty and Ena’s friend, and he’d been helpful relaying messages of daemons’ whereabouts over the last few months, but still… you never knew with daemons.
“Greya,” he greeted in return, stepping into the ring of light cast by their fire. “I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced,” he said, looking at her husband beside her.
“Perse,” he said welcomingly, extending his hand to shake. “Nice to meet you—not in battle, that is.”
“Perse is my husband,” Greya explained.
“I see,” Steig said, accepting Perse’s offered hand cautiously and shaking it.
Everyone was silent for a beat, the awkwardness palpable. It wasn’t often witches and daemons met at all, let alone under attempted friendly circumstances.
“Thank you for coming,” Greya began, breaking the ice. “I assume you got my message?”
“I did,” Steig said shortly.
Gaia, she’d forgotten how tight-lipped the man was. She took a deep breath. This sell was likely to be just as hard as the one to Northe, but she had to try—for Ena. For everyone.
“Well, I’m sure it was a leap of faith for you to come here, especially given that we so recently held you captive,” she acknowledged, slipping into her role as matriarch as easily as breathing, and gesturing for him to join her around the fire.
“Yes, well, you also released me,” Steig said as he sat on a downed log, herself and Perse sitting opposite him. “So that garnered some good will. Plus, I need to know what you know about Ty. Is it true?”
The eagerness in his voice was unavoidable, and Greya gave him a warm smile. “Yes, it’s true what my message said. He is alive, and he is on his way back to our side of the Chasm Mountains. They all are.”
“All?” Steig asked.
“Him, Ena, your friend Turner, and…the stryx,” Greya added.
“The stryx?” Steig asked, as confused by the term as she had been.
Greya briefly explained what Ena had told him—how they’d found the stryx, a welcoming group of people who were struggling to survive due to a decline in their food source, so they were coming back to relocate, and had agreed to help oust the King of the Underworld, once and for all.
“That’s good news,” Steig said. He was a stoic man, and gave little away, but she Knew hearing that his friends were alive and finally returning to oust the king brought him relief. It made her trust him that much more.
“I agree,” Greya said evenly. “But now, I have an important job to do. One that requires your help.”
Steig’s eyebrow raised in surprise, but he nodded all the same, indicating that she should continue, so she did.
“Ena and I agree that it is time for a new era for witches and daemons. One of cooperation and coexistence, rather than conflict. So, to that end, my sister wants me to recruit the other Covens to support the ousting of the king, and the installation of a new, witch-friendly one.”
“Ty, you mean?” Steig asked, his brow furrowed.
“She didn’t specify,” Greya said, a bit thrown off by that question. “Is Ty the only choice for king?”
“Well, he is the heir to the Underworld,” Steig responded, as if this were obvious, but his statement was met by Greya’s blank stare. “It means he’s next in line for the throne,” he explained.
A hint of concern went through her. Steig had mentioned counting on Ty to be king in the past, but Ena hadn’t mentioned that, and she was unsure what to do with the information.
Last she’d heard, Ty had abandoned the Underworld so that he could be with Ena, so she didn’t want to assume without checking with them first. But it sounded like, according to Steig, Ty was expected to assume the role.
“Well, either way,” Greya said, putting that issue aside for now, “I’m here in Aquilo to do just that—to explain to Northe that daemons want a new alliance and entreat her to join us.”
“Okay,” Steig said, looking at her suspiciously. “And you wanted me to join you because…?”
“I want you to come talk to them with me. Northe, the Aquilo matriarch, and then Syrelle, the Occidens matriarch.”
Steig’s eyebrows shot up in shock. “Are you insane?” he growled.
Greya stared at him in challenge. “No, why do you ask?”
“Because you want me to openly walk into the Covens, declare that I’m a daemon, and you just expect that they will be okay with that? That they won’t seize me or kill me where I stand as retribution for all daemons have done?”
“Well, no, I hope it won’t go that way, obviously,” Greya responded evenly.
“But I do think that a show of good faith from a daemon will go a long way in convincing the other Covens to join our cause. Once they see how genuine you are, and are able to use their Knowing on you, they will believe us all the more.”
Steig went quiet for a minute as he ran his hand through his hair in agitation.
“You realize how dangerous this is for me, don’t you?
I already had to ditch the two daemons I came here with—I had to make up some random excuse to get away from them, and if I don’t come back, they’ll report my absence to the king.
And now you want me to risk my life with the other Covens too?
Haven’t I helped you enough these last couple months? ”
“Yes, you have been very helpful, and I’m extremely grateful for it.
I understand your concerns,” Greya said genuinely.
She had sympathy for the man’s situation, of course she did.
She knew he had a family, and that he wanted to protect them, just as she wanted to protect hers.
“But deep down, I know that you know…with your king still in power, none of us will be safe. Not until he is gone. And this is the best way to make sure that we achieve that goal. With the stryx and Covens by our side, Cole and his allies won’t stand a chance. ”
Steig hung his head, staring at the fire. Greya Knew he was conflicted, but that her words had hit home, and after a minute of silence, he raised his head, looking up at her with steel in his eyes.
“You’re right that it gives us the best chance, but you have no idea what he’s capable of,” he said. “It’s not a guarantee, by any means, but…I’d be a fool to not take this chance.” Steig sighed, as if in disbelief for what he was about to say. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Good,” Greya said, smiling triumphantly. “Because we’re going to speak to the matriarch first thing in the morning.”
Steig grumbled to himself, but didn’t walk back his decision, and Greya respected him all the more. “Now,” she added, gesturing at the pot beside her, “can I offer you some stew?”