44. Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Four
Ena
The negotiations went late into the night, with much back and forth over the goods to be traded between daemons and witches, and how often trades would occur.
The daemons agreed to stop sending their own out on missions to purposefully disrupt mortal villages and the Covens, and in return, the witches agreed to allow them free and open travel aboveground.
Then, of course, considerations were discussed for the stryx and how to fairly accommodate their need for hunting lands and locations for their transitory camps.
Ena found herself stepping into her role as Omnisca several times as she translated each group’s needs, explaining things the others might not understand or be privy to.
But in the end, agreements were achieved, and everyone walked away from the Convening table exhausted, but reasonably satisfied.
Ena was eager to check in with Ladon, who was with Kaya, but as she and Ty made to leave the table, Lara stopped them.
“Meet back at our chambers for a drink?” she asked with a friendly smile. “We’ve missed you all.”
“Definitely,” Ena replied. The thought of catching up with everyone, a moment of calm after all the storm they’d been through, sounded like a dream. “I just need to get the baby first.”
“Of course,” Lara said. “The kids are so eager to meet him—we told them they had a new baby cousin to play with.”
Ena’s heart warmed at that thought, and before long, she found herself sitting at Steig and Lara’s large dining room table, breastfeeding the baby, with a small glass of woodwater in hand.
Their chambers were quiet, the rest of the children having gone to sleep an hour or so ago after preening over Ladon, but she, along with Ty, Steig, Lara, and Turner, were much too wired to sleep yet.
“Big day,” Turner said as he finished pouring himself a large glass of the heady alcohol.
“Very big,” Lara echoed.
“But successful,” Ena offered, “don’t you think?”
“Yes,” Ty said, taking a drink. “Very successful, for a first endeavor.”
Silence followed for a minute as they all got lost in their own thoughts, and the alcohol, only to be broken by Lara.
“So…no one’s gonna give Turner shit about that nice little surprise he gave us?” she asked flippantly. “Where is your mate anyway?”
Turner collapsed his head onto the table, hiding it in his arms. “Fuck,” he said. “I was hoping we’d avoid that. Can’t we talk about you beating Ty to a pulp instead?”
“I’m so glad you brought that up,” Ty said to Lara, before turning to pin Turner with his stare. “Turner—care to explain what the fuck you were thinking by not telling me you are sleeping with my sister?”
Turner sighed, guilt evident in his honest eyes. “I’m so sorry, Ty. I should have…I wanted to. It’s just…I was trying to catch up to it all myself, and I think, deep down, part of me still doesn’t believe it’s real.”
“You and me both. I had no idea you two were even a…thing,” Ty said.
“So how did it happen?” Ena asked eagerly. “Why don’t you start there?”
Turner sighed. “Well, I’m not going to lie, there was an…attraction right away. From the moment we met.”
“Ooooh, an ‘attraction,’” Lara teased. “You mean you thought she was hot?”
“Don’t forget that we’re talking about my sister here,” Ty said, raising an eyebrow at Lara. “Don’t make this weird for me, I beg you.”
“Ugh, yes! See? This is why I didn’t bring it up. Because I know she’s your sister,” Turner exclaimed. “And even though you didn’t know each other that well, it’s still weird.”
“Well, my best friend is fucking my cousin, so why shouldn’t my other cousin be fucking my sister?
” Ty asked, looking over at Steig, and the two of them smiled at each other before clinking their glasses together.
Lara and Ena burst out laughing at the absurdity of that statement, but Turner notably did not.
“I guess,” Turner said, rubbing his forehead in dismay. “But if I’m being honest, maybe it wasn’t that. I think…I think I was thrown by how much I liked her, and the fact that she was stryx, and then when things started to…escalate, and she claimed me, I was scared.”
“Why scared?” Ena asked, sensing Turner’s inner turmoil.
“Because I still felt like I would lose her somehow, like I’d fuck up being her mate, or she’d change her mind,” Turner answered quietly.
“Why would she do that?” Ty asked.
“I dunno,” Turner said, swirling his almost-empty glass. “Because I’m me. No one ever chooses me.”
Ena shared a look with Ty, finding the same sympathy she felt for Turner reflected in his eyes. How could they convince their friend to feel differently about himself? To feel worthy?
“We all choose you, Turner. Every single day, and that will never change,” Ty said, reaching out to place his hand on the man’s shoulder. “And honestly, I love my sister even more for choosing you too. I can’t think of a better mate for her.”
Turner smiled shyly, and Ena could tell Ty’s words had hit home.
“I wanna get back to the good stuff,” Lara said, interrupting the heartfelt moment. “Tell us the details. When exactly did things ‘escalate’?”
Turner laughed to himself. “On the journey here,” he said wryly.
“You mean you’ve been sneaking around for weeks!?” Ena asked incredulously, pleasantly shocked at the scandal of it all.
“Yes,” Turner admitted sheepishly. “But I should have warned you all before the Convening. Again, I’m sorry.”
“Doesn’t matter now, as long as you’re happy,” Ty said. “And you are…happy with her?”
“So fucking happy,” he said, collapsing his head onto the table again. “I’m an idiot in love.”
Steig laughed at his obvious infatuation, and clapped him on the back. “I think Ty and I know the feeling well, brother. Sounds like we have one more thing to celebrate,” he said, lifting up his glass again.
“To Turner and Xena,” Ena offered.
“Turner and Xena,” the rest of them echoed before taking gulps of their woodwater.
Ena welled up, feeling emotional all of a sudden at the love surrounding her.
“Well, I, for one, can’t wait to properly meet her,” Lara offered. “Aside from sitting across from her at the Convening.”
“Speaking of that,” Turner said, looking at Lara. “I’m not the only one who had some sneaky secrets revealed at that table. The whole Omnsica thing! How long had you all been planning that one?”
Lara shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, it wasn’t just me, you know,” she said, her eyes darting to Ena.
“Ena did the research first, so we knew what Nial was going to say about her not being able to be queen, but apparently, there was nothing to indicate that the king’s united had to be queen, so we figured maybe she could be something else. ”
“So you were in on it,” Ty said, side-eying Ena and looking impressed. “When did you even have the time to do this research?”
“When you were getting Ladon from the waterfall cave,” Ena said smugly. “And then I was able to run it by Greya and Syrelle beforehand, and they seemed amenable, so…I hope you’re truly okay with it,” Ena finished somewhat apologetically. “We didn’t mean to back you into a corner, but…”
“Yes, you did,” Steig interjected, taking a sip of his drink, only to spit it back out when Lara elbowed him playfully in the gut.
“Okay, maybe a little,” Ena admitted, smiling mischievously. “But I loved the idea. Honestly. It feels…right. Like it was my path all along.”
“What do you mean?” Ty asked, placing his hand on her knee.
“Well, I never really fit in my Coven. Not fully, at least—I always wanted something more. Then, of course, I didn’t really fit here either, or anywhere besides with Ty and you all, and I think it’s because I am of both worlds.
All three worlds now. And, it’s taken me a second to adjust to it, but I’m glad to be. I’m proud to be what I am.”
Ty squeezed her knee, looking at her with love and pride.
“And, of course, I think it’s what you needed too,” Ena said, looking lovingly back into his green eyes. “So you can follow your path, and be what the Underworld needs.”
“Speaking of,” Steig said, refilling everyone’s glasses, “why did you decide to accept? You seemed pretty resistant to it at first—pushing it on Turner and all that.”
Ty sighed. “Well, I got some helpful advice from my beautiful wife,” he said, glancing slyly over at Ena. “And I realized that the thing that I was running from, I didn’t need to run from anymore. Seeing everyone around that table, trying to make something new work…it gave me hope.”
Ena leaned over to kiss Ty on the cheek, being careful not to jostle Ladon too much. She was so fucking proud of him.
“To the new King of the Underworld,” she said, raising her glass.
“To the king,” everyone echoed, drinking again.
“And the Omnisca,” Ty added, forcing everyone to drink one more time.
“And to having my free will back!” Lara said jovially, playing off what Ena was sure had been a harrowing experience for her and the kids.
“And to being free of that bastard Cole once and for all,” Steig said, bringing his drink to his lips again.
Turner sputtered and coughed a bit on the last sip, causing them all to laugh as he wheezed for breath.
But their mirth was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door.
The five of them looked at each other, wondering who that could possibly be.
Lara rose quickly to answer it, opening the door to reveal a small, dark-haired witch with a perpetually bemused look on their face.
“Mel,” Ena greeted, rising to meet her at the door. “What are you doing here?”
“I was— Oh!” they said, their eyes landing on the baby in Ena’s arms. “I was looking for you,” they said, smiling sweetly at the baby.
“Oh, okay. Well, come on in,” Ena offered, happy to show off her offspring to any adoring fans. “Steig, Lara, this is Mel, the Occidens seer who helped us break the bond.”
“Nice to meet you,” Lara greeted, offering them a drink.
“We’ve met,” Steig said, nodding at them. “But good to see you under friendlier circumstances.”
“Oh, right,” Ena said. “Thank you for giving Steig and Greya, a chance by the way, and for helping to convince Syrelle,” Ena said to them.
“I did nothing,” Mel said. “Only told the truth as I see it.”
“Still,” Ena insisted. “Thank you, and it’s sweet of you to come visit the baby.”
Mel looked down at the baby in her arms in awe once more. “Gaia,” they said. “It’s not every day you meet a monster, you know. It’s quite special.”
“A—a what?” Ty asked, his brow instantly furrowed.
“A monster,” Mel said, their focus still on the baby.
“Mel,” Turner said, placing his hand gently on their shoulder and speaking to them like a parent would to a child. “We don’t call a mixed-race baby a monster. That’s not polite.”
“Oh, no,” Mel said, smacking their hand to their forehead. “I’m not… I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry, you know how it goes. I thought I already told you.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t,” Ty said patiently. “Care to explain?”
“Well, I told you that I figured it out,” Mel said to Ena. “Who the Mother of Monsters was.”
That phrase…a vague memory came back to Ena of the time she’d passed out after communicating with Greya at the Sacred Pool, and the strange conversation she’d had with Mel afterwards. They had said they’d figured out who the Mother of Monsters was, and then they’d looked at her…
“I’m the Mother of Monsters?” Ena asked.
“Yes,” Mel said, as if that was painfully obvious.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Steig asked gruffly.
“Well, what else would you call him?” Mel responded. “With the giant wings and talons and the horns and all that.”
“Mel—what in the fuck are you talking about?” Ty asked, clearly, like the rest of them, at the end of his rope.
“The being he will Change into when he grows up. It’s quite monstrous, really. I hope I live to see it. Giant wings, horns, scales like a serpent, and talons the size of a human being,” they explained, a huge smile on their face.
“Wait, are you saying that our son will be able to Change into a Draco?” Ty asked.
Shock rippled through Ena.
“Oh, you’re right!” Mel exclaimed. “I never thought about the resemblance to the Draco before. Gaia…yes! He will be a Draco. The first Draco, it seems.” Mel continued to smile widely, as if this was the greatest news they’d ever heard.
“Just like the stryx said…” Ty said, looking over at Ena in disbelief. “The world will begin to right itself with the birth of the Draco.”
No way. Ena couldn’t believe it. Mel had to be mistaken…
She looked down at the small babe in her arms—the special surprise who was part witch, daemon, and stryx. A truly unique magical being…and she Knew.
Ena looked up to meet Ty’s eyes, and began laughing.
Because…really?! Their son—their baby—was going to be a Draco?! She didn’t know if she was proud, terrified, or both.
Definitely both.
“What have you seen of him?” Turner asked, while she and Ty were busy descending into shocked madness.
“Well, I’ve seen you,” they said to Ena, “and Ty with him, and I’ve seen him Change. Not until he is twenty-seven, of course, and goes through his Summoning—or his Awakening, I guess. Kaya was explaining that to me recently.”
“Wow,” Lara said, looking over at Ena, her eyebrows at her hairline. “I thought my kids were a handful. Yours is going to be…something else.”
Mel chuckled lightly to themself. “He will do great and terrible things,” they said. “He will bring one world together, and tear another apart. So yes, I’d say so.”
“What does that mean?” Ena asked, feeling thoroughly overwhelmed by this all.
“You know, I’m not really sure yet,” Mel said cryptically as they shrugged.
Ena shook her head. She shouldn’t be surprised, because somehow, every conversation with Mel left her with infinitely more questions than answers. She would definitely be doing some research in the Archives about it tomorrow, though.
“Well, at least we have some time before we have to figure that one out, so thank you for warning us, I guess,” Ty said as he rubbed his eyes in exasperation.
“I can’t wait to tell Xena,” Turner said, laughing to himself. “She and the rest of the stryx will freak.”
“Why don’t you go get her?” Lara asked. “It’s late, but aren’t the stryx nocturnal anyway?”
“For the most part,” Turner said, standing up and readying himself. “Okay, I will. I’m sure she’ll want to meet you and Steig, officially.”
Ena absently wondered if she should fetch the witches too. Greya, Thyla, and Cris might want to meet Lara, and maybe Perse could play some music for them.
As wild as this revelation about Ladon was, she knew she could handle it. And like Ty said, they had time. Right now, she wanted nothing more in the world than to celebrate this new era with her friends, her family.
Because for the first time ever, everyone she loved was in the same place. And though she had lost much to be here—shed an entire life and identity, really—she’d never felt more herself or more hopeful about their future.
And that, too, was something to celebrate.