Chapter Eight
Ena
Ena stepped out of the bathtub, her skin shriveled like a prune after being in the water for so long. Her dark hair dripped on the floor as she searched for a towel, eventually finding one tucked on an open wooden shelf in the corner of the small stone chamber.
Wrapping herself in it, she went to the mirror and wiped away the steam to take a look at her appearance.
Her hair was longer than when she’d left home, and her eyes were sunken with dark circles.
She’d definitely lost some weight with all the traveling and scarce food, but hopefully she’d be eating more regularly now, and that would remedy itself.
She was grateful to be done moving around for the time being, and hopefully get some better rest.
She was about to look away, but her eyes caught on the imperae collar around her neck.
She hadn’t lied to Ty; she really was okay with wearing it if it kept their true mission a secret. But the iron still felt strange around her neck. She knew the magic didn’t work on her, but knowing what it did to others, and what it represented, left her unsettled.
It was harsh in appearance, almost crude.
She could tell already that daemons were expert blacksmiths and metallurgists, but they had not put the same artistry into this collar.
It was basic—almost ugly. But she supposed that made sense.
Why waste your people’s talents on an artifact that was meant to enslave those deemed less worthy?
Dragging her eyes from it, she looked around the bathing chamber instead.
It was interesting, seeing all of Ty’s little belongings scattered around.
There were metal scissors, and a bone-handled toothbrush made with pig bristles.
She saw a sewing kit, too, not unlike the one she’d stitched him up with a few weeks ago, and a large pumice stone next to the bath.
She never thought they’d have a chance to be so…domestic, and she found herself endlessly fascinated by all the small things that made him, him.
Wandering out of the bathroom, she took in the rest of Ty’s room.
It was cozier than she’d imagined, with all the rugs and the warmth from the hot springs flowing throughout the Underworld.
Not that she’d imagined anything like this at all, really.
She’d thought he was mortal for so long.
Part of her felt like it was still trying to catch up to everything that had changed in such a short time.
Walking over to the bed where she’d left her dirt-covered dress, she debated putting it back on for a minute, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
After weeks of travel in the same outfit, and all the horse-riding and ground-sleeping she’d done, it was filthy and worn, so she walked to Ty’s armoire instead.
He had to have something in there that she could wear until her clothes could be cleaned.
She opened the creaky piece of furniture to find a few clean shirts hanging inside next to several wool coats. She pulled one of the shirts out and let her towel fall to the floor before pulling it over her head. Since no one was around, she indulged herself in giving it a deep sniff.
It smelled like Ty—the cedar and honey scents most notable in the fresh clothing, and the feeling of his presence wrapped around her, comforting her, despite his physical absence.
Gaia, she was glad no one had been around to see that. There was no denying—she had it bad.
At least she knew she wasn’t alone in that fact now. Her stomach fluttered slightly, thinking of last night and everything that Ty had said…and what they’d done.
Her thoughts were interrupted when there was a decisive knock on the door.
Ena whipped her head towards it. Glancing down at her attire, she hesitated. Should she answer the door? This was Ty’s room. Was she technically allowed here, as a witch-slave? Would their cover be blown already? They hadn’t discussed any of that before he’d left.
She flitted around nervously for a second, before deciding that, no, Ty would have warned her if she needed to stay hidden, and he’d said that she’d be safe here, so she cautiously went to the door and cracked it slightly.
A woman stood in the hallway. She was tall, with dark-auburn hair and brown eyes. She had a few freckles scattered across her cheeks, and they moved as she smiled friendlily at Ena.
“You must be Ena. I’m Steig’s wife, Lara. I was sent to bring you some clothes,” she said, holding up an armful of said clothing.
“Oh,” Ena said, opening the door a bit more. Wait—should she trust this person? She’d heard a decent amount about Steig’s wife, but she had no idea whether this person was actually her. She could be lying…
Ty hadn’t said how cautious to be with the other daemons yet, and she hadn’t thought to ask.
But he had said that being his witch-slave afforded her some protection from the other daemons, who weren’t allowed to touch her without his permission, and this woman did seem to genuinely be here to bring her clothes.
She opened the door the rest of the way and stepped aside as Lara entered the room.
The woman looked Ena up and down, noting her strange choice in attire. “Looks like I came just in time,” Lara said jokingly.
She seemed to note Ena’s hesitation, because she walked over slowly to the bed to place the clothes down, like she didn’t want to spook her.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s nice to finally meet you,” she said, her warm smile returning.
“Ty told you about me?” Ena asked cautiously. What exactly had she heard?
“No, not Ty. He didn’t like to talk much about you, understandably. But Steig told me,” Lara began. “The infamous witch who broke Ty’s heart.”
Ena didn’t quite know how to respond to that. Should she defend herself? It hadn’t been her fault, after all. Lara never gave her the chance, though.
“I must admit, I’ve never met a witch before,” the woman continued.
Ena was shocked to hear this. “Not even on missions?” Ena asked, failing to keep her surprised tone to a minimum.
But now that she mentioned it, Ena noticed she didn’t have any visible onata tattoos like Ty, Steig, and Turner did.
Did that mean she was one of the mid-level daemons that Ty mentioned who worked in the forge and mines instead?
“I don’t go on missions. My Power is not fit for it, according to my father,” Lara said, giving her a tight-lipped smile.
“Your father is Cole?!” Ena asked, her eyebrows jumping up. She had no idea Steig was Cole’s son-in-law, although now all that talk earlier about him needing to report to Cole made a lot more sense.
“Don’t hold it against me,” Lara said. “I know he’s a bastard. But we can’t choose who our parents are.”
Ena smiled a little at that. At least she agreed he was a bastard. “Well, I won’t hold it against you, as long as you don’t hold my being a witch against me. We’re not all you’ve been told,” Ena replied.
“Likewise, though I’m betting you already knew that or you wouldn’t be here,” Lara said, sizing her up.
“Here—” She reached down into the pile of clothes on the bed, picking out a pair of the same light cotton pants that she was wearing, a dark-blue man’s-style shirt, and a leather bodice vest that laced in the front.
“Try these on,” she said, handing them to Ena.
“I’m a bit taller than you, but it’s the best we can do until we can get more for you.
Trysh is about to finish another batch of fabric and can make you a few things soon. ”
“Thanks,” Ena said sincerely. Even though she wasn’t used to wearing pants, this was infinitely better than putting her dirty dress back on. “How did you know I needed clothes? Did Steig send you?”
“Iblis, no,” Lara said, shaking her head and smiling widely. “He’s still recovering from our reunion and spending some time with the kids. Ty came to see me on his way to the mines, asked me if I could help you out.”
“Oh,” Ena said, trying to sound okay. Ty was at the mines? She knew he likely had many responsibilities here, and things to catch up on now that he was back, but her heart sank a bit to hear that he wasn’t coming back right away.
“Iblis, you two got it bad for each other, huh?” Lara laughed, a beautiful, lilting thing that lifted Ena’s spirits just by hearing it.
“He gave me the same forlorn look when he stopped by and asked me to come to you on his behalf. But don’t worry, he said to bring you over for dinner too. He’ll meet us there soon enough.”
Dinner? With Lara and her family? That sounded…
strangely nice. Ena didn’t realize how off-putting it would be to only know three people in the entire Underworld, and two of them only cursorily.
Lara didn’t seem too bad, and if Ena was going to be here for a while researching the amulet and posing as a witch-slave, it might be nice to make some more connections beyond Ty, especially if he was going to be busy a lot.
“Thanks, that sounds nice,” Ena replied, giving her a warm smile. “I’ll go get dressed.”
Ena dipped back into the bathroom, quickly taking off Ty’s shirt and stepping into the clothes Lara had given her.
The pants were form-fitting and very comfortable, but definitely too long.
She had to roll them up several times at the bottom.
The shirt was also a bit long, so she tucked it in and rolled up the sleeves, but the vest-style bodice fit well, and accentuated her figure nicely.
Ty didn’t have a full-length mirror in his bathroom, but from what she could see in the small vanity one, she thought she looked pretty good. Different, but good.
She emerged from the bathroom to find Lara hanging up the rest of the clothes she’d brought in Ty’s armoire. She supposed that meant she would be staying here. She hadn’t asked Ty explicitly about that, but she was relieved. She didn’t want to be anywhere else but with him.
Lara turned around to look at her, taking in her new outfit. “It suits you,” she said, smiling warmly.
“Thanks,” Ena replied, smiling back.
“Come on, I’ll take you to our chambers. Fair warning—I don’t know what Steig told you about us, but we have four kids, ages two, four, six, and eight, so it definitely will be chaotic. I hope you’re okay with that.” Lara looked at her, gauging her reaction as she went to open the door.
“Not a problem,” Ena replied sincerely. She didn’t have a vast amount of experience with children—she was the youngest sibling in her home, so she didn’t have any extended up close and personal knowledge of them.
But there were always kids running around her Coven’s village.
All adults usually had a hand in keeping an eye on them and helping them if need be, so she was at least aware of the madness that often ensued when multiple children were around.
“Good. Besides, if they get too crazy for you, I can always use my Power on them,” she said, smiling widely. Was that a joke?
She found herself intensely curious about what Lara’s Power was, but before she had a chance to ask, Lara ushered her into the passageway outside Ty’s door, and she found herself following this new daemon deeper into the Underworld.