Chapter Nine
Ena
Ena followed Lara through the dimly lit, twisting passageways of the Underworld.
They took a right, then a left, then another right, and by the time they reached another large set of double doors, Ena’s head was spinning trying to keep track of how they’d gotten there.
It all looked the same—the same blue darkrock lanterns, the same dark-gray stone walls.
She hoped she’d be mostly escorted around by one of the daemons she knew, because there was a very good chance she would get lost on her own.
Lara pushed open the double doors they’d stopped at, leading them into a large, homely chamber that was even more spacious than Ty’s.
A sizeable wooden table was centered to their left, with low benches on either side for seating, and to their right, several comfortable-looking wooden chairs covered in furs were clustered around a series of wooden children’s toys, including a couple long toy daggers and carvings of animals: a bird, a deer, and a wolf.
There was a large blanket strewn halfway across the chairs, creating a dark hidden space underneath.
“Apologies about that,” Lara said, gesturing to the mess of furniture. “The kids were playing ‘Iblis in the Cave’ earlier so you might have to move some stuff if you want to sit down.”
Ena smiled at that. “No problem,” she said, wondering how exactly one played “Iblis in the Cave.”
Just then, Steig and Turner emerged from the open archway to the left. There was another archway leading off to the right, too, but this one was hidden by a wooden door. The bathing chamber, maybe?
“Ena,” Turner greeted, his blue eyes warming with a smile. He’d clearly bathed too and was dressed in similar garb as herself. “Are you settling in okay?”
“Yeah, I am, thanks,” she said, touched by his concern. Then she turned to Steig, who looked unhappy to see her as always, his dark eyes suspicious and cold.
Then the screaming started.
Two boys who must’ve been the six- and four-year-olds came dashing out of the room Steig and Turner had come from, yelling “Attack!” as they jumped on their father.
Steig put on a fake air of viciousness, grabbing them both at the same time and roaring as he flung each of them in turn onto a fur-covered chair. The boys erupted into fits of giggles as they landed on the chairs, instantly getting in position to attack again.
“Get the wolf!” the bigger one yelled, picking up his wooden toy weapon and holding it up to his father.
Steig snarled like a wolf at them, pretending to be distracted by the long dagger while the younger one jumped on his back.
“Arrgghhh!” Steig cried, feigning a wound and collapsing on the floor.
The two boys fell into fits of giggles as they pretended to triumph over the vicious wolf.
Lara laughed beside her, watching the show. Again, Ena was surprised by how captivating her laugh was—it seemed so lighthearted and free, so full of joy.
Ena turned back to see Steig laughing now, too, and it caught her off guard. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him laugh before.
She found herself staring at the playful domestic scene, somewhat in awe, and smiling to herself, when she heard the door open behind them.
Ty walked in, and her gravity shifted. His presence seemed to fill the room, like he was larger than it, and all eyes turned to him.
She noticed he was wearing the same clothes as when he’d left, and Ena realized that out of all of them, he still hadn’t had the chance to bathe and change his clothes since returning.
She instantly felt annoyed on his behalf.
Who in the Underworld was keeping him so busy that they couldn’t give him a few minutes to wash up after such a long journey?
But then he smiled at her, and her annoyance vanished.
“I see I’m the last to arrive,” he said, looking her over and taking in her new clothing and clean appearance.
He came over to stand next to her, placing a hand on her lower back in greeting before leaning in to whisper in her ear.
“I missed you,” he said, his voice low and rough.
“Sorry I was gone so long. Everything go okay getting here?”
Ena nodded, finding herself rather tongue-tied all the sudden at his closeness.
He pulled back a bit, but she didn’t miss the way he briefly looked down at her leather bodice where her cleavage was on prime display.
“Like my new outfit?” she asked, teasing him.
“I like everything you wear, but yes, I am enjoying this particular view immensely. Will you turn around for me later so I can see all of it when there aren’t children present?”
Ena giggled—actually giggled—at that. She didn’t remember the last time she’d giggled.
Ty seemed to like it, because he smiled wickedly at her response.
“You know we also exist, right?” Turner asked pointedly from beside them, grinning at Ty.
“Of course, but you don’t look like that in a leather vest, so excuse me for ignoring you,” Ty said jovially before clapping Turner on the shoulder in greeting.
Steig didn’t seem to mind as much, as he had descended into another wrestling match with his children. Meanwhile, Lara had disappeared into one of the rooms through the archway, from which Ena could smell the delicious scent of roasting meat wafting out.
“Is there a kitchen back there?” Ena asked, suddenly curious about the rest of their chambers.
The kitchen was always the central part of a witch’s home.
Ena practically grew up in the kitchen, grinding herbs for potions to help Heran and watching her sister cook.
There were many times she could recall spending the entire day there, as other witches and visitors came and went, bringing potions and food in trade, laughing and talking.
The thought sent a pang to her heart. As much as it felt right to be here, she still missed her Coven.
“Yes,” Ty said. “You want to see it? I’m sure Lara won’t mind.”
Ena nodded enthusiastically, so Ty placed his hand on her lower back, leading her through the archway. There was another small passageway with several rooms that must have been bedrooms branching off of it, but at the back was another open archway leading into a small, unusual kitchen.
Darkrock lanterns lit the space, which was filled with a wooden island, and two large stone countertops, carved right into the wall of the cave. They were hollowed out underneath, with two large metal boxes installed in the empty space.
The metal boxes looked almost like square cauldrons, but they had a door on the front, and they seemed to be putting off heat, because it was warmer in here than the other rooms.
Lara was standing in front of one, stirring a pot that was placed on top of it. It looked to be the source of the delectable smell, and Ena found herself fascinated yet again.
“What are those?” she asked, pointing at the metal boxes that seemed to emanate heat.
“Stoves,” Ty explained. “They’re forged out of metal, and then we burn darkrock inside to create heat to cook on.
That one’s for pots and pans,” Ty said, gesturing towards where Lara was stirring.
“And that one’s like an oven,” Ty added, pointing at the other one that had several doors on it, presumably to place goods for baking.
“Wow. Does everyone’s chambers have those?” Ena asked. That seemed like a significant feat of engineering to create the stoves and carve the counters right into the wall.
“No,” Lara said, chiming in from where she stood cooking dinner. “The upper level daemons, including my father, are usually served by the king’s kitchen, and the mid-level and imperi each have a communal kitchen they use. We had a special one installed here because of my position.”
“Lara is the overseer of the kitchens. She handles the rationing for each one, and the planning for celebrations,” Ty explained.
“But don’t think I’m too domestic,” Lara said, smiling at his description of her. “I can still kick your ass in the fighting ring.”
Ty laughed at that, but Ena was confused.
“Fighting ring?” she asked.
But before anyone could respond, they were interrupted by a huge dog that came from behind them, barreling right into Ty’s legs.
“Cerberus!” Ty cried, bending down to scratch the dog’s ear.
Ena took it back. “Huge” was an understatement. The dog could’ve been a small deer. It was black, with a sleek coat, and large flopping ears. Ena had to dodge its whip-like tail as it wagged ceaselessly at Ty.
That’s when Ena realized—this was no ordinary dog, not like the ones the mortal villagers kept to scare away predators from their chicken coops.
It was a hellhound.
“He’s missed you, you know,” Lara said, coming over to pat the hound on the head. “But he does get an enormous amount of attention from the children, especially Leela, who likes to try and ride him,” Lara said, smiling fondly.
Having gotten his fill of Ty for the time being, the large dog fixated his black nose on Ena, sniffing her up and down, likely confused by her new scent mixing with that of Lara’s clothing.
She cautiously reached out to pet his head, and he leaned into her, nearly knocking her over with his weight.
She couldn’t help but laugh. All the horrifying things she’d been told about hellhounds—that they were vicious creatures who did daemons’ bidding and hunted small children in the night—well, they certainly did not add up to this picture of an oversized puppy that just wanted pets.
“Cerberus is your hellhound?” Ena asked Ty, trying to satiate the dog’s need for scratches.
“Yeah, he’s been mine since my father passed, but Lara and Steig take care of him for me now, since I’m gone so often,” he explained.
It struck Ena then how much she still had to learn about Ty. He had such a full life here. A history she would never fully understand. What else didn’t she know?