Chapter Nine #2
“Okay, time for dinner,” Lara announced, dragging Ena from her thoughts. “Cerberus, you get,” she said, shooing the hound away with her free hand. “You already got your dinner, you big monster.” In the other hand, she carried a large metal pot.
Ena and Ty followed her out to the table. While they’d been in the kitchen, someone had set it with metal plates, cups, and spoons.
Steig and Turner already sat at the table, wrangling the younger ones into their seats. Meanwhile, an older child, about eight years old, appeared from down the hallway carrying their youngest, a toddler with the same dark-red hair as Lara.
“Dada!” the littlest one shouted, running over to Steig and climbing into his lap. He obliged her, smiling softly as she perched on his knee.
As everyone sat around the table, Lara dished out what looked like a venison stew into each of the children’s bowls before serving herself. Then each of the adults served themselves in turn.
It smelled delicious, filled with carrots, onions, and potatoes, and a slightly different combination of herbs than Ena was used to.
Looking around at the children as they chatted with their parents, and Ty and Turner as they ate, she was struck yet again by how domestic and normal the scene was.
These children could have easily been mortal or witch children, not at all the picture of daemonic depravity they’d been told about.
And while she was thoroughly impressed by the way daemons had adapted to their circumstances—the innovations they’d developed were astounding—she knew there were things about living in the Underworld that were not ideal.
How often did they have to go out and pretend to be mortal in order to trade for the food they needed?
Did the children ever go to the surface?
Did they see real versions of the animals they had wooden carvings of?
How often did they get to play in the woods and explore the beauty of Gaia’s balance? They deserved that too.
Not for the first time, she was struck with a profound sense of guilt for the role witches had played in forcing daemons into the Underworld, and it made her feel all the more motivated to figure out how to break the bond for them.
Ena ate her stew in silence, watching the cheerful scene before her.
Once the children had finished—which happened surprisingly quickly as they got distracted—they went off to play in their makeshift chair-cave once more, with the eldest pretending to be Iblis, scaring the other three until they screamed and ran out.
Even Cerberus seemed content as he lay down and guarded them peacefully from a fur rug in the corner.
“How did everything go with Cole?” Turner asked Ty in a hushed tone from where he sat across the table. “Did he buy it?”
Ty nodded as he finished a mouthful of stew. “I think so, but your dad was there.”
Turner looked down, picking at his food.
“Don’t think we missed the way the bastard completely ignored your presence during our arrival,” Steig said, drawing Turner’s attention to him. “You’d think he would spare at least a glance or a greeting for his sole heir.”
“Heir”? That was a new word. Ena was about to interrupt and ask what that meant, but the conversation continued before she could.
“I’m used to it,” Turner said, trying to seem unbothered, but Ena could tell he was. “I just hope your skills at deception circumvented his Power.”
“They always do,” Ty said cockily, leaning back in his chair.
“But that’s not all I need to tell you.” He looked at them each in turn, including Lara.
Did she know about the amulet? She must, being Steig’s wife, and they didn’t seem to hesitate talking about it in front of her.
“I convinced Cole that Ena would be useful in researching ways to Imbue her Gift into an object using daemonic runes so we can use it to disrupt the Covens. He’s obviously on board with that, but he wants an update by the onata celebration in two weeks’ time. ”
“He wants me to do what?” Ena asked, her stomach clenching with nerves. Would she really be expected to do that?
“Don’t worry, you won’t actually do it. It’s just a cover so he’s not suspicious when we start researching magical objects, and witch and daemonic history for the amulet.”
Ena felt relieved, slightly. The cover story made sense. It was ingenious, really, but it still felt icky to even pretend to be doing something like that to the Covens. Despite what a few witches did in the past, she knew they deserved none of that.
“So what will you start with?” Steig asked from where he sat next to Lara. His hand wandered idly around to the back of her neck, brushing her hair away as he drew lazy circles on it. She saw Lara lean slightly into him, closing the gap between them on the bench.
“I’ll take Ena to the Archives tomorrow,” Ty said, looking over at her. “There’s a bunch of books there we can look through, including the ones I got from Petyr.”
Petyr… Ena remembered what Ty had told her when they were in Occidens—about the mortal bookbinder friend he’d made while out on a mission.
The one who’d told him about the amulet in the first place.
She still had so many questions about him and how he knew what he knew, but maybe looking through his books would give her some answers.
“Okay,” Ena said, feeling eager to get started. “Where are we keeping the amulet?” she asked. She didn’t know why, but ever since Gaia had granted her the vision when she put it on, she had felt possessive of it. It was a witch’s amulet, after all.
“Turner has it, for now,” Ty said. “Why?”
“Well, I think I should keep it, or Ty, I mean,” she said, looking hesitantly towards Turner and Steig.
Lara was silent as she watched them all, and part of her was curious to know what the woman thought about all this. She was Cole’s daughter, after all, even if it was clear she did not hold allegiance to him.
Steig and Turner exchanged a look across the table, and it annoyed her.
“What, you still don’t trust me? I’m here, aren’t I? I’m risking my life to be here. I left my family. You think I’ll run off with the amulet the first chance I get and leave you all behind?” she challenged.
Steig looked at her coldly. So much for what he said to Ty about being all in.
Then Lara spoke up.
“She’s right, you know. I may not have Zak’s Power but I can tell she’s being sincere.
Besides, no one can fake all the longing looks these two have been shooting at each other,” she said, giving Ty a wry smile.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if her being here to help break the bond is just an afterthought to riding Ty’s dick. ”
Turner instantly burst out laughing, and Ena’s jaw nearly hit the floor.
Steig just shook his head, like he was used to these antics, but Ty leaned back again, smiling way too cockily as he put his arm over the back of Ena’s chair.
Ena smiled despite herself, hiding her face in her hand.
Gaia, what had she gotten herself into with this group?
“I am here to help break the bond,” Ena said, trying to suppress her smile at the teasing around her.
“And sure, I won’t hide the fact that I also like his dick,” she added, gesturing at Ty beside her, who was smiling like he’d won some sort of prize.
“But that’s beside the point. If this is going to work, the rest of you need to extend a little bit of trust my way. ”
“It’s not that we don’t trust you,” Turner said, sighing as he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.
“Speak for yourself,” Steig grunted, and Lara elbowed him slightly in the side, giving him a shut-the-fuck-up look.
“It’s just that, it’s only been us. The four of us, for a long time.
We’re the only ones who knew about the amulet and wanted to do something about it, and now we have the amulet, and it feels strange to give it up somehow, after all the effort and planning we put into getting it.
To let you just have it,” Turner finished, looking apologetically at Ty.
Ty had been suspiciously quiet during this whole interaction, but she wouldn’t be surprised if it was tactical. He’d clearly done all he could to convince them of her trustworthiness, and she knew it was time for her to stand on her own two feet and defend herself. To show them who she was.
“I get that, I do,” she said. “But I don’t know how else to convince you that we want the same thing.
That I want to break the bond and restore the balance just as much as you do.
So you’re just going to have to take a leap of faith and trust me,” she finished.
It wasn’t much of a speech, but it was really all she could say.
Turner nodded in understanding. “You’re right,” he said, standing up to pull something from his pocket.
It was the amulet, wrapped in the same dirty cloth they’d kept it in on the journey here.
He handed it out to her confidently, like that was all it took for him to trust her.
Just her word, and the word of his friend.
Steig, on the other hand, avoided eye contact completely, but Lara seemed to speak for both of them as she gave her a small, trustworthy smile as Ena stood up to take the amulet from Turner’s hand.
Ty looked over at her as she sat back down, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Let’s make a toast then,” he said, standing up to grab the green-tinted bottle that sat in the center of the table.
Ena had wondered what it was, but no one had seemed to touch it yet.
He popped the cork on top and gestured to them to finish the water in their cups.
Then, one by one, he poured some liquid out of the bottle into their glasses.
It was light brown, and strong-smelling.
She recognized it instantly—it was woodwater.
The same highly alcoholic substance she’d used to disinfect Ty’s wound after they were attacked by bandits.
Ena brought the cup to her nose, smelling suspiciously. The aroma was spicy, but slightly sweet, and highly alcoholic.
Ty raised his cup in the air, and the rest of them followed suit, holding their drinks up before them.
“To witches and daemons, working together. May we restore the balance, and cause a little chaos along the way,” he said, winking at Ena as he finished. Then he downed his drink in one big gulp.
Not wanting to be outdone, Ena brought her cup to her lips and did the same.
Gaia, it burned!
She sputtered, wondering if she was about to throw up as her mouth flooded with saliva. But then the warmth spread, deep in her belly, and the spicy, aromatic flavor of the woodwater hit her tongue and she found that, actually, she quite liked it.
Looking up at Ty where he stood beside her, she realized she liked a lot of things she never thought she would, and the feeling was incredibly freeing.