Chapter Ten
Ena
Ena woke up to a pitch-black room.
She could hear Ty breathing deeply next to her and feel his body heat, so she knew she wasn’t alone, but when she’d fallen asleep last night, the lanterns had still been lit, and now it was disorienting waking up to the endless dark of the cave.
Then she heard a small click as the door to Ty’s room opened, and she stiffened.
Was someone coming in?
She rolled towards Ty. “Ty,” she whispered as quietly as she could, fear creeping into her voice. “Ty, wake up! Someone’s in the room.”
Her Knowing could sense them. It wasn’t a malicious presence, but it was a strange one, and she didn’t know what to make of it.
She felt Ty stir beside her as blue light suddenly filled the room. Someone had lit one of the lanterns.
Ty whipped his head towards her, checking to see that she was okay, before his eyes landed on the stranger lighting the lanterns, and his body language relaxed. “It’s okay,” he said gently, running his hand through his unkempt hair. “It’s just a timekeeper.”
“A what?” she asked, pulling the covers up to her chin as the figure moved throughout the room. They were wearing a black robe with the hood up, making it hard to discern anything about them, but she saw the light from the lanterns glint off an imperae collar around the person’s neck.
“A timekeeper,” Ty explained, his voice rough with sleep. “They light the lanterns in the morning when the sun comes up so we can maintain our sense of day and night underground.”
“Oh,” Ena said, keeping her voice low. “Is it okay that I’m in your bed?” she whispered, suddenly self-conscious about it.
Ty chuckled as he turned towards her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her into his body. “Yes,” he said, his voice low and soothing. “It’s expected, given that you’re my…” His words trailed off, as if he was reluctant to say them.
“Witch-slave?” she asked, her eyebrow arching. She, at least, wasn’t afraid to say it. She knew Ty felt guilty for the position he’d had to put her in, but truly, she understood, and she was here willingly.
“Yes…that,” he said somewhat bitterly. “Witch-slaves are often taken for servitude of all kinds, and that includes…sexual arrangements.”
“Hm,” Ena said shortly. She certainly did not like the idea of witches being forced into sexual servitude, but given that it was the only recourse for a witch to be in the Underworld, she couldn’t help but wonder…
were all witches who came here forced into it?
Or had there been others, like her, who came here willingly for…
personal reasons? Somehow, the idea that she might not be the only witch who chose to endure this for someone they had feelings for was comforting.
The timekeeper finished lighting the last lantern in the room and quietly slipped out, leaving them alone again.
“That timekeeper was wearing an imperae collar too. Are they…?”
“No, they’re not a witch. There are no other witches here besides you. They’re a mortal.”
That explained why her Knowing had sensed the person when they first entered the room, but it was uncomfortable to think of mortals being forced into servitude here too.
“How many mortals are being kept here as imperi?”
“I think about a dozen, last I checked. Most of them were taken by Cole or some of the other upper-level daemons as punishment. Usually for uncovering their identities while out on a mission, or sometimes for more…nefarious reasons.”
Ena swallowed. She didn’t like thinking about what these poor mortals had been put through, all in the name of keeping daemonic activity a secret.
“That’s horrible,” Ena said, her brow wrinkling in concern.
Ty looked away, as if ashamed. “I know,” he said. “It wasn’t always that way, though. Cole has been ramping up the practice over the last fifteen years since my father died. He thinks it’s what mortals deserve for shunning us and choosing witches.”
“Do others think that too? Or just him?”
“Others do…but not everyone. Not the majority, I don’t think.”
Ena nodded, still feeling troubled by the information.
“I promise we’ll change things, Ena,” Ty said earnestly, sensing her discomfort. “It all starts with breaking the bond. If we do that, it will pave the way for other changes. Do you understand?”
Ena nodded again. “I do,” she said assuredly. “I’m glad you want to change things, and I’m glad to help you.”
Ty smiled at her then, that one corner of his mouth lifting in that charming way it did as he brushed some hair away from her brow, tucking it behind her ear.
He leaned in slowly and kissed her. The kiss was gentle and sweet, but still, Ena felt that spot between her legs ache instantly at the contact.
Heat spread throughout her body as she opened her mouth wider, inviting him in.
The smell of cedar, stone, and honey surrounded her, and she found herself scooching further into him, lining up their bodies as they lay on their sides so they were touching from toes to chests.
It reminded her of all those mornings traveling that they’d awoken next to each other.
She could never admit it then, but she had wished fervently to do exactly this.
To wake next to him, peacefully, feeling content, and kiss him.
Have him hold her in his big, strong arms and make her feel safe and loved.
She could admit it now, though, and she thought if she could wake this way every day of her life, she’d die happy.
The kiss escalated as Ty slipped his tongue into her mouth.
His hand dragged down her front to land on her breast, where he stroked her nipple through her thin shift.
Wetness instantly pooled between her legs as she reached between them, fumbling with the hem of his shirt.
She moved to lift it up, wanting desperately to stroke his increasingly hard cock where she could feel it against her stomach, but he stopped her.
“Uh-uh, viper,” he tsked. “You first.”
“What do you mean?” she asked breathlessly, feeling a little indignant that he had stopped her from her explorations.
He leaned forward to whisper, his lips grazing over the shell of her ear. “I bet your cunt tastes so fucking sweet in the morning. Be a good girl and spread those legs for me so I can find out.”
Fuck. She had no idea why, but the way he said that had possibly made her more turned on than she’d ever been in her entire life.
“Yes, Master,” she whispered seductively in reply, remembering how much he’d liked it when she called him that.
Her heart was pounding as he threw the furs and blankets off her and pulled her to the edge of the bed, lowering himself between her legs.
As she pulled up her shift, bunching it around her waist, and let her knees fall apart for him, she realized what it was about this feeling that mesmerized her.
Doing what she was told, letting him take command, letting go of her control—it made her feel so free.
Anything could happen, and while that thought normally scared her, when she was with Ty, where she felt safe, it felt…
addictive. She knew without a doubt that she’d do anything he told her to, and that she’d be happier for it.
Ty pulled his own shirt over his head, tossing it to the side, revealing his muscled chest and arms, covered in onata tattoos. Then he stared down at her sex and breathed in deeply. “Fucking Iblis,” he said, and with no hesitation, he lowered his head and licked her from entrance to clit.
“Shit,” Ena said involuntarily, her whole body lighting up with the exquisite feel of his tongue against her.
“Did you like that?” he asked, looking up at her, his piercing green eyes alight with glee and lust.
“Yeah,” Ena said, almost incapable of forming words.
“Good,” he said, lowering his lips and kissing her gently right on her clit. Ena’s body twitched in response. “Keep being a good girl and tell me what else you like.”
He swirled his tongue around her clit once, twice, then placed his mouth over it and sucked—hard. Ena gasped as Ty pulled back and chuckled darkly.
He was enjoying this. Enjoying toying with her, making her react.
And as much fun as it was losing herself to pleasure and letting him take control, she couldn’t let him have all the power.
She snaked her hand down her front and used her finger to swirl around her bud, which was still wet from Ty’s ministrations. Ty watched her, enraptured, as she stuck the finger inside herself, moving it in and out slowly.
“I like this too,” she said as he looked at her, unblinking.
She pulled the finger out, and Ty grabbed her hand as she did, bringing it to his mouth and sucking the taste of her off her fingers. The feeling of his warm, wet mouth around her finger drove her wild, and she watched as his eyes darkened.
“As sweet as you thought it would be?” she asked, her voice coming out sultry and breathless.
“Sweeter. You’re the most delicious breakfast I’ve ever had.”
Ena smiled, a small giggle escaping her at his words.
“Now stop talking while I make you come so hard you forget your own name,” he said, then he full-on stuck his tongue inside her.
He moved it in and out before licking up her center, swirling around her clit again and again until he stuck his own finger inside her.
It was so much bigger than her own, she couldn’t help but gasp again.
He pumped it in and out in a perfect rhythm, and her hips started chasing his movements as he licked her. She couldn’t help herself—she reached down and grabbed his hair with both hands, pushing him harder into her as she ground against his tongue, moaning loudly.
He growled in pleasure at her enthusiasm, licking her faster in time with his finger as he added a second one to join the first.
He pumped them in and out hard, and when he curled them slightly, stroking her from the inside, Ena lost it—her orgasm tore through her as she cried out, her legs shaking as the waves of pleasure ebbed and flowed through her.
Involuntarily, her knees fell apart further, as she slumped back on the bed.
Ty pulled back. She could see her wetness glistening on his lips and in his beard. Part of her wanted to feel embarrassed about it, about how wet he now was because of her, but Ty looked so pleased as he smiled at her, she knew there was nothing to be embarrassed about.
She looked down and could see his thick cock, erect and ready between his legs. Pushing herself up onto her elbows to see him better, she looked him in the eye. “Come here,” she said, her voice desperate and seductive.
Ty leaned over her as she reached for his cock, stroking her hand up and down it, pumping it teasingly, but then a loud knock on the door rang through the room.
Ty turned to look at the door. “Shit,” he said, sounding frustrated. “Coming!” he yelled at the door.
He picked up his discarded shirt and threw it on before striding to the door. Ena pulled her own shift down and sat on the edge of the bed as he opened it, revealing another imperi standing in the doorway.
This one, a man, was dressed in regular attire, but still wore the collar, and if Ena had to guess, she’d say he was a daemon, because her Knowing couldn’t sense a thing.
“Sorry to disturb you, sir. Here’s the breakfast you requested.”
“Thank you,” Ty said, as the man handed Ty a tray of food.
“And I’ve been sent with a message from Dev. He wishes to speak with you as soon as possible.”
“Alright,” Ty said with a sigh, stroking his beard as he thought. “Tell him I’ll meet him in an hour.”
The man nodded briefly before turning to leave, and Ty closed the door behind him, bringing the tray over to the table.
“What was that?” Ena asked.
“I forgot I requested breakfast be brought to us at this time,” he said.
Ena recalled what Lara had told her last night, about the upper-level daemons being served by the king’s kitchen.
She’d never had breakfast brought to her like this before, and although she felt slightly guilty that the imperi were the ones forced to work in the kitchens, she had to admit, it was surprisingly nice.
“I see,” Ena said, moving to join Ty at the table. “And who’s Dev?”
“Dev is the overseer of the mines,” he said, running his hand through his hair as though he were stressed about something. “It makes sense that he wants to meet. I really should go talk to him as soon as I can, but I want to get you settled in the Archives first.”
“What are the Archives exactly?”
“It’s where we keep all the books in the Underworld, except those in peoples’ private collections, of course. And that’s where I keep the books I took from Petyr.”
“Why do you keep them there and not here? Shouldn’t they be kept hidden?” she asked.
“I keep them there so if they’re ever found, they can’t be associated with me or Steig or Turner. But they are still hidden—you’ll see.”
“Oh,” Ena said. That seemed smart, but it dawned on her how difficult it must have been for Ty to live like this for so long—in such a hostile world where he’d constantly had to watch his back from his uncles, living in fear.
No wonder he was filled with rage. And now, on top of that, he had to keep the amulet hidden, too, and—
“Wait—the amulet!” Ena said, suddenly remembering and turning to look at the nightstand. “When I fell asleep last night, I had it wrapped in a cloth here, but now it’s gone.”
“Don’t worry, viper,” Ty said calmly. “After you fell asleep, I moved it.” He went to the trunk at the foot of the bed, digging through it before pulling out a small wooden lockbox.
“I figured, now that I’ve locked it, I’ll melt down the key in the forge so you’ll be the only one who can open it using your spellword. ”
Ena’s heart warmed. Not only was that a great idea, but it showed how much he really, truly trusted her with all of this, and it meant everything.
“Okay,” Ena said, feeling the smile spread across her face.
“Now, come on,” Ty said, gesturing to the plate of hard-boiled eggs, bread, and cheese he’d spread out on the table. “After we eat, I’ll take you to the Archives before I meet with Dev.”
“Okay, if you say so,” Ena said, her tone playfully skeptical as she stood up and walked over to where he stood by the table.
“What?” Ty asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.
“It’s just… I don’t know how you could possibly be hungry after that extremely filling breakfast you just had” Ena smiled widely at him, very pleased with herself for the joke she’d made.
Ty laughed, that contagious sound that lifted her, making her feel lighter than air. Then he grabbed the back of her head, pulling her in closer to him, kissing her soundly. “Don’t remind me,” he whispered in her ear as he pulled back. “I can’t wait for seconds.”