Chapter Nineteen #2
“Okay,” said Turner, distracting Ena from drinking in all she could about this strange plant. “Who’s up first?”
“I’ll go,” Lara said, coming over next to them. “Iblis, it’s been years since I’ve done this.” She sounded giddy, and gave Ena a full, joyful smile, before turning to the wall, sticking out her tongue, and licking the moss.
Ena stared in partial disgust and confusion as a trail of luminescent green trailed after Lara’s tongue.
Ty burst out laughing beside her. “You should see your face, viper,” he said. “Fucking Iblis, it’s priceless.”
“I’m sorry,” Ena said, holding out her hands as if this was suddenly all too much to comprehend. “Did she just lick the wall?”
Lara pulled back, her wide smile somehow even wider as she turned towards Ena. “Scraping off the moss to eat it works, too, but the moss doesn’t like to be disturbed. If you scrape off a portion, it could kill the whole colony, so it’s tradition to just lick it instead.”
Ena pondered this for a second, and it made sense. She Knew the moss did not want to be removed from its home, but still…she shuddered in disgust.
“What’s it taste like?” she asked skeptically.
“Not much,” Ty answered. “Just like dirt and stone.” He watched her, a light still in his eyes from his laughing outburst. Gaia, she loved seeing him so happy and unburdened like this—it reminded her of the way he was nine years ago when they’d first met.
Before he’d been kept from her and granted his Power, along with all the responsibilities that entailed.
“Here, I’ll go next,” he said, handing off his lantern to her.
Ty proceeded to lick the wall, too, eliciting the same eerie-green trail after his tongue as Lara had, followed by Turner, and then, reluctantly, Steig. Apparently, he wasn’t much for the allucinae experience, so it was a big deal that they’d dragged him along and gotten him to loosen up a bit.
“Can you blame me for being scarred after what happened when we were kids?” he asked Ty after he finally succumbed to the peer pressure and licked the allucinae.
“Besides, I never know when Cole is going to require me urgently,” he added, shrugging the tension out of his shoulders as he seemed to relax slightly into whatever he was feeling.
Lara stood up on her tippy toes to kiss him on the cheek.
“It’s okay to live our lives, Steig. Otherwise we let him take it from us,” she said quietly, clearly saying the words just for him, even though the rest of them could hear.
He nodded silently and turned to his wife, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.
Ena turned away from their private moment as Ty came up beside her, taking the lantern back from her hand. “You’re up,” he said, nodding to the wall.
Ena felt absolutely ridiculous as she approached it and stuck out her tongue tentatively. Just as she was about to make contact, Ty leaned in and whispered playfully, “Just pretend it’s my cock and enjoy it like you did the other night.”
Ena elbowed him in the side—hard. He grunted at the impact and burst out laughing again, the sound a boon to Ena’s nerves as she quickly dragged her tongue along the allucinae.
It was softer than she’d expected, the texture almost akin to sheep’s wool, but significantly more damp and dirt-flavored.
She found it wasn’t bad and turned to look at everyone as she pulled back from the wall.
“Now what?” she asked. She didn’t feel any different, although her tongue felt a bit fuzzy.
“Give it a few minutes, and then you’ll feel it,” Ty said knowingly.
Then Lara started giggling next to her. Ena could tell, even in the dim light of the cave, that the woman’s pupils were wide as saucers. She watched as Lara reached out to Steig, tugging him into her, and the two of them instantly started making out.
Ena snorted, taking a step back towards Ty and Turner. “Are they always like this?” she asked, watching as Lara and Steig started going at it like teenagers.
“Pretty much,” said Turner with a sigh. “Ty and I used to always be the third wheels, but now I guess I’m just a fifth wheel,” he lamented.
“You’re never a fifth wheel, brother. Your presence is more than necessary,” Ty said kindly, patting him on the back.
“Come on, come spar with me,” he said to him, walking into the center of the chamber before turning and giving Ena a wink.
“My dark goddess needs to just sit back and enjoy herself.”
Ena did as she was told, blushing at the use of her new nickname in front of Turner, and proceeded to sit down on the ground, leaning back against a portion of the cave wall that was free of allucinae.
She watched as Ty and Turner sparred half-heartedly, both of them clearly starting to feel the effects of the moss, as they laughed and dodged each other’s sloppy blows.
Steig and Lara were huddled in the corner of the cave somewhere Ena couldn’t see them, but she could hear their giggles and whispers in between their low moans and sounds of kissing.
She leaned her head back against the wall and tried to assess herself.
Did she feel any different yet? She didn’t quite know.
The effects were supposed to bring her closer to Iblis, but she didn’t feel more chaotic or anything, she just felt…
relaxed. She reached out to touch the floor of the cave next to her.
The rough rock felt so harsh and cold against her fingers.
Was it always this cold? She dragged her fingers along it until it almost tickled, and a giggle beyond her control burst from her throat.
Okay, it seemed she was feeling the effects now.
She continued her explorations of the stone, rubbing the rock debris on the ground between her fingers, and watched with glee as Ty and Turner sparred, both of them having removed their shirts and worked up a sweat.
Suddenly, it all felt a bit overwhelming—the noises and the movements and the feelings, so Ena closed her eyes. She could sense her Knowing and her Gift pulsing inside her—not violently, not like they did when she was scared or in danger—they were simply there, present and alive.
Everything was heightened—without even trying, she Knew the stone underneath her, felt it breaking slowly in infinitesimal ways, and sensed the allucinae growing unruly on the wall behind her.
Both of them there in such an intimate way—almost as if they were an extension of herself.
The feeling of it reminded her of the Summoning—the glimpses of it she remembered anyway.
The way she Knew a hundred different things at once and had become one with them—but she’d been close to Gaia then, not Iblis, and she wondered vaguely how the feeling could be so similar.
She giggled again, the thought making her laugh for some reason.
Her giggles escalated into full-blown laughter, and she knew she probably sounded like an insane fool, but the feeling of it lifted her, filled her chest with glee and made her cheeks ache.
She realized she was happy—joyful even—not just because of the allucinae, but because Ty was there, shirtless, sexy as all can be, and…
she had friends. People she trusted now, people who understood her and accepted her—all of her.
And she was having fun—she was letting go and enjoying herself, not worrying so much about her path or serving her Goddess. It was freeing, and so wonderful.
Ena…
She turned to her left, looking into the dark, the smile fading from her face. Was that…?
Ena!
That voice…coming from the dark. It almost sounded like her sister. It almost sounded like Greya.
And she sounded in trouble.
Ena stood up, staring into the black void of the cave as if she could make out what was there just by staring hard enough. She took a few steps forward, bringing her lantern with her, but she didn’t see anything.
“You okay?” Lara asked suddenly from behind her, startling her.
Ena whipped around to see her friend standing a few feet away, Steig no longer at her side. Apparently, he’d joined Ty and Turner in their sparring, the sounds of flesh on flesh, grunting, and taunts coming from the other side of the cave.
“Yeah, yeah, I…” Ena stared into the blank dark again. “I just thought I heard someone.”
“It’s the allucinae. It can make that happen sometimes,” Lara explained gently.
“Oh, right, okay. That makes sense,” Ena said, reluctantly turning away from her sister’s voice.
“Usually, if you’re in a good headspace, you don’t see or hear anything too upsetting. The allucinae can turn on you, though, like what happens to most of us during the Trial.”
“Right,” Ena said mindlessly, still trying to shake off the strange, melancholy feeling that hearing her sister’s voice had dredged up in her. The fear had sobered her, and she felt the effects of the allucinae start to dim.
Ena moved to join Lara where she sat watching the three men spar, a small smile on her face as her eyes tracked her husband.
“How long have you two been together?” Ena asked, desperate to change the topic from her anxiety about Greya.
“Almost nine years,” Lara replied, leaning back against the wall next to Ena.
“Wow, so you got pregnant right away?” Ena asked, remembering that their eldest was eight and doing the math in her head. “That must’ve been…intense,” she commented, hoping her shock didn’t come off as rude.
“Oh, definitely. My father was not happy,” Lara replied ruefully.
“Our union wasn’t sanctioned, because Steig’s mother was a mid-level daemon.
There was no way to know what Steig’s Power would be, and my father didn’t want me to potentially hold myself back by uniting with a mid-level daemon.
Little did he know, my Power would be the disappointment, and Steig’s would be coveted. ”
“Hm,” Ena said, verbally expressing skepticism at their unfair system. “While I don’t agree that you’re a disappointment, I gotta say, I did see his cupido in action and it was certainly memorable. I can see why it’s viewed as a powerful asset to Iblis.”
“Yes, exactly. And it’s quite handy in the bedroom too,” Lara said, winking at Ena and laughing at her own joke.
“Seriously? He uses it on you?” Ena asked, a smile coming over her.
“Oh absolutely. With my consent, of course. But it really makes things…extra enjoyable, I’ll say.”
The two of them laughed together at that, but Ena had to admit, hearing Greya’s voice had certainly put a damper on her spirits, and she found it tough to fully access the carefree feeling she’d had just a few minutes ago.
“You two seem like a good match then,” she said. “What with the joy you can bring him with your own Power. Maybe that’s why he hated me so much when we first met. Without you there, he had no joy.”
Lara smiled shyly at her assessment. “Maybe, but he’s also just slow to warm up to people. I wouldn’t take it personally. He…he had a really lonely childhood.”
Ena was surprised to hear this. She didn’t know much about Steig or his history, just that he’d been best friends with Ty since childhood.
“How so?” Ena asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
“Well, his mother wasn’t united with anyone, so she raised him alone. They were very close, but she passed when he was a teenager. Ty’s dad Haden took him in for a while, treated him like a son since he and Ty were so close, but then Haden died, and…”
“I see,” Ena said, pondering this new information. “I’m glad they had each other at least, Ty and Steig.”
“Yeah, me too,” she said. “They’ve always been like brothers—Turner too. So he’s very protective of them. I think that’s why he mistrusted you so much at the beginning—because of the pain your separation caused Ty. But I can tell he’s coming around.”
“You think?” Ena asked, watching the dark-haired, dark-eyed daemon fighting with his friends. “He still doesn’t talk to me very much.”
Lara laughed again. “Yeah, trust me, that’s normal.
Besides, he’s just under a lot of pressure, too, from my dad.
Ever since we married, Cole has been…very demanding of him, so Steig does a lot to placate him.
And Cole sees it as his right for giving the man his only daughter, even though I’m not the heir. ”
There was that word she didn’t know again. Heir. Ena was about to ask what it meant, when she was distracted by a sweaty Ty approaching them.
“How are you feeling, viper?” he asked as he caught his breath, the corner of his mouth tipping up, as if he knew Ena had been thoroughly enjoying her high a few minutes ago.
“Good,” Ena said, not wanting to ruin the mood and bring up the strangeness of hearing Greya’s voice. She could tell him that later. “And you?” she asked, taking the hand he offered her to help her stand up.
“Never better, but I’m sweaty. You up for another stop before we head back? Just the two of us?” he asked. The look in his eyes was so sweet and hopeful, it warmed Ena’s heart.
“Absolutely,” she said. “I’ll follow you anywhere, clearly,” she added, gesturing around their current surroundings.
She’d said it as a joke, but it was obviously true—for better or worse. She’d left everything behind to come here—for him. And though she struggled with the sacrifices that had entailed, she reminded herself that she didn’t regret it.
Besides, a part of her still hoped that she could have everything she needed in the end—Ty, her new friends, her Coven, and her sister. There was still hope for that, she told herself, if they broke the bond and helped everyone to understand.
“Good. Let’s go then,” he said, taking her hand, and leading her again towards the unknown.