Chapter Twenty-five
Ena
Ena was asleep. She didn’t know how long she’d been that way, but she could sense that it had been a while.
The potion they’d given her when she had first woken up had knocked her out cold, but her consciousness had come and gone.
Sometimes she’d fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep, and then other times, she’d felt herself waking up, only to be dragged under again in a seemingly never-ending cycle.
But this time felt different. Her eyes felt so heavy, but still, they began to flutter, and with effort, she was able to crack one of them open.
She struggled with the other one and only got it so far open before deciding to let it close again.
She could feel that that side of her face was swollen—it throbbed and was uncomfortable—but there wasn’t much pain.
She guessed she had the potion to thank for that.
Looking around with her one good eye, she saw that she was still in Ty’s room.
“Ena!”
Movement from the other side of the room caught her eye and she tracked it. It was Lara.
“How are you feeling?” Lara asked as she approached the bed.
“I—” Ena went to answer, but her voice came out in a croak. It sounded rough and dry, and hurt to use. She moved to swallow and winced at the dull pain that accompanied the movement.
“Sorry, hold on. I’ll get you some water.” Lara moved to the table and poured Ena a glass of water from the pitcher there. Bringing it over to her, she leaned over the bed to tip a tiny amount into Ena’s mouth.
“More?” Lara asked gently. When Ena gave a small nod, she poured a few more mouthfuls into Ena’s mouth before Ena turned her head away.
“Thank you,” she managed to croak out. The water had helped, but her voice was still messed up. That had to be because of the—
Ena flinched as the unwanted memory resurfaced. Gunnar’s meaty hands around her throat—squeezing—as she tried desperately to drink in air.
The terror she’d felt. The helplessness.
“So how are you feeling?” Lara asked, jolting Ena’s attention back towards her.
“O-okay, I think,” Ena answered, fidgeting uncomfortably as the adrenaline petered out of her body once more. She was suddenly keenly aware that she hadn’t moved in Gaia knew how long, and her limbs felt strange.
“Here, let me help you sit up,” Lara said. Carefully, she propped another pillow behind Ena’s head and then came up onto the bed next to her. Together, being careful of Ena’s broken ribs, they shuffled her upward into a sitting position.
Just then, the door opened, and their attention shifted as Ty entered the room.
Sudden relief washed over Ena so intensely that her good eye began to tear up.
“You’re awake,” he said, rushing over to the bed in a few long strides.
He knelt down beside her and grasped her uninjured hand in his.
The look on his face made Ena want to cry even more.
He looked relieved, too, but his stare was so intense, like he didn’t want to blink for fear that she’d disappear.
“You’re back,” she croaked out.
She saw him wince slightly at the sound of her voice, but he hid it well, and brought his hand up to push hair away from the uninjured side of her face. “I am. I got back this morning. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. I was with…”
Ena’s hand tightened unconsciously, gripping Ty’s harder. She knew what he’d been about to say. She could see it in the look of fury in his eyes. He had been with Cole.
Even the thought of his name made Ena’s heart rate kick up and brought a panicking tightness to her chest. She had to actively calm herself down, closing her eyes for a second and taking as deep of a breath as she could with the dull pain still echoing through her ribs.
“How—how long have I been asleep?” she managed to ask, desperate to change the topic.
“Just a day or so,” Lara answered. “The pain-numbing potion was also a sleeping draft, so unfortunately now that you’re awake, the pain might come back.”
Ena nodded, but felt her stomach tighten at the prospect of more pain. She was familiar with the type of potion they’d used, and she knew that would likely be the case.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t do more for you,” Lara continued. “We only have so many potions on hand from trades with the Covens.”
The mention of the Covens—of home—brought a sharp pain to Ena’s heart.
What she wouldn’t give to be there right now—with Greya, or with Heran.
The matriarch could heal her in half the time it would take on her own.
Or even with Perse. Ena was sure he’d have something lighthearted to say—something that would make her smile and feel safe.
In that instant, she wanted to go home so badly, she didn’t know how to go on.
But she put on a brave face for her friend, who she knew was distraught at not being able to help her more. “I understand,” Ena said quietly, trying to look reassuring for Lara. “I’ll be fine, I promise. I just need…time.”
Ty stroked her uninjured hand with his thumb.
Honestly, Ena couldn’t even bring herself to look down at the broken one.
Would it heal properly? Would she have issues with it for the rest of her life?
And her face…she knew without a doubt that her cheekbone had broken. Would she look different now too?
“Do you think you can handle drinking some broth? I can go get you some,” Lara offered, concern in her eyes.
“Yeah,” Ena said. “I’ll try some. Thanks.”
Lara gave her a watery smile before standing up and reassuring Ty she’d be right back before leaving to fetch the broth.
Ena looked at Ty, the two of them alone for the first time since he’d returned, and she knew what was coming next.
He was going to ask what happened, and the thought made the panicked feelings in her chest return.
“Ena,” he said quietly, almost a whisper. His voice was full of regret and sadness, and she couldn’t handle it. “I—”
“I figured out the spellwords,” Ena said, interrupting him suddenly, desperately changing the subject.
“What?” he asked, clearly surprised by the sudden shift in conversation. “Really?”
Ena nodded. “The spellwords were derived from runic words summoning the chaos magic of Iblis and severing the balancing magic of Gaia. If we switch one of the words to its antithesis, I think we can reverse the spell.”
Ty looked at her in awe. “Ena, that’s—” He shook his head in disbelief. “That’s amazing. I can’t believe you did it.”
Ena smiled slightly at his praise. After all this time, it still felt good to please him.
“So does that mean we’ll be summoning Iblis? Like in the Trial?” he asked, his face turning wary.
“Yes, I think so. And it makes sense, because it took a great act of chaos to sever daemons from Gaia’s magic in the first place, and now to restore it, we’ll have to channel him again, only this time, the great act of chaos will hopefully lead to a restoration of the balance that was lost.” Ena paused, thinking of how to explain the revelation she’d had before everything came crashing down.
“Sometimes, I think, chaos can be necessary in the short term, to reach a new equilibrium, so if I embrace that, and channel that intention into the spell, it should work to break the bond to Iblis, and allow Gaia’s magic back in. ”
Ty smiled at her. “Good, then we can leave right away—because I’m sorry, Ena, but I think we need to leave as soon as possible.
I know you’re still healing, but it’s not safe here for you anymore.
My conversation with Cole confirmed that.
He’s suspicious of us, of you, and I just—” Ty cut himself off, closing his eyes as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.
“I’m so, so sorry, Ena. I’m just so sorry for everything.
I never should have left you here alone. ”
“You didn’t have a choice,” Ena said, and it was the truth. She didn’t blame Ty for what happened, not at all. But she did feel scared. More scared than she’d ever felt before. She knew she wasn’t safe here and never would be.
We will never allow a witch to be queen.
Cole’s menacing words to her before she’d been knocked unconscious flooded back to her unbidden, and she shut her eyes tight.
“Ena? Are you alright?” Ty asked, his voice full of concern as he reached up to grasp her arm.
“Yeah, I’m fine, I just…something Cole said to me.”
“What did he say?” he asked, anger creeping into his voice.
“That I would never be…‘queen,’” Ena said the strange word, feeling it out on her tongue. “Do you know what that means?”
Ty removed his hand from her shoulder as if she’d burned him. His brow furrowed, and he looked away from her.
“Ty?” she asked, recognizing his avoidance of a tough topic. “Tell me.”
He sighed, rubbing his hands through his beard. “A queen is a coruler. Someone who rules in the Underworld alongside the king after they are united—that’s our version of handfasting.”
“And why…would I ever be queen? There’s no way I’m uniting with Cole.”
Ty sighed again, as if steeling himself for something. “It’s because of me. Because I’m the heir. After Cole dies…I will be king.”
Ena’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. It sank so far away she didn’t know if she would ever get it back.
There was that word again. The one she’d heard but didn’t know. The one that clearly had been haunting her this whole time and she felt like such a fucking idiot for missing its meaning.
Heir. Ty was the heir. It meant he was next in line to be king.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” she asked, her voice turning hard.
“I—”
But she was too mad to hear what he was about to say. “I’m so sick of you hiding things from me, Ty,” she said, tears filling her eyes, whether from anger or sadness, she wasn’t sure. “This is huge. This changes everything.”
“I wasn’t hiding it,” Ty said, his voice unwavering.
“I just didn’t want it to complicate things between us.
I just wanted to forget about it. And it doesn’t have to change anything.
Ena,” he said, his voice steady and convincing.
“I can make you my queen. I don’t care what Cole said, I’ll have the power to do that. I’ll be able to do whatever I want.”
Ena shook her head sadly. Tears started to flow down her face, dripping through the bruises on her cheeks and falling onto her broken wrist where it lay on the bed. “I can’t, Ty, don’t you see? Do you not see what they did to me?”
Ty looked away as if she’d slapped him.
“There are too many here who will never accept me. Even once we break the bond, all that hate won’t just instantly go away.
I will always be in danger from those who mistrust witches, and I…
I need to be with my family.” Ena began sobbing.
The homesick ache returned as she thought of her Coven.
Of the safety there that she longed for.
Because, she realized, she wasn’t safe here. Even with Ty back—he was only one man. And how long before he was hurt trying to protect her? How long before daemons came for him, too, for breaking the rules?
As freeing as it had been to embrace the unknown, it had also been more dangerous than she’d realized, and right now, she just desperately wanted to feel safe again.
“I—I can’t be at your side here, Ty. I see that now. We…we have to stop this. Before we get in too deep.”
But what he didn’t know was that she already was in too deep.
She was so fucking deep she was drowning.
She’d wanted to be with Ty so badly she’d thrown caution to the wind.
But for the first time, she saw it clearly—their relationship was not safe.
It wasn’t safe for her, or him. By being together, they’d been playing with fire, and soon enough, someone would get burned.
She had to be the logical one, the strong one. As much as it utterly killed her—broke her—she had to end this. For both their sakes.
“Ena, what are you saying?” he asked, his beautiful eyes filled with desperation.
“Ty.” She looked at him, his face blurry because of the tears in her eyes. “It’s not safe for us to be together—don’t you see that? If I stay here, Cole will kill me. Even once you are king, I’ll always be in danger from those who think like him. And maybe next time, they’ll hurt you too.”
Quiet rage filled Ty’s eyes as he spoke. “I don’t care if they hurt me, Ena. I’ve waited too long for you. I want you now. I want you every minute, of every day. I—” Ty swallowed, as if stopping himself from what he’d been about to say. “You’re mine.”
“I can’t be yours, Ty,” Ena said, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Not anymore.”
Ty’s face fell into his hands, and he held it there for several seconds.
Ena had to look away. It was too much. This was all too much. Her heart felt broken and shattered in her chest. Unfixable. Unrecoverable.
Part of her wanted to break, seeing his face like that, to turn to him, and hug him.
Kiss him. Deny all of this. Take it all back.
But she couldn’t fucking move. Her wrist was broken, her face and ribs were broken.
Her injuries were a visceral reminder of the consequences of their relationship, so she held her ground.
Because at least Ty would live. His people needed him as king.
She saw the way they looked up to him, respected him.
And if anyone could lead the daemons into a more peaceful accord with the witches and mortals, it would be Ty.
He needed to live for her sake, but he needed to live for them most of all.
So she had to let him go.
“I’ll come with you still, to break the bond, but then…” Her voice drifted off, small and quiet.
Why wasn’t he saying anything? Why wasn’t he arguing with her and telling her this wasn’t the way? That they could figure something else out? Part of her desperately wanted that. If he fought her, if he argued and told her no, maybe she could give in. Maybe then she wouldn’t have to do this.
But Ty was silent. She could just make out the sheen of tears in his eyes as he stood up, nodding his head. “Okay,” was all he said.
Then he turned and walked out of the room, leaving Ena broken and alone on the bed.