Chapter Twenty-seven
Ena
Ena followed Ty through the winding passageways of the Underworld one final time.
Her whole body was sore and felt weak, so she had to go slowly, but luckily, her legs were unharmed and she had no trouble walking.
Her broken wrist, however, throbbed with every step, and each breath she took made her ribs ache.
At least she could crack her other eye to see out of now, though it was still difficult due to the swelling around her broken cheekbone.
Together, they made their way up the long staircase towards the Underworld’s entrance.
Ty carried their saddlebags and held a lone, dim lantern in front of them so they could find their way through the dark—all the lanterns on the walls had been extinguished by the timekeepers, but it had the advantage of cloaking their escape.
Even without the light, Ena could tell they were going the right way, because with each step they took, the air became fresher—cooler.
She’d been underground for almost a month and hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it—the smell of fresh air, the feeling of the breeze on her face.
She was suddenly so eager to see the sky again that she started walking faster, but she couldn’t maintain that for very long and soon had to stop and take a break.
Ty didn’t say a word, just let her set the pace with a look of constant concern on his face, stopping whenever she stopped, and going again when she moved.
She was glad for that. As painful as her body was, her heart was worse.
She could barely stand to look at him, let alone speak, so she accepted their silence with gratitude.
Eventually, they crested the top of the staircase, and relief filled her to find Turner waiting just outside the entrance with three horses and several saddlebags of his own.
As they stepped out of the Underworld to join him, Ena’s gaze instantly went to the sky. It was clear, displaying the millions of tiny stars that were scattered across it, gathered like an awestruck audience around the full moon.
She took a deep breath—the first one she’d taken in over a month, it felt like. The cold air filled her lungs so deep it almost burned, and she relished every second of it.
As if unleashing something within her, her Knowing suddenly came alive again. After weeks underground, her world was filled once more with signs of life, and she was almost overwhelmed by all the things she Knew at once.
The wind blew sharp across the landscape, rustling the scrubby plants that dotted the rocky ground. She Knew the soil here was lacking in certain nutrients, making the plants brittle and dwarfed.
She heard a coyote yip in the distance and Knew that it was out hunting the jackrabbits whose scat she could see on the ground by her feet.
She Knew the jackrabbits must be nearby, too, because the scat was fresh and filled with half-digested remnants of the sage plants she could smell surrounding them.
She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it all, how suppressed that side of her had been these last few weeks. She wanted to just stand there and take everything in, but Ty pulled her attention from it all as he guided her to her horse.
Time was still of the essence.
She turned to look at Turner, giving him a nod in silent greeting as Ty began quickly attaching their saddlebags to the horses.
It was dark, and she didn’t think they’d alerted anyone to their exit, but there was no way to know for sure.
She found herself glancing behind them every few seconds, watching and waiting for signs of pursuit.
When Ty was finished, he turned to her expectantly, extending his hand to assist her in mounting up.
Their eyes locked, and her instinct was to smile at him, but then she remembered—how he’d hidden things from her again, how they couldn’t be together, because he had responsibilities that came before her, and how their relationship wasn’t safe for either of them, and her smile faltered.
Vaguely, she wondered how many times, how many tiny realizations like this, it would take before it stopped hurting so deeply each time.
Ty sensed her hesitation and clearly thought better of touching her, so he backed away. The sad look on his face almost broke her heart all over again.
“Turner, can you…?” he asked quietly, gesturing at Ena.
Turner’s eyebrows flew up in shock at the interaction that passed between them. Had Ty not said anything to him yet?
Turner didn’t ask any questions, though, he just moved swiftly to her side and picked her up gently by the waist, placing her sidesaddle on the horse, then held her steady while she swung her leg over and grabbed the reins one-handed.
She was pleasantly surprised to find herself atop Mahnin—the beautiful black mare that was a favorite of hers. She hadn’t gotten to ride her solo yet, and her heart warmed a tiny bit at the thought. Had Ty given her the mare on purpose?
“You feel alright?” Turner asked in a hushed tone, drawing her attention from the horse. “You feel steady enough with one hand?”
“Yes,” Ena replied. Truthfully, even if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have admitted it. She needed to be on her own horse right now. She needed to be in control, and she needed to leave this place, and all the painful memories it now held.
Turner nodded and mounted up, taking her at her word, and the three of them rode single file out of the pass through the mountains, away from the Underworld.
***
They rode in silence, retracing the path they’d taken to get here all those weeks ago.
Every step away from the Underworld let Ena breathe a little easier, and as the sun came up, despite starting to feel tired and pained, she found herself profoundly relieved to be away and no longer under Cole’s thumb.
It was midmorning by the time they reached the waterfall cave they’d rendezvoused with Turner and Steig at. They didn’t go inside, instead just making a quick stop to water the horses and eat some breakfast, and Ena was glad for that.
If she went inside, she’d have to relive the memories of her and Ty together that night by the fire. She’d have to remember how they’d touched each other secretly, and the way his beautiful confession had made her feel so incredibly hopeful.
That hope was gone now. Her only focus was breaking the bond and getting back to her Coven—to her sister and Heran, where she could be safe.
Ena was leaning back against a tree, trying to ignore the throbbing, aching pain of her still-healing arm and eating some jerky, when Ty approached her cautiously. He gestured at Turner, who was eating an apple a few feet away, to join them, and addressed them both.
“It’s time we make a plan for what comes next,” he said, assuming the role of leader, as he naturally did.
“I’ve been using my venator to listen for any signs of pursuit, but haven’t heard anything, so either Cole hasn’t realized we’re gone yet, or has decided not to come after us right now.
Either way, we need to make moves to reverse the binding spell as quickly as possible, and that starts with recruiting witches from Aquilo and Occidens.
Now, if you two are okay with it, I think we should head to Aquilo first, since we’re closest to it.
But after that…well, I think you’ll be our best shot at making friends there, Ena, so I want to know what you think.
” He looked at her, a pain in his beautiful eyes that she hated to see, but knew was necessary.
Still, she had to look away to hide the answering yearning in her own eyes before she responded.
“I’ve been thinking about that, and yes, I have a friend in Aquilo who will be a good place to start. Maybe…I can try to get a message to him, to see if he can meet with us.”
She didn’t miss the way Ty’s eyes turned hard as ice at the use of the male pronouns.
“And who exactly is this…friend?” he asked, trying for nonchalance, but Ena saw right through him, and if her face still didn’t hurt so bad, she would’ve rolled her eyes.
“He’s just a friend,” she said, trying to sound reassuring. “His name’s Cris. We’ve known each other since childhood, and since we can’t afford to be choosy about our allies, I’d say he’s our best option.”
Did she neglect to tell him that she and Cris had hooked up on and off for a few years and almost had sex at the Samhain celebration last year?
Yes, of course. He didn’t need to know that—it would only complicate things.
She and Cris had never officially been in a relationship anyway; it was always casual, at least from Ena’s point of view.
“Cris, as in the boy you danced with at Litha all those years ago?” Ty asked, his dark eyebrows raising.
Fuck. So much for keeping that information to herself. Did the man remember everything?
Ena cleared her throat awkwardly. “Yes, one and the same. I’m surprised you remember that.”
“I told you, I never forgot.” His stare was intense, filled with so much that neither of them could say, and Ena had to look away, breaking their eye contact by focusing on her jerky instead.
Thank Gaia for Turner, who chose this opportune moment to chime in.
“I’m on board with this plan, but how will you get the message to him?”
“I don’t know exactly. Maybe I could use my Gift to sneak into his house and leave him a note, ask him to meet me somewhere safe to talk? He lives with his brothers, so I’ll have to get around them, but that’s the best I can think of right now.”
“That could work,” Turner replied, nodding as he contemplated her plan. “But what will you…say? You know, once we meet with him, to convince him to help us.”
“I don’t know,” Ena said, sighing. “Witches are taught from such a young age to be mistrustful of daemons, so it won’t be easy. I’m just sort of…hoping that part will work itself out.”
Turner snorted. “Barely a plan in place for an absolute long shot. We certainly are a delusional bunch. What do you think, Ty?” he added, looking over at Ty where he stood, his body now backlit by the rising sun as it crested over the mountains.
“It’s a good plan,” Ty replied gently, nodding at Ena. “But no, I don’t think we’re delusional for having hope,” he said, looking at Turner. “Sometimes hope is the only thing we have, and personally, I’ve never regretted living for it.”
Ty walked away to mount up, his words still echoing through Ena’s head, and together they rode on, clinging to their slivers of hope.