Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-six
Ty
The five of them traveled as quickly as possible over the next three days. It was brutal on all of them after being on the road so long already, but time was of the essence if they were going to get to the Sacred Grove in time to meet Greya.
Ty was still skeptical that Ena’s sister would show up. His ingrained mistrust of witches—and her sister, especially, after the way she and Ena had left things in Occidens—ran deep, but Ena seemed confident that she would.
Of course, there was always the chance that others would show up too and disrupt them. Ty knew what would be necessary then—for his people’s sake—and he was ready, but he knew Ena and the other witches would not be okay with it, so he really fucking hoped it wouldn’t come to violence.
On the evening of the new moon, three days after they’d left the Sacred Pool, they found themselves on the outskirts of the Auster Coven.
Ena knew the area like the back of her hand, so she was able to navigate them through the backwoods towards the Sacred Grove, making sure to steer them away from any heavily used paths.
They traveled in absolute silence, listening for any snap of a branch, or wisp of a scent on the wind. But there was nothing, and as they wound their way through the darkening woods, Ty began to hear the overwhelming sound of rushing water.
The River Wry.
The noise was so much louder and more powerful than he remembered. It had been almost a decade since he’d last been in the Sacred Grove—since he’d met Ena there—and as the five of them finally broke through the trees into the wide-open space, he was struck by its majesty all over again.
The clearing was large—much larger than one would expect in the middle of such a dense forest—and the ground was mostly bare dirt in the center, repeated use by the witches having destroyed the ground plants that once grew there.
The remnants of past bonfires scattered the space, their ashy residues making dark smudges on the ground.
All of that was dwarfed by the towering evergreen trees that encircled the space, naturally forming a near-perfect ring. Their size was intimidating—like they guarded this space and would protect it unto death.
Ty watched as Turner’s neck tilted back, straining to look at the giants that surrounded them, but Mel—the only other one among them who had yet to see them—seemed in their own world as usual, barely seeming to notice that they’d finally arrived.
Ty dismounted and tethered his horse just at the edge of the grove, the others following his lead.
Walking into the center, he could see the sky above his head. It was dusk now, but dense gray clouds obscured the emerging stars, and he was struck by an overwhelming sense of déjà vu, remembering the last time he’d been here at dusk.
It had been summer then, and he’d been just eighteen, accompanying his uncles on his first mission. He’d seen a beautiful girl with dark-brown hair on the edge of the clearing, and in his youthful bravado, had gone up to ask her to dance.
Then she’d looked at him with those eyes, and the rest was history.
He watched as Ena approached him now, her face pensive.
He wondered if she, too, was being haunted by memories of this space, though which ones, he wasn’t sure.
Either way, a sense of melancholy hit him so deep in his bones he almost couldn’t breathe—because after tonight, if they succeeded with the spell, everything would be different.
The five of them wordlessly worked together to light a fire—small enough to see by, but not so big as to attract attention—and once it was lit, they gathered around it as they awaited Greya.
The apprehension in the air was palpable.
Mel drew symbols in the dirt with her finger, swirling patterns that almost resembled those used to decorate the Great Antre in the Underworld, and Cris quietly broke sticks, throwing them into the fire every few minutes.
Turner refused to sit and instead paced the space, visiting and touching each giant tree in turn over and over again.
But Ty’s eyes were drawn to Ena, as always.
She stared into the fire, a task which always seemed to soothe her, and Ty was soothed in turn watching her.
He knew he must look like a fool, watching her incessantly as she stared at the fire, but he couldn’t look away.
Not now. Not when they were so close to—
Ty heard the noise first—the faint sound of a soft footstep on a beaten dirt path.
“Someone’s coming,” he announced in a whisper to the group, his eyes whipping towards the dark woods.
They all stood up, Ty’s hand immediately going to the dagger on his belt. The footsteps were delicate, and sounded like they came from just one individual, but you never knew with witches.
It was a few minutes later that he saw her emerge from the dark wood, following the path that led to the Auster Coven’s village.
She was as Ty remembered her, albeit a little older now.
Her pale-blonde hair was mostly covered by the hood of the black cloak she wore, but the tip of her braid peeked out the bottom.
Her face was—Iblis, it was so much like Ena’s, with a gentle brow and rose-colored lips.
But her eyes were different, slightly smaller and brown compared to Ena’s big blues, and her skin wasn’t nearly as pale.
And she was alone. Ty heard no other signs of approach—and silently thanked Iblis for it as he removed his hand from his dagger.
The sisters spotted each other, and Ty smiled despite himself as he watched them. Ena rushed towards her sister, the two of them falling into an embrace so natural it was like watching two vines entwine together, fusing as they grew.
“I missed you so much,” he heard Ena say, her voice emotional and muffled in her sister’s cloak.
“I missed you too,” Greya responded, sounding relieved. Pulling away from her sister, Greya patted the leather bag slung across her body. “I brought what you needed,” she added confidently.
“Did you commune with Gaia like I suggested?” Ena asked, her voice slightly choked.
“I did, and you’re right. I believe that doing this is for the better, despite the risks. I’m with you, Ena.”
The sisters smiled at each other, and Ena turned to look behind her, drawing Greya’s attention to the rest of them.
Greya’s eyes landed on him first, not in an unfriendly way, but definitely judging, as he approached them.
“You must be Ty,” she said neutrally, looking him up and down. “You look different from what I remember.”
“Nine years will do that to you,” he said, meeting the witch’s assessing gaze.
“It’s nice to officially meet you,” she said, extending her hand hesitantly.
“Likewise,” he responded, shaking her petite hand in greeting.
She may have been hesitant—maybe because of his and Ena’s history, maybe because he was a daemon, he didn’t know—but her grip was strong and confident, like a matriarch’s should be, and something in him settled a bit.
He was glad Ena had her—this stable, loving force—in her life. She deserved it. She deserved so much.
“Where’s Perse?” Ena asked as they broke their handshake.
Greya looked at her, clearing her throat slightly. “I may have…slipped him a sleeping potion with dinner.”
Ena gasped, fighting a smile. “Greya, you didn’t,” she said, chastising her lightheartedly. Iblis, it was good to see her smile. Though an irrational pang of sadness struck him that he wasn’t the cause of it anymore.
“I didn’t want him to be involved in this,” Greya explained defensively. “The fewer people that know, the better, at least until we can ease the Coven into the idea of this. It’s the best way to protect him.”
“Did you two ever…” Ena began, her tone tinged with sadness.
“Yes,” Greya responded guiltily. “We were handfasted a few weeks ago,” she confirmed. “I wanted to wait for you, I really, really did, but I didn’t know when you were coming back, and Perse—”
“Stop,” Ena said, holding up her hand. “It’s alright. I understand completely. I’m so, so happy for you two,” she said, reaching out to squeeze Greya’s arm. “I’m just sorry I wasn’t there. Do you forgive me?”
Her sister smiled at her, looking relieved. “Always,” she said, reaching out to hold Ena’s hands.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Turner asked, as he approached the three of them.
Greya turned to look at him, too, using that same assessing gaze.
“Greya, this is Turner. Turner, this is my sister Greya.”
“Is he a…?” Greya asked, seeming surprised by his demeanor.
“Yep, daemonic through and through,” Turner replied, extending his hand to shake hers in greeting. “It’s nice to finally meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you.”
Ty could see Greya relax slightly at Turner’s overt friendliness.
“Nice to see you, Greya,” Cris greeted as he joined the group too.
“Good to see you, too, Cris. I’m glad I’m not the only one Ena convinced of this,” she said as she laughed familiarly at him. “How did you get Northe’s permission to come?”
“I, uh…didn’t,” Cris said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Iblis, the man’s timidity was grating. How could Ena have ever dated this fucker?
“I see,” Greya replied, understanding clearly dawning on her of the consequences of that. “And you must be…” She looked over at Mel next, where they stood near the fire.
“I’m Mel,” they said simply. “It’s nice to see you in the now.”
Greya’s brows furrowed slightly, as everyone’s usually did when they spoke to Mel.
“Mel is the seer from Occidens I told you about,” Ena said as Greya nodded her head in understanding.
Silence fell over the group after the brief introductions, a tension now palpable as they all came to a collective realization.
It was time.
No more waiting. No more objects. No more research. They had everything they needed.
They could break the bond.
He turned to look at Ena, and she met his gaze unflinchingly. She seemed calmer than before—her reunion with her sister clearly having grounded her. She felt…powerful.