Chapter 39 #2
Greya smoothed the front of her dress, which was wrinkled and covered in dirt from their time in the Sacred Grove.
“I’ve been thinking,” she began. “I’m not going to tell the rest of the Coven about what happened here tonight.
They will be reeling enough from Heran’s death.
They don’t need to know the truth of how it transpired—not yet,” she began, clearly wrestling with the idea of spreading more lies.
“I want to slowly start to introduce the information that’s been kept from us—about the daemons and the amulet and the bond—before we tell them about our involvement in breaking it, or anything about what happened with Gaia and Iblis, because I don’t even fully understand that myself yet,” she said, rubbing the space between her eyes as she closed them briefly.
“As far as the rest of the Coven will know, Heran went peacefully in her sleep.”
Perse reached out, grabbing her hand, and she gripped his arm back, steadying herself on him.
“I think that’s smart,” Ena replied. “If they suspect foul play from daemons was in any way involved with Heran’s death, it’ll be harder for them to accept them back into society.”
“Exactly,” Greya said.
The fire crackled and popped in the hearth, and Ena’s body began to thaw a bit in the warm coziness of Greya’s house.
“But,” Greya continued, “I recognize that, pretty soon, the river will run its course, and word of daemons’ and witches’ magic working against one another will alert the Covens that there’s been a change in the status quo.
I’m hoping that laying the groundwork by explaining how daemons were forced into serving Iblis will keep things from escalating. ”
“And what do you think the daemons will do?” Cris asked Ena.
As if summoned, Ty and Turner reentered the room. Ena noted how tired Ty looked as he came to sit by her side, gently resting his arm over the back of the couch behind her.
“Cole, the leader of the Underworld, will likely come looking for Ena, Turner, and I,” Ty answered once he’d settled.
“Looking to punish us or interrogate us about what happened. The majority of daemons don’t know about the amulet, so they’re probably scrambling to understand what happened right now, but I’m sure he already suspects we had something to do with it,” Ty explained.
“Where will the two of you go then?” Cris asked Ty and Turner. “Will you return and attempt to overthrow the king as you planned?”
Ena caught Ty’s eye. She had no idea how the others would take this, but she chose to trust in them—the people who had helped them all this far. They deserved to know.
“About that,” Ena began. “There’s something else you all should know.”
Ty lowered his arm around her shoulders, encircling her with his warm, solid presence. She saw Turner’s eyebrow raise at their obvious change in relationship status, and a look of confusion fall over Greya’s.
“I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant,” she said.
Silence greeted her, the only sound the popping of the fire and the distant meow of Fergus.
Then her eyes went to her sister. Greya’s face was a mixture of shock and concern. “Gaia, Ena, are you sure?” she asked.
“As sure as I can be until it grows more,” she said. Part of her wanted to place her hand on her lower abdomen right then, to see if she could feel something—anything—about the life growing inside her, but she didn’t. For some reason, the thought of doing that felt terrifying in and of itself.
Then Greya moved to her—so fast she barely had time to blink—before enveloping her in a hug. “What a blessing from Gaia,” Greya said, as she squeezed Ena tightly.
Was it a blessing from Gaia? Part of her felt that way and was endlessly fascinated by the idea of a child—her child—but another part, a louder part, was so terrified and overwhelmed by the thought that she couldn’t imagine how this was a blessing.
It felt like a terrifying unknown that she didn’t know how to face, and that thought brought another wave of guilt that she wasn’t ready to deal with.
“Are you feeling alright?” Greya asked as she pulled back, looking Ena over more thoroughly.
“For the most part, yes. Just tired,” she said, giving her sister a reassuring smile.
She didn’t want Greya to worry. She was doing that enough for the both of them.
“There’s more, though,” Ena said, addressing the group once more.
“A month or so ago, before Ty and I arrived at the Underworld, we saw a Canus Elk.”
“Wow, really?” Cris asked, his pale eyebrows jumping up. “That’s amazing.”
“It would have been, except it was in childbirth, and I…I tried to save it, but it died. And the calf was stillborn.”
Ena watched Mel’s brow lower on their face. Their focus on the conversation clearly came and went, but this had gotten their attention.
“Ena,” Greya said, reaching out to comfort her where she knelt at her feet. “Just because you saw them die does not mean you will too. Do you understand me? Yes, Canus Elks are auspicious and hold meaning, but that meaning is not always clear.”
“I know,” Ena replied, feeling slightly relieved to hear Greya say that.
“But still, I don’t want to take any chances.
What if it’s a warning? What if it means our child is in danger?
Cole could be coming for me. He knows I was involved in whatever Ty was planning, and even if he’s not, although I know you and Perse will support me no matter what, I can’t say the same thing about the rest of the Covens. Either way, I can’t stay here.”
Greya closed her eyes, the reality of her situation sinking in, but when she opened them, she was all fierce loyalty. “You’re right,” she said. “You can’t stay here. Not now, not until I have a chance to clear the way for you.”
“Where will you go?” Cris asked. “You can’t travel alone. It’s not safe.”
“She won’t be alone,” Ty said, replacing his arm around her shoulders now that Greya had released her. “I’ll be with her.”
“What do you mean?” Turner chimed in, his brow furrowed in confusion. “You’re not going back to the Underworld?”
“No. I’ve decided that my place is with her, and not in the Underworld. Not anymore.”
Turner grit his teeth slightly and looked away, and Ena could tell that he felt some type of way about that declaration from Ty, but he didn’t say anything.
“As to where we’ll go,” Ty continued, ignoring Turner’s negative reaction for now, “it seems our seer might have some insight about that.”
Ena looked to Mel then. “So, are you ready to tell us what you’ve seen?”
Mel nodded at her. “I’ve seen where you go, where you’re supposed to go—both of you—but I don’t think he’s gonna like it,” they said, gesturing at Ty.
“What do you mean?” Ty asked, his brow deepening in wariness.
Mel sighed, as if steeling themselves for an inevitable reaction. “You remember the others I told you about, the group that worships Omnis?”
Ty and Ena nodded in unison.
“I’ve seen you with them, and with her. Your mother.”
Ena’s jaw nearly hit the floor.
“My mother is with the group that worships Omnis?” Ty asked quietly, his brow furrowed but his face otherwise unfeeling. The only indication that this troubled him was the sensation of his arm tightening around her.
“Yes,” Mel replied simply.
“And you think we need to go to them too?” Ty asked.
“All I know is that I’ve seen you with them, so I would assume you do need to go there, but I’m not sure.”
Ena supposed that made sense but she didn’t like how uncertain Mel sounded.
“Where is there? Where are they?” Ty asked.
“Somewhere on the other side of the Chasm Mountains.”
Ena stiffened. The other side of the Chasm Mountains?
No witch that she knew of had ever been there.
There were rumors about what was on the other side, and up until just a few months ago, she’d thought Ty was a rare mortal from there, but, of course, that had turned out to be a lie, so who’s to say what were truths and what were falsities spread by daemons.
And then, of course, there was that story Greya used to tell her when they were children…
but she’d always assumed that was just a child’s overactive imagination.
“Why would they need to go there?” Greya asked Mel.
The witch just responded with a noncommittal shrug.
“Well,” Ena answered instead, her mind racing with possibilities.
“If Ty’s mother went there, they might accept a witch who has been in league with daemons, so it could be a safe place to deliver the baby.
” But would that be safer? To travel such a far distance and entrust themselves in the hands of people they had never met before?
“Why not just pose as mortals in a mortal village instead? If Ty grew his hair in a bit and covered some of those tattoos, he’d be less recognizable,” Cris suggested, waving in Ty’s general direction.
“That certainly would be easier,” Ena said, her mind spinning with apprehension. But something in her gut—no, something in her Knowing—told her this was correct. This was Gaia’s will. “But clearly we do go there. If Mel has seen us there, then it’s inevitable, and there must be a reason.”
She couldn’t deny that everything had led them to this point—her having the vision from the amulet, a vision given to her by Gaia, had led them precisely here, to breaking the bond, and to the realization that Gaia and Iblis were far more intertwined than they’d previously thought.
She just didn’t know how or if that realization and these worshippers of Omnis were connected to the safety of their child, but she had no other options.
She had to keep trusting her path. There was just one more thing she had to know…
Part of her didn’t want to ask. She didn’t even know if Mel would tell her. They were so secretive about the future, but she knew she would regret it if she didn’t.
“And what about the child?” she asked, afraid already of the answer. “Have you seen anything about them?”
“I have seen a child, yes,” Mel responded gently, her brown eyes filled with kindness.
“Have you seen anything else? Will the child and I be okay?” Ena pushed.
“I…” Mel said, closing their eyes as if searching their mind. “I am still trying to understand what I have seen, and that is the truth. I cannot tell you when I myself do not yet Know it all.”
Ena sighed. She’d expected that answer. She was, unfortunately, growing used to Mel’s cryptic slow drip of information from their visions. But she didn’t blame them. If anything, she understood. Besides, she’d been getting good at facing the unknown—she could do this too.
“Ena—are you sure about this?” Greya asked. “I know it’s what the seer has seen but I really don’t like the idea of you and Ty traveling over the Chasm Mountains alone in the late winter—let alone while you’re pregnant. What if something goes wrong with the baby?”
Turner cleared his throat. “They won’t be alone,” he said, repeating Ty’s earlier words back to them. “I’ll go with them.”
Ena turned to look at him where he leaned against the wall, his face set in determination.
“I don’t know anything about pregnancy or babies, but I can help,” he continued, looking from her to Ty. Clearly, whatever issue he had with Ty not returning to the Underworld was not disrupting his intense loyalty to the man.
“We’ll be grateful to have you, brother,” Ty responded, giving him a nod.
Ena felt relieved to hear it, but Greya still wasn’t convinced.
“No offense, but I don’t exactly trust two daemons with my pregnant little sister, no matter how nice they might be.”
“I know it’s risky,” Ena said to Greya, then looked over at Ty. “But something tells me it’s right. That’s where we need to go. And if we make it, Ty’s mother is a witch. She’ll at least know how to deliver a baby safely.”
“Okay, then,” Greya said, her voice filled with acceptance. “If you think this is your path—I trust you. I should’ve been doing that all along.”
Ena looked at her sister and gave her a small smile.
It felt immeasurably good to have her sister and Perse back. To have Ty back. To have friends who understood and supported her. And while going over the Chasm Mountains felt terrifying—it gave her hope that she had all her friends and family on her side, at least in this moment.
“The sun is almost up,” Perse pointed out, looking at the window behind her. “You all should be getting back to the Sacred Grove.”
“Wait for me there,” Greya said as they all began to stand in a rush. “I’ll gather what travel supplies I can for you all.”
Ena nodded, her stomach suddenly filled with butterflies.
Part of her couldn’t believe they were about to do this—journey over the Chasm Mountains. Ty gave her hand a squeeze, as if sensing her apprehension and drawing her attention back to him.
Her eyes locked on his beautiful green ones, and she was filled with a feeling of rightness, just as she had been when she’d decided to go with Ty to the Underworld. She knew without a doubt that she’d face whatever unknown she had to to be with Ty and keep their child safe.