He reached out a hand to guide her to the blanket. Gaia, he was charming. The casual grace and confidence with which he moved was incredibly sexy. And his stare, always so intense, sent shivers down her spine.
Feeling like she needed to break the tension, she gestured towards the blanket and asked, “What food did you bring?”
“Ah, some delicacies,” he described, gesturing grandly to the spread of food. “Strawberries that I traded one of the other Auster witches for, some cheese from the Northumbra travelers, and some corn cakes that I made over our campfire. And of course, some cherry wine,” he said proudly, holding up the mystery bottle.
“Wow, you cooked for me? I’m impressed,” Ena said.
“Finally,” Ty replied jokingly, rolling his eyes. “I’ve never met someone so hard to impress, you know.”
“Hmm. Well, I guess I’m just not easy prey. Not like all those other girls you impressed with your dancing prowess.”
Ty chuckled, deep and dark. “You’re still on about that? I told you, those girls are long forgotten. I don’t remember their names, what they looked like. I wouldn’t even recognize them if they were standing right in front of me.”
“Oh, I see. And will I be so easily forgotten too?” Ena said, teasing.
“You?” he asked, all hints of playfulness vanishing. A contemplative expression passed across his face as he watched Ena, as if she were some unknown entity he couldn’t quite figure out. “No,” he said quietly. “No, I could never forget you.”
Looking away, he picked up the bottle of wine and filled up both mugs, handing one to Ena.
The conversation turned once again to lighter subject matter as they picked at the food. The corn cakes were absolutely delicious, and Ty was entirely too cocky after hearing Ena’s praise. They drank the cherry wine cheerfully as Ena regaled Ty with stories of her and her sister growing up under the strict guidance of matriarch Heran, like the time Ena had accidentally started a very small forest fire when she was learning how to use her spellwords. Luckily, Greya had put it out before anyone noticed, but to this day, Greya didn’t allow her to start campfires.
Then Ty described what it was like growing up with his surly uncles and extensive relations back home, including how one beloved younger cousin had followed him around so much as a child that they referred to him as Ty’s shadow. Ena also peppered him endlessly with questions about Yalta and what it was like on the other side of the Chasm Mountains, but Ty remained fairly tight-lipped about his home, insisting that it was nothing special, given how isolated and hard to get to it was.
As the stars began to emerge in the sky, Ty regaled her with a particularly hilarious story wherein he and his best friend went spelunking in a relatively dangerous and unused section of the caves near their village and got lost for three days before they found their way out. They had to survive by eating bugs and salamanders from the underground cave pools, so now Ty refused to travel anywhere without several extra days’ worth of food, just in case.
Wiping tears of laughter from her eyes as he finished the story, Ena said, “So I was right then. Youarereckless.”
“I prefer…adventurous,” Ty replied, grinning mischievously in return.
“Ah, I see. Well, that’s where you and I differ.” Ena sighed, her laughter finally calming as she shook her head.
“You’re not adventurous?” Ty asked. “As someone who watched you climb that cliff yesterday with very little convincing, I might disagree with you.”
Ena laughed at that, but quickly turned serious as the conversation seemed to hit a sore spot for her. “I’ve never done anything like that before. Sometimes…I want to be adventurous. But like with learning to swim, I just get scared the worst will happen or I’ll lose control and it’s just…easier to stay on the safe path, the known one. So that’s what I choose.”
Ty seemed to ponder that for a moment. “Yeah, that’s true. It is safer. And I’m sure I could use some of that temperance, at least according to my dad.” Ty smiled sadly at the mention of his father. “But I can’t seem to help myself. There’s too much to gain from the unknown paths. There’s so much to discover, and that adrenaline rush that hits when you find something amazing…there’s nothing like it.” Ty’s face lit up with that mischievous grin again, and Ena could help but smile back at him.
“You make me feel like I could do that, you know,” she said quietly.
“Do what?”
“Face the unknown.”
They looked at each other for a moment, their gazes full of anticipation. Ena knew what was coming, what was inevitable, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for it quite yet.
Together, they turned to look at the sky. The night was clear, only a few wispy clouds covering the moon. A river of stars that mirrored the one flowing next to them filled the sky, and all together, the sea of tiny lights was so bright it nearly outshone the moon. It was beautiful.
“What do witches know of the stars?” Ty asked her casually, breaking the tension.
“Hmm. Well, Gaia created them to guide us, so we might always find our way and know how to orient ourselves to her path. But they can also tell us stories.”
“Stories?” he asked, seeming rapt by this knowledge.
“Yes,” Ena replied, smiling lightly at his enthusiasm. “The shapes they form tell us the way things once were, and how they may be again. Their movements are one of the ways we interpret Gaia’s will.”
“I see,” Ty said, seeming to contemplate this. “What’s that mean then?” he asked, pointing to a cluster of stars that formed a vague serpent shape.
“I believe that’s Draco. He is a terrifying snake-like creature with wings.”
