Ty shook his head. “Not necessarily. My uncle’s power comes from his direct connection to Iblis, and the hierarchy that he maintains in the Underworld. Breaking the bond would disrupt that, even in the best of circumstances. He would never willingly give that up.”
“So we have to hide it from him. From everyone,” Ena said, seeking confirmation.
“Yes, at least for now,” Ty answered.
Ena nodded slowly, but she felt Ty’s eyes linger on her, watching her reaction to all this.
“So how are we gonna say we captured her?” Turner asked. “Can’t exactly tell Cole about everything that happened since we took her.”
“I’ve thought about that too,” Ty said, redirecting his attention back towards the group. “Our original mission was for Steig to pose as a bard in a series of southern villages and destabilize the populations by using hiscupidoto increase birth rates.”
“What the fuck?” Ena said, staring open-mouthed at them. “Are you serious? That’s horrible.”
“Well, lucky for you we didn’t actually do it,” Steig said, seeming annoyed by her negative reaction. “We were too busy kidnapping you and finding the amulet.”
That didn’t make her feel better.
Sensing this, Ty jumped in. “Look, I know you think it’s bad, Ena, but it does give us the perfect cover story. We’ll say we stopped by the Auster Coven around Samhain to affect the mortals who were there, too, but that you inadvertently discovered what we were, and so we had no choice but to take you.”
“So not too far from the truth then?” Turner asked, his blond eyebrows raising in realization.
“Yes, that’s the point. We have to be careful around my uncle Zak,” Ty explained to Ena. “He has the Power ofmendacium, which means he’s flawless at lying, and he can sense when others are lying too.”
“Alright.” Turner nodded. “What do you think?” he asked, looking to Steig.
“I think that could work,” Steig mused, nodding in agreement. “Cole will love the fact that Turner burned down the matriarch’shouse in the process. The sick bastard will see that alone as a job well done.”
Ena put her face in her hands. This was a lot. Not only was she about to go into the wolves’ den, pretending to be their witch-slave, but she’d have to avoid lying in front of Zak, and keep her cool around Cole, which would likely be tough given that he seemed like such a cruel, vindictive asshole.
She felt Ty reach out and place his hand on her shoulder.
“Ena,” he said gently. He spoke quietly, as if just to her, ignoring Steig and Turner who could, without a doubt, still hear them. “What are you thinking? Tell me.”
She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t apprehensive about all this—terrified even. But, she’d already come this far. And wasn’t this exactly why she’d chosen this path? Didn’t she want to take the risk? Not just to right the wrongs of the past, but for Ty. To be with him. Yes, it would be chaotic as fuck, and not at all balanced and controlled like her life had been for the past twenty-seven years, so that felt overwhelming. But if she were being honest, if she put aside the fear and apprehension…it also felt thrilling. And it was high time she leaned into that.
“I’m thinking it sounds complicated, and dangerous, but…I can do it,” Ena said firmly, coming to her decision. She lifted her head up to look at the daemons as they watched her, assessing. “I will do it, if that’s what it takes.”
Turner smiled at her then, big and unguarded, and even Steig gave her a curt nod of appreciation.
But Ty paused, searching her eyes for any form of hesitation. She let him look, showing him that she meant it, and she was steady as a rock.
A brief flash of pride filled his eyes before a slow, wolfish grin broke out on his face. “Good. Then tomorrow, we go to the Underworld.”
Chapter Four
Ena
Thesunwasalreadysetting outside the cave, so Steig volunteered to take watch. Ty was confident that the threat of Occidens witches pursuing them had passed, but apparently this close to the Underworld, there could be other daemons passing by, and it would complicate things if the four of them were caught here before speaking with Cole.
Turner had curled up on the far side of the cave, his snores already echoing off the damp walls, and Ena found herself sitting alone, her mind trying to process all she had learned. She felt good about her decision to pose as Ty’s witch-slave, but she couldn’t help but wonder where that leftthem—the two of them, together, or not together, as it were. She was just wondering if she should go and find Ty to talk about it all, when he approached her.
“Did you get enough to eat?” Ty asked quietly as he sat down next to her.
“Yeah, I did,” Ena said, touched at his care.
“Good,” he said, staring at her in that intense way of his. “You should get some sleep too. Steig and Turner agreed to take turns on watch so we can rest.”
“Okay,” Ena said, but she didn’t move a muscle. She stared back at Ty, their eyes locking in the firelight, so much unspoken between them.
