So right now, she chose the child—herchild,Ty’schild—and how to make sure it was safe.
Gaia, that felt wild to even think. She’d never spent much time thinking about having children at all, let alone Ty’s child, given their circumstances. And now, this was all happening so fast, she didn’t know how to feel about it. It was only in thepast couple days that she’d begun to suspect she was with child. She’d been feeling so rundown and food had been increasingly unappetizing, but it wasn’t until she’d had a second to herself by the river to think that she’d realized without a doubt.
And she was so overjoyed that Ty had chosen to stay with her—she couldn’t imagine handling this on her own—but still…the thought of a child was overwhelming to her. She couldn’t even begin to contemplate what that would be like or if she would even like being a mother. What if she wasn’t good at it? What if she couldn’t keep it safe? What would her future even look like now?
These vicious thoughts swarmed inside her, and she hoped to Gaia that whatever Mel had to share might guide them. But mostly, she just needed to talk to Greya. She would know what to do.
The three of them arrived in the Sacred Grove to find Turner and Cris huddled around the fire with Greya, who had since returned, but without Perse.
“How did it go?” Ena asked, taking in her sister’s deathly pale countenance. The loss of Heran was clearly hitting her hard.
“Perse’s awake, but groggy. He’s too drowsy to help with…the body, so I was thinking…” She paused, addressing the group with uncertainty. “I want to go back to the house so we can all talk. I explained a little of what is going on to Perse, but I want him to be there for this. And besides, I need someone to help carry her back,” Greya explained, purposely avoiding looking at the body in question.
“Do you think that’s safe?” Ty asked. “Us all going back to the village?”
“I think we should take the chance. Now that Heran is gone, there will be no one else in the house to disturb, and there’s still a few hours before dawn, when everyone else will be emerging from their houses. We’ll be more comfortable there anyway.”
Ty gave a reluctant nod, but she could tell he felt wary about it. She, on the other hand, felt relieved.
They’d been traveling on the road for weeks. The thought of being warm indoors, even for an hour—let alone in her own village—sounded so incredibly amazing she almost teared up.
“Should we…?” Turner asked Ty quietly, gesturing towards Heran, where she lay shrouded on the ground.
“If that’s okay with you and Greya?” Ty asked her.
Ena looked to her sister, who nodded at them.
“Yes, thank you,” Greya said, her voice cracking a bit.
Together, Ty and Turner carefully lifted Heran’s body, which had already begun to stiffen in the cold, and held it respectfully between them. Following Greya’s lead, the six of them began to walk the familiar, well-worn path back towards her village.
Ena was struck with memories of the last time she’d walked this path—right before Ty, Turner, and Steig had taken her on the night of Samhain. She’d been so lost then. In many ways, she still felt that way.
The village was dead silent as they weaved through the houses. The gardens were all dormant this time of year, but still, Ena could make out the familiar spot in front of Thyla’s parents’ house where she, Ena, and Greya had spent hours replanting garlic one fall after a chicken had escaped and torn up the original plantings.
Then, of course, there was the old stone barn, where Ena had often been sent to milk the goats. Though it had never been her favorite activity, she had loved the quiet comfort of the animals, and the peaceful stillness of her mornings spent there before the rest of the Coven would wake.
Seeing these familiar haunts, it hit her now—despite her uncertain future, she didn’t want to return. She couldn’t. Not truly.
Following Ty to the Underworld, despite all the bad that had happened there, had set her free in so many ways. And even though after she’d been attacked she’d desperately craved the safety of home, she realized now that she could never go back to the way things were. She had changed too much, and that safety she’d once felt here was gone. She could only go forward, and what her path looked like now…that was still painfully unclear.
But at least she had Ty with her once more. At least they could figure it out together.
The six of them silently approached the newest, largest house in the village—one Ena hadn’t yet seen. It had been rebuilt on the very spot the old house had been, before it had burned to the ground thanks to Turner’s Power, and Ena could still see the remnants of scorched earth on the outer edges of the garden by the new fence that encircled it. Ena realized that Perse and Greya must’ve been living here also since their handfasting. She’d always thought Greya had intended on moving into Perse’s house, but maybe with Heran’s health declining they’d decided to stay.
Guilt hit Ena anew that she had been absent for all of that. There’d been no indication of Heran’s frailty when she’d last seen her in Occidens.
Please, my child.
Heran’s final plea rang through her mind again.
Had she betrayed her by doing this without her permission? Mel maintained that the future was unavoidable, but even so, Ena was filled with so much regret for the way things had turned out.
Her vicious, self-blaming thoughts swarmed again as they walked up the path and Ena spotted Fergus, the black cat, padding down the path to greet them. She read his signs and Knew he was quite happy to have visitors this late, and particularly happy to smell Ena again. He entwined himselfaround her legs as she walked, purring quietly as they entered the large front door.
The home was warm and smelled of freshly cut wood. She instantly felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu given that the layout was nearly identical to the old house—the house she’d grown up in with Greya and Heran.
Turning to her right, she made her way with the others into a small sitting room, where an extremely sleepy-looking Perse sat perched in a cushy chair by the fireplace.
