“Ena!” the man exclaimed as she approached. He stood up slowly, steadying himself on the arm of the chair, and wrapped her in a warm hug. “We’ve been so worried about you. I’m so relieved you’re alright.”
Ena had forgotten how tall Perse was—even taller than Ty, but much lankier. She only came up to the lower part of his chest, but her arms easily wrapped around him as he hugged her tightly. “It’s so good to see you, too, Perse,” she said, squeezing the man who’d always been like a brother to her.
Ena pulled back to look into his sleepy hazel eyes that began to fill with sadness and suspicion as Turner and Ty walked in with Heran’s body.
“Did Greya explain what happened?” Ena asked him, redirecting his attention towards her.
“Yes, a—a bit,” he said, clearly confused and overwhelmed already by the little he’d heard, and she didn’t blame him.
“Where should we put her?” Ty asked Greya, who had closed the door quietly behind them.
“You—you can put her in her bed. Upstairs, first door on the right. I think that will be for the best,” Greya said, her voice grief-stricken, but decisive.
And Ena realized with a swell of pride that even in this small first decision, Greya was stepping into her new role. Becauseon top of all her grief, she would now be expected to step into Heran’s shoes and lead the Coven through this tumultuous time.
In many ways, she felt like she was truly seeing her sister for the first time—not as the stalwart eldest sibling who’d been born to lead and always knew what to do, but the ever-changing woman, just like her, who was trying to find her path in this world. Greya had been thrust onto hers unexpectedly tonight, and Ena so badly wanted to stay and help her, but it was a journey Greya would have to undertake alone, just as Ena had hers.
As Ty and Turner moved towards the stairs in the hallway, Greya ushered the rest of them into the sitting room, where Ena took a seat on the large new upholstered couch next to Mel and Cris.
“Greya,” Ena said, drawing her sister’s attention to her as she perched on the arm of Perse’s chair. “What’s your plan for Heran? What are you going to tell the rest of the Coven?”
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 raiseat 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—herchild—but another part, a louder part, was so terrified and overwhelmed by the thought that she couldn’t imagine how this was ablessing. 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.
