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 preciselyhere, 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 ofrightness, 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.
Chapter Forty
Ena
Thefiveofthemwalked quickly and quietly back through her village to the Sacred Grove. As they reentered the ring of trees, they began to ready their horses for their respective journeys. It went without saying that they needed to be on their way by sunup to minimize their chances of being seen by the rest of her Coven.
