Ty’s brows jumped up in intrigue. “Really? What makes you think that?” he asked, keeping his voice low just in case.
Ena explained about what she remembered from the spell, how one of the witches seemed less enthusiastic than the others, and the brief mention of the “dark spell” in the journal being the cause of the severing of ties between the Covens.
“That makes a lot of sense,” Ty said, his brows creasing as he pondered the new information. “So you think the Occidens matriarch was against it, even though she participated?”
“Yes,” Ena said. “Either she was forced into it, or maybe changed her mind after the fact, I don’t know, but either way, I think somehow the Occidens witches ended up taking the amulet, and maybe the other Covens didn’t like that.”
Ty nodded, going quiet. He seemed troubled by all this talk about Occidens, and she thought she maybe knew why.
“Ty…” she began, feeling a bit awkward. “There’s something else we haven’t really had a chance to discuss after…everything happened at Occidens.”
He looked up at her, his green eyes piercing as he waited for her to continue. Had it really only been last night he’d had her on her knees, so commanding and dominating? Because right now, he seemed different—vulnerable and unsure, as if he was on the edge of something she didn’t quite understand.
“When we were held captive there, the Occidens matriarch—Syrelle, her name was—she came to see me. And some of the things she said, well, it made me think that maybe your mother was an Occidens witch.”
Ty looked away, huffing out a rueful laugh. “Yeah, I figured that out myself when they kept asking me questions about her,” he said bitterly.
“What kinds of questions?” Ena asked.
“Mostly they wanted to know if I knew where she was.”
“How do you think they even knew who you were?” Ena asked gently. They hadn’t talked much about his mother. Ena knew it was a sore subject for him, so she wanted to proceed with caution.
“My eyes. Apparently, they look like hers,” he replied, keeping his attention on the books in front of him, as if this conversation didn’t matter to him at all. “But clearly, it wasn’t enough of anassociation to spare my life,” he said, anger creeping into his tone.
He got quiet then and started flipping through one of the books on the table mindlessly. Ena could tell he wasn’t actually reading, just deflecting.
“Ty,” she said gently. “It’s okay to be upset about that.”
“About what?” he said testily. “About the fact that my mother abandoned me and my father told me almost nothing about her? That her people loathe me just because of what I am?” He shook his head. “I don’t want to dwell on any of that. I can’t change it, so it makes no difference. I’d rather focus on the things I can change.” He started flipping vigorously through the book again.
“Okay,” Ena said. “But you know…we’re going to need one witch from each Coven again to recreate the spell, since the amulet draws on the magic of the three Covens. That means…” She trailed off, wondering if he’d realized that yet.
“We’ll have to return to Occidens to get one,” he said. “I figured that. But does it have to be matriarchs, just like before? Because if so, that will be tough.”
“No,” Ena said, allowing the change of topic. “I don’t think it has to be matriarchs. Matriarchs are chosen for their rare Gifts and leadership abilities, but it doesn’t make them more suited for the spell necessarily.”
“Okay…that’s still going to be a tough ask for a witch from Occidens after everything that went down, though.”
“I know. I’m worried about that too, unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless youdohave any idea where your mother is?” she asked innocently.
“Ena,” he said, giving her a side-eye coupled with a half-smile. “I really don’t. And even if I did, what makes you think it would be any easier to get her to help than any other Occidens witch?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking…” Ena said, wondering how to explain her next theory. It was something she’d been pondering in the back of her mind on and off for days, but hadn’t yet given voice to.
“I love it when you think,” Ty said, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen out of her braid behind her ear. “Tell me.”
Ena could tell he was flirting to pivot them away from his confused emotions, but she didn’t call him out on it. Besides, she couldn’t help the blush that rose to her face at his touch.
“How is it that Petyr was able to figure everything out about the amulet from these books?” she asked, gesturing at where they lay strewn across the table. “Because there’s really not much in them, just a few hints as to its existence and some clues that the history of witches and daemons is not as we’ve been told, but no details. Did he ever say exactly how he knew about the binding spell?”
Ty shook his head. “No, he told me his theory about the amulet and the binding spell, and implied that he’d learned it from these books, but I see what you’re saying. How do you think he learned about it then, if it wasn’t from these books?”
“I think the books may have helped, but where did he get them?TheEvolution of Magicis a witch’s book. The journals are from an Occidens witch. I know you said he was industrious, but it would have been ballsy as fuck for a mortal to steal them.”
