Ena whipped around to see her friend standing a few feet away, Steig no longer at her side. Apparently, he’d joined Ty and Turner in their sparring, the sounds of flesh on flesh, grunting, and taunts coming from the other side of the cave.
“Yeah, yeah, I…” Ena stared into the blank dark again. “I just thought I heard someone.”
“It’s theallucinae. It can make that happen sometimes,” Lara explained gently.
“Oh, right, okay. That makes sense,” Ena said, reluctantly turning away from her sister’s voice.
“Usually, if you’re in a good headspace, you don’t see or hear anything too upsetting. Theallucinaecan turn on you, though, like what happens to most of us during the Trial.”
“Right,” Ena said mindlessly, still trying to shake off the strange, melancholy feeling that hearing her sister’s voice had dredged up in her. The fear had sobered her, and she felt the effects of theallucinaestart to dim.
Ena moved to join Lara where she sat watching the three men spar, a small smile on her face as her eyes tracked her husband.
“How long have you two been together?” Ena asked, desperate to change the topic from her anxiety about Greya.
“Almost nine years,” Lara replied, leaning back against the wall next to Ena.
“Wow, so you got pregnant right away?” Ena asked, remembering that their eldest was eight and doing the math in her head. “That must’ve been…intense,” she commented, hoping her shock didn’t come off as rude.
“Oh, definitely. My father was not happy,” Lara replied ruefully. “Our union wasn’t sanctioned, because Steig’s mother was a mid-level daemon. There was no way to know what Steig’s Power would be, and my father didn’t want me to potentially hold myself back by uniting with a mid-level daemon. Little did he know,myPower would be the disappointment, and Steig’s would be coveted.”
“Hm,” Ena said, verbally expressing skepticism at their unfair system. “While I don’t agree that you’re a disappointment, I gotta say, I did see hiscupidoin action and it was certainly memorable. I can see why it’s viewed as a powerful asset to Iblis.”
“Yes, exactly. And it’s quite handy in the bedroom too,” Lara said, winking at Ena and laughing at her own joke.
“Seriously? He uses it on you?” Ena asked, a smile coming over her.
“Oh absolutely. With my consent, of course. But it really makes things…extra enjoyable, I’ll say.”
The two of them laughed together at that, but Ena had to admit, hearing Greya’s voice had certainly put a damper on her spirits, and she found it tough to fully access the carefree feeling she’d had just a few minutes ago.
“You two seem like a good match then,” she said. “What with the joy you can bring him with your own Power. Maybe that’s why he hated me so much when we first met. Without you there, he had no joy.”
Lara smiled shyly at her assessment. “Maybe, but he’s also just slow to warm up to people. I wouldn’t take it personally. He…he had a really lonely childhood.”
Ena was surprised to hear this. She didn’t know much about Steig or his history, just that he’d been best friends with Ty since childhood.
“How so?” Ena asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
“Well, his mother wasn’t united with anyone, so she raised him alone. They were very close, but she passed when he was a teenager. Ty’s dad Haden took him in for a while, treated him like a son since he and Ty were so close, but then Haden died, and…”
“I see,” Ena said, pondering this new information. “I’m glad they had each other at least, Ty and Steig.”
“Yeah, me too,” she said. “They’ve always been like brothers—Turner too. So he’s very protective of them. I think that’s why he mistrusted you so much at the beginning—because of the pain your separation caused Ty. But I can tell he’s coming around.”
“You think?” Ena asked, watching the dark-haired, dark-eyed daemon fighting with his friends. “He still doesn’t talk to me very much.”
Lara laughed again. “Yeah, trust me, that’s normal. Besides, he’s just under a lot of pressure, too, from my dad. Ever since we married, Cole has been…very demanding of him, so Steig does alot to placate him. And Cole sees it as his right for giving the man his only daughter, even though I’m not the heir.”
There was that word she didn’t know again.Heir. Ena was about to ask what it meant, when she was distracted by a sweaty Ty approaching them.
“How are you feeling, viper?” he asked as he caught his breath, the corner of his mouth tipping up, as if he knew Ena had been thoroughly enjoying her high a few minutes ago.
“Good,” Ena said, not wanting to ruin the mood and bring up the strangeness of hearing Greya’s voice. She could tell him that later. “And you?” she asked, taking the hand he offered her to help her stand up.
“Never better, but I’m sweaty. You up for another stop before we head back? Just the two of us?” he asked. The look in his eyes was so sweet and hopeful, it warmed Ena’s heart.
“Absolutely,” she said. “I’ll follow you anywhere, clearly,” she added, gesturing around their current surroundings.
