The mention of the Covens—of home—brought a sharp pain to Ena’s heart. What she wouldn’t give to be there right now—with Greya, or with Heran. The matriarch could heal her in half the time it would take on her own. Or even with Perse. Ena was surehe’d have something lighthearted to say—something that would make her smile and feel safe. In that instant, she wanted to go home so badly, she didn’t know how to go on.
But she put on a brave face for her friend, who she knew was distraught at not being able to help her more. “I understand,” Ena said quietly, trying to look reassuring for Lara. “I’ll be fine, I promise. I just need…time.”
Ty stroked her uninjured hand with his thumb. Honestly, Ena couldn’t even bring herself to look down at the broken one. Would it heal properly? Would she have issues with it for the rest of her life? And her face…she knew without a doubt that her cheekbone had broken. Would she look different now too?
“Do you think you can handle drinking some broth? I can go get you some,” Lara offered, concern in her eyes.
“Yeah,” Ena said. “I’ll try some. Thanks.”
Lara gave her a watery smile before standing up and reassuring Ty she’d be right back before leaving to fetch the broth.
Ena looked at Ty, the two of them alone for the first time since he’d returned, and she knew what was coming next.
He was going to ask what happened, and the thought made the panicked feelings in her chest return.
“Ena,” he said quietly, almost a whisper. His voice was full of regret and sadness, and she couldn’t handle it. “I—”
“I figured out the spellwords,” Ena said, interrupting him suddenly, desperately changing the subject.
“What?” he asked, clearly surprised by the sudden shift in conversation. “Really?”
Ena nodded. “The spellwords were derived from runic words summoning the chaos magic of Iblis and severing the balancing magic of Gaia. If we switch one of the words to its antithesis, I think we can reverse the spell.”
Ty looked at her in awe. “Ena, that’s—” He shook his head in disbelief. “That’s amazing. I can’t believe you did it.”
Ena smiled slightly at his praise. After all this time, it still felt good to please him.
“So does that mean we’ll be summoning Iblis? Like in the Trial?” he asked, his face turning wary.
“Yes, I think so. And it makes sense, because it took a great act of chaos to sever daemons from Gaia’s magic in the first place, and now to restore it, we’ll have to channel him again, only this time, the great act of chaos will hopefully lead to a restoration of the balance that was lost.” Ena paused, thinking of how to explain the revelation she’d had before everything came crashing down. “Sometimes, I think, chaos can be necessary in the short term, to reach a new equilibrium, so if I embrace that, and channel that intention into the spell, it should work to break the bond to Iblis, and allow Gaia’s magic back in.”
Ty smiled at her. “Good, then we can leave right away—because I’m sorry, Ena, but I think we need to leave as soon as possible. I know you’re still healing, but it’s not safe here for you anymore. My conversation with Cole confirmed that. He’s suspicious of us, of you, and I just—” Ty cut himself off, closing his eyes as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. “I’m so, so sorry, Ena. I’m just so sorry for everything. I never should have left you here alone.”
“You didn’t have a choice,” Ena said, and it was the truth. She didn’t blame Ty for what happened, not at all. But she did feel scared. More scared than she’d ever felt before. She knew she wasn’t safe here and never would be.
We will never allow a witch to be queen.
Cole’s menacing words to her before she’d been knocked unconscious flooded back to her unbidden, and she shut her eyes tight.
“Ena? Are you alright?” Ty asked, his voice full of concern as he reached up to grasp her arm.
“Yeah, I’m fine, I just…something Cole said to me.”
“What did he say?” he asked, anger creeping into his voice.
“That I would never be…‘queen,’” Ena said the strange word, feeling it out on her tongue. “Do you know what that means?”
Ty removed his hand from her shoulder as if she’d burned him. His brow furrowed, and he looked away from her.
“Ty?” she asked, recognizing his avoidance of a tough topic. “Tell me.”
He sighed, rubbing his hands through his beard. “A queen is a coruler. Someone who rules in the Underworld alongside the king after they are united—that’s our version of handfasting.”
“And why…would I ever be queen? There’s no way I’m uniting with Cole.”
Ty sighed again, as if steeling himself for something. “It’s because of me. Because I’m the heir. After Cole dies…I will be king.”
Ena’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach. It sank so far away she didn’t know if she would ever get it back.
