She looked over to see Ty checking on the horses where they were tethered several feet away, stroking one of their necks gently. Why wasn’t he coming over? Didn’t he want to hear about how things had gone at Cris’s house?
“How did it go leaving the message?” Turner asked, drawing her attention back to him and away from what she couldn’t have.
“Fine,” she replied. “No issues, and I left the note, so only time will tell if he—”
A branch snapped in the distance, but Ena could tell it hadn’t come from Ty or the horses—neither of whom had moved.
Ty looked over at them both with a clear warning in his eyes. He could hear with hisvenator—someone was coming.
Ena stood up as Ty moved over to join them by the fire. Was it Cris coming? Or someone else?
After a few seconds, Ena heard more movement from the dark of the woods until she could make out a figure approachingthrough the dim evening light. The orange flames of their fire lit upon a head of pale-blond hair, and she let out her breath.
It was Cris. He’d actually come.
“Cris!” she said, approaching him, relief and tension surging through her all at once.
“Ena!” he said, his eyes finally finding her in the dark. He rushed towards her as if to hug her, but paused, his pale-blue eyes going round as saucers as he took in her appearance. “Gaia, Ena, what happened to you? Are you alright?”
She looked up at him. He was tall—not as tall as Ty or Turner, but she still had to angle her neck to meet his gaze. He looked healthy and good, and part of her hesitated yet again. Was this the right thing? Bringing him into this? She sighed, steeling herself, because deep down, she knew there was no other option.
“I’m fine,” she replied, trying for a reassuring smile. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too,” he said, grasping her upper arms and pulling her in for a hug.
She saw Ty move closer to them out of the corner of her eye, but Turner gave them space, lingering back by the fire.
“What’s going on?” Cris asked when he released her, his voice concerned. “I got your note, and I didn’t tell anyone, just like you asked, but last I heard, you’d been taken by…” His voice trailed off as he looked over her shoulder to where Ty stood ominously behind her, as if truly noticing him and Turner for the first time.
Cris pulled her a few steps away, and Ena went with him willingly, knowing that Ty would still be able to hear them regardless.
“Who are these men you’re with? Ena—are you safe?” Cris whispered.
“Cris, slow down,” she said, trying to be reassuring. “Yes, I’m safe with them. I’m fine. I know the…bruises and everythinglook bad, but they’re not because of these men at all. That was…someone else.”
Cris nodded, seeming slightly reassured, but still thoroughly confused. “Then where have you been? Why aren’t you with your Coven?” he asked, his voice still hushed.
“Cris,” she began, reaching out to touch his arm in a friendly way. “Thank you so much for coming.” She felt like this was an important thing to start with. It really did mean a lot that he’d come. She couldn’t imagine the rumors that must be spreading about her after everything that had happened on Samhain when she was taken. “I know you have questions, and I want to explain them all to you. Can we sit by the fire?”
“With them?” he asked, eyeing them suspiciously. “Ena, please tell me they’re mortals.”
She sighed. She knew this would be incredibly tough for him to understand, and she didn’t even know where to start, but she figured the truth was a good bet.
“They’re not mortals, they’re daemons. And yes, what I have to tell you concerns them, and all of us—witches, daemons,andmortals. I know this is…a lot. I’m so sorry to dump this on you out of the blue. But I need your help. Will you listen to me?”
Cris hesitated, looking between her and the daemons. She wanted to elbow Ty in the stomach and tell him to wipe the threatening look off his face, because it definitely wasn’t helping. But Cris was clearly intrigued enough, or trusted her enough, because he gave her a small nod.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll listen.”
He walked with her over to the fire and the two of them sat down. Turner threw a couple more logs onto the blaze, but they didn’t catch right away because of how soggy and cold everything was.
Looking up at Ena pointedly, Turner reached out, touching the fresh logs with his hands as he called upon his Power. His handsbegan to glow a deep red, and the logs smoked for a few seconds until they finally burst into hearty flames.
“Whoa,” Cris said, watching it. He eyed Turner curiously, cautiously. “I’ve never seen anything like that. I guess that’s your…”
“Power,” Turner finished for him. “Yes.”
“I see,” Cris responded suspiciously, clearly trying to process all this information without freaking out. “And what can he do?” he asked, nodding towards Ty, who thus far refused to sit and was standing by the fire with his arms crossed like a hellhound guarding the entrance to the Underworld.
