He rummaged around in one of their packs before pulling out a hunk of jerky—turkey this time, different than the bricks of beef they’d had before, thank Gaia. They must’ve been able to make some trades at a village along the way here.
“So what happened to you two? In Occidens?” Turner asked in that curious, open way of his.
“Well,” Ena said, wondering where to begin. “We were captured by the witches there, and they held us for a few days. Then my sister and the matriarch of my Coven came to get me and negotiated my release. That’s when Heran told me everything, about the amulet and what it was for. But Ty…” Ena paused, her throat tightening at the memory. “They were going to put him to death. Drown him in the Endless Ocean. And I…I couldn’t let that happen, so I used my magic to break him out.”
She decided to leave it at that for now. They didn’t need to know the entire mess of feelings and history that went into that decision. All that mattered was she’d helped him escape and was here to help them now.
“Thank you,” Turner said quietly. “For helping him. Even after everything we put you through. He’s like a brother to me and I…” He trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words. “Just thank you,” he ended sincerely.
“You’re welcome,” Ena said, emotion clogging her throat at how much Turner clearly cared. Part of her wanted to reassure him that she hadn’t just done it out of a sense of responsibility. That something drew her to Ty too. That she washis, and there was no way she could let him be killed, but she didn’t know how or whether she should admit that to him, especially after everything Steig had said to her, so she kept her feelings to herself.
Ena and Turner sat down by the small campfire and ate in silence as they waited for Ty to return. Blessedly, the cavern was large enough that the smoke from it was able to disperse, but it still gave off enough heat to take the chill off when sitting next to it.
She knew the instant Ty walked in a few minutes later. It never ceased to amaze her the way his presence affected her—his body seemed to alter the drab, damp feeling of the cave, filling it with energy and life once more as Ena’s eyes instinctively landed on him, like a moth drawn to a flame.
She stood as he approached the fire, Steig coming to join them.
“Well?” Steig asked, making space next to him for Ty.
Ty hesitated, stroking his full beard several times before speaking, as if contemplating how to begin.
Ena felt her stomach twist. Whatever he had to say, it was clearly making him nervous.
“Okay, I’ve given a lot of thought to how we should play this,” Ty began. “Obviously, we need Ena to have access to the Archives and the books I got from Petyr if she’s going to help us figure out how to break the bond, but I’ll have to keep the amulet close to me, so she’ll need access to my chambers too. There’s not an easy way of sneaking her in and keeping her hidden, so…she’ll have to pose as our prisoner.”
The daemons went quiet, tension filling the air.
“You don’t mean…” Turner began, concern on his face.
“Mean what?” Ena asked. Why did they all look concerned? Was posing as their prisoner going to be that horrible?
“He means you’ll have to pretend to be his witch-slave,” Steig said bluntly.
Ena whipped her head to Ty, who looked at her with a hint of guilt in his eyes. “What doesthatmean?” Ena asked tensely.
Ty sighed, as if reticent to tell her more, but he spoke anyway. “Daemons have a history of…keeping witches, and mortals,” he said, his voice gentle, but firm. “It’s not something I’m supportive of, and it doesn’t happen very often, but ever since the bond was created, some daemons have taken witches as a form of punishment and forced them into servitude in the Underworld.”
Ena had heard rumors of witches and mortals being taken by daemons to the Underworld, never to be seen or heard from again, but just like Canus Elks, she’d thought it was a myth. A rumor that was spread about the Underworld to scare witch children, but that no one could ever prove. But now that it had been confirmed, her mind spun in horror. How many witches had been taken over the years and forced into servitude?
Then the most horrible thought of all occurred to her.
“Wait, your mother. Was she…?” she asked, unable to complete the thought.
“No, she wasn’t,” Ty answered. “In fact, from what I know, she refused to be seen and treated as one. That was part of why she was not welcome there.”
“I see,” Ena said as she tried to wrap her mind around all this.
“I swear, Ena, if there was another way to bring you there, and keep you safe, I would do it,” Ty said confidently. “I know it’s not ideal, but you’ll be under my protection. You’ll…belong to me. So no one else is allowed to touch you, let alone hurt you.” His eyes were filled with sincerity, like he was beseeching her to see it this way too. He’d clearly given this a lot of thought. “Yes, you’ll haveto pretend to be completely subservient to me, and the other daemons, but it’s the only way.”
Ena paused as she contemplated this. It definitely did not seem ideal. Having to bow and scrape to a bunch of daemons? What would she be required to do for them? For Ty? She didn’t love the idea, but she didn’t know what else she had expected. That they’d just let her live there as an honored guest? This did seem like a good solution to keep her there safely, but she wasn’t one for accepting a less-than-ideal solution without fully thinking it through.
“But wait, won’t we tell everyone that I’m there to help break the bond? Shouldn’t that garner me some good will on its own without me having to be a witch-slave?” Her tongue tripped over the word like it was dirty. It felt offensive to even say it.
Ty looked at Steig and Turner, some unspoken understanding passing between them.
“It’s not that simple,” Ty replied. “We are the only ones who know about the amulet and the true history of the bond to Iblis. There are those, we hope, who will also be supportive of breaking it, but for now, it has to be kept secret. There are too many others, my uncles Cole and Zak especially, who will not be supportive.”
“Why wouldn’t they want to break the bond? Don’t they want access to Gaia and to rejoin mortal and witch society too?” She was admittedly naïve about the inner workings of the Underworld, but this felt obvious to her.
