Page 101 of The Arcane God

“Why is he here? Why are you all here, meeting with Northe?” Cris asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

Greya explained as quickly as she could about Ena and Ty’s imminent return with the stryx, their plans to overthrow the king, and their unsuccessful conversation to persuade Northe to help them.

“Damn,” Cris said, shaking his head. “I’d really hoped for better from Northe. She’s a good matriarch.”

“It’s hard to break old opinions, especially when it’s all she knows. I hoped bringing Steig would help, but…I think it backfired.”

Greya glanced over at the daemon in question, who still looked like he wanted to run, and couldn’t help but wish that she had been able to bring Turner, with his innocent baby face, instead. But she did appreciate Steig greatly for keeping his cool and trying his best in the meeting with Northe. It certainly wasn’t his fault that it hadn’t gone well.

“Well, why did you come to me then? What do you want me to do?” Cris asked.

“I was hoping you could speak to some of the others in your Coven, those who you think are amenable to a new way, like your brothers,” she said, looking towards Colyn in the kitchen. “Maybe collectively, you could go to Northe, convince her that it is the best way forward for the Coven. She can’t break the fides oath, so if enough of you agree, she’ll have to do it.”

“Okay,” Cris said, glancing over at his brother and nodding. “I think there are a few others who would be open to hearing about everything, but…I’m worried just telling them won’t be enough. They may not believe me unless I tell them…everything I’ve seen.”

Greya paused, understanding where he was going. “I didn’t tell Northe of your involvement in breaking the bond, Cris. I don’t want you to have to suffer the consequences of that if the Coven turns against you.”

Cris looked at her then, dead in the eyes, as if he’d been expecting this. “And if they do, would I be welcome in your Coven instead?”

“Of course,” Greya said without hesitation. “No one except Perse knows of Ena’s involvement yet, but they know things have been hidden from them, and I’ve been slowly working to get them to see that an alliance with daemons is for the greater good. If you were banished for your involvement in breaking the bond, I believe they would accept you, if it came to that.”

She hoped it didn’t. She couldn’t imagine being banished by her own Coven—forced to leave her home and family. She hoped Northe and the other Aquilo witches would see reason, but she didn’t know for sure.

Cris nodded, considering that. “Then it’s no risk at all,” he said confidently. “It’s time I come clean about everything—to Northe, and to the rest of the Coven, and let the cards play out. I’ve been waiting for this. Since everything went down and I know it’s the right thing to do. The only thing.”

Greya had known Cris for a long time, but she’d never respected him more. She suppressed a small smile, thinking of how Thyla would react at hearing about Cris’s bravery when she returned. The witch had always had a crush on him, and she suspected this would only fan the flames for her.

“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “For everything, Cris.”

“We’ll have your back if we need to,” Perse chimed in. “You know how to reach us.”

Steig was silent as usual, but he did give Cris a nod of acknowledgment as the three of them stood to leave.

“We should go,” Greya said. “I don’t want to linger any longer than necessary, but I’ll be in touch. Soon.”

“Where are you all going next? Back to Auster?” Cris asked as he walked them to the door.

“No—worse. To Occidens.”

***

A week later, Greya, Perse, and Steig rode into Attax, the closest mortal village to Occidens. It felt strange to cross over the treaty line willingly, knowing the potential consequences, and she hoped that this time would be more successful than the last time, when she’d come to rescue Ena, only for her sister to flee to the Underworld with Ty.

The village was bustling—busy with traders offloading their fall crops before the season ended—as the three of them made their way to the guesthouse.

They walked through the doorway of the well-built, two-story building, then weaved their way through the packed common room towards the recordkeeper.

“Fuck,” Steig exclaimed under his breath, turning around to hide his face behind Perse’s shoulder.

“What?” Greya asked, scanning the room to see what had triggered him.

“Unger and Jace—the daemons I was sent on the mission with—they’re here,” he said in a pissed-off whisper. “I ditched them outside Aquilo, but they must have made their way here without me.”

Greya peered over his shoulder into the back of the common room where, sure enough, two large, bulky men—onata tattoos just peeking out below their shirt cuffs—sat with two mugs of ale.

“Good Gaia,” Greya bemoaned, her mind thinking furiously. “Okay, we’ll just have to camp in the woods outside the village instead.” Internally, she groaned. She’d so been looking forward to a hot bath and a bed tonight, but it would cause infinitely more trouble if the daemons spotted Steig with them. He’d have no plausible deniability to his whereabouts at all—Cole would find out for sure that he was in league with them.

The three of them turned on their heels, avoiding eye contact with anyone and everyone as they left the guesthouse once more and went to fetch their horses from the stables.