Page 104 of The Arcane God

She, Ty, and Turner were on horseback, but the stryx walked beside them—all on foot—covered head to toe in their furs—though they’d been able to shed a few layers the last week or so as they’d descended onto this side of the Chasm Mountains and the temperature warmed significantly, much to their surprise.

Their ragtag group headed towards the matriarch’s house—the largest and newest one in the village, thanks to the fire—to find Fergus the black cat outside it, guarding the garden gate like it was his own. His tail swished as their group stopped and dismounted in front of him, and Ena bent down to greet him, being careful to not jostle Ladon, who was strapped to her front.

The cat sniffed her curiously before letting out a vociferous “meow” and curling around her legs and hands as she tried to keep up with his excited movements. At least someone recognized her.

Just then, the door of the house burst open to reveal Greya—her blonde hair braided down one shoulder, and her brown eyes full of frenzied surprise as she took in the large gathering of strangers. Then her eyes landed on Ena.

“Blessed be!” she exclaimed, rushing forward with a smile of pure relief and joy.

Ena returned it in kind as the two sisters moved to embrace one another, only to freeze as Greya got close, her eyes darting down to the tiny person on Ena’s front.

“Oh Gaia,” she said, tears instantly filling her eyes. “Is this…?”

Ena nodded, tears filling hers as well, as her sister saw the new little person she’d brought into this world during their separation. Part of her wanted to collapse right there and sob, because Gaia…so much had changed since she’d last seen her sister. Too much. How could anything possibly be the way it was before?

“Can I…?” Greya asked, gesturing at the baby.

“Yes, of course,” Ena said, removing the wrap from her front, and handing it to Ty, who had dismounted himself and stood beside her now.

Ladon was sleeping peacefully—the rhythmic movement of the horse and proximity to his mom was always a sure way to put him to sleep—so Ena was cautious as she handed him to Greya.

Her sister reached out, cradling him in her arms like a fragile gourd. “Ena,” she breathed, staring down at him in wonder. “He is so beautiful.”

“Isn’t he?” Ena replied, a smile crossing her face unbidden at the sight of two people she loved so much meeting for the first time. It warmed her heart, and yet she ached too, for the thought of Heran and her parents, who would never have the same honor.

“I want to hear all about the birth, and your journey,” Greya said, sniffling as she tried to get her overwhelmed emotions under control. “But I’m sure you all must be exhausted, so why don’t we get you settled in first? Perse!” she called, turning back towards the house.

After a few seconds, the man in question wandered out of the front door, his eyes widening as he took in the scene before him.

“Perse, my love, could you take the horses to the stables, and get Yaro to see to them,” Greya asked him.

But he barely seemed to hear her as he flew down the path, pulling Ena into his arms for a tight hug. “I missed you so much, kid,” he said. “Let me look at you.” Pulling back, he assessed her up and down. “No worse for the wear, it looks like.”

“I’m hanging in,” she said flippantly. Gaia, there was so much to tell them all.

“Ty,” Perse greeted, extending a hand to her husband. “Good to see you again. And you, Turner,” he added, shaking Turner’s hand next.

Just then, Max and Kaya approached, entering the garden gate as the rest of the stryx continued to look around the village with a mixture of wariness and awe.

“Greya, this is Max, a member of the stryx, and Kaya—Ty’s mother, and a witch,” Ena said, introducing the new arrivals, who smiled at her sister tentatively.

“Welcome,” Greya said warmly, continuing to hold on to Ladon like the obsessed auntie she was. “I’m sure you all must be tired from the long journey as well. Know that you are welcome to camp wherever you like in the surrounding forests. The River Wry is just south of us, so that area tends to be the flattest and has the best water access.”

“Thank you,” Max said, his accent seeming even stronger now that they were surrounded by so many without it. “Your hospitality is much appreciated.”

“We’ll come find you later, Ena, okay?” Kaya said. “You should take some time to reunite with your family.”

Ena smiled at her, as she and Max turned and led the stryx back down the path and into the forest towards the River Wry, as Greya had suggested.

“Come on,” Greya said to her, Ty, and Turner as Perse moved to fetch the horses.

“Will the stryx meet any…resistance from the rest of the Coven, do you think?” Ena asked cautiously as she followed Greya inside.

“I don’t think so, no,” Greya explained. “They’ve all been forewarned of your arrival, and though there were some who were certainly…wary of a new race of magic, most were open to the idea of hosting them for a while—especially when I explained that they were no longer able to live on their side of the mountains.”

“And…what about me? And the baby?” Ena asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Greya sighed, looking down lovingly at the baby in question. “I’ll be honest, Ena, there was a lot of skepticism—fear about accepting a half-daemon into the Coven. It’s one thing for witches to contemplate a new accord with daemons—an alliance—but it’s another to accept one of them into the Coven itself.”