Page 116 of The Arcane God

“Kill him too!” another shouted.

Murmurs of agreement mixed with calls of dissent throughout the chamber as the truth settled over everyone.

“Hear me!” Ty shouted, silencing them once more. “Now you all know the truth. Cole killed my father. His rule was illegitimate. What I have done here today is not a coup. It was retribution.”

The chamber paused as Ty’s words sunk in.

“I regret bringing this down on you all,” Ty said with sincerity. “But you must see…I know you must. We have access to Gaia once more—and we are free.”

Ena swallowed, the passion in his voice bringing tears to her eyes as well. She knew how long he’d wanted this, how much this meant to him.

“We are free to find a new way, to forge a new era—one not defined by Cole’s petty vengeances against witches and mortals, but by the ingenuity of our people. Too long have we suffered down here—nearly starving for a lack of trade, and access to the world above. But I have come to you today with witch allies—ones who have pledged an alliance with daemons, and the desire to have friendly relations with us. Through cooperation and reintegration with the other races, we can thrive.”

Murmurs broke across the chamber—some expressing skepticism, but others relief.

“And that’s not all,” Ty continued. “I also come with new allies—the stryx—who have traveled long and hard to be here, to lend their support. They, too, have suffered because of alienation—but no longer. Amends have been made, and it is time to let discord die. And as my first show of faith—”

Ty released Zak—letting him fall abruptly as the man stumbled away from him, turning back to look at him in confusion.

“That is for telling the truth—finally,” Ty said harshly.

Zak watched him hesitantly, skepticism written on his face, but he did not attack Ty, nor shout for others to. He simply nodded in acquiescence.

“From this moment forward, the Underworld has no king,” Ty declared. “But as the current heir, I will be calling a summit between daemons from all the levels, and our new allies, to discuss the way forward that is best for us all. I invite you all to nominate representatives from your levels to attend and air your grievances. You will be heard. Until then, peace will be maintained and enforced.”

He looked at the stryx and witches around the room, highlighting their presence, but no one made a move to continue fighting.

Then Ty bent down, picking up Cole’s body from the floor and slinging it over his shoulder. Without a word, he carried it out of the Great Antre alone.

Chapter Forty-Two

Ena

The Great Antre was quiet in the wake of Ty’s speech and the revelations of the last several minutes. Those who had been ready to fight seemed as if they had lost the will for it, and instead turned to tending the wounded. Several daemons had been shot by stryx arrows, and Ty and Steig had wounded some more when they’d been fighting hand-to-hand.

Ena looked over to see Steig next to Lara. He’d removed the collar from around her neck and the light had returned to her eyes. Relief crashed through her to see it, and part of her wanted to go check on them to see if they were both alright after everything that had gone down, but she was drawn elsewhere.

She nodded to Turner and Xena, who were organizing the stryx and witches to guard the central areas, as she went off after Ty.

She had a feeling about where he might have gone, and that he might need her.

She took the staircase he’d headed towards down into the depths of the Underworld, all the way to the lower levels where the forge was located. The walk was longer than she remembered, but she felt it immediately when she got close—the heat from the fires was oppressive, and she started to sweat, even in the measly shift she was wearing.

She walked through the rows of hearths, the glow of their fires dimmed and their anvils untended—Ty must have sent everyone out.

She moved to the back of the cavern where a separate, smaller chamber existed—one explicitly made for cremation. Unlike witches, daemons burned their dead, and she knew this was where Ty would be—to get rid of Cole once and for all.

She entered the small chamber to find that a fire had been stoked inside of the cremator. It burned brightly, illuminating the man who stood in front of it, watching the flames consume the body inside.

He looked up at her as she entered, his eyes drawn to her like she was the flame.

“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.

He looked back towards the flames, watching them burn away his history. “I will be,” he said simply. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “Everyone is settled up there. No more fighting. Your speech worked.”

“Good,” he said, clearly still in his thoughts.