Page 119 of The Arcane God

“Does someone care to explain what’s going on? What does that mean, you’ve ‘claimed him’?” Zak asked, seeming equally as upset by this turn of events.

Xena sat in silence, refusing to explain, but Max—ever the peacekeeper—cleared his throat to speak. “I know you all are not familiar with the ways of our people,” he explained, “but stryx, given how few of us there are, take mating very seriously. We mate for life, and generally only with one person. If Turner has been claimed, it means he has been chosen as Xena’s mate, and the two of them are bound together for life. Where Xena goes, so does Turner, and vice versa.”

What the fuck? Ty looked over at Turner in shock. He had no idea the two of them had even been together, let alone…claimed one another.

The awkward silence around the table was palpable as Ty stared daggers at his cousin. He wouldn’t lie—this turn of events absolutely blew up his plans, and he was pissed as fuck that Turner hadn’t warned him—that wasn’t like him.

“That leaves us with the same problem, then,” Nial said, breaking the tension. “A stryx could not be queen, and if Turner is leaving constantly to travel with Xena, as I understand the stryx like to do, then he would also not be a suitable king.”

“What about Lara?” Greya asked innocently. “She is the previous king’s daughter, correct?”

“Women cannot be queen alone,” Zak said, as if this was obvious and Greya was stupid for asking.

She shot him a side-eyed look of dislike, but then Ena interrupted.

“I know this is really different from the way witches do things,” Ena explained to her sister calmly, attempting to lower the tension, “but queens can only rule alongside a king, and kingship is passed down through the male line.”

Ty found himself immensely grateful for his wife for translating. He knew this was one of those aspects of their culture that was hard to explain to witches, since they were raised in a matriarchal society where power was chosen, not guaranteed by birth. He also knew that Zak was a dick, and did not need to be so rude about it.

“Okay, well,” Lara chimed in, “maybe we should think outside the box a little bit…I think maybe we are all in agreement that Ty is the best choice for king, and agreeable to all parties involved, and if having Ena as his queen is the only impediment…maybe Ena shouldn’t be queen.”

“What are you suggesting?” Nial asked, his wrinkled face lighting up with curiosity.

“I propose that Ty assume the mantle of king, but Ena not assume the official role of queen.”

Ty looked over at his cousin in surprise. She had said that far too nonchalantly, almost as if she had been prepared for the discussion to go this way…

“So she would be given no title at all, then? How would she rank in the Underworld? How would we know her role?” Nial asked fairly. Daemonic society was organized by levels, with jobs and duties given accordingly. Without an official role for Ena, she essentially wouldn’t have a place in the Underworld, since she had not been born here.

“Maybe she could assume a different role,” Lara said casually. Again, Ty sensed that there was more going on here. What was she up to?

“A different role?” Zak asked, seeming skeptical of the idea.

“Well, given this discussion, and the tensions of the past, I wonder if we need an…interpreter of sorts. A go-between to manage relations between the three races. Someone who can help negotiate, and ideally, that would be someone who has a stake in all three communities.”

“The Auster Coven would certainly support this,” Greya said, smiling widely at Ena and seeming unsurprised. Had Lara discussed this with others beforehand too? “What do you think, Syrelle?”

Syrelle nodded her head, contemplating. “Yes, that would be agreeable to us.”

“And Aquilo?” Lara asked Cris. “Do you think Northe would go for it?”

“I can certainly bring the information back to her and see what she says,” Cris said cheerfully.

“What about the daemons?” Greya asked.

“Well, I certainly support it, and I know Steig does,” Lara said, placing her hand atop her husband’s.

“I do, as well,” Turner said—the bastard still avoiding eye contact with him. They were definitely going to have words later. “Nial? As a representative of the mid-levels, what do you think?”

“Yes…” the man replied, scratching his chin. “It certainly is unprecedented, but these are unprecedented times. Maybe it calls for new ways of thinking. Zak?”

Ty looked over to Zak, who would be the deciding factor in all this. He represented the old guard—those who had followed Cole willingly and whose hatred for witches ran deepest.

“As long as she has no official say in daemonic affairs—an advisory role only—then…yes. I believe we could live with that,” Zak said begrudgingly.

“Well then, what do you say? Ty? Ena? Is this situation agreeable to you?” Lara asked cheerfully.

Fuck, he had not seen this discussion going this way, and he felt his chest tighten even further. He was faced with a decision he’d been putting off—pushing away—for far too long. Why was this so terrifying to him?