Page 122 of The Arcane God

“Speaking of that,” Turner said, looking at Lara. “I’m not the only one who had some sneaky secrets revealed at that table. The whole Omnsica thing! How long had you all been planning that one?”

Lara shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, it wasn’t just me, you know,” she said, her eyes darting to Ena. “Ena did the research first, so we knew what Nial was going to say about her not being able to be queen, but apparently, there was nothing to indicate that the king’s united had to be queen, so we figured maybe she could be something else.”

“So you were in on it,” Ty said, side-eying Ena and looking impressed. “When did you even have the time to do this research?”

“When you were getting Ladon from the waterfall cave,” Ena said smugly. “And then I was able to run it by Greya and Syrelle beforehand, and they seemed amenable, so…I hope you’re truly okay with it,” Ena finished somewhat apologetically. “We didn’t mean to back you into a corner, but…”

“Yes, you did,” Steig interjected, taking a sip of his drink, only to spit it back out when Lara elbowed him playfully in the gut.

“Okay, maybe a little,” Ena admitted, smiling mischievously. “But I loved the idea. Honestly. It feels…right. Like it was my path all along.”

“What do you mean?” Ty asked, placing his hand on her knee.

“Well, I never really fit in my Coven. Not fully, at least—I always wanted something more. Then, of course, I didn’t really fit here either, or anywhere besides with Ty and you all, and I think it’s because I am of both worlds. All three worlds now. And, it’s taken me a second to adjust to it, but I’m glad to be. I’m proud to be what I am.”

Ty squeezed her knee, looking at her with love and pride.

“And, of course, I think it’s what you needed too,” Ena said, looking lovingly back into his green eyes. “So you can follow your path, and be what the Underworld needs.”

“Speaking of,” Steig said, refilling everyone’s glasses, “why did you decide to accept? You seemed pretty resistant to it at first—pushing it on Turner and all that.”

Ty sighed. “Well, I got some helpful advice from my beautiful wife,” he said, glancing slyly over at Ena. “And I realized that the thing that I was running from, I didn’t need to run from anymore. Seeing everyone around that table, trying to make something new work…it gave me hope.”

Ena leaned over to kiss Ty on the cheek, being careful not to jostle Ladon too much. She was so fucking proud of him.

“To the new King of the Underworld,” she said, raising her glass.

“To the king,” everyone echoed, drinking again.

“And the Omnisca,” Ty added, forcing everyone to drink one more time.

“And to having my free will back!” Lara said jovially, playing off what Ena was sure had been a harrowing experience for her and the kids.

“And to being free of that bastard Cole once and for all,” Steig said, bringing his drink to his lips again.

Turner sputtered and coughed a bit on the last sip, causing them all to laugh as he wheezed for breath.

But their mirth was interrupted by a sudden knock on the door.

The five of them looked at each other, wondering who that could possibly be.

Lara rose quickly to answer it, opening the door to reveal a small, dark-haired witch with a perpetually bemused look on their face.

“Mel,” Ena greeted, rising to meet her at the door. “What are you doing here?”

“I was— Oh!” they said, their eyes landing on the baby in Ena’s arms. “I was looking for you,” they said, smiling sweetly at the baby.

“Oh, okay. Well, come on in,” Ena offered, happy to show off her offspring to any adoring fans. “Steig, Lara, this is Mel, the Occidens seer who helped us break the bond.”

“Nice to meet you,” Lara greeted, offering them a drink.

“We’ve met,” Steig said, nodding at them. “But good to see you under friendlier circumstances.”

“Oh, right,” Ena said. “Thank you for giving Steig and Greya, a chance by the way, and for helping to convince Syrelle,” Ena said to them.

“I did nothing,” Mel said. “Only told the truth as I see it.”

“Still,” Ena insisted. “Thank you, and it’s sweet of you to come visit the baby.”