Page 29 of The Arcane God

If she was using her one and only vial of water from the Sacred Pool to speak to Greya now…something really bad must have happened. Was it the baby?

“What? Ena, what do you mean it’s Ty?” Greya asked, confusion and concern warring inside her. “Hold on a minute,” she added, remembering her present company. She needed to relocate to have this discussion in private.

“Wait, please,” Steig said, standing up abruptly. “Don’t leave. Is that Ena? Is Ty okay? What did she say?”

“Is someone there with you?” Ena asked, clearly having noticed Greya’s distracted attention.

“A daemon. I guess his name is Steig,” she said. “We’ve captured him, and he claims to be your and Ty’s friend.”

“Steig is there with you?” Ena asked in shock. “Yes, Turner, she said Steig—hold on,” she said, looking beside her to where Turner must have been, though Greya couldn’t see him since the blood-to-blood connection was just between Ena and herself.

“I told you they knew me,” Steig said haughtily, but Greya brushed him off.

“How did you capture him? Is he alright?” Ena asked.

“He and two others attacked the Coven during my Ascension, and he was the only one to survive, but yes, he’s fine,” Greya responded begrudgingly.

“Attacked the Coven?!” Ena asked, rightfully shocked by this news.

“Don’t worry about that now,” Greya said, not wanting to get too distracted. “I’ve got it under control. What did you say about Ty?”

Ena swallowed, her eyes closing with grief. “We were crossing the river, and it was swift a-and the horse spooked, and then a log came down and kn-knocked him into the water. And we looked for him. We’ve been looking for him for days. But Greya…” Ena struggled to finish, as if she couldn’t physically make the words come out of her mouth.

“Oh…Gaia,” Greya said, her grief for her sister overwhelming her as she put two and two together.

“I don’t know what to do, Greya,” Ena sobbed. “I can’t do this on my own. I-I don’t know what to do.”

Greya’s heart broke in her chest at hearing her sister’s grief, and she knew in an instant that if she could carry this burden for Ena, she would. It was like when their parents had died—Ena had been too young to truly understand the loss, but even if she hadn’t been…Greya had kept up a brave face for her. Always. Because she never wanted her sister to feel the deep emptiness of grief like she had. The pit that swallowed you whole. But now…Greya felt so helpless.

“Oh, Ena…” Greya began, not even knowing where to start. How could she tell her everything would be okay? It wouldn’t be okay. Not without the man she loved, the father of her child. Greya knew that, and she peeked up at Steig, making eye contact with the daemon. His face was distraught—clearly he knew that too.

“What should I do, Greya?” Ena asked, desperate for guidance. “I don’t even know…I don’t know how to keep going. I know I have the baby to think about, and that I’m supposed to be strong. I’m going to be a mother, but I can’t do this alone, Greya. Any of this.”

“Ena, listen to me,” Greya began. “You need to be brave now. So brave, okay? Just like when you went to the Underworld, or decided to break the bond.”

Ena shook her head, a tear falling into the water, causing it to ripple with the motion. “I’ve only ever been brave because of him. I don’t know how to be brave on my own.” Her sister’s voice sounded small and defeated—almost as if she were ashamed to admit that. Greya had never heard her sound more broken.

“You’re not alone, Ena,” Greya said firmly. “You have Turner with you, and you have me, and Perse. I know we’re not there with you physically, but we are with you, Ena. You’re strong enough to survive this.”

Ena looked away from her, as if she didn’t believe Greya at all.

“Put one foot in front of the other Ena,” she said, hoping her words were having some effect—anything to help Ena through this. “That’s all you need to do right now.”

Tears ran down Ena’s face, and at first, Greya thought she hadn’t heard her, or her words hadn’t sunk in, but then Ena nodded. It was slow, and defeated, but it was affirmation.

“I miss you so much,” Ena whispered.

“I miss you too,” Greya replied. “We will see each other again, I’m sure of it. I’m laying the groundwork for your return. You and your baby’s.”

Her sister looked at her through the water, but there was a vacancy to her eyes that Greya wasn’t used to seeing there. “Go easy on Steig,” Ena said. “He’s not the friendliest daemon but he is a good person. Maybe you two can help each other.”

Greya nodded. “Okay. I’ll…I’ll talk to him some more.”

“I’ll see you on the other side, Greya,” Ena said, her voice choking.

Greya almost told her to wait. To not go. Because she knew that after the spell ended, the water wouldn’t be usable again. She would have no way of contacting her again if anything else went wrong. Greya was filled with a sudden fear for her sister—her mental state did not seem good at all, and she couldn’t be there to help her more.

But before she could respond, Ena was gone.