Page 5 of The Arcane God

“Yes. Specifically yours.”

“Okay…that is unusual,” Ty said, his brows furrowing. “Witches don’t normally experience that, do they?”

“Not that I know of,” Ena replied. “Although…I wish I could speak to Heran about it. She was the most knowledgeable witch on healing and childbirth on our side of the Chasm Mountains.”

Ty’s heart filled with sympathy for Ena as she looked away from him. He knew she still struggled with guilt and regret for the way the matriarch had died. Even though it was absolutely not her fault, he knew she felt responsible.

“What about daemons?” she asked Ty, clearly avoiding any more discussion of the woman who had been like a grandmother to her. “Do they experience anything like that during pregnancy?”

“No,” Ty replied, shaking his head. “But then again, no other daemons I have met have carried a half-witch, half-daemon child. Maybe it’s unique.”

“Maybe your mother will know. She had one, too, after all,” Ena offered.

“Maybe,” he said quietly, and now it was his turn to look away. He knew they were here to find his mother, given that she was with the Omnis worshippers. But still…the thought of her—of meeting her, speaking to her—made him angry. And he didn’t want to be angry right now.

“Come here,” Ty said gently, pulling her into him to change the subject. “It’ll be okay, Ena. I’m here for you, always. I’m not going anywhere, and whatever is going on with you, and the baby, we’ll figure it out together.”

Ena seemed soothed by his words as he guided her to lay down beside him. In the dark, he breathed her in, and he felt her body relax into his. He turned towards her so they were facing one another and kissed her forehead.

“Ena…” he said, his deep voice rumbling through the darkness like water through the river’s channel. “Do you want me to make you feel good? To help you relax?”

He felt Ena’s breath hitch, and he was so fucking glad for it. It had been weeks since they’d been intimate. Not since they’d left the Underworld. Not since they’d been reunited. Not since he’d begged her to let him be hers again, or since he’d abandoned his duties in the Underworld to be with her and they’d handfasted.

Iblis, he’d missed her so fucking much.

The feel of her slick on his fingers. The way her breath reached a staccato right before she came. The way her nipples peaked when she was flush with desire. The way she felt coming on his cock.

But they’d been traveling hard since they’d fled Auster, and to be honest, Turner’s constant presence as a third wheel had not helped matters, especially since they all shared a tent to preserve warmth. Ty loved the man, but he was absolutely a cock block.

But now…after the adrenaline of the attack, he didn’t give a fuck if Turner heard. He was desperate for her—to be close to her.

“Gaia, yes, Ty. It’s been too long,” she said, practically begging already.

He smiled devilishly. He loved that she was desperate for him too.

“Good,” he whispered. “Then lay on your back and do exactly as I say.”

Ena did as he’d told her and rolled to her back. The tent was warmer now, from their body heat and their breath.

He leaned down to whisper softly in her ear. “I’m going to take care of you, my dark goddess,” he said, his voice already tight with desire. “And you’re going to let me, aren’t you?”

He felt her nod in the dark. “Yes,” she said, breathless already.

“Good girl,” he said. “Now lift up your dress.”

He heard her shuffle her layers of clothing up before he grazed his hand down her stomach, her lower abdomen ever-so-slightly swollen already from the life growing inside her. The thought of her carrying his baby in there, a part of him creating new life inside her…he couldn’t quite explain why but, fucking Iblis, it made his dick grow even harder.

He continued grazing his hand down to her thigh, stroking her smooth skin gently. It pebbled slightly from his touch and the cold, and he heard Ena take in a sharp breath.

He moved his hand in, following the warmth between her thighs, and stroked her gently up and down from clit to entrance.

She squirmed slightly underneath him, whimpering already. “Ty…” she whispered, sounding as desperate as he felt.

“Shh,” he said soothingly. “You can take it.”

He continued to rub her, slowly, gently, with his fingertips, and he could feel her getting wetter and wetter with every pass over her cunt. Soon, his fingers were drenched, and he used them to swirl over her clit, ratcheting up her desire. He could feel her getting tight as a bowstring, and he fucking loved the power of it—how he could tease and please her this way. How she gave herself over to him. She was his to play with.

His cock strained painfully in his pants, but he took his time. He didn’t want to rush this. He wanted to savor every second. After everything that had happened between them, he didn’t want to take any of it for granted. He had missed this—missed her—so fucking much.