Page 74 of The Arcane God

“I’ve got Turner waiting for us at camp,” Ty said, reaching out to take her leather satchel for her. “There’s something the three of us should discuss.”

“Alright,” Ena said, her stomach tightening at the prospect of what it could be.

Together, they walked back to their tent, and she entered its warmth willingly. Turner was already there, stoking up the center fire, and he looked up at their approach.

“Hey there, tubby,” he greeted teasingly.

Ena rolled her eyes at him. He’d taken to calling her that over the last couple weeks now that she was noticeably…enlarged.

“Afternoon, Shadow,” she said, quirking up the corner of her mouth at the nickname she knew he hated.

He smiled widely at her. “Oh, I’ll have to get you back for that one,” he said, huffing a laugh.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said dismissively. “Now, Ty, what did you need to speak to us about?”

He had been noticeably silent during their lighthearted bout of teasing—another indicator that something serious was up.

“I had a conversation with Max while we were out on the hunt,” he began. “It wasn’t successful—again—and things are not looking good, to say the least. We haven’t been able to find nearly enough game—for any of us.”

“What does that mean?” Ena asked, her brow furrowing. She knew they’d been having a hard time on hunts, and even though the meat they’d been finding, and the foraging she had been doing, had been enough for the three of them to get by, she worried about what might happen if things deteriorated more.

“Well, long story short, I think it means that we can’t stay here much longer. And I’m not sure they can either.”

Ty’s bluntness hit Ena like a bucket of cold water dumped on her head. Ever since he had returned, she’d been so focused on the day-to-day—surviving and keeping herself and the baby healthy—that she hadn’t truly thought about the future. In fact, she actively resisted doing so, which she knew was unlike her. She’d been hiding—from the unknowns of her future, and the path before her—but she couldn’t bring herself to look too closely at why.

“You think we need to travel back over to our side of the Chasm Mountains?” Turner asked him, his voice uncharacteristically serious.

“Yes, but not until after the baby is born,” he said, looking to Ena. “I don’t want to put you or the baby in danger by traveling in your condition, this close to the birth.”

Ena nodded, trying hard to not let fear subsume her at the prospect of traveling over the mountains again. Part of her desperately wanted to go home, to her Coven. She would get to see Greya again, and Perse, and take an actual, real-life bath again. But…there was a reason they’d come here. She didn’t know if she, Ty, and the baby would be welcome. Or if they would be safe there.

“Do you think it’s safe to return though?” Turner asked, speaking her thoughts aloud. “Cole is still king, and we know he’s looking for you, Ty. Avoiding him, and protecting the baby from whatever omen the Canus Elk portended, was our entire reason for coming here, wasn’t it?”

“Well, about that,” Ty said. “Max also told me what he thinks is causing the extreme weather and decline in animal populations. The stryx believe it was the binding ritual—that removing daemons’ access to Gaia—or the balanced side of Omnis—caused a disturbance that has only now begun to right itself. They also think that it won’t get any better until a Draco is born, but that’s nothing to put stock into, in my opinion.”

“A Draco?” Ena asked in confusion. Witches had beliefs about Dracos too. They believed Gaia used the celestial bodies to communicate her will, and one of the most revered constellations was the Draco—a serpent-like creature of myth with wings. She didn’t exactly know what to do with the information that the stryx held beliefs about Dracos too—aside from the fact that it was clearly another way in which their cultures overlapped.

“Yes, I had the same reaction as you,” Ty said. “I’m not sure I believe all that, but either way, I’m wondering if maybe the true omen the Canus Elk’s death portended was not about our baby, but about the stryx.”

“What do you mean?” Ena asked, not quite following.

“Well, we know that the disturbance in Omnis has been causing strange behavior in animals, including trouble reproducing. It’s possible that the Canus Elk’s stillbirth was just a consequence of the binding ritual, rather than an ill omen for your pregnancy. Or it could have been an ill omen for the stryx themselves, pushing us to come here. To help them.”

Ena paused at that, her entire world shifting. “You’re right,” she responded, pushing out a breath. “We have no way of knowing for sure. Omens like that can be interpreted a hundred different ways.”

“So do you mean we didn’t even need to come here for your safety and the baby’s?” Turner asked, sounding as confused as she felt.

“I don’t know,” Ena responded truthfully. “But my gut says that, regardless, us coming here was necessary. Without learning about my stryx heritage, I may never have accepted that I needed to drink Ty’s blood.”

“Exactly,” Ty said. “And since we know that now, and you and the baby are healthy, assuming everything goes smoothly with the birth, it may be safe for us to return.”

“Hello?” Turner asked a little testily. “What about Cole, though? He is still a threat to us, and without overthrowing him—which you’ve made abundantly clear you don’t want to do—he always will be,” he said to Ty. “How can we just go back now?”

“I’ve given this a lot of thought,” Ty explained calmly. “And I’ve found a solution that could work, if everyone is on board. Because you’re right, Turner. I didn’t want to go back and try to overthrow Cole with just you, Steig, and Lara to back me up. My first priority is keeping Ena and the baby safe, and that would not have been conducive to that. But now,” he said, looking towards the entrance of their shelter, beyond which the rest of the stryx camp existed, “we have more allies than we did before.”

Turner’s eyebrows flew up. “You mean to enlist the stryx’s help in overthrowing Cole?”

“If they’re up for it. It could be a win-win solution—we give them support in transitioning over to our side of the Chasm Mountains—allies to make sure they are accepted and ensure they are granted areas to hunt freely—and we get help in restabilizing the Underworld.”