Page 93 of The Arcane God

The last thing she heard before she fell asleep was the sound of Ty’s deep voice talking to their son, shushing him and telling him everything would be alright.

She wasn’t sure she believed him, not with so many things different than they were before, and so many things still unknown, but in that moment, she wanted to.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Turner

The camp was quiet. It had been a long day of travel, with much more to go, and Turner knew that he should get some rest, but he couldn’t sleep.

He’d been sharing a tent with a couple other stryx so that Ena, Ty, and the baby could have their privacy, and his companions were all fast asleep, but his mind wouldn’t quiet, so he decided to get some fresh air.

First, he wandered around the camp, looking to see if anyone—or more accurately, a particular someone—was awake, though the fact that he was even hoping for that made him want to bang his head against a tree out of stupidity.

He and Xena had been dancing around each other for months—ever since the events of her Awakening when they’d shared that…moment. He knew he should just let it go, that it was just a fluke—a one-time encounter—as so many of his failed relationships were. But he still found himself thinking of her, and that night, often.

Not seeing signs of anyone else, he found himself standing around the fire outside his tent—alone—and deep in thought about all that was to come. Everything Ty had said about wanting him to be king, how he could possibly convince him otherwise. How everything would go with Cole, and his father, and so much more.

Distantly, he heard Ladon crying and fussing. He felt bad for Ty and Ena; he could tell they were both under a lot of stress with their new little arrival. Being a parent of a young baby did not look easy in the slightest, but…at the same time, he envied them. He saw their little moments of joy at their son’s presence, and it brought back those old hurts. Those feelings of “will this ever happen for me or am I doomed to be the fifth wheel forever?”

Turner sighed, poking the fire with a stick. It was nearly dawn, but the stryx would sleep well into the morning. They’d shifted their waking hours slightly for the sake of traveling during the day, but they still were a late-to-bed, late-to-rise people.

He was watching the smoke curling up from the flames, wondering if he should try again to lie down, when he heard the sudden snap of a stick behind him. He whipped around to see a dark figure emerging from the woods, and his heart stuttered.

Xena.

She blended in with the night so well, despite her pale skin, and she had that look in her eyes—the one she always did when she watched him, like she was a predator, and he was her prey.

“Daemon,” she greeted darkly as she prowled towards him.

“Hey,” he said, swallowing as his mouth suddenly filled with saliva. Nerves fluttered through his stomach, as they did whenever she was near.

She circled the fire until she was beside him.

“Why are you awake?” he asked, feeling like he needed to fill the silence.

“Couldn’t sleep,” she said simply. She was a woman of few words, and he couldn’t say whether he liked it or whether it drove him crazy, because it was so hard to know what she was thinking. Usually, he wouldn’t have pestered her for more, but tonight, she had a melancholy look on her face that wasn’t usually there, as if something was bothering her.

“Are you alright?” Turner asked her. He didn’t know if she would tell him if she wasn’t, but despite himself, he cared about her.

“Yes,” she said pensively as she stared at the fire. “I just…”

“You can tell me,” Turner offered. “I know we don’t know each other that well, but…I’m here to listen, if you need it.”

The corner of Xena’s mouth quirked up, as if he pleased her, and it sent a thrill through him. “It is nothing, I assure you,” she said. “Just…sad to be leaving my home. And worried for my people. Even though I know it is for the best.”

“I can understand that,” Turner said honestly. He could see, in his own way, how hard it would be to leave everything you once knew behind. It’s what he’d done when he left the Underworld with Ty—risked it all to help him break the bond, in the hope of a better future. “But we’ll find a place for you all on the other side, and it’ll be better. I promise.”

She looked at him then, a soft look in her eyes that caught him off guard. “You are sweet, did you know that?” she asked him.

“I did, actually,” he replied flippantly. “But it’s just these big eyes fooling you. I’m an asshole, really.”

She laughed, the sound of it making his heart beat faster.

The two of them sat in silence for a minute, before she spoke again, quietly.

“I like you, Turner, did you know that too?”

Turner swallowed, turning his head to look at her. She liked him? Like, like-liked him, or just liked him as a friend?