Page 99 of The Arcane God

Greya took a deep breath, and Steig looked over at Perse, the two of them exchanging a look of solidarity. They had her back, but they’d only react if they needed to.

“I didn’t tell them, but they know all the same,” Greya replied calmly.

“And how, may I ask, is that possible?” Northe asked, her teeth gritted slightly.

“Because the bond has been broken,” Greya stated simply, getting straight to the point.

“Broken?” Northe laughed in disbelief. “No. No, dear, that’s not possible. That would require…” Northe went silent as she clearly began doing the calculations in her mind—putting two and two together about the current state of relations between witches and daemons, and the ways their magic had changed.

“I’m sure you have heard reports of daemons’ and witches’ magic suddenly working against one another again, including what happened at my Ascension,” Greya offered patiently, helping her along.

“Are you saying…the broken bond is the cause of this shift?” Northe asked, her face grave.

“Yes, it is.”

“Good Gaia,” Northe breathed, bringing her hand to her mouth in shock. “This—this is huge,” she said. “How is it that you know this?”

Steig felt Greya tighten beside him, steeling herself for her response. “Because I had a hand in breaking it,” she said straightforwardly.

Greya had warned him last night about what she was planning to say, and acknowledged that it was risky—that revealing her involvement, and the fact that she’d kept it a secret, could harm relations between Aquilo and Auster—but Greya felt strongly that the time for secret-keeping between witches was over. She wanted a new era—one in which truth and accountability prevailed. And who was Steig to argue with that? But now, in the presence of this woman who so clearly did not hold the same values, Steig realized just how risky it had been.

“You broke the binding spell?” Northe asked, her tone appalled.

“Not me personally, no, but a witch from my Coven did, with my knowledge,” Greya explained, not giving an inch.

“One witch could not do that alone. The spell requires one from each Coven, just as it was when it was created. Are you telling me someone from my own Coven participated in this without my knowledge?”

Steig hadn’t seen that one coming. Would she reveal to Northe the other witch’s involvement, or would she lie to protect their identity?

“Someone from your Coven did participate, yes, but they were acting on Gaia’s will, as were the other two witches, because, Northe, there is so much more to the story than you know,” Greya responded, deftly avoiding the whole truth. “The witch from my Coven who broke the spell, she had a vision from Gaia. In it, she saw the creation of the spell, and the nefarious motivations behind it. It was Gaia’s will that the spell be broken. It had caused far too much damage to the balance for too long, and undoing it has given us a new opportunity.”

“A new opportunity?” Northe asked, absolutely affronted by what Greya had said. “For what? For daemons to attack mortals, burn villages, ruin fields of crops? I’m sorry, Greya, but I am having a hard time seeing how unleashing their chaos onto the world is Gaia’s will.”

“Yes, it has allowed our magic to work unfettered against one another once more, but that is the way Gaia always intended it. Not to mention, not all daemons wish to do those things, or to serve Iblis. Breaking the bond has allowed them to access Gaia once more, and many of them wish to serve her as well,” Greya explained, trying to entreat with the woman.

“How do you know this?” Northe asked suspiciously. “Have you had contact with daemons?”

Greya looked over at Steig, and he froze.

Fuck. This was his moment to shine, he guessed.

“Because I have brought you one, to show you he, and many of his kind, mean no harm.”

Northe’s eyes flicked over to Steig in shock and horror. She stood up abruptly, taking a step back as if afraid he would suddenly jump up and attack her. Part of him fucking wanted to, after seeing that reaction.

“You have brought a daemon?! Here?!” she asked, her voice raised in fear.

“Northe, please, hear us out. I promise you, he means no harm,” Greya said, glancing sideways at Steig and giving him a wide-eyed “say something” look.

Steig cleared his throat pointedly, though he still stared daggers at the woman, and knew his dislike of her was probably seething off him. “She speaks the truth, matriarch. I mean you no harm, and neither do the majority of my people,” he began, trying to speak calmly as Greya had. “It is, unfortunately, our king’s doing that so many daemons have been sent to cause destruction lately, and we seek to overthrow him.”

“Your king’s doing?” she asked, scoffing in disbelief.

“Yes, our leader,” Steig replied adamantly. He’d be damned by Iblis if he’d let this witch continue to hold her small-minded beliefs about his people. “He is filled with vengeance against witches for the part you all played in forcing us to the Underworld, but many of us want a different way. A new way.”

It was the truth, of course, and it felt good to speak it out loud, no matter how it was received. But Northe just looked away from Steig, as if he was some impossible thing that she willed not to exist.

“You should have consulted me,” she said, pointing her finger accusatorially at Greya. “This is too big of a decision for Auster to make on their own, without Aquilo.”