Page 100 of The Arcane God

“This was beyond me, Northe, I assure you. This was Gaia’s will,” Greya said, speaking firmly, yet refusing to get sucked into Northe’s anger.

“Why are you telling me this now? What do you hope to achieve?” Northe asked, placing her hands on her desk and leaning aggressively towards Greya.

“We have come for your help, Northe, Aquilo’s help, in overthrowing the king who has caused so much tension between our two peoples. We want your support in the transition to new leadership, and your allyship as we embark on a new path for witches, daemons, and mortals alike. One of cooperation and peace, rather than division and hatred.”

Northe huffed out a laugh of disbelief, and Steig wondered if Greya and Perse would be very mad if he slapped her.

“You want witches to help daemons? After all they have done? Are you mad? Heran would be appalled to see you championing this path, Greya. I am just glad she is not here to see it.”

Greya went stiff beside him, and she looked like she’d been punched in the gut. Steig knew that Heran was the old matriarch, and Greya’s mentor, but he was not aware of the circumstances of her death.

“You’re right,” Greya said hauntingly and with conviction. “Heran would not have supported this. She did not see the errors of the old way either—even right up until the end of her life, and now it’s too late. Too late for her to change her mind. Too late for her to listen with an open mind. Too late to give me and the other witches who participated absolution,” Greya continued, her voice cracking with emotion. “But neither you nor Heran saw what I did during the unbinding ritual—witches and daemons working together, and the presence of both gods throughout it all,” Greya added passionately. “In my bones, I Know a different order is needed, so Northe, please, I beg you to listen,” she said, speaking calmly once more. “You know better than anyone that witches are no more safe under this current system than they were before. The bond is broken, the deed is done. It cannot be undone, and now, the only true path forward is a new one. One of peace and cooperation—one which serves witches better than this. I Know this is the correct path to protect my Coven, and I took the fides oath just as you did, so I must follow it.”

Northe stared at her, disgust and anger warring on her face, despite Greya’s passionate and truthful speech. “This path serves Iblis, child,” Northe said, her tone sinister. “And I will not help you. Now please, leave my village, before I have you forcibly removed from it.”

Greya stood up slowly, staring eye to eye with the woman. “So be it, Northe. But I urge you to commune with Gaia and the other witches in your Coven about this. They may be of a different mind to you, and you would do well to listen to them.”

With that, Greya whirled around dramatically, giving Steig and Perse a brief glance each as they followed suit and stood to leave.

The three of them rushed unescorted to the hallway, and out the front door. They walked quickly, sensing Northe’s eyes on them through the window, and knowing that they had already overstayed their welcome in the Aquilo Coven.

“Well, that didn’t seem to go very well,” Steig mumbled once they were out of eye and earshot. It had not gone the way he’d expected, and while he was glad it hadn’t devolved into a fight, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t itching for one after that. How had Greya kept her cool in the face of such ignorance?

“Not particularly,” Greya granted as she pulled up the hood of her cloak. “But don’t worry. I have a backup plan.”

A backup plan? Steig didn’t know if he wanted to be dragged into more drama, but after the way Greya had defended herself and his people, he reluctantly found his respect for his ally rising. If she would fight this hard for a new path against her own kind, then maybe he could too.

So, as they fled the matriarch’s house together, Steig knew without a doubt that he had made the right choice by agreeing to help, and he followed her.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Greya

Greya led them all to a house she’d been to many times before, especially in her youth. It was slightly rundown, and smaller, but homey nonetheless, with moss growing over its thatched roof and a beat-up wooden door with a small window.

“Whose fucking house is this?” Steig asked grumpily, looking around as if he was going to be attacked at any moment.

“A friend’s,” Perse answered for her.

Greya knocked on the door, and within seconds, a tall, blond man opened it.

“Greya?” Cris asked, his blue eyes going wide. “What are you doing here?” He looked around confusedly at her companions. “Where’s Ena? Is she okay?”

“Ena is fine, as far as I know,” Greya said hurriedly. “Please, can we come in?”

“Sure,” Cris said, stepping aside to let them all in.

Greya entered the room to find one of Cris’s brothers standing in the kitchen, stirring something in a large, black iron pot. He looked up, seeming shocked to see the matriarch of another Coven suddenly standing in his living room.

“It’s okay. Colyn knows everything, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Cris explained, seeing her cautious look. “Both of my brothers do now, and my brother’s wife. You can speak freely.” Cris gestured for them all to sit down, his eyes darting to Steig, whom he didn’t recognize. “I assume that’s what you’re all here to discuss?”

“Yes, you assume correctly,” Greya said. “We—Perse, Steig, and I—just came from a meeting with Northe.”

“And Steig is…?” Cris asked, trying his best to politely get an introduction.

“A daemon,” Steig said gruffly. “And you would be?”

“He’s the Aquilo witch who helped break the bond,” Greya explained.