Page 73 of The Arcane God

“Yes,” Max said, his meaning implicit.

“Do you think it is related?”

“The stryx believe so, yes. What the witches did, severing an entire people from certain parts of Omnis, caused a disturbance in Omnis, and it had ripple effects beyond what the daemons experienced.”

“But we broke the bond. Shouldn’t things go back to normal now?”

“I believe they will, in due time. But you cannot just snap your fingers and undo centuries of impact. It will take time, perhaps another couple of centuries, for things to go back to the way they should be.”

Ty felt his heart wrench for the stryx. None of this was fair to them, and it made him furious anew at the witches who had caused all this. But more than that—it made him afraid.

Because if it would take centuries for things to right themselves here, then it was clear to him what needed to be done.

They couldn’t stay here. None of them could.

He, Ena, and Turner had fled here, looking for a safe place to deliver the baby. He’d been so focused on that, he hadn’t given much thought to what would come after. But now, it hit him like a ton of bricks.

They would have to return to their side of the Chasm Mountains. And soon.

“What will you all do?” Ty asked him, the weight of the situation heavy between them. “Will you try again to come over the Chasm Mountains?”

“I am not sure there is a place for us there. Not with the tensions you have described between witches and daemons. We may just have to hold out hope for the birth of the Draco.”

“The birth of the what?” Ty asked in confusion.

Max gave him a melancholic smile. “It is a prophecy, handed down among the stryx since before we parted from witches and daemons. As you could imagine, there were…tensions over our different beliefs, the different way we see things. But still, the stryx did not want to leave our homes, despite the conflicts that had arisen between our peoples. Then, a seer who was friendly to us had a vision. He saw the stryx, witches, daemons, and mortals living in prosperity and peace together. It was this message of hope that convinced the stryx to leave—knowing that one day, they would be able to return and live amongst the other races once more.”

“What did the prophecy say?”

“That the balance between the races, and the peaceful vision he had seen, would begin with the birth of the Draco.”

“The Draco?” Ty’s brow furrowed in confusion, but he felt a vague memory arise in his mind. Him and Ena, sitting on the banks of the River Wry, that summer almost ten years ago. Ena was showing him the stars, and the constellations, and one of them was of a creature that Ena said either used to exist, or would exist one day. She called it a Draco.

“You mean, like the one in the stars?” Ty asked, putting two and two together.

“Yes,” Max said, looking up at the cloud-filled sky, as if he could almost see it. “One and the same. A new being for a new era.”

Ty thought it was a nice story—another interesting facet of stryx lore—but he personally put no stock in myths and prophecies. At this moment, he was concerned only about what was right in front of him. And right now, he knew something needed to be done—for him, Ena, and Turner, as well as the stryx.

Turning around, and gesturing at Max to follow him, Ty began to head back towards camp. He needed to speak to Ena and Turner about all this, as soon as possible.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ena

Ena crouched down to brush aside the snow, revealing some burdock. It was summer back home on the other side of the Chasm Mountains—where everything would be in full bloom, and harvests would be plentiful—but here, everything was still intermittently covered in snow. The days were longer now, though, and more light brought more vegetation, at least. Ena’s Knowing had adapted to the landscape more, under Kaya’s guidance, and she could identify the best harvesting spots more easily now.

Leaning over as far as her significantly rounded stomach would allow, she began to dig at the base of the plant, revealing the roots she was after. Working in this position pressed the baby into her bladder, so she instantly had to pee, but she ignored it for now, focusing on finishing the task at hand.

After a few minutes of digging at the hard earth, she stood up, her hard-earned prize in hand, and placed it, along with her small makeshift bone trowel, into the leather satchel she carried. Feeling satisfied with her haul for the day, she began her long walk—or waddle, more like—back towards their current camp.

They’d moved again last month, looking for spots with more game for the summer season. She’d be lying if she said all the moving hadn’t made her uncomfortable. As difficult as walking was, riding on horseback was even worse. All the swaying and bumping made her feel like the front of her was about to fall right off.

It both terrified and excited her to know that the baby would be born soon—she was in her last trimester and just a couple weeks away now—and to be honest, she couldn’t even comprehend what life would be like for her after all this. After everything that had changed.

When she neared camp, she looked up to see a figure moving purposefully towards her, and a smile graced her face when she realized it was Ty. He, too, smiled when their eyes met, but something in his gaze looked preoccupied.

“What is it?” she asked. She knew enough by now to know that that look meant something had happened. Whether it was another storm coming, or a failed hunt, something was weighing on him.