Page 75 of The Arcane God

“And then what?” Turner asked, somewhat confrontationally, as if he knew that wasn’t the whole story. “You’ve been very adamant that you do not want to be king—that it’s not safe for Ena and the baby.”

“It’s not. That’s why, once we overthrow Cole, we’ll install you as the new king,” Ty said matter-of-factly. “After we convince your father to abdicate, of course—with force, if we have to.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Turner said, seeming uncharacteristically angry.

“I’m not,” Ty replied, crossing his arms. Ena recognized when he was digging in for a fight.

“Ty,” Turner began, a warning tone to his voice, “you are the king we need, and you know it. Not me.”

Ena got the sense that this wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation. She knew that Turner was in the line of succession for the throne, after Cole, Ty, and Zak, respectively, but she’d never thought either of them had truly considered that a possibility. It was obvious to her, and to everyone, that Ty was the rightful heir—the only one respected and capable enough to lead the daemons into a new era.

And suddenly, Ena felt guilt wash over her like a malaise. Because it was her—her and her baby—who were causing this rift in Ty—his struggle between his duty to her and his duty to his people. She had never wanted this for him—for them—but, just like everything else, things had gotten beyond her control.

“I cannot be king and bring Ena and my child into that world, Turner. I can’t do it,” Ty explained, his voice hard. “I hope that with my uncles gone, things will start to change, but there will always be those who hate witches. There will always be those who will look down on my child because of his mixed heritage. They will never be accepted there as the queen and the heir.”

The three of them went silent as Ty’s words lingered like a shadow between them.

“Just because there will be those who will need…convincing does not mean you should not try, Ty,” Turner said. “Together, we can protect them, and change peoples’ minds. They accepted and embraced you, despite your mixed heritage.”

“But at what cost?” Ty said, his anger rising. “I won’t put my child in that position—having to hide half of themselves—and I won’t put Ena in harm’s way, hoping that small-minded people come around. I can’t do it, so don’t ask me to.”

Turner looked down, a hint of shame crossing his face. Ena’s heart ached to see them like this—it was so unlike them to fight—but she felt paralyzed. She didn’t know how to fix this any more than they did, and she knew, in the end, that the decision was up to Ty.

“I understand, Ty, I do,” Turner said, sighing in reluctant understanding. “Maybe we can, I don’t know, revisit the topic later.”

Ena didn’t miss the way Turner had not agreed to assume the throne, and she was sure Ty hadn’t either.

“Turner’s right,” Ena said, trying to play peacekeeper. “First, we need to remove Cole from the throne, and see what state the Underworld is in, before anything else can happen. Maybe we focus on that first, before anything else. Deal?”

“Deal,” Ty said, nodding at his cousin, though she could tell he still felt upset by the discussion.

It wasn’t an agreement, but it was a reluctant peace. There would be time to debate how the Underworld would operate after they did what needed to be done, and first things first, they needed to see if the stryx were on board.

“Okay,” Ena said, drawing both men’s attention towards her. “Then I guess we better go talk with the stryx and see their thoughts on all of this.”

Ty and Turner nodded in agreement, and the three of them readied to emerge from the tent.

Ena was glad to have a plan, and hope for returning to their side of the Chasm Mountains, but she couldn’t ignore the pit of fear that formed in her stomach at the thought that, even if they got everything that they wanted, and the stryx came to help them overthrow Cole, that their future was far from settled.

Deep down, she feared that there might never be a place for her, or for her family.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Ty

Ty tried to shake off his lingering anger as the three of them made their way over to Max’s tent. He didn’t relish fighting with one of his best friends, but Turner had to understand that this was the only way forward. He couldn’t put his child and Ena in danger, and he couldn’t keep splitting parts of himself, dividing his loyalties. He wanted to be all of himself—the way Ena allowed him to be—and he couldn’t do that as King of the Underworld.

They found Max sitting with Kaya and Xoe outside their tent around a fire, everyone relishing the rare, stormless weather as they worked on various projects—maintaining their clothing and bows, making new arrows, and chatting amicably.

“Max,” Ty greeted as they approached. “Do you have a minute? There is something we would like to discuss with you, and the others.”

“Of course,” Max said, seeming surprised by Ty’s formality as he gestured to the spot next to him around the fire.

“We’ve been talking and we have a proposal for you and the rest of the stryx. I know you don’t speak for them, so I’m hoping once you hear what I have to say, you can bring it to the rest of the group.”

“Okay, tell me,” Max said, all businesslike. Ty appreciated that about him—although he wasn’t a leader in any formal way, he behaved like one and was always ready to do what was best for his people.

“I shared with them what you and I discussed the other day and we’d like you all to come back to the other side of the Chasm Mountains with us,” Ty said, getting right to the point. “You know there is a king there, in the Underworld, whom we disagree with. He needs to be deposed, and we were hoping that if you help us, then the daemons can help you. We can make sure you have a safe place to relocate.”