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By nightfall my gut was twisted into a ball of nerves as I panicked about Mama. Artemis slept soundly, and Carnon had calmly given orders and made all the preparations for our departure the next day. Herne would ride with us, and Cerridwen would fly ahead to alert Lucifer and the Daemon Lords.
“Try to be calm, Elara,” Cerridwen said as she watched me pace across my room. “We have to come up with a plan before you go charging into the Witchlands.”
“It will take us at least a week to ride there,” I said, distractedly. “We can plan on the ride.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to plan, then travel?” Cerridwen pushed gently, glancing at the door as Carnon returned from announcing our plans to Herne and making preparations.
He shook water from his hair, dripping all over the wooden floor of the platform that held our room, before striding to me and planting a kiss on my cheek.
“Elara,” Carnon said, gripping my shoulders. “Stop pacing or you’ll bring down the whole platform. I promised I’d help free your mother,” he held up his palm to show me the red line across it, “and I intend to keep that promise.”
I felt the necklace thrum a little against my chest as I let him pull me in for an embrace, releasing me when Cerridwen cleared her throat.
“Should I go?” she asked, looking warily between us and rising.
“Stay,” Carnon replied, pecking my cheek and heading into the bathing room.
I sighed, sitting heavily on the bed and flopping backwards. “How did everything turn so dark so quickly?” I asked, speaking to no one in particular. Cerridwen sat back down, turning toward me and crossing her legs. “How could I let myself get so distracted?”
“The mating Pull is powerful, Elara,” Cerridwen said, stroking my hair soothingly. “It’s not your fault you got wrapped up in it.”
“Can you tell?” I asked, sitting up suddenly and looking her over. “That we are mated, I mean. How do people know?”
Cerridwen smiled. “Not really,” she said, tilting her curly, horned head. “Mated pairs usually smell similar after a few weeks together, but you two don’t yet. Probably because your witch magic smells so different from demon magic.”
“So the other Daemon Lords won’t know we completed the bond, then?” I asked.
“No,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me. “But they’ll be able to tell the moment you let Carnon kiss you in front of them. It’s rather obvious that he’s still in the throes of the Pull.”
“Will it be very bad?” I asked, biting my lower lip. “That we completed the bond without their blessing?”
Cerridwen shrugged. “They won’t like it, but probably not so bad. They likely won’t agree to crown you, though, until you complete their trial.”
“Crown me?” I asked, having forgotten this little detail of my relationship with Carnon. Goddess, as his bride I would be the Demon Queen. I wasn’t sure I was ready for the responsibility or the ruthlessness it might require. The look of horror on my face made Cerridwen burst out laughing.
“You’ll be fine,” she soothed. “Focus on getting your mother out of the Witchlands, then we’ll worry about the rest.”
She patted my hand and smiled, and I realized that Vera had never been a very good friend to me. Cerridwen hardly knew me, but she said ‘we’ like my suffering and desires and anxieties were hers; like it mattered to her what happened to me. With Vera, I had always felt like a side character in the story of her life, and she had treated me more like an accessory to her exploits, rather than her equal. Even at the end, when we snuck into the meeting. It was less about getting me there, and more about getting her a dramatic adventure.
“Thank you,” I said, reaching forward and wrapping my arms around her in a hug.
“Of course,” she chirped, sounding both surprised and delighted. “What are friends for?”
???
I didn’t really sleep that night; I was wide awake wrapped in Carnon’s arms, tossing and turning with worry. Not only did I need to come up with a way to save Mama, but I had to figure out how to do it within the week. I couldn’t bear to receive more of her fingers, and Artemis was certainly not up to any more spying.
We rose and dressed in semi-darkness, Carnon shooting me worried glances as I pulled on trousers and a blouse and packed. I had raided the kitchens late last night to stock up on healing herbs and plants with multiple properties, and I tucked them into my little pouch along with my chalk and crystal and the silver athame I had bought in Oneiros.
“Here,” Carnon said when I turned to him and declared myself ready to leave. He knelt before me, strapping a scabbard with a wickedly sharp blade onto my thigh, his strong hands buckling the strap and squeezing slightly when he finished. “I borrowed this from Cerridwen. Keep it on you, especially now that we are riding apart.”
“I have no idea how to use this,” I said, looking down at him in a mix of exasperation and tenderness.
He smirked, patting my leg. “The sharp end goes in your enemies,” he said, straightening and putting his hands on my shoulders, adding a peck on my forehead for good measure. “But I want you to use your magic before you resort to it. If anyone attacks us on the road, wither them. Don’t ask questions. You defend yourself at all costs.”
“Is that likely?” I asked, an edge of panic creeping into my voice. I looked up at him in the darkness of our room, his serpentine gaze steely with resolve.
“No,” he replied. “But I won’t risk losing you, Elara. You fight like your life depends on it. Promise me.”
