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Ena’s chest tightened at his words. She would be lying if she said that didn’t hurt, especially with the ghost of his kisses on her neck.

Clearly, he was trying to tell her something with his cold tone and harsh attitude.

He was trying to push her away again—and he would succeed.

Yes, she’d certainly outlived her usefulness with these daemons.

“Okay, that’s settled then,” Turner said cautiously, looking between Ena and Ty as they stared daggers at each other.

“We’ll leave as soon as the rain lets up,” Ty declared.

***

Unfortunately, the rain continued all day and well into the evening.

Ena hung around the dining room most of the day, listening to Ty, Turner, and Steig strategize now that they knew about Ena’s visanis .

When they took breaks to gather supplies or tend to their horses, she spent the time observing the other patrons at the guesthouse.

There was a family with several children who spent a significant amount of time playing a rowdy game with marbles that Ena had never experienced before. She couldn’t help but smile at their communal joy, but it made her miss Greya fiercely.

Then there was the duo of glassblowers who had traveled to deliver some commissioned items to a few people in the village. She overheard some gossip that indicated that Dirk the butcher had been way overcharged for the glass pitcher he’d ordered, but that was no business of hers.

The everyday human moments kept her company and soothed her while it rained and she tried fervently not to think about everything that had happened with Ty.

The kind woman who’d served them their food kept her well-provided with ale after ale, and by the time dinner rolled around, she was pleasantly inebriated.

It had been a long time since she’d been drunk, probably since the Litha gathering this past summer, but Ena was thoroughly enjoying the feeling.

It wasn’t until she’d finished eating her dinner of chicken, roasted potatoes, and mashed carrots, that she realized there was a commotion in the corner of the room.

The dining room was packed with patrons, both guests and village residents, but Turner and Ty had cleared out quickly after dinner.

Ena had been given express instructions to “stay here where Steig can see you,” and honestly, with the pleasant feeling of the ale buzzing through her brain, she had no desire to be anywhere else at the moment.

Looking over at the corner in question, Ena saw Steig sitting in a place of honor with patrons gathering around him.

Oh, Gaia. Was he about to sing? Ena hadn’t truly believed it when Ty had said he was posing as a bard. He so did not strike her as the musical type. He was gruff and harsh, not touchy-feely at all. But as the room settled down, and he opened his mouth, she realized how wrong she’d been.

Steig sang a slow, long ballad, his deep, smooth voice reverberating throughout the room.

And it wasn’t just any song—it was a love song.

His voice seemed to drench the room, enrapturing even the noisy children.

His pitch-perfect notes cascaded fluidly as he sang of a hunter who fell in love with a seamstress.

They loved each other madly and couldn’t keep their hands off each other, so every time he left for a hunting trip, they’d make love frantically in farewell, and every time, he’d return to find her pregnant.

The couple had fifteen children, who grew up to found a new village, and their prosperity benefited everyone.

It was an interesting story, Ena granted him.

Highly unique. And she didn’t miss the effect it had on the patrons of the guesthouse.

Slowly, one by one, couples peeled off together into dark corners of the room, kissing and canoodling.

A few even left before he was done to run up to their rooms. Ena liked the song, sure, but she didn’t seem quite as impacted by it as everyone else.

Eventually, way slower than she would have if she hadn’t been drunk, she realized what was happening—it was cupido .

She’d heard of it, of course—the Power that some daemons had to enhance lust, greed, and ambition.

She’d always wondered what Steig’s Power was, and now it clicked.

His Power came from his singing. His lustful singing.

Gaia, Ena had never been more grateful that daemonic Powers did not work on witches. She’d dealt with more than enough consequences of her ill-conceived lust for one day.

When Steig finally finished singing, only two other patrons remained in the room to applaud him, but he didn’t seem concerned. He bowed slightly to the two who’d clapped and left his chair of honor to drink a mug of ale at another table.

Maybe it was her drunken state, or maybe she just needed him to know that she knew what he was up to, but she found herself approaching his table.

“I guess it makes sense now,” she said to him as she sat down.

“What does?” he asked her, barely making eye contact.

“Why you have so many kids,” Ena said.

He looked at her with his eyebrows raised, realizing that she’d put two and two together about his Power. “You got me,” he said, before looking back down at his mug.

Gaia, you would’ve thought she’d killed this man’s family with the cold shoulder he was giving her.

She was just trying to waste the time with some mindless conversation so she didn’t have to think about Ty and what in the Underworld she would do if she had to sleep next to him again tonight, but this guy just wouldn’t give an inch.

What the fuck did she ever do to him anyway?

“What the fuck is your problem with me?” she asked, the alcohol completely obliterating her brain-to-mouth barrier. “Do you just hate all witches? Is that it?”

Steig looked around frantically. “Keep your voice down,” he hissed. “Do you want them to know what you are?”

She rolled her eyes. There was no one here anymore anyway. They were all back in their rooms fucking like rabbits.

“Fine, don’t tell me. Don’t suppose it matters anyway,” Ena said.

She’d never admit it to him, but it did matter.

Turner seemed fine enough with her, kind even, but Steig had always had a stick up his ass about her, even before he knew who she was to Ty.

And in Ena’s mind, he had no right to treat her this way when she’d done nothing to him.

He was the one who’d kidnapped her, forced her into this.

The least he could do was not be a constant asshole.

Steig looked over at her, clearly noting her drunken state, and she thought she saw a flash of pity in his eyes. “I don’t hate all witches. I mistrust them. There’s a difference.”

“Okay…and why do you mistrust us?” Ena asked.

Steig rolled his eyes, as if that was the dumbest question he’d ever heard. Ena was about to get up and leave this pointless conversation, when he spoke again.

“I was there, you know,” he said, pausing to make sure she was listening. “After Ty tried to get back to you. After they beat him nearly to death. I was there.”

Ena froze where she sat. She’d known they were friends, best friends, but she never thought about that, never guessed that he’d been there for Ty, all those years ago.

“The beating hurt his body badly. He couldn’t walk for almost a month after that. But his heart… that was worse. The loneliness and the regret that haunted him in the years that followed. He was never the same.” Steig shook his head as he took another gulp of ale. “You fucked him up good, witch.”

Ena bristled at his tone. As if that was her fault. As if she wasn’t hurting and fucked up herself after that summer.

“Yeah, well, the feeling was mutual,” she said, her hands finding her own mug for another sip.

“I can see that,” he said, looking at her appraisingly. “I don’t know how I didn’t figure it out earlier, actually. Who you were. I should’ve known.”

“And you blame me for that? For him being hurt and all that came after?”

“No, I don’t blame you. But I know what it is to love someone fiercely. So fiercely, that you’re willing to ignore all the bad that comes with the good. And seeing you two together…seeing the soft spot he’s had for you since the minute we took you…I’m worried about my friend.”

Ena was silent as she took in his words.

She could understand his concern for his friend.

But love? That wasn’t what she and Ty had.

They were drawn to each other, yes, but it wasn’t love.

How could she love someone who’d hurt her so badly?

Besides, she didn’t know how to tell Steig that he didn’t need to be worried.

Things between her and Ty were over, and they both knew it.

Those words were on the tip of her tongue, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring them out.

Steig looked over at her again before draining his cup. “Just take some advice and keep your distance from him. For both your sakes.” He stood up, leaving her alone at the table before going upstairs to his room.

Ena watched the fire burn down alone until she’d finished her mug.

She swayed slightly as she walked up the stairs to her room.

Walking in, she saw that the bed was empty, but Turner was passed out in a nest of blankets with a pillow on the floor in front of the fire.

They clearly didn’t want her to be unsupervised all night, but she silently thanked Gaia that Turner was here and not Ty. It was easier that way.

Because she wanted to take Steig’s advice. She wanted to keep her distance. She knew it was the only path forward. For both of them.