Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 125179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Some were even awed.
Well, it was no small thing to be Favored by a deity. And if Kali made you different from other revenants, it said something. People were probably questioning whether it meant something good or something bad.
It was a question that she knew haunted Cain.
Unfortunately, he and the other Ancients hadn’t yet managed to wake Abaddon. They had tried every evening without fail. Cain didn’t believe that the sleeping Ancient had so much as stirred, but he couldn’t tell for sure.
A growl came from Anabel as she glanced from Xavier to Delilah. “Will you two stop bickering. I swear, you’re like children sometimes.”
Hattie put her fingers to her lips. “My, my, my, would you look at that derriere?”
Wynter tracked her gaze and noticed a well-built male bending over to grab bales of hay, stacking them on top of one other. “You really need to stop ogling asses.”
“It can’t be helped,” said Hattie.
Delilah made a humming sound. “I’ll admit, that is a fabulous behind.” She let out a sigh of longing. “I wouldn’t mind a good ole roll in the hay.”
Hattie pulled a face. “It’s not as fun as it sounds. I wouldn’t recommend it.”
Wynter felt her brows inch up. “You and George did some hot yoga in the field?”
“Stables,” corrected Hattie. “And it wasn’t George. It was my first husband.”
“The one who was hung like a bull?” asked Anabel.
Hattie gave a curt nod. “He wasn’t very skillful in bed. Relied on his size to do all the pleasing. He would just pound away and traumatize your cervix. If you wanted him to find your clitoris, you needed to draw the oaf a map. It was such a shame that he died,” she added sadly . . . as if he’d lost his life in a freak, tragic accident.
Delilah fired her an incredulous look. “You find it a shame? Really?”
Hattie shrugged one shoulder. “I did miss him when he was gone.”
“Enough that you wished you hadn’t killed him?” asked Delilah.
“Not quite that much.”
Delilah set one hand on her hip. “Okay, here’s what I don’t get. You say you’re sorry you ended the lives of your husbands. Yet, you don’t wish that you hadn’t done it. How can you be sorry and not regretful?”
“I’m sorry that they put me in a position where I was forced to kill them,” Hattie clarified.
“Forced? They forced you?”
“What else was I supposed to do after they betrayed me and broke their vows?”
“Spit on them? Leave them? Kick them in the balls?”
Hattie shot Delilah a snooty look. “Ladies do not spit, though I would not expect you to know that. I couldn’t have left them without also divorcing them, and we’ve already covered that I don’t believe in divorce. And I would never kick a man’s testicles—that can cause real damage, you know.”
“More damage than a deadly poison?”
“I don’t see where you’re going with this.”
Halting outside the grocery store, Wynter raised her hands. “Let it go for now, okay? Go inside and grab whatever stuff you need.”
“Don’t forget we need to head to the bookstore after this,” Hattie piped up.
“It’s not exactly a ‘need’,” began Delilah, “but don’t worry, old woman, you’ll get there.”
Hattie’s brow furrowed. “Books are a necessity. I can’t believe you’d imply differently. Or that I ever trusted you.”
Delilah snorted. “Works of fiction are a form of entertainment, nothing more.”
“Your negativity is not appreciated.”
“I’m not being negative, I’m being real.”
“You’re being a tight-assed bit—”
“Enough.” Wynter nudged a grinning Delilah. “Stop winding up old ladies and go shop. Hattie, ease up on the insults, would you?”
“For you, Wynter,” agreed Hattie, ever so benevolent.
Honest to Christ, they were a handful.
The five of them headed into the store and each grabbed a basket. They usually split up to go nab what they needed. But today the coven insisted that Wynter wasn’t to be left alone. They were still pissed that they hadn’t noticed she’d been snatched by Missy, Kyra, and Vera until it was almost too late.
As a group, they went from aisle to aisle, chucking items into their baskets. Xavier didn’t need much, so he quickly got bored and started throwing unnecessary stuff into Delilah’s basket. That led to yet another argument between the two. An argument that continued even as they bagged up their purchases and then walked out the exit. And that, in turn, led to Anabel once again ordering them to “quit it already”. It was as the annoyed blonde marched off in a strop that she almost crashed into Shelia, one of Ishtar’s aides.
The female vampire sneered. “Watch where you’re going.”
“I am watching, I’m not impressed with what I see,” snarked Anabel.
Shelia blinked in surprise. The three female vamps behind her looked equally stunned. Yeah, people didn’t always sense that Anabel wasn’t quite as innocent or harmless as she looked. Wynter got the feeling that the witch liked that.