Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
“If you want me dead then yes, it would literally kill me to trust you,” Cain pointed out.
Noah swept a hand down his face. “All seven of you were betrayed by our kind, so I can understand why you’d expect more betrayal from our corner. But we didn’t free Saul. Not one of us would ever have done that.”
Ishtar flicked up a brow. “No? You would surely want the witch to lift the curse she put on Aeon. Maybe you hoped he would take her back there.”
Rima snorted. “Saul has already proven he wants nothing more than to squash her like a bug. We would gain nothing from freeing him.”
“Except revenge against Wynter,” said Inanna. “And perhaps you even want revenge against Cain for how he once skewered your father with a sword and then left him to die. Only the quick actions of healers brought Abel back from the brink of death.”
Noah sighed. “There’s nothing we can say to convince you that we weren’t involved, is there?”
“It wasn’t any of us who freed Saul,” Eve stated, sweeping her gaze along every Ancient. “I swear that to you.”
“I wish that your word was enough, I really do,” Dantalion told her. “But, as your grandson pointed out, we have been betrayed one too many times by your kind.”
“When you catch Saul, he will tell you what happened,” said Eve. “He will confirm our claims that we had no part in this.”
“For your sake,” began Inanna, “I hope that is true.”
*
In his chamber later that evening, Cain told his consort of the conversation as they dried themselves off after their shower. She didn’t interrupt. She remained silent, her eyes sharp as she absorbed every word.
“Do you believe them?” Wynter asked once he’d finished updating her.
He sighed. “I don’t disbelieve them. But I also don’t feel I can trust that they’re being truthful. And I refuse to take any chances when being wrong would result in incredibly dire outcomes.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t be quick to take them at their word either. No offence to them—I don’t even know them. I just mean that this isn’t a time you can exercise blind faith.” Slipping into one of his shirts, Wynter twisted her mouth. “There’s only one reason I find it difficult to believe they’d be behind Saul’s escape.”
Cain crossed to her and then helped her button the shirt. “What’s that?”
“For them, it wouldn’t merely be a monumentally dumb thing to do, it would carry the kind of consequences that mean dark, eternal, no-holds-barred suffering. As Eve pointed out, he can tell you who released him when you recapture him. She, Rima, and Noah sold their souls to Dantalion, and they know what will happen to said souls if they earn his wrath.”
The Ancient would throw them into the deepest pit of hell.
Tipping his chin at the people he passed, Cain strode through his bailey toward the arched opening in the stark stone walls. Three days. It had been three days of nothing. The Aeons were a no-show, though their lack of action didn’t make anyone suspect that some wouldn’t eventually come to Devil’s Cradle.
More, Saul hadn’t been found. The entire city had been searched—every house, every tower, every other building, not to mention every spot of land including the woods and the arena. There was nothing to indicate that the Aeon was in the underground city.
The town on the surface had been just as rigorously searched but, again, there was no trace of him anywhere. It was looking likely that he’d fled Devil’s Cradle, but no one was ready to relax in that assumption—hence why Cain hadn’t pulled away the guards he’d placed on Wynter’s cottage. He also regularly visited her at least twice a day to check on her, just as he intended to do right now.
“Sire!” a female voice called out.
Cain looked to see Demetria hurrying toward him, her hand scrunching the side of her long bohemian dress.
Stopping in front of him, she said, “I was hoping I could have a quick word with you, if you have a moment. It’s important,” she stressed, her brow creased.
“All right.” Cain tipped his chin toward the empty, alley-type space between the barn and stables. They both headed over there.
She turned to him, her eyes bright. “I had a vision via Nemesis.”
“A vision?”
“Yes.” Demetria smiled, a relieved sigh slipping out of her. “Maybe Kali got so sick of me constantly reaching out to Her that She took pity on me. Or maybe She just wants this message to be passed on to you and the other Ancients. Whatever the case, the frequency between Nemesis and me isn’t blocked anymore.”
“What did you see?”
The oracle’s smile faded, as did the bright sheen to her gaze. “Saul was meeting Abel and a large army somewhere in the badlands.”
Tension tightened Cain’s muscles. “Where?”