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)
To help keep her safe, Cain could of course insist that she didn’t head to the surface of the town until Saul had been caught, but those insistences would have no effect. His witch did her own thing, and she wasn’t the type to hide. She had the heart and soul of a warrior.
As the partial owner of her soul, he had ways to force her compliance. But to resort to such measures would be to destroy the trust she had in him. It would cause the sort of damage to their relationship that could never be fixed. Plus, if he didn’t accept her as she was, she’d never do the same for him when she finally learned all there was to know.
His inner creature wasn’t too worried about Saul having his sights set on her. In its opinion, the person who needed to be anxious was the Aeon—he’d made himself a personal enemy of Wynter, and her enemies tended to not live long.
Well, that was one way to look at the situation.
Cain could in fact concede that his creature was right to have such faith in her ability to take care of herself. She was every inch the apex predator. And making yourself the prey of a revenant would never be a good call so, yes, Saul should be anxious. But, too arrogant to believe he’d ever be overpowered by a mortal, the Aeon would not hesitate to target her again. And so, despite what a force of nature she was, Cain would still worry for her.
Azazel twisted his mouth. “I figured that the other Aeons would storm our town at one point.” Contrary to what many human religions upheld, he wasn’t a fallen angel . . . though many claimed he had the look of one, whatever that meant. “It was a no-brainer that Saul would want vengeance, and it seemed unlikely that Abel wouldn’t seek to punish us for Lailah’s death, considering she was his consort. But a sneak, uncoordinated attack that concentrated solely on one resident?” He shook his head, skepticism lighting his deep blue eyes. “This doesn’t seem like something they would do.”
“It is worth pointing out that the aforementioned resident is someone they want dead after she infected their land with a spread of blight that they cannot combat,” said Inanna, as elegant as always with her perfect posture, sophisticated air, and sleek blonde hair pinned up in an elaborate do.
“It still makes no sense that they’ve made a careless try for Wynter if for no other reason than that it has given away their presence here,” said Azazel. “It means they have lost the element of surprise.”
Having already considered that, Cain dipped his chin and said, “Which is why it could very well be that Saul is here alone.”
Ishtar frowned. “The Aeons would not send one person to do the job.”
“I’m not suggesting that he was sent here,” Cain told her. “I’m saying it is possible that he’s here of his own accord. Going by the things he said to Wynter, Saul is focused on a personal vendetta.”
“That is not to say that he has come without backup.” Ishtar flicked her blonde ringlets over her shoulder. “Such a thing would be foolhardy. Especially when his death would further weaken our cage.”
“But people do unwise things when caught under the weight of grief,” said Dantalion, who’d been mistaken by humans for a demon. But then, he gave off a cunning, predatory air that many found unnerving. “The survivors of the battle will have made it clear that they all underestimated us. The Aeons will not make that mistake again. They’ll be more cautious this time round. But Saul might not have been willing to wait for them to regroup and plan a second battle.”
“Yes, he could have instead chosen to take the risk of coming at us alone,” said Seth, Cain’s brother.
There wasn’t much resemblance between them. Seth’s wide eyes were amber, like their mother’s. He also shared her dark-blonde hair and pale skin. Another difference between Seth and Cain was that Seth was good. A person who was fair, noble, and forgiving. Cain could never be described as good.
Ishtar tossed Cain a dark look. “It is a shame that Wynter did not kill him. What kind of revenant is she anyway? I thought they were renowned for their ability to destroy anything.”
Cain barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The woman never missed an opportunity to whine about Wynter. It was as petty as it was irritating. “As I’ve already said, the facts suggest that he called to the wind to relocate him. And watch your tone when you speak of Wynter.”
Ishtar gave him a “don’t be so dramatic” look. “I am merely making the point that he shouldn’t have had the chance to escape. Her monster should have eliminated him by then.”