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)
“That’s my worry,” said Wynter, taking a seat at the table.
“And even if they were being truthful, there’s no saying that they won’t change their minds,” Anabel chipped in, stirring the pot of spaghetti bolognaise. “Especially when there’s a high chance that Ishtar will try convincing them to do that.”
Wynter nodded. “My thoughts exactly. I made those very same points to Cain, but he strongly believes that the others won’t cross him in any event. He could be right. But he could also be wrong.” And that would play on her mind a hell of a lot.
“We need to keep an eye on that Ishtar bitch,” proclaimed Delilah.
“Definitely,” said Xavier. “I don’t trust that she wouldn’t try to smuggle you out of here, Wyn. She’s cunning enough to find a way to do it that would never lead back to her.”
Wynter had had that very same thought. If she ever mysteriously went missing, people would of course suspect Ishtar of being culpable. But that wouldn’t be enough to warrant an execution. The Ancient would know that.
“Yeah, if she thinks she can get away with it, she’ll try it for sure,” said Anabel. “I mean, it isn’t like she hasn’t gone behind Cain’s back before, is it? She once came here, bold as you please, to try to talk Wynter into ending things with him. Ishtar knew he’d be pissed, but she did it anyway.”
Yes, she had—consequences be damned. As Wynter once told Cain, the female Ancient was a law unto herself.
“I personally wouldn’t be surprised if she went against the other Ancients in this.” Placing a plate piled with buttered crusty bread slices in the center of the table, Hattie slid Wynter another quick look. “She loathes you with a passion, dear. One of Ishtar’s hirelings told me that the bitch threw an almighty tantrum on hearing that Cain had imprinted his seal on you. She acted like a woman scorned, apparently. And, well, we all know how dangerous a scorned woman can be.”
“As do all your dead husbands,” Anabel said to Hattie.
“Why did you have to go and bring them up?” Gazing out the kitchen window, the old woman exhaled a nostalgic sigh. “I was always unlucky in love. All I ever wanted was a man who’d stand by me through thick and thin. A man who was faithful. Honest. Caring.”
“Were you faithful?” asked Anabel.
Hattie turned to her, frowning. “Of course. Adultery is a sin, you know.”
“But so is murder and, well, you never really seemed to have a problem with that.”
“Acts of vengeance are condoned by some religions.”
“Yeah, like Satanism,” sassed Delilah.
Wynter snickered so hard she was surprised she didn’t choke on the sound.
Hattie let out a little huff. “Many cultures adopt the eye-for-an-eye philosophy, thank you very much. Justice often carries a high price, and not everyone is prepared to pay it. I am, but that doesn’t make me cruel, cold, or unfeeling. I even read aloud some prayers for my husbands while they were dying.”
“If those prayers came from a black bible that sported an upside down cross, it doesn’t count,” Delilah told her.
A chuckle bubbled out of Wynter. Only in her coven’s company could she so swiftly go from frowning and scowling to smiling and laughing. They were the best, even if they were wacked.
“I don’t think you’re cruel, Hattie,” Xavier told her. “I think you’re a sweetheart.”
The old woman beamed. “Why thanks, darlin’.” She turned back to the bread she was carving.
Delilah threw him a playful snarl. “Suck up,” she mouthed.
His brow creased. “Hey, she’s cooking our dinner,” he whispered. “Do you want her to spit in your food? Or sprinkle hemlock in it, for that matter? Because I don’t.”
Delilah crossed her eyes and then took a slice of bread from the pile. “You know, Wyn, you should invite Cain to eat dinner with us a few times a week. If he’s going to be a permanent fixture in our Priestess’s life, we need to get to know him better.”
Wynter snorted. “I’m not exposing him to our coven’s brand of insanity on a regular basis. No, don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean. Or that you don’t take delight in how people believe we’re a bunch of crazies.” Not that said people were entirely wrong.
“It’s good that others fear us,” declared Xavier. “It means they’re less likely to fuck with us. Cain should understand that well—fear is one of the tools that the Ancients use to keep people in line.”
Biting into her bread, Delilah looked up from her black mirror to cast Wynter another look. “Have you admitted to him that you’re totally gone for him yet?”
Wynter emotionally tripped up whenever she even thought about verbalizing all she felt. She’d managed to earlier convey just how important he was to her, but not without getting all flustered. “He knows I care about him. I’ve never hidden it.” She wanted to relay the sweet things he’d said to her that morning, but it felt too much like exposing the soft underbelly that he allowed few people to see. “I believe he feels the same. He’s . . . he’s good to me. Good for me.”