Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 125083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
“Nope, just them.”
“You certainly keep things interesting, little witch. Just full of surprises, aren’t you?” He cocked his head. “Did anyone at Aeon ever discover your secrets and find themselves subsequently dumped in the netherworld?”
“Only one. Nobody suspected I had anything to do with his ‘disappearance,’ thankfully. Being an absolute asshole who regularly beat up women, he had a whole host of enemies. It was believed that a relative of one of those women probably killed him. The investigation into his death went nowhere, though. The Aeons didn’t pursue the matter. They don’t care much what happens to the mortals there.”
“What did he do to earn that fate?”
“He stumbled upon me covered in blood and gore after I let my monster chomp down some dude who tried raping me.”
Cain felt his jaw harden as rage shot through him. “I see.”
“No one ever traced that death back to me. The guy who tried raping me was actually a keeper. Aeon … it’s not like here. You and the other Ancients all run a tight ship. Although there are plenty of rules at Aeon and a high number of keepers to enforce them, the Aeons themselves don’t keep a close watch over ‘mortal matters.’ They don’t oversee the activities of the keepers or make sure justice is always served. The keepers exploit that and get up to all sorts of shit, confident there’ll be no repercussions.”
“So our source often says.”
Her brows lifted. “You have a spy there?”
“There isn’t much he’s able to tell us, since he has no access to the underground city, but he occasionally passes on helpful information.”
“That’s how you knew about the blight.”
“Yes. I didn’t believe it at first, or that people there could possibly be falling sick. But our source was adamant. And, according to Azazel, very afraid.”
She twisted her mouth. “How come you need a source? You once said you have ways of getting glimpses of the world outside of Devil’s Cradle. Can you not spy on Aeon that way?”
“No. The town is shielded from view by the Aeons’ power, hence why it’s never been detected by human satellites. It’s just as shielded from preternatural surveillance. Devil’s Cradle is similarly shielded by myself and the other Ancients.”
“Speaking of the Aeons … you never told me what Lailah offered to give you in exchange for my life.”
“You didn’t ask.”
“I didn’t want to ask too many questions because it might have prompted you to do the same, and there was a lot that I wasn’t ready to tell you back then.”
He nodded, understanding, since he’d been in exactly the same boat. He still was, really. There was so much he could never tell her if he truly meant to keep her.
“But you know one of my secrets now,” she went on. “That doesn’t mean you owe it to me to tell me any of your own, but I was hoping you could at least tell me this.”
Cain toyed with the ends of her hair. “Lailah offered to hand over Eve.”
“Your mother? She’s a captive at Aeon?”
“In a sense. She lives in comfort and is able to go about her daily life, but she has many restrictions and wouldn’t be permitted to leave. As they say, a gilded cage is still a cage.” Cain tensed when Wynter pressed herself against him, giving him a comfort that was as foreign to him as the offer of it. Forcing his muscles to relax, he curved his arms around her.
“Were you close to Eve?” she asked.
“No. I didn’t have much of a relationship with her, but that was neither her fault nor mine. It is a very long story,” he quickly added when he sensed she’d question him further on it. “One I will share with you some time. But not now.”
Wynter looked like she might press him, but then she dipped her chin. “Okay. If she’s a captive of sorts, is it because she sided with you in the war or something?”
“No. Eve’s gilded cage was created long before then. Unlike the other Aeons, she didn’t betray me or the other Ancients. She chose to stay neutral, all the while hoping everyone on both sides of the war would throw down their swords and wave a white flag.”
“Out of optimism or naïvety?”
“The latter, mostly.”
Wynter nibbled on her lower lip. “I guess I can understand why Lailah would think you’d jump at her offer.”
“I will personally retrieve Eve once I’m free, providing she wishes to come here. Given that Aeon is wasting away, I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t.”
“So this is what Ishtar meant when she said that the Aeons had something you want.”
“Yes. But I don’t believe that Ishtar truly thought I’d give you up to them in exchange for my mother or anything else. I think she simply wanted you to believe it might happen. Sowing seeds of distrust is a favorite game of hers.”