Page 6 of The Monsters We Are
She suited him in every imaginable way. She delighted his senses and appealed to him on every level. More, she enraptured his monster in such a way that its possessiveness of her wasn’t shallow.
The creature didn’t covet Wynter as if she was a pretty bauble. Itsawher, recognized the witch as a person in her own right rather than a collectible item, and it coveted the entirety of her. Hence why it wanted to bind itself to her—something Cain hadn’t yet run by Wynter. He had no idea if she’d go for it, but he had hope, given that she’d sold him all rights to her soul and given up her mortality for him. That depth of commitment was nothing to sniff at.
Even back when so many secrets had ran riot between them, they’d still gradually built something. Something true and solid and long-lasting. And, despite what he’d feared, the revelation of his own secrets hadn’t destroyed what they’d built.
Wynter accepted him anyway. Accepted that, as a Leviathan, Cain was a gateway to hell for souls. Accepted the presence of his monster, despite that it was a thing of nightmares. More, she’d accepted that he was the only son of Satan—the darkest and most corrupt of the Leviathans who now dwelled in the depths of hell. Which wasn’t exactly easy to digest, let alone make peace with. But Wynter hadn’t pulled away from Cain for even a moment.
Really, she was a true marvel to him. He was quite certain there was no one like her. And not simply because she was far from a normal revenant.
It was fortunate that Adam had no clue just how important she was to Cain, or he would have placed an even bigger price on her head—one so high that it would have been all but irresistible to most who resided in Devil’s Cradle. Because Adam wouldn’t merely plan to use her to lift the curse on Aeon, he’d plan to torture her until the end of time.
Of course, the bastard wouldn’t find it so easy to keep her contained. The deity who’d marked and regularly watched over her would never permit it. Kali would free her somehow if Wynter didn’t manage to free herself. That brought Cain no real comfort, though. Because the thought of her in Adam’s custody for merely five minutes was too much to stomach. Especially when Cain would have no way to physically track and save her, courtesy of his fucking cage.
“I don’t understand,” Ishtar said to no one in particular, giving a slight shake of her head. “The things Adam said do not make much sense.”
Cain’s inner creature snarled at the sound of the Aeon’s name. It didn’t want to be there in that dining room with the Ancients. It wanted to be back in their bedchamber with Wynter, who’d agreed to wait for Cain there. His creature wanted access to the only thing that had the ability to calm it.
“What would be the point of putting a price on Cain’s head?” Ishtar went on, her cornflower-blue eyes cloudy with confusion. “Adam knows that even if someone did miraculously manage to subdue Cain, there is no way they would get him out of Devil’s Cradle—we are all trapped here.”
“Yes, we are,” said Azazel beside her. “But the majority of our residents don’t know that, do they? In their eyes, Cain could easily give himself up to keep them safe. And when he doesn’t, they may turn against him. I think that is what Adam hopes for. These people came to us for protection, after all. If they believe we’re neglecting their safety, they may choose to leave. And if our population lessens, we’ll have less manpower in the event of an attack.”
Sitting on Cain’s left, Dantalion gave a slow nod, an angry flush staining his bronze skin. Like Azazel, he was mistaken by humans for a demon. Perhaps it was due to the many dark tales about him, or maybe it was due to the danger and callousness that he so blatantly exuded. “It would seem that Adam has decided to play the long game. He means to ensure that we are vulnerable before he makes his move on us. And in the meantime, he intends to finally get a hold of Wynter.”
“That won’t happen,” Cain stated firmly, and his creature rumbled a sound of agreement.
“I doubt the residents would expect you to surrender her to Adam, given that we vow to never hand over those in our service to outsiders,” said Dantalion, scraping a hand over his shadow of blond stubble. “But. . . they might expectherto make that sacrifice to protect the town. And when she instead stays here, they may not be happy with her.”
“Then we’ll have to make it clear to everyone that the town wouldn’t actually be safer if any of Adam’s terms were met,” said Cain. “We can explain the situation. Or most of it. They’ll place more weight in our words than they ever will in that of an Aeon.”
Given that Ishtar would truly love nothing more than to have Wynter out of the picture, Cain expected his mouthy, jealousy-ridden, ex-lover to suggest that his consort give herself up. But Ishtar stayed suspiciously silent on the matter, absently playing with her blonde curls.
Maybe the hand her sister had placed on her arm was what kept her quiet. Or just maybe he’d finally gotten through to her that Wynter was here to stay, but that was probably wishful thinking on his part. It seemed more likely that Ishtar was merely biting her tonguefor now.Perhaps because she sensed just how furious Cain was due to the threat now hovering over his woman.
“Even so, the price on Wynter’s headwillbe a problem,” said Azazel, folding his arms. “You need to be prepared for that, Cain. No one will try to cash in on the bounty that Adam put on you—they won’t go up against an Ancient. But a revenant that they’re not truly convinced is a revenant? Some might decide to accept Adam’s offer and take her to him. At the very least, they’ll be tempted.”
Directly opposite Cain, Lilith nodded, making strands of her long red hair tumble forward. “Her being your consort will make people hesitate. But there are some who will be both stupid and greedy enough to consider cashing in on the bounty.”
Under no illusions about the people who resided at Devil’s Cradle, Cain was quite aware of that. There were plenty of criminals and dark-natured characters here who’d done far worse things than snatch and hand over a witch to claim a reward.
Cain forced his back teeth to unlock. “If anyone tries it, they’ll die. She’s more powerful than any of them realize.”
“Yes,” began Lilith, “but if she’s killing people left, right, and center—even in her own defense—it might create resentment among the residents. Many belong to packs, covens, conclaves, and fey courts, etc. They wouldn’t take kindly to losing members of whatever their group might be.”
Wynter didn’t kill for shits and giggles. Her monster, though? Well, that was a whole other story. Itatepeople left, right, and center. Hence why his inner creature found the monster so intriguing and wanted to “meet” it. Which would be a bad idea since, according to Wynter, the thing that lived inside her wanted only to kill—something it would do indiscriminately.
“I want to make something very clear,” said Cain, sweeping his gaze over every person seated at the table. “If my consort is attacked by any of your people and forced to kill them in her own defense, there will be no repercussions for her.” Generally, it was ruled that no resident could kill another unless either it was a matter of self-defense or they had the permission of the Ancient who owned the person they wished to execute.
Azazel flapped a hand. “That goes without saying.”
The others at the table echoed the sentiment and assured Cain that Wynter would face no ramifications in such an event—even Ishtar.
Lilith sat back as she exhaled heavily, her green eyes glimmering with annoyance. “I knew there was a chance that Adam would hesitate to immediately go to war, given that the other attempts to wipe us out by Aeons were unsuccessful. I knew he might well feel the need to be cautious and so take a little time to gather his forces. But I’d counted on him being so filled with the need for vengeance that he would be helpless to do anything but ignore common sense and immediately wage war on us.”
“Of course you did,” said Dantalion. “We all did. Why would we not have, considering we sent Abel’s hacked-up body back to him?” He thrust a hand through his short blond hair.
Seth shifted in his seat on Cain’s right, his amber eyes narrowed in thought. “I feel like we’re missing something.”
“In what sense?” asked Inanna, the older sister of Ishtar, speaking for the first time. The siblings looked much alike, only Inanna’s hair was sleek and straight rather than curled, and she didn’t have Ishtar’s pointed chin. Inanna also possessed a poise and elegance that her sister lacked. Ishtar was more sensual and sultry, considering herself to be the ultimate seductress. “What troubles you?” Inanna prodded.