“No, it’s not.” Seth stretched his legs out in front of him. “I don’t know her, but you can tell a lot about a person by the wayotherstreat them. Each member of her coven seems to respect and care for her. They see her as their Priestess, even if she doesn’t. They’d follow her anywhere.”
“I haven’t spent much time around them,” said Cain. “Maxim has, however. He told me that they’re more like a family—dysfunctional though it might be. There’s no hierarchy, no politics, no power struggles. Wynter is more of a guiding, protective force than a leader demanding respect and obedience. The others might not be entirely sane, but she gives them room to be who they are.”
“A person like that would make a good consort,” Seth chipped in ever so casually. “Don’t even try to tell me you haven’t considered it.”
Cain didn’t object to having done so, because it would have been a lie. The idea of making her his consort had wormed its way into his head and seemed intent on staying there. He’d tried ignoring it, but it pushed for mental space often.
He’d never claimed someone as his consort before. He’d never been possessive enough of a woman to care to. Likewise, though his monster had taken a shine to certain females over the years, it had never had any solid interest in a woman. Until now.
“Seth’s right,” said Azazel. “You thought your creature would grow tired of her. But she’s still sleeping in your personal chamber, which tells me you were wrong. Is it even beginning to lose interest in her?”
Cain pulled in a breath through his nose. “No. But that doesn’t mean it won’t at some point.”
“It doesn’t mean it will.” Seth paused. “I don’t think you’re at risk of losing interest in her either. Around Wynter, you’re different. As if she takes up so much of your focus that it doesn’t leave room for any dark shit to come along and sweep you under.”
Azazel nodded. “I’m guessing the black moods have stopped taking you, because you seem more … balanced. Positive, even. And I know that’ll be partly because our freedom seems close. But it’s notallabout that. She’s good for you. So keep her.” He said it as though she was a wallet he’d found and liked the look of.
Cain arched a brow. “Even thoughI’mnot good forher?”
“Even though,” said Azazel.
Cain briefly tipped his head to the side. “I did warn her I’m not.”
“And?”
“And she didn’t seem bothered by it.” Which hadn’t whatsoever surprised his monster—the creature didn’t believe she had reason to be bothered, since it considered his and Cain’s secrets to not truly be so bad. For the creature, it was simply their nature.
“So keep her,” Azazel repeated. “Or at least give it some serious consideration.”
Seth opened his mouth to speak, but then they heard voices coming.
Moments later, Lilith and Dantalion arrived. They briefly greeted Cain, Azazel, and Seth before returning to their conversation about whether humans served any real purpose. Shortly after that, Inanna and Ishtar entered, linking arms and smiling brightly at each other. Inanna was literally the only person Ishtar truly loved.
The sisters shared the same cornflower-blue eyes, pale blonde hair—though Inanna’s was straight rather than curled like Ishtar’s—and highly feminine air. But Inanna carried herself with a regal grace unlike her sister, whose every move was sensual and aimed to seduce.
Each person greeted Inanna and welcomed her back.
“How do you feel?” Seth asked her as they all took seats around the room.
“Like I woke too early, but I could not have woken to better news,” she replied. “If there is to be a war, I wish to be part of it.” Her gaze slid to Cain. “Tell me about the witch. I understand you have spent much time with her.”
There were many things he could say about Wynter. But he didn’t want the other Ancients to know her as well as he did. He didn’t wish to share her in even such a basic way. “What is it you wish to know?”
“Mostly, I want to be assured that she will not flee in terror if war breaks out.”
“It’s not in her nature to flee. It’s in her nature to avenge.” Cain loved that. “She harbors a deep hatred for the people of Aeon—so much so that she’s prepared to pay the cost of the dark curse she placed upon the land.”
“Yes, but Priestesses are generally happy to step back and have others do their dirty work.”
“If you ask Wynter, she will tell you that she isn’t a Priestess. She has no interest in a position of authority, only in protecting and guiding her ‘crew,’ as she refers to them. The coven is more like a family, which is as it should be. They are a tight group, and they fight like a well-oiled machine, but not so much with technique as with sheer ruthlessness.”
Azazel nodded. “They went through the gauntlet, and they completed it in under a minute—beating every past and present record. Their focus wasn’t to get to that finish line, or even to beat the times of others. They wereenjoyingwhat they did, and they kept moving forward so fast because they were eager to make the next kill.”
Inanna’s mouth curved. “I think I could like these people.”
“From what I have heard and seen, they’re not the sanest of individuals,” said Dantalion. “But then, neither are we.” He paused. “I agree with Cain. Wynter isn’t someone who would flee. If anything, she would run toward a war. She would want blood. And her coven would be right behind her.”
“Just because they were confident during the gauntlet does not mean they would be so confident on a battlefield,” said Ishtar, her voice clipped. “The two circumstances are very different. During the gauntlet, they had the comfort of knowing they would not truly die.”