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)
The Ancients hadn’t called on all their people. Why? When they won the war—and they would—some invaders would scuttle back to Aeon with tales of what happened. The Ancients didn’t want their enemies to know just how large a force they could build, or the Aeons who came to avenge the dead would bring an army big enough to overwhelm them.
“The healers need to be placed sporadically around the town during the battle,” said Inanna. “They will not be asked to be fight, they can remain hidden, but they will need to be of help to any injured residents.”
“Where will your new pet witch be?” Ishtar asked Cain. “Tucked up somewhere safe, I suppose.” She tittered.
Unwilling to grant her the angry reaction she hoped for, Cain merely gave her a blank look and said, “You don’t need to know my plans for Wynter. She’s not your concern.”
Ishtar stiffened. “On the contrary, she is the concern of every person in this room.”
Inanna sighed at her sister. “Let us not do this.”
“Do what?” Ishtar shrugged one shoulder, all innocence. “I asked a simple question.”
Cain fired her a bored glance. “You asked a question you knew I wouldn’t answer, and you did it so you’d have an excuse to whine and moan and complain.”
Seth offered him a look of commiseration. “I suspect she’s still sulking over what you said to her at my Keep.”
“I am not sulking or whining or anything else,” Ishtar upheld.
Lilith lifted her hands. “Can we please stop arguing amongst ourselves? It’s not unusual at meetings, no, but any conflict between us right now is a weakness we can’t afford.”
Ishtar sniffed. “I am merely curious as to where Cain intends to place the witch.”
“There’s no reason for you to know where Wynter will be,” he said.
“Oh, I see. You think I will send someone to kill her.” Ishtar lifted her chin. “I prefer to do my own dirty work, as you well know. But I can understand why you would nonetheless take precautions. As I pointed out the other day, mortals are so very fragile. You will need to constantly take measures to ensure she is safe from the dangers of the world. I would personally find it both boring and tiring. It would be like supervising a child.”
Cain only stared at her, keeping his expression blank.
Her mouth tightened in annoyance. “I wonder … has it occurred to you that she might have wangled her way into your bed so that you would protect her this way? In your position, I would have to ask myself if she was in fact using me. Even someone like you can be played. Just ask Azazel. Not even he was exempt from that.”
Azazel’s eyes flared. “Don’t go there, Ishtar,” he warned, his tone dark. “Not unless you want me to strike back.”
“So sensitive,” she mocked. “And there is nothing for you to strike back with in this matter. No man has ever played me.”
“Sure they have,” said Azazel, a cruel smirk touching his mouth. “They do it all the time. You think men really want to shower you with the unreasonable amount of attention they give you? You think it’s pure adoration that makes them go that far? No, it’s that they know you need that from them. They’re doing what they have to do to worm their way into your bed. They simply want to get laid. That’s why the attention eases off over time, Ishtar. Once they’ve had their fun, they cease making an effort.”
Predictably, she lashed out with a small blast of pure power. Azazel sidestepped it easily with a snicker, the door behind him unexpectedly opened … and the power wacked the person in the doorway.
Cain watched as Wynter sucked in a pained breath when the power punched into her body, roughly arching her spine until it cracked, and causing fine fractures to spiderweb across her flesh. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, every muscle tensing, every vein cording … and then she collapsed to the floor. She lay there, her eyes open, unseeing. Vacant. Lifeless.
Behind her, Maxim leaned over her and touched her pulse. Swallowing, he looked up at Cain and shook his head.
Shock gripped Cain by the throat, scattering his thoughts, leaving him unable to process what had just happened. But then the monster inside him reared up in a blinding rage, driving the shock from his mind. Reality slammed into him like a fist to his gut and—that fast—a savage, explosive fury whipped through him, pulling his lips back in a snarl.
Blanching, Ishtar stared at him, shaking her head. “Cain, I didn’t mean it. I didn’t know she was here. I didn’t kill her on purpose, I swear.”
Inanna stepped in front of her sister. “It was an accident, Cain. The blast wasn’t meant for the witch.”