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)
Cain lifted a brow. “So you can bully them into leaving Devil’s Cradle?” He shook his head again. “I don’t think so.”
“I want to be sure that you didn’t lie when you said they are alive,” said Adam.
“You’ll just have to take my word for it.”
Abel hissed through his teeth. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
Cain gave a careless shrug. “Not particularly. There are better things I could be doing with my time than listening to you two dish out orders that you idiotically believe I’ll feel compelled to obey. What you do or don’t want means not one thing to me. You should know that by now, but apparently not.” He paused. “You know why your children so easily agreed to stay here? To spite you, Abel. They want to punish you for hurting their deceased mother. Rima in particular has no real liking for you. I can’t say I blame her.”
His eyes shooting fire, Abel gripped his thighs tight as he once more leaned forward. “You. Will. Free them.”
Cain let a taunting smile curve his mouth. “If you want them, little brother, you’ll have to come get them yourself. But you won’t, will you? Not even for your own children will you come to Devil’s Cradle.”
“Is it truly their wish to stay?” asked Adam.
Cain would have happily confirmed it if he didn’t know for a fact that the old bastard would deem them traitors and lose all interest in having them returned to Aeon. That wouldn’t suit Cain’s purposes. As such, he replied, “Maybe. Or maybe I’m lying. Maybe they’re in my dungeon dangling over a pit of snakes because they refuse to tell me everything I want to know about Aeon and the people there.”
Abel pushed out of his chair. “Bastard.”
Ignoring his outburst, Cain went on, “Refusing would be wise of them, wouldn’t it, since they’d only be useful to me so long as they had something I want?”
Adam clenched his jaw. “As I mentioned before, people will arrive at your town to collect them and the witch,” he said, his tone carefully even. “Do the smart thing and release them, Cain. You’ll bring sheer hell upon yourself and Devil’s Cradle if you don’t.”
Cain smiled. “Duly noted.” Then he left the psychic space.
After dismissing the conduit, Cain went straight to Seth’s Keep. He’d need to inform all the other Ancients of his conversation with the Aeons, but it only seemed fair that Seth learned of it first, given that this was in many ways a family matter. If the shoe were on the other foot, Cain would have hoped that Seth would do him that same courtesy.
They sat in the ledger room on either side of Seth’s desk while Cain relayed all that Abel and Adam had said. He then added, “My gut says that Abel’s display of emotion was real; that neither Eve nor the twins are here on his orders.”
Seth flicked his head to the side. “What about Adam?”
“I’m not sure.” Cain scraped a hand over his jaw. “His reactions seemed genuine, but it has to be noted that he’s exceptionally good at hiding and feigning emotion.”
“So you’re not yet ready to trust that our guests from Aeon mean us no harm, then?”
“No, I’m not. Adam could have sent them here but kept Abel in the dark. In fact, it would make sense that the old bastard withheld it from him, considering Abel isn’t as good an actor as he is.”
“Valid point. Admittedly, I myself struggle to place any real trust in Eve and the twins.” Seth heaved a sigh that was heavy with regret. “Rima and Noah were babies during the time of the war, but they will have been raised to view us as the ultimate villains. The blame for the deaths that happened back then have been laid squarely at our feet. Yet, they gave an Ancient partial rights to their soul. If the situation were reversed, I don’t think I would have agreed to hand over such rights to ‘the enemy.’”
“Generally, only the desperate ever make such bargains. It could truly be that they made the sacrifice for Eve, determined to stay close to her in order to protect her should she need them. But I don’t feel able or willing to take that risk.” If Cain gave them the benefit of the doubt and it turned out that he’d been wrong to do so, the consequences could be dire—not just for the Ancients and Devil’s Cradle, but for the one person whose safety he would never risk. Wynter.
“The twins do seem protective enough of Eve to have made the sacrifice for her, to be fair,” said Seth. “From what I’ve so far learned through our conversations, she is one of the only people who ever cared for them. She’s all they really have now. They want her safe, and that means keeping her from Adam. Rima told me that is why she agreed to come here. An enemy of your enemy is your friend, she said. Noah claims he was more reluctant but knew they would have to relocate soon anyway as Aeon will shortly be uninhabitable.”