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“Very sure,” Cain assured her.
Just then, one of Azazel’s aides hurried inside without knocking and made a beeline for the Ancient.
Seth turned to Cain. “Someone should tell Eve and the twins what was said in our meeting with Abel and Adam. I’m happy to be the one to do it. Will you come along, though? Eve asks after you often.”
Cain sighed. “I’ll have to—”
“Fuck,” Azazel burst out, making his aide flinch.
Cain frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Azazel fisted his hands. “It’s Saul. He’s gone.”
“Gone?” echoed Cain, his brows snapping together. “How the fuck can he be gone?”
“Someone let him out of his cell—that’s the only explanation.” Azazel cut his gaze back to his aide. “I want him found. Close and guard the city exit. Sound the alarm. Tell everyone to head inside their homes.”
The aide nodded and scurried out of the parlor.
Inanna looked at Azazel. “When did you last see Saul?”
“This morning, but Lilith spent some time with him earlier,” Azazel replied.
Lilith nodded, confirming that. “He was still caged as of three hours ago.”
Dantalion’s jaw hard, he said, “If someone freed him, I’m leaning toward the theory that that someone was one of the Aeons staying in Seth’s Keep.”
So was Cain. And taking in the expressions of the others, he sensed that they shared that view—even Seth. Cain simply couldn’t see who else would wish to free Saul. Closing the city’s exit was the right idea, but the Aeon had most likely escaped by now.
Cain tensed as a thought occurred to him. If Saul was still down below, there was one place he was bound to go; one person he’d want to find. Wynter.
Without a word to the others, Cain raced at preternatural speed to his Keep via the manor’s upstairs mirror. He then just as speedily left the building, heading straight to Wynter’s cottage. An audio announcement played loud, informing the residents that the exit would temporarily be closed and that people should lock themselves in their homes.
She wasn’t in the shed behind her cottage where she usually worked, but he didn’t panic because he heard her voice filtering out of the open kitchen window. He pounded his fist on the back door. She opened up, a scowl on her face that melted away when she saw him.
A breath rushed out of him as he raked his gaze over her. “You’re all right.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She stepped aside so he could enter and then closed the door behind him. “What’s with the audio announcement?”
Skimming his gaze along her and her coven, Cain explained, “Saul has gone. Either he escaped, or someone freed him.”
Wynter’s lips parted. Xavier spat a curse. Anabel gripped the countertop. Hattie and Delilah exchanged a worried look.
“Depending on how long ago he was released from Azazel’s dungeon, he could have gotten to the surface and escaped the town by now,” Cain went on. “But there is a possibility that he instead chose to hide somewhere in the city.”
“So that the people he wants to kill would be within his reach,” said Wynter.
“Yes,” Cain confirmed, his gut twisting. “The likelihood is that he’s fled. He can’t call on the natural element of air here to move himself around. But he’s a man who knows how to hide. So be vigilant. Stay inside for now.”
She frowned. “But I could help look—”
“No. If everyone is inside their homes and the streets are empty, it will make it easier for the search parties to spot him. Keep your windows and doors locked. Don’t open up for anyone other than a member of the search parties.”
“All the houses will be searched?” asked Hattie.
He nodded.
“Where will you be?” Wynter asked him.
