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“That would be enough to make me agree,” said Dantalion. “I would not trust them, I would want them monitored, but I would permit them to stay.”
“As would I, but on the condition that they are not present for meetings,” said Azazel. “I wouldn’t trust them with any of our plans.”
“Neither would I.” Seth twisted his lips. “I am fine with them staying at my Keep.”
Ishtar groaned. “Of course you are. You are already buying that they are telling the truth and you are raring to play happy families.”
“Think, Ishtar, this is the most logical option,” Seth told her. “If Abel has sent them here, if they are firmly in his camp, they will believe as he does—that Cain poisoned my mind. They will try to turn my loyalties. It will be very subtle, but it will happen.”
“I can see Abel asking that of them,” said Cain. “He would want you to betray me, Seth. He would get a kick out of it.” And it would mean that Abel could declare war on Devil’s Cradle without fearing that he would cause Seth’s death.
“If they do try twisting my loyalties, we will know for sure that they are here on behalf of others,” said Seth. “Another good reason for them to stay with me is that I can milk them for information in a way where it will simply seem like I’m trying to get to know my relatives. I also have plenty of hirelings who can help watch over them—some will be visible, some won’t be.”
“You don’t completely trust them either,” Azazel sensed.
Seth lifted his shoulders. “I do not know them. I didn’t have a relationship with my mother until I was an adult, and we never really formed a bond. I won’t lie, I want them to be here for the right reasons. But I am not blind to the possibility that they’re not.” He switched his focus to Cain. “Do you have any conditions to them staying here?”
Yes, he did. “They will not be welcome at my Keep—particularly not in my garden. And they will not be introduced to Wynter. Not until I feel positive that they are not plants or here to cause harm to her.”
Ishtar folded her arms, sulky. “I’m not comfortable with this. I want them gone.”
“Why?” asked Seth, clearly on the verge of rolling his eyes.
She sniffed at him. “They might be your blood, but they are still our enemies.”
“They never fought in the war that led to our exile,” Seth reminded her. “Rima and Noah were babes back then. Eve refused to fight against us.”
“She also didn’t fight for us,” Ishtar shot back.
“To be fair, she was placed in an impossible situation,” Lilith cut in. “Two of her sons were on one side of the war. Her other son and two daughters were on the opposite side. And Eve, well, she’s never been a fighter, has she?”
Neither had Cain’s sisters, so it was little surprise that they hadn’t survived the war. He hadn’t mourned them, because they’d never been sisterly toward him. Like Abel, they’d thought Cain abhorrent.
Ishtar shook her head. “I don’t trust her reasons for being here.”
“If it was Inanna who had come,” began Dantalion, “you would want to give her the chance to prove her loyalty. Can you deny that?”
Ishtar snapped her mouth shut. After a long moment, she let her arms slip to her sides. “Just keep them away from me while they are here. Assuming they still wish to stay after you inform them of the price they would need to pay, that is.” With that, she opened the parlor door and breezed inside. Cain and the other Ancients followed.
Eve cleared her throat, clearly nervous. “So, what will be our fate?”
“We have a rule here,” Cain revealed. “Those who come to reside at Devil’s Cradle will be sheltered, protected, and not held responsible for past crimes. If someone were to come for them, we would refuse to hand them over. But there is a price.”
“Which is?” asked Eve.
“Partial rights to their soul,” Cain replied. “The only way you three would be permitted to stay is if you agreed to pay that price.”
“If you betrayed us, well, I don’t have to tell you what would happen to your soul,” said Dantalion. “And it wouldn’t be either Cain or Seth who owned those rights. It would be someone who is an impartial judge where you three are concerned.”
“That being you?” Eve asked.
“Yes,” Dantalion replied. “You would also be closely watched at all times, and you would stay with Seth at his Keep.”
Rima squinted. “How do we know you won’t do something horrible to our souls just because?”
“I guess you don’t,” said Dantalion, throwing her earlier words back at her.
Her face tightened. “I don’t like this.”
