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“I had two. They died in the war. Unlike me, they had a true relationship with Eve; she was permitted to see them whenever she wished. She couldn’t stomach abandoning them or me, so she toed the line. Especially since the less fuss she made, the more time she was allowed to spend with me. And once Abel was born, Adam often threatened to remove him from her care as well whenever she defied him.”
“God, that asshole needs to have his insides ripped out. And I’ll be more than happy to make it happen. Just say the word, and it’s done.”
Cain felt a smile tug at his mouth. It might have been somewhat perverse, but hearing her threaten to kill someone on his behalf made his chest go warm and tight. She was so very rigorously protective of him, and he loved that. He’d never had it from anyone before.
He brushed her hair over her shoulder and gave her a brief kiss. “Always so ready and eager to draw blood.”
“Duh, revenant. That’s how we roll.” She planted her hands on his chest. “I can’t even begin to imagine how horrible it must have been for you to live with that rat bastard.”
It had been no easy ride, but Cain hadn’t cared for Adam so hadn’t given a pittance of a shit that the man despised him. It was being on the outside of the family that had most hurt Cain.
“For a while, I didn’t understand why I couldn’t be considered part of the family,” said Cain. “Adam told me that Eve didn’t want me; that she only pretended to love me. I didn’t believe him. Because each time he declared that her ‘visitation’ with me was over, she would cry and beg for him not to take me away again. He got off on that.”
“Fucker,” she spat.
“He is indeed. And Abel is his mirror image in practically every sense.” Cain suspected that Abel had adopted Adam’s ways because he so fervently sought his approval. “Abel often taunted me when we were children. As did our older sisters. Not Seth, though. Seth was eager to approve of everyone. Which is a miracle, really, considering.”
Wynter slanted her head. “Considering what?”
“A few days after he was born, Eve managed to secretly arrange for me to be brought to her chamber so that I could meet him—Adam hadn’t allowed it, you see. I was eleven then. She had it in her head that if I’d been allowed to bond with my other siblings, all would be fine between us.” Cain doubted it would have been that simple, though.
“Adam found out,” Wynter guessed.
“He did. He took Seth from her. He also said she wouldn’t be permitted to see me, Abel, or our sisters for a while. Eve couldn’t take it. She broke. She fell into a deep Rest right there in her bed—probably out of mental self-preservation.”
“Wait, by Rest, do you mean the state of sleep that can go on for centuries?”
Cain nodded. “Adam couldn’t wake her. And that was when Abel officially began to truly hate me.”
“He blamed you.”
“Yes. He felt that, since she broke the rules for me, she put me before him, Seth, and our sisters. Abel believed that Eve loved me more than them, and he despised me for it.” Maybe if he hadn’t already been inclined to loathe Cain it wouldn’t have worked out that way. Then again, maybe not. “So he upped the whole ‘prick’ ante. Fights often broke out between us, and they were often seriously ugly. He never went whining to Adam, though.”
“In Abel’s mind, it was uber personal. It was between you and him.”
Cain conceded that with a stiff incline of his head. “Things got progressively worse until one day we got into a fight that went too far.”
“How far?”
“I killed him. But I hadn’t done enough damage to his heart to make it an instant death, and a healer was quickly called to his side. Abel survived. Unfortunately. Still, Adam was furious and ordered for me to be confined to his dungeon.”
Wynter stiffened. “He hurt you?”
“No. He didn’t get the chance.”
“Why, what happened?”
Cain dipped his head and gently kissed her. “To be continued.”
Wynter’s jaw dropped. Oh no, he couldn’t do this to her, it wasn’t fair. She spluttered. “You can’t just cut the story short like that.”
One corner of his mouth tipped up. “I’ve told you plenty tonight, pretty witch.”
“I know, but I can tell that there’s so much more. That was the worst cliffhanger ever.” She now understood why they annoyed Hattie so much.
He tapped her nose. “Be content with what you know. Did you just growl at me?” he asked, his lips twitching.
“No,” she lied.
