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Well, yeah, Wynter had gathered that. “About what?”
Elegantly stroking one hand with the other, Ishtar said, “I don’t know how much Cain has told you regarding what the Aeons have asked of us.”
Wynter didn’t respond to the probing comment, curious to see if Ishtar would lie.
“To be blunt, they want you. They believe you can lift the curse on their land, which I assume is true. Neither myself nor the other Ancients had any intention of giving them what they want. We thought they would then declare war. But they have not. They have threatened to shrink our cage.” She paused, her eyes narrowing just a little. “You already knew that.”
“I did.”
Her eyes dropped to the seal on Wynter’s wrist and hardened with what looked like resentment. “He won’t give you up, and none of us will attempt to force his hand.” She met Wynter’s gaze once more. “But you . . . perhaps he would listen to you. Perhaps you could change his mind.”
Wynter blinked, sure she had to be misunderstanding the woman. “Just to be clear . . . you think I would want to give myself up to the Aeons?”
“Consider the bigger picture. If the cage becomes smaller, the other Ancients and I will argue amongst ourselves for sure. Sides will form. We will turn on each other. Kill each other. And we would take Devil’s Cradle down with us.”
Unease stabbed at Wynter’s scalp like blunt needles. She hadn’t thought of that. Which galled her, because she usually did consider the bigger picture.
“You are in a unique position,” Ishtar went on. “You have the ability to stop all that from happening. To save the life of Cain and every single resident here, including your coven members. All you have to do is give the Aeons what they want: You.”
“Cain would never allow it.”
“And you march to the beat of his drum only, do you?”
Wynter almost rolled her eyes at the attempt at reverse psychology. “I certainly don’t march to the beat of yours.”
Ishtar’s gaze darkened with anger. “If you care for him at all, you will consider what I’m suggesting,” she insisted, her voice hard. “You could save him. Wouldn’t you want that? Is his life not important to you?”
“Of course it is—”
“Then talk to him. He will listen to you.”
“Listen? Maybe. But you’re not being realistic if you think he’d consent to it.” Or if she thought Wynter would consent to it. Martyrdom wasn’t her thing.
“You could leave without him knowing.”
“But if I’m gone, you would no longer have something the Aeons want, and they will have no further reason to come here.” Was the woman not getting that?
Ishtar gave a slight incline of her head. “That is true. But living like this forever would be far better than having the size of our prison reduced.”
“In your fine opinion. According to Cain, none of the other Ancients feel the same way. I guess that doesn’t matter much to you, huh?”
Ishtar’s face tightened.
“You’d also have to give Eve and the twins over to the Aeons if you wished for them to leave you all be. None of the other Ancients expressed a wish to do that either. Seems like ignoring what they want is kind of a pattern with you.”
“Once they give the matter more thought, they will realize it’s the right thing to do.”
“Once they give the matter more thought, or once you’ve talked them into doing what you want?” Wynter took a single step toward her. “Tell me . . . Would you surrender yourself to the Aeons to save everyone here?”
Ishtar opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
“I don’t think you would. Nu-uh. Yet, you expect me to do it. Why is that?”
“You are a mortal,” Ishtar all but spat. “You will be dead in the blink of an eye anyway.”
“And that makes my life less important than yours? That’s what you think? God, you’re a weird one. And not very bright, since it doesn’t seem to have occurred to you that giving into the demands of the Aeons would set a bad precedent. What might they insist on next? For a number of your residents to be handed over, since many of theirs have abandoned Aeon and they’ll need to rebuild their population? Or maybe they might demand that an Ancient be surrendered as a gesture of subservience on the other Ancients’ part.”
Ishtar’s jaw tightened. “They would leave us in peace.”
