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Beside her, Dantalion shook his head. “He’d never manage it. Not even an Aeon is powerful enough to bypass the mental shields of an Ancient.”
Lilith looked at Cain. “He’ll invade your consort’s dreams again, and he’ll be better prepared next time.”
“He might try,” said Cain. “He won’t succeed. Wynter’s a witch, remember? She intends to create a talisman to put beneath her pillow to protect her dreams from being invaded. She’s confident it will work.”
“That’s something, I suppose,” said Seth. “I’m glad she’s okay.”
Cain slid his gaze to Ishtar. “You must be equally relieved that Wynter is alive. After all, despite how spectacularly you failed yesterday, you probably haven’t lost hope that you can convince her to give herself up to the Aeons.”
Silence fell.
Ishtar inched up her chin in a gesture that was both haughty and defensive, but said nothing.
Inanna blinked at her sister. “You . . . you tried to talk her into surrendering herself to the Aeons?”
A look of exasperation crossed Ishtar’s face. “I should have known that the witch would go whining to you about it,” she said to Cain.
“You did know that she’d tell me if you failed to convince her to leave,” said Cain, feeling his face harden. “But you took a chance anyway, clearly confident that you could persuade her to see things your way. She’s not as easily manipulated as you assume.”
Ishtar sniffed. “I wouldn’t be too certain of that. She agreed to be the consort of someone she barely knows, did she not? She’s fully aware that you harbor secrets, but you still managed to manipulate her into accepting your claim.”
“You persist in viewing Wynter as weak on so many levels—”
“Because she is. And yet, you are willing to place her safety before yours. Well, she wasn’t willing to do the same for you, was she? No, she chose to instead stay at Devil’s Cradle even knowing what the consequences would be for you.”
Inanna shook her head, incredulous. “I cannot believe you would go behind Cain’s back that way.”
Ishtar waved a hand, sweeping her gaze around the table. “You all fear him too much to press the issue. I do not.”
“You should,” Cain told her, his voice clipped. “Wynter is my consort. You saw fit to urge her to not only leave me but put herself in danger. Did you think you wouldn’t pay a price for that?”
She shot him a look that called him ridiculous. “You would never harm me, Cain.”
He blinked. “I can’t imagine why you would think that.” In fact, in that moment, nothing would bring him more pleasure than to snap her slender neck.
“I do not think it. I know it. And I have no idea why you are so angry about what I did. I realize that you like this particular toy very much, but she’s still a toy at the end of the day. Replaceable. Breakable. Sure to lose its novelty.”
Was she serious? “Toys aren’t claimed as consorts.”
“She is a mere temporary addition in your life. It will not last. It cannot. You and I, though? We will always be part of each other’s lives. We have been through much together. Things are strained between us now, but that does not change the reality that you care for me in your way.”
Pure astonishment zipped through Cain, battling with his anger for supremacy.
Seth looked at him, gaping. “She genuinely believes that.”
Azazel flicked a look at the ceiling. “Just when you think someone couldn’t get more delusional . . .”
Cain idly tapped his fingers on the table. “The trouble with reality, Ishtar, is that it is subjective. Not fixed. Not factual. Not unbiased. Your reality may be that I care for you. But my reality? The only woman I’ve ever given even a sliver of a shit about is Wynter. I would not only kill to keep her, I would kill anyone—and I mean anyone—who took her from me. Do not doubt that that includes you.”
Her cheeks flamed. “You are lying to yourself. If you were honestly angry about what I’d said to the witch, you would have forced your way into my Keep last night and taken me to task. You didn’t.”
He let a taunting smile curve his mouth and asked, “What, choose an evening of yelling at you over fucking my consort until she can’t walk? I think not.”
Ishtar’s gaze went as diamond hard as her face. “Bastard,” she spat.
“You’ve always had a habit of provoking me into confronting you—it was the only way you could get me to come to you. Lately, you’ve taken to pushing my buttons using Wynter, loving that you might drag me away from her; that you might be on my mind while I’m with her . . . as if it could even be possible that she wouldn’t take up my entire focus. But you went too far this time, Ishtar.”
She sighed, as if he were being dramatic. “It’s not as if she did as I suggested, is it?”
