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She enticed him. Surprised him. Incited him. Bewitched him, even—no pun intended.
The secrets between them thankfully didn’t act as a barrier. Probably because they both nonetheless accepted each other and could relate to how difficult the other found it to keep such secrets. It meant that there was no resentment on either side. It allowed them to build something.
Their relationship might be new, but it wasn’t shallow or fragile. Nor was it something he took lightly. Cain had every intention of ensuring it became permanent. He had enough worldly experience to know that this thing they had could grow into something solid and true and unbreakable.
He refused to go back to a time when his life didn’t have her in it. That meant two things. One, he needed to wipe Saul from the face of the Earth before the Aeon could ever again get near her. Two, Cain couldn’t share his secrets with her until he was absolutely sure that they wouldn’t push her away, including the existence of his inner creature.
She wasn’t the only one who carried a monster inside her.
Cain knew his time was limited. His creature—who was currently flipping its shit over the Saul situation—was tiring of her being ignorant of its existence. It wanted her acknowledgement. More, it wanted her acceptance. And, utterly lacking in self-awareness, it saw no reason why she wouldn’t accept it. But, in truth, asking that of her would be no small thing.
Was it unfair that Cain wanted to wait until he felt she was too committed to him to be scared away before he revealed all? Maybe. But he couldn’t physically pursue her if she fled. He was trapped in Devil’s Cradle, so he’d have to send others to bring her back to him. And he was pretty certain she’d kill them all.
He needed to somehow bind her to him. The problem was that Wynter Dellavale wasn’t a woman you could truly own. She was too much her own person.
Wynter would only ever belong to a man if she allowed it. But Cain wouldn’t rest until she was his on every level. He’d find a way to own the un-own-able.
Right then, he wanted to take her to his Keep. He wanted to clean and feed and have some alone-time with her. Maybe then he could breathe without tasting anger—it sat on his tongue like ash.
No one spoke as he, Wynter, and her coven left the woods and stalked through the town to the stately manor that he and the other Ancients used as a base to do business such as interview visitors. The manor also concealed the entrance to the underground city.
They walked through the tall black gates and into the Old World manor. In the hallway, they opened the door that led to an elevator that was constructed of floor-to-ceiling glass. Moments later, they were descending the elevator shaft. Once free of it, Cain looked down and took in the modernized medieval city below. It was vast with its cottages, towers, timber-framed houses, rustic dwellings, taverns, shops, large park, and Venice-style canals.
In the distance were mounds, caverns, rivers, and forests. One of said forests concealed the large arena that they used mainly for entertainment purposes.
There were also the seven Keeps that were sporadically placed around the city—each was occupied by an Ancient. Above it all, aqua-blue stalactites hung from the cavernous ceiling.
He’d often been told by residents that it was easy to forget they were beneath ground. The artificial lighting could simulate both daylight and moonlight. There were also artificial breezes and sound effects such as birds singing, crickets chirping, and thunder rumbling. All of which was powered by the Ancients.
Due to the late hour, the streets weren’t busy, though crowds congregated outside the eateries and taverns. Two people were currently riding horseback around the park while others rowed canal boats.
The elevator slowed as it descended into a stone tower. The doors soon slid open, and then the entire group filed out of the elevator and exited the tower. A short walk later, they neared the street on which Wynter and her coven lived—all of whom were currently discussing what Hattie should wear for her date tomorrow evening.
That was the thing about the Bloodrose Coven. Nothing fazed them for long. Or maybe they were simply too used to having people try to kill them that it had little effect on them these days, because they never did more than briefly rant about the incident before quickly moving on to other things.
Cain took Wynter’s wrist when she would have headed down the street toward her cottage. “Come home with me.” It came out as more of a command than a request, so he wasn’t surprised by the raised eyebrow she shot him. Fortunately for him, she made allowances for how—after eons of being in charge—he was used to issuing orders.
“I need to shower,” she pointed out.
“Some of your clothes are at my Keep.” He’d pushed for her to leave some of her items at his bedchamber. It had seemed stupid for her not to when she slept there every night.
“Go,” shooed Hattie, flapping her hands at Wynter. “Let your man take care of you. You both need it.”
“Let him sex you up too,” said Delilah. “There’s no better stress reliever than sex.”
Xavier lightly squeezed Wynter’s shoulder. “Pure truth.”
“I only deal in the truth,” Delilah told him. “Unlike you, dear pathological liar.”
The male witch opened his mouth to argue, but Anabel quickly cut in, “If you deny it, you’ll only prove her point. Now let’s go, I have potions to brew.”
Goodbyes were exchanged, and then Wynter allowed Cain to lead her to his Keep. Walking through the arched opening in the stark walls that surrounded his home, he found that the bailey was mostly empty, since the workshops, bakehouse, brewery, and blacksmith’s shop were closed.
A few people stood near the stables and barns, talking amongst themselves. Cain and Wynter briefly greeted them as they strode through the courtyard toward the black, stone Keep. The tall, cylindrical building might have looked dull if it wasn’t for the faint shimmer of the magick that was embedded in the stone. The stained-glass windows of various sizes also gave it a “lift.”
The guards that were posted outside the entrance bowed their heads at Cain. He tipped his chin their way and then shepherded Wynter through the Keep’s thick wooden doors. Maxim, one of his aides, appeared. Like Cain’s other hirelings, the male lived at the Keep.
Maxim noted the blood on Wynter’s clothing and shot her a worried look.
