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He cupped one side of her face. “Wynter?” Nothing. “Wynter, wake up. Come on, pretty witch, I need you to wake up for me.”
Blinking rapidly, she jerked slightly. Awareness bled into her eyes, and she glanced around. A long groan slipped out of her as realization settled in. Her shoulders slumped. “I did it again. Ugh.”
He curled his arm around her waist. “Come on, let’s head back inside.”
She rubbed at her head. “It’s so weird that I come here,” she said, her voice thick with sleep as they slowly made their way to the gates. “I don’t just mean because there’s no apparent reason to come here, I mean because I’m dreaming that I resisted.”
He frowned. Resisted? “I don’t follow.”
“I dream that someone wants me to go with them so they can show me something. I dream that I huddle into you instead and ignore them. But then I wake, and I’m here.”
For the second time in just a few hours, shock slapped Cain hard. It took everything he had not to tense. “Show you what?”
“I don’t know, they never tell me.”
“Who is this ‘someone’ who draws you here?” he asked, ensuring his voice sounded casual.
Her nose wrinkled. “I don’t think there really is anyone. It’s just a voice I hear.”
“Whose voice?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t recognize it. Just a male voice.”
“Male?”
There must have been something in his tone that snagged her attention, because she frowned up at him. “You’re not worried about this, are you? It’s only a recurring dream, Cain. Lots of people have them. Come on, Kali wouldn’t stand for someone luring me here.”
“True,” he said, but he wasn’t so sure that it was.
*
The following day, Cain gathered in his solar room with the other Ancients as he relayed Wynter’s suggestion to set a trap for Saul. Really, Cain would love nothing more than to shut it down. Which she’d clearly sensed, because she’d badgered him about it all morning. Only the knowledge that she’d proceed with or without the aid of the Ancients had stopped him from dismissing it completely.
He still didn’t support her plan. Couldn’t. But she was right that something needed to be done about the Aeon. They couldn’t allow him to continue to roam free, especially when—as she pointed out—Saul could share the things that he’d learned with the other Aeons when they came.
His hip propped against the wall, Dantalion said, “I can see that you’re not fond of her idea, Cain. I can understand why you wouldn’t be comfortable putting your consort in danger. But we should definitely consider following her suggestion.”
“It could actually work,” said Azazel, lounging on the cushioned window seat. “And it wouldn’t be like throwing a lamb into the path of a wolf. Wynter is no lamb.”
Sitting beside Cain on the sofa, Seth nodded and said, “I’d nonetheless veto it out of concern for her, but I don’t see what else we can do at this point if we mean to capture him.”
“My thoughts exactly,” said Inanna, standing near the chair her sister claimed, as if braced to step in should Ishtar say or do something to worsen her situation. “Saul’s done an excellent job of eluding us so far, which is most likely something he owes to his ability to call on the element of air. We have to take a risk if we have a hope of catching him.”
“And if Wynter is willing to take that risk—something I appreciate—we should at least explore the idea in more depth,” added Lilith, sitting on Seth’s other side.
Cain looked at Ishtar, waiting for her to contribute. She didn’t say a word. In fact, she hadn’t spoken since entering the room.
He’d like to say she appeared intent on keeping a low profile—an indication that she’d learned her lesson. But in truth, she was sulking. She was giving everyone the silent treatment, hoping they’d push her to talk out of concern.
No one did. Not even her own sister. But then, Inanna had never been a fan of passive-aggressiveness.
Seth again spoke. “I say we plan each step very thoroughly to ensure there’s very little risk that Wynter could be harmed. If we feel confident that this could be done, we can then seriously consider proceeding with it. Would you be comfortable with that, Cain?”
“Comfortable with it? No.” Not in the slightest. “But our options are limited right now. So long as Saul is free, he is a threat to my consort. I can’t allow that. Plus, she is liable to act alone if she feels it necessary. That I absolutely do not want. So let’s do what you suggested and see if we can fine-tune the plan in a way that involves little risk to her.”
So that was what they did. Well, it was what most of them did. Ishtar remained silent the entire time, nodding or shaking her head here and there.
The plan they concocted wasn’t fool-proof, but it had a very high chance of working. It didn’t involve executing Saul. They were all set on not immediately killing him unless necessary. Not merely because they had some questions for him, but because he didn’t deserve a quick death.
