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“You don’t know that. The Aeons could have sent her here.”
“If she meant to kill us, she would have attempted it already.”
“Agreed,” Lilith interjected. “Wynter has had plenty of opportunities to end Cain’s life, I’m sure, given they sleep in the same bed. Yet, he remains unharmed. She has made no overt moves on the rest of us either.”
Ishtar’s lips flattened. “You cannot tell me it is fine with you that she insists on being so mysterious.”
“I see no need to hold her accountable for not being able to answer our questions,” said Lilith. “Whether it’s because she has no answers or because Kali forbids her from sharing certain things, the fact of the matter remains the same—it is out of Wynter’s hands.”
Ishtar’s gaze danced from face to face, narrowing as it settled on Azazel. “You are uneasy with this.”
Azazel sighed. “I am. I don’t like that Kali seems to be working off-script and keeping the whys of that to Herself. But … do I care that Wynter’s a revenant? No. Do I believe she’s here on behalf of the Aeons? No. Do I see the point in getting het up about any of this? No.”
Letting out a little growl, Ishtar whirled to face her sister. “Tell me at leastyouhave concerns.”
Inanna rubbed at her wrist. “I admit, I am not comfortable with how little we understand of Wynter. But it is senseless to hold what she is against her. And if we did that, it would make us too much like the Aeons themselves, who do not like or accept what they struggle to understand.”
“Hear, hear,” said Dantalion before moving his gaze to Ishtar. “And if your ego wasn’t still smarting due to Wynter sharing Cain’s bed, you would not stoop to their level. No, don’t try claiming that this isn’t about your ego. Most everything you do or say is about your ego. Let this moment here and now be an exception. If you would only look at the situation from my point of view, you would see we have reason to be pleased that there is a revenant among us.”
“Pleased?” Ishtar echoed, her eyes bulging.
“It would seem that Kali has given us a weapon,” said Dantalion. “We deserve our revenge, do we not? Nothing delivers vengeance quite like a revenant.”
“Wynter isn’t a weapon,” Cain said to him, his voice hard.
His mouth curving, Dantalion raised his hands in a gesture of peace that had no real sincerity in it.
As it occurred to Cain that Wynter had been remarkably quiet for the past few minutes, he looked at her. Her arms folded, she was idly rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, the image of bored … even as that hunter stare tracked every person in the room.
Needing to be alone with her right now, Cain flicked his arm. “Everyone out. Except you,” he said to Wynter. “You stay.”
Ishtar gaped. “You cannot be serious. You still want her close after all you have just learned?”
His nostrils flaring, Cain stalked toward the bitch, liking the unease that flashed in her eyes. “You should be much nicer to Wynter. It is only the fact that she lives that meansyoulive. If her death had been intentional, I would have destroyed you on the spot. Not even Inanna could have saved you.”
Inanna gently pulled on her sister’s arm. “Let us go. Now, before you do or say anything else that could well get you killed.”
One by one, the Ancients filed out of the office.
Pinning Maxim with a look, Cain said, “You will say nothing of what you saw and heard here.”
The aide nodded. “Understood, Sire.” He gave Wynter a quick dip of the chin and then closed the door, giving her and Cain privacy.
She puffed out a breath. “That could have gone better.” She let her arms fall to her sides. “Look, I’ll understand if you’re a little freaked out by all this. I admit, it’s a lot to take in and—”
Cain delved his hands into her hair and pressed his forehead to hers. “I thought you were gone. It all happened so fast. You were fine, and then you weren’t. Just like that. It took me a few seconds to process it. That delay in my response is the only reason Ishtar lives. She had struck out at Azazel and hit you accidentally. But that didn’t matter to me right then. I couldn’t think beyond the fact that you were dead.” A revenant. His woman was a revenant. Who kept coming back to life. “Not much about you makes any sense.”
“Tell me about it,” she muttered.
“You truly don’t know what Kali wants you to do for Her?”
“Truly. She didn’t even tell me that much until I turned eighteen. Before then, I thought maybe I had a certain amount of lives. Like a cat. Because I came back to life after accidentally drowning when I was fourteen.”
“You haven’t pushed Kali for answers?”
“I asked Her for clarification once or twice, but She blew me off each time. I haven’t bugged Her to tell me because it would only irritate Her. I’d rather not inspire Kali to get Herself a new sort-of-revenant who won’t ask questions.”
Cain studied her face closely. “There are some things you’re not telling me, aren’t there?”
