Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 125179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Noah and Rima stood behind their grandmother. He gave Wynter a nod while Rima just glared at her. So pleasant.
Wynter forced her lips to curve. “Hi, it’s nice to see you all.”
“Thank you,” said Eve. “This must be your coven.”
“Yes.” Wynter introduced each of them to Eve and the twins before then introducing the Aeons to her coven in return. They all exchanged greetings, though Rima’s were pretty stiff.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you all,” Eve told the coven. “Wynter has spoken of you many times.”
Wynter held her breath, half-expecting them to say crazy shit or relay embarrassing stories about her. But they merely smiled, polite and calm. Which was weird but a relief.
“Is Cain not with you?” Noah asked, glancing around.
“He and the Ancients have a meeting.” More specifically, they were making another attempt to wake Abaddon, but that wasn’t something Wynter could mention in public.
“Shame,” said Eve. “I would have liked to see him.”
Noah’s nose wrinkled. “I can’t imagine him doing something as mundane as peruse a market. He would surely look out of place.”
Nah, Cain had a way of fitting into whatever environment he placed himself in; of always seeming as though he belonged. But she understood Noah’s meaning—the Ancients just seemed so set apart from “normality”.
“He would probably also be bored.” Noah sighed. “I can relate.”
Eve tossed him an exasperated look that was tinged with affection. She then refocused on Wynter. “I’ll let you continue shopping. You all take care now.” She and Noah walked away, but Rima lingered. Wasn’t that nice?
Rima looked Wynter up and down. “I heard about what you did to the witches who tried to kidnap you. A little harsh, wasn’t it?”
Wynter blinked. “That was kind of the point.”
“You could have simply dumped their bodies in a public place and then walked away,” said Rima.
“What, like Aeons dump people over the falls?” Wynter cocked her head. “You know what your problem is? You think that your emotional scars give you a free pass to be bitchy—something you’re not very good at, on another note; you just come across as petty and childish. Anyway, you really need to snap out of this mindset. You’re not the only one who’s suffered. Losing your mom is hard, I know. But your mom died peacefully in her sleep. We don’t all have that comfort. And we don’t all make others pay for our pain.”
Rima’s cheeks reddened. “I don’t need a lecture from someone who’s only lived, what, thirty years? Probably less. You’re a kid compared to me.”
Wynter almost laughed. “Oh, you might have walked this Earth a lot longer. But you haven’t lived the same way I have. You’ve never fought in a war. You’ve never lost your life over and over. You’ve never led people into battle, hoping like hell it won’t get them killed. You’ve never hosted a monster that doesn’t belong in this world.
“Your experiences, the loss of your mom . . . you didn’t let those things strengthen you, you just stewed over them. So it doesn’t matter how much longer you’ve lived, I’m still far more mature than you. But you could change that if you only took my advice. I guess we’ll see if you bother or not.” Before the Aeon could say another word, Wynter strode off.
Delilah sidled up to her. “You’re totally right about Rima. She’s like a naïve, defiant teenager.”
Wynter exhaled heavily. “I really don’t want to have a bad relationship with any of Cain’s relatives, but she makes it hard to like her. She feels the need to be rude toward and question everyone. There’s so much bitterness inside her, and she lets it rule her.” Wynter swore. “Damn her, I was having fun until then.”
Delilah patted her shoulder. “The fun doesn’t need to stop. All is good. Things can go back to being light-hearted.”
They all halted as a male bore down on them, his eyes flaring with anger—eyes that were pinned on Delilah.
“I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” he growled. “What in God’s name did you put in that potion?”
Wynter felt her eyes drift closed. “Oh, Del.”
Delilah folded her arms. “You’ll have to clue me in on what potion you asked for. I get a lot of customers.”
He glanced from side to side, leaned in, and lowered his voice as he said, “I wanted something that would make my boyfriend lose a few pounds.”
“Oh, I remember now,” said Delilah. “You felt that he’d ‘let himself go,’ and you didn’t like it.”
“Obviously,” he said with a snicker. “You told me that all I had to do was put a drop of the potion in my mouth and then kiss him. Well, he hasn’t lost any weight. And I . . .” He let the sentence trail off.
She made a prim noise. “I warned you there might be side effects.”