Page 116 of The Monsters We Are

Wynter cocked her head. “How do you think your grandmother and sister will feel when they hear of your betrayal?”

“They’ll understand,” he said with utter surety.

“Hmm, I think not.” She paused. “Where are they?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“Meaning you stashed them someplace against their will?”

He jutted out his chin. “It’s for their own good.”

“Nothing you’ve done here is for anyone’s good but your own. Not that it matters. You won’t survive this night.”

He chuckled. “Oh, is that a fact?”

“It is, actually.” Drawing her knees up, she balanced her crossed arms over them. “You always meant to betray the Ancients, didn’t you? But not for Adam’s sake. You want him dead. You also want the Ancients dead. You figure they’ll all kill each other here and now. You intend to lead whatever Aeons are left standing.” She snorted. “I can’t imagine what makes you think they’ll bow toyou.”

His eyes blazed in indignation. “You know nothing. And if you want my advice, you should worry more about what’s going to happen to you than about my motivations.” His mouth kicked up into a smirk. “I’ll bet waking up here came as a shock, didn’t it?”

She shook her head, sadly. “Oh, Noah, Noah, Noah. You honestly think this came as a surprise to me? Nah. I knew you would betray me.”

“Really?” he drawled, his voice dripping with humor and skepticism.

“Yes. Kali warned me that you would. She and I had a conversation after I last died. She told me many things. She told me a few more things in a dream I had just last night.” Wynter tipped her head to the side, seeing no harm in explaining all—Kali wouldn’t let him leave; he’d be dead in a matter of minutes. “Did you know that Kali, Apep, Nyx, and Nemesis were sent to oversee parts of the netherworld after they failed to watch over the guardians and gatekeepers?”

He snorted. “Of course I knew.”

“What you probably don’t know . . . is that being made overseers of the netherworld isn’t really what bothers the deities. The reason it’s such a terrible punishment for them is that it means they’re separated for eternity. Kali can therefore tragically no longer be with her consort, Apep. And the sisters, Nyx and Nemesis, are equally devastated at being forced to remain apart. I can tell by your expression that you didn’t know that the deities were connected in such ways—I didn’t either. But with this little bit of knowledge in mind, you can see that the punishment truly is one motherfucker, right?”

He blinked, shrugging. “Well, they earned it.”

“Oh, yes, they acknowledge that. But they’re also mightily pissed at the race that caused the war and, in doing so, led to that punishment. And the more time has gone on, the more that anger has grown and deepened. The more it’s been twisted into resentment and bitterness. Oh, and scorn—so much scorn directed at your people. There’s even a streak of insanity threaded through it all.

“Hey, I can understand it. If I was kept apart from Cain, I’d be nothing more than the living embodiment of fury. It would eventually twist me all up inside. Yeah, I’d go a little crazy over time, and I’d be looking to avenge us both. I’d need someone to blame, someone to hurt, someone todestroy. I’d crave revenge, just as the deities do. God will probably punish them for what comes next, yes, but at this point they don’t care. All they want is vengeance.”

Noah swallowed. “Well, then, I guess it’s too bad for them that there’s not a thing they can do about it,” he snarked.

Wynter felt her lips tip up. “The deities found ways to communicate while in the netherworld, despite being kept apart. They came up with a plan. Having no physical form when in this realm, they needed to use others to achieve their goals.

“Kali found a witch She could use as Her own personal revenant. Nyx sent Kali the perfect netherworld entity for said revenant to host. Nemesis used oracles to indirectly communicate with the Leviathans—manipulating them, really, by informing them of only what She wanted them to know. And Apep led the revenant to Abaddon’s resting place so that the Ancient could be woken, allowing the Leviathans to free themselves—being the most powerful of the deities, Apep was the only one who could unlock the gate to the resting place.”

“You lie,” Noah accused, a slight shake to his voice that said he wasn’t truly so certain. “They couldn’t have done all that.”

“They could. They did. Kali told meallabout it. She also told me that you’d take me to Adam.”

He scoffed. “Bullshit.”

“Nope, pure truth.”

“Yeah? Then why didn’t you do anything to stop it from happening?”

She smiled again. “Because I wanted to come down here, silly. She said that Adam would dump me exactly where I need to be. Yes, I’ve learned that there genuinely is a reason that you Aeons fear the fall of this place.”

Noah stiffened, and his mouth opened and closed a few times. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

Wynter leaned forward slightly. “I know what’s here,” she said quietly, as if confessing a secret. “Or, I should say,whois here. He’s beneath us right now, in Eden’s old resting place. And he. Wants.Out.”

Noah’s eyes flickered.

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