Page 119 of The Monsters We Are

Cain cursed, swiping a hand down his face. “Fine.”

Ishtar gasped. “Cain—”

“We don’t have time for debates,” he snapped out. “We have to move. My consort is currently in Adam’s custody, and fuck knows what is happening. What makes it more important to movenowis that we’re going to have to move slowly.”

Inanna’s lips parted. “Adamhas her?”

“Yes, courtesy of Noah,” Cain bit out. “Who I would happily torture for a fucking lifetime if there isn’t one thing I know for certain.”

“What’s that?” asked Abaddon.

“He’s already dead,” replied Cain. “Wynter will have ensured that by now.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Cain stepped through the door and straight onto a stone platform. The other Ancients and the coven hurried inside and quickly shut the door before sounds of battle could filter down to the city below.

Blocking out his creature’s enraged hisses, Cain held up his hand for silence and listened carefully. He heard nothing. Not even muffled voices. Good. If no noise was trickling upward, it meant none would trickle downward.

Seth lifted his hand and conjured a faint sphere of light, illuminating the spiral staircase, dust motes, and rough-hewn walls. They were clearly in a cylindrical tower. Anarrowtower.

“God, Ihatetight spaces,” Anabel whispered. “Stay in your crow form, Hattie. This staircase will otherwise be a nightmare for you.”

Ishtar made a quiet sound of complaint as she studied the steps. “There couldn’t be an elevator, no, there had to be a staircase.”

Still holding the ball of light, Seth led the way as they all quietly began to descend the compact staircase, careful not to let their shoes noisily scrape the stone steps. The scents of dust and stale air were strong, aggravating Cain’s senses and the back of his throat.

Considering that Seth’s white sphere didn’t cover much radius, Cain suspected a few other Ancients had conjured their own source of light. He didn’t look back to check. He kept his focus on the steps before him. He had to. It would only take one person to slip and lose their footing for several others to be knocked down like dominoes.

ItkilledCain to move so slowly when he knew his consort was somewhere down below, possibly suffering at the hands of Adam. It seemed doubtful that the Aeon was currently torturing her—the bastard had bigger things to concern himself with right now. But the whirl of violent emotions inside Cain made it difficult for him to cling to that piece of logic.

He felt pumped up. Restless. Charged with a dark energy that demanded release.

He kept it all bottled up, still moving slowly. They came across no windows, or even any cracks in the walls that would allow thin shafts of light to beam through. Which was good, because it meant they had a better chance of moving undetected.

The staircase seemed to go on and on and on. The constant twisting and turning aggravated his sense of equilibrium. The slow pace threatened to make his creature lose all patience, even as it understood the need for stealth.

“Finally,” said Seth as they eventually reached the bottom of the staircase and came upon a door. He pressed his ear to it. “I hear nothing.” He gripped the handle and went to open it, but a quiet “Wait” came from Delilah.

The witch hurried over to the door and chanted while drawing a brief pattern in the air. A glistening wave of magick ghosted over the door and then disintegrated. “Now the hinges won’t creak when you open it.”

Seth’s brows hiked up, and he nodded in thanks. He then twisted the handle and inched open the door, peeking through the small gap. “The coast seems to be clear. And there’s plenty of cover we can use.”

He wasn’t at all wrong—a cluster of massive willow trees would help conceal them. It turned out that the staircase was builtinsidethe rock wall of the city, which was covered in a sheet of moss and trails of climbing plants that very cleverly veiled the door.

It wouldn’t have been so hard for the Aeons to create and hide the staircase—they were experts at calling on and using the natural elements, after all. Experts at moving and manipulating earth, rock, and stone.

The last to exit, Dantalion closed the door behind him. Everyone quietly padded over the carpet of grass and took cover behind the trees. Cain could hear Adam’s voice—he spoke loud, as if giving a speech, but his words were indecipherable from that spot.

Cain quickly but quietly advanced through the maze of willows toward the sound, conscious of the others following him. It wasn’t difficult for him to navigate the area because the landscape hadn’t changed since he was last here. It was still much like a giant botanical garden that was dotted with various buildings—not many of said buildings were new.

It was strange to be back in this place where he was born and raised. There were no feelings of nostalgia. For him, it felt like the memories he had of Aeon were from a different life. A life in which he’d never felt trulyalive.A life in which he’d merely existed, always feeling somewhat detached from everyone else.

As such, he felt no joy at being here. Just the same, he felt no sadness in noticing the signs of decay. It was nowhere near as prevalent here as it was above the city, but it soon would be.

The once lush greenery was dry, thinning, and turning a brownish shade. Fruit and vegetables were rotting, and many littered the floor. Water sources were dirty and gradually drying up. The old-style stone houses he came across featured cracks and dents. More, the few gold temples he passed had lost their shine, looking a dull bronze that possessed streaks of black.

As Cain neared the center of the city where the large temple that sat above Eden’s old resting place was situated, Adam’s words finally became audible. Yes, he was making a speech.

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