Page 77 of The Monsters We Are

He’d considered instead waking his consort and then fucking them both raw—that would have helped his brain power down for certain. But the last thing he wanted was for her to be sleep-deprived. With all that was going on around them, she needed to be sharp and alert at all times.

He’d left her a note just in case she woke before he returned. He hadn’t realized he’d been in his ledger room for over three hours until he’d glanced at the wall clock and saw that it was 3:45am.

Now, Cain pushed open the door to his chamber. He frowned as his gaze landed on the bed. Ruffled sheets. No Wynter.

Calling out her name, he crossed to the en suite bathroom.Empty.Unease crawled through his gut, and his mouth tightened. Sleepwalking. She had to be sleepwalking again. “Fuck.”

Since there was only one place she ever went during such times, he hurried out of the Keep and headed straight for his garden, never willing to take for granted that—despite how often he’d found her unharmed—she’d be safe from the many serpents that roamed in it.

The gates were wide open, and the padlock was on the ground. Yes, she was out here. Andsomethinghad unlocked the gates for her yet again.

His pulse thudding hard, Cain rushed along the winding, twisting path. He expected to come upon her at any moment, but there was no sign of her. How long had she been out here?

His creature writhed inside him, agitated that she was missing and furious that another male could call her to them like this. Furious that they would evendare.

Nearing the temple, Cain frowned.The fuck?Mounds of snakes were piled outside, writhing on top of each other. He knew they usually followed her when she came to the garden during her sleep. Could they have followed her here?

Cursing, he took the pitted steps two at a time and rushed into the temple. “Wynter!” he shouted, lighting the wall torches even as he stalked through the eternally long sculpted archway. “Wynter!”

A ruthless little voice inside him spoke up, saying it would be better not to wake her; better not to sever the current connection between her and Abaddon—no one else could be calling her here, could they? And if the Ancient was close to waking, that could only be a good thing.

Cain quashed the voice fast. If the woman in question had been anyone other than Wynter, he would have been prepared to sit back and observe. But this was his consort.

His pace faltered as he sensed vibrations coming from somewhere below him.

Coming from the grotto.

Cursing again, Cain bolted for the spiral staircase he’d descended almost every night for weeks on end. He swiftly jogged down it and hurried through the open iron gate. His pulse leaped as he took in the scene.

Wynter stood against the wall opposite the spring, her eyes wide, her lips parted, her focus centered on it. Water splashed over the edges of the stone well as it bubbled and gushed and lit up with pure power.

He’d witnessed such a spectacle before. Many times, in fact. It meant only one thing.

A Leviathan was rising.

Cain rushed to Wynter’s side and curled a hand around her upper arm. She jerked in surprise, only then noticing him. “Are you all right?” he asked her.

Looking somewhat dazed, she nodded.

“He called you here again?”

A line dented her brow. “He?”

“My uncle.” Cain curled an arm around her shoulders and held her close. “He’s waking.” And for some reason, Abaddon wanted Wynter to be present when he did. The man had some explaining to do.

“Wait, he’s in thewater?”

“Ancients always Rest in water.” Cain cast a quick look at the well. “You should go back to the Keep.”

Her brows snapped together. “What? Why?”

“Because I don’t know what mental state he’ll be in when he rises. Like I told you once before, I don’t know of an Ancient who’s been at Rest for so long and I have no clue what kind of impact it might have had on his psyche.” And sanity, for that matter. His uncle had always been reasonably calm and collected, but these were unusual circumstances. “That unsurety bothers me.”

“It bothers me as well. Which is why I’m not leaving.”

Cain sighed at the determined set to her jaw. “You’re a stubborn woman. I like that about you, even as I find it an inconvenience at times.” Since he highly doubted that his uncle would have any wish to harm her, Cain didn’t push for her to leave. “At least let me do the talking.”

“That I can easily agree to. Um, the lights beneath the water are beginning to fade. That doesn’t mean he’s slipping back into Rest, does it?”