Page 92 of The Monsters We Are

She tilted her head. “Let me guess . . . you wanted to get a good look at me; to get a sense of whether or not I truly am Favored by Kali. It doesn’t seem possible to you. You can’t see how you wouldn’t have sensed it long ago or how I’d be different from other revenants. But you can’t think why else the curse would be something you simply can’t beat.”

He flapped a dismissive hand. “You are not a revenant. I know that much for certain. I had hoped to here and now detect just what it is youreallyare.” He folded his arms and lifted his chin, all pompous. “I had some of my people look into your background. You have never met your father, have you? Your mother refused to speak of him to anyone who asked, but my people were able to find out who and where he is.”

“So?”

Adam’s brows dipped. “So wouldn’t you like to know the identity of your father?”

“Can’t say that I do, no.” It was pure truth. “After all, he was never a father to me. Just a sperm donor, really.”

She didn’t believe for a single moment that Adam had any clue who her father was anyway. And if the Aeon thought it would be this easy to manipulate her into doing his bidding, she was seriously insulted.

“I suppose it is good for you that you feel that way,” said Adam. “Not so much for him, however. I had him brought here. He is not very . . . comfortable at the moment. But you can change that. Give yourself up, and I will free him.”

“Nah.”

Adam’s arms unfolded. “You cannot expect me to believe that his life means nothing to you.”

“Why? I got the impression that the lives ofyourblood relatives don’t always mean much toyou. Besides, I don’t think you really are keeping the sperm donor captive.”

“I assure you, witch, I am not calling your bluff. I have him in my dungeon.”

“Right,” she said, all skepticism. The Aeon would have been the epitome of smug if that were genuinely the case.

“I rather think he’ll be most disappointed to learn that his daughter cares so little for him.”

“There are few people in this world I care about. My father has never been one of them. The only parent who mattered to me was my mother. She was the only person throughout my childhood who I was truly able to count on. Your son, Abel, sentenced her to death. Which meansyouinitially cast down that sentence.Youtook her from me. So no amount of bribes, threats, or attempts at emotional blackmail would make me give you a single fucking thing that you want.”

Cain smiled. “Really, Adam, you cause these messes for yourself. I do thank you for pissing her off so spectacularly and then pretty much driving her to seek sanctuary here. Your help in this matter has not gone unrecognized or unappreciated, I assure you.” He glanced at Wynter. “I think we’re done here.”

“I agree,” she said.

As one, they both withdrew from the psychic space.

Cain dismissed everyone in the parlor, including the conduit, before then turning to her. “Are you all right?”

“Yes. It’s just, ugh, Ihatethat fucker.”

Cain felt his lips twitch. “You’re not alone in that. I wanted to intervene a few times, but I didn’t want to chance that he’d sense you mean something to me.”

“I don’t believe he really has my father in his custody.”

“Neither do I. Adam can be a smug bastard. He likes to gloat. Back there, he wasn’t gloating. It was more like he was fishing, testing to see if you’d care to save a father you’ve never met—Adam would have interpreted that as a weakness.”

“That was the feeling I got.”

“If it had seemed that youwouldcare, he’d have searched high and low for your father in order to use him against you. You made it clear he’d be wasting his time.” Cain tipped his head to the side. “But you and I both know that you wouldn’t truly have been so indifferent in such a situation, don’t we?”

“I wouldn’t have been indifferent, no. But I wouldn’t have given Adam what he wanted.No waywould I have traded the lives of you, my coven, and everyone here for the freedom of a man who never gave a single shit about me or my mother. I’m really not as honorable as you seem to think.”

Oh, she was. She merely didn’t like to acknowledge that soft underbelly she possessed. She was also used to hiding her true self—she’d been doing it for most of her life to stay under the radar.

Setting her hands on her hips, she shook her head in wonder. “After all that’s happened, Adam still won’t accept that I’m a revenant.”

“To do that would be to accept that he had no idea, despite that you’d lived at Aeon at one time. It would also be to accept that he’d been foolish to doubt your word and your connection to Kali. Adam is far too egotistical to face that he was wrong about anything without solid proof.”

“The way I see it, that’s a good thing. If he doesn’t believe I’m a revenant, he won’t be ready todealwith a revenant. That gives me an edge where he’s concerned. I like having an edge.”

Cain flicked up a brow. “You envision you and Adam going head to head? That won’t happen, baby. I plan to take upallof his attention. Besides, he won’t want to battle with you, he’ll want to capture you so he can force you to do his bidding.”