by Lexi C. Foss
She would have chastised him for the rudeness, except she felt similarly.
“The council knows about Elizabeth’s pregnancy,” Ezekiel replied through the door. “And she’s gone missing.”
Sethios froze on top of Caro, causing her to frown. “Who’s Elizabeth?” A jolt zapped her heart. “And why is she pregnant?” She’d felt Sethios’s pain at what his father had done to him, how he’d attempted to coerce him into performing sexually when his body refused to allow it. But what if—
“She’s our daughter’s best friend,” he said, cutting off her concern. “She’s pregnant with Jedrick’s child, not mine.” Those last two words were growled down at her. “Osiris never succeeded. He couldn’t. I’ve always been—and always will be—yours.” He punctuated that statement with a kiss that left her panting upon completion, his smoldering irises holding an intensity that healed her heart immediately.
Until all of his words processed. “Who’s Jedrick?”
“A Hydraian Elder. He actually goes by Jayson now, but I know him as Jedrick.”
She frowned. “And he’s... procreated?”
“Yes, with a genetically engineered Seraphim. My father created her to help him breed my replacement. Apparently, I’ve disappointed him as a son,” Sethios drawled, rolling off of her to open the door. She quickly pulled the sheets up to cover her breasts, but he stood completely nude and uncaring before Ezekiel. “How long has she been missing?”
“About thirty minutes,” Ezekiel replied, unbothered by Sethios’s nudity. Their friendship transcended millennia. Caro doubted many secrets remained between them. “Stark called Leela as soon as Skye predicted the child’s birth. She said the council intends to kill the child.”
Sethios grimaced. “She saw that?”
“No. But she’s a Fate. So if she prophesied the child’s birth, so did the others. And she knows the council will never allow the baby to survive.”
“Wait, back up.” Sethios narrowed his gaze at the male in the doorway. “Skye’s a Fate?”
Caro frowned. “She’s a Seraphim?” She’d never met the female but knew about her ability to see the future and predict destinies. Ezekiel and Gabriel had never mentioned her being a Seraphim. She’d just assumed the woman was an Ichorian, turned by Osiris.
“Yes. The council removed her wings when she refused to cooperate with their guidelines.” Ezekiel went on to explain her punishment and how she’d used it to escape, which was when Osiris had learned of her existence and tasked Ezekiel with tracking her down.
Sethios folded his arms. “And you’ve known this since the beginning?”
His best friend nodded. “She asked me not to say anything. It wasn’t the right time.”
“But now it is,” Caro said before Sethios could reply. “Because we’ve already started to figure out that the Fates are not actually working for the council but against them.”
Both men stared at her.
Their blank expressions told her that maybe that wasn’t right. Or perhaps they hadn’t pieced it together yet.
“The Fates have provided prophecies that they’ve allowed the council to interpret without any sort of direction. Like the prophecy about Astasiya being the one to destroy us all—the High Council of Seraph believes it’s in relation to Osiris’s abominations. But what if it isn’t?” Caro continued, telling them about her escape and her healing power awakening, how that couldn’t be a coincidence.
“The Fates have given us the tools we need to survive,” she concluded. “And I think it’s because they want us to succeed.”
“In what? Taking down the council?” Sethios asked.
“Yes,” Skye said from the hallway. “To provoke change.”
“You couldn’t have provided that information forty minutes ago?” Gabriel’s irritated tone came from behind Ezekiel, the three of them obviously standing in the doorway, but Caro could only see Sethios’s best friend.
“I told you they want change,” Skye replied.
“That’s a broad statement.”
“That is now better defined. You’re welcome.” She sounded so prim and proper, like a queen seated upon a throne accepting the gratitude of her people. “Ezekiel. They need to go now.”
“They need to get dressed first, darling,” Ezekiel replied.
“Where are we going?” Sethios asked, his arms still folded.
“Hydria,” Gabriel replied. “Leela was shot in the head, but the Hydraian healer is helping her recover so she can tell us what happened.”
Caro frowned. “How is she helping? We’re immune to their gifts.” Unless something had changed during her time in the reformation chamber?
“Vera etched a rune into Leela’s skin to allow Hydraian gifts to work on her,” Gabriel replied. “Jayson also took a bullet to the head. No other casualties, and both of them will recover. However, Skye says our assistance is needed, and given how close Stas is with Lizzie, I understand that need.”
“Yes, your daughter has a penchant for putting her best friend’s life before her own,” Ezekiel murmured. “I suggest you go talk her out of waltzing headfirst into the council to demand her friend back.”
“She would do that?” Caro asked, a hint of warmth touching her heart.
“Yes,” Ezekiel and Gabriel said at the same time. Then her son added, “You have no idea what it’s been like trying to keep her safe these last few years. It’s like she courts death.”
Ezekiel snorted. “No shit.”
“Right. We’ll be ready in a minute,” Sethios said, his hand on the door.
“I’ll meet you there,” Gabriel replied. “I’ll call you if you’re needed.”
“We’ll be here waiting,” Ezekiel drawled.
“We can build another snowman.” A hint of childlike happiness touched Skye’s voice. “I need a scarf.”
“Of course, darling.” He stepped out of the doorway. “Happy misting.”
Sethios snorted. “Have fun with the snow.” He shut the door before his friend could reply, then rummaged around to find his clothes.
Another knock sounded half a beat later.
Sethios opened the door with an arched brow. “Yes?”
“You might need these, mate.” Ezekiel handed him a pair of jeans and a sweater.
Sethios frowned at them, then glanced at Caro. “I forgot you arrived naked.”
“I didn’t,” Ezekiel replied, a smirk in his tone that earned him a growl from Sethios. “So possessive. Did you enjoy playing with my knife?”
Sethios shut the door again, not bothering to answer, and set the clothes on the bed. There was also a pair of boots and socks, both of which appeared to be in her size.
Everything smelled new, but freshly washed, suggesting Skye had predicted the need for the clothing and had recently ordered it. Or perhaps she was just a similar size to Caro. She hadn’t actually seen the woman to know for sure.
The two of them dressed in silence, Sethios wearing jeans and a T-shirt meant for warmer climates. As soon as they were clothed, he pulled her into a kiss and pressed his lips to her ear. “I’m not done fucking you yet.”
“Should I take the knife with me?” She meant the question seriously. Not just because of his sexual threat, but as a protective measure.
“Yes.” He nipped her neck, then ran his fingers through her hair, helping to unknot the strands. She’d need a proper brush later, but he managed to help with tangles. Besides, being entirely put together wasn’t exactly a priority at the moment.
Although, she had hoped to be in at least a little better shape before seeing her daughter again.
She nibbled her lip, considering. “Do I look all right?”
Sethios’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“Do I... Am I presentable?”
“You’re always fucking presentable. But if I’m honest, I prefer you naked.”
She narrowed her gaze at him. “I’m about to see Astasiya. I doubt she’d prefer me naked.”
He
chuckled. “That’s how she met you twenty-five years ago.”
“Sethios.”
“What?” He grinned down at her, and she glowered back. After another chuckle, he kissed her cheek and said, “You look beautiful, angel. She’ll think she’s looking in a mirror when she sees you.”
Caro blinked. “A mirror?”
“She’s the spitting image of you, sweetheart.” His palms went to her hips, his green irises taking on a light sheen. “She’s strong, just like you. A warrior spirit. She’s grown into your figure—something I can’t say I’m crazy about because it draws far too much male attention. And did I tell you she’s already blood bonded?”
“What?” Mated? Her daughter? “She’s only... only... how old is she?”
“Twenty-Five.”
Right. He’d just remarked on their first meeting, indicating her age. Caro simply hadn’t considered what that meant. “How the hell is she already bonded? To who? Is he worthy of her?”
“No one is worthy of her,” Sethios retorted, sounding furious. But then a glimmer of respect met his gaze as he sighed, “But she could have done worse.”
“Worse?” Caro didn’t like the sound of this at all. “Was she coerced into this? Have they known each other long?”
“Longer than we knew each other before bonding,” Sethios admitted softly. “And from what I can tell, he didn’t coerce her. She seems to love him—a feeling that is clearly mutual.”
“So he’s... he’s good to her?”
“Unfortunately,” Sethios muttered.
“Unfortunately?” she repeated. “How is that unfortunate? You wish for him to be cruel to her?”
“Yes. Because then I could kill him.” Sethios spoke the words with such seriousness that she knew he meant it.
Which caused her to giggle in response, a sound she hadn’t made in... well, a very long time.
His eyebrows drew down. “Are you laughing at me?”
“Yes,” she said, unable to stop herself from giggling again. He was angry that their daughter had chosen a worthy mate, only because it kept him from being able to kill the man touching her.
While Caro wasn’t all that thrilled with the idea that her child—who was still a baby in her eyes—had grown up so quickly and found a partner, she could appreciate that her daughter had chosen well.
“It’s not funny.”
“No,” she agreed, biting her lip again and holding back more mirth.
“Then why are you laughing?”
“Because you’re upset our daughter found a mate you can’t kill.” She cupped his cheek, both amused and even more in love than she was minutes ago. “I want to see her. I want to meet this man who thinks he’s good enough for her, too.”
“You won’t be laughing then,” Sethios muttered, pulling her closer.
She smiled. “Perhaps not. Ready for me to mist?”
He stole another quick kiss, then nodded. “Yes. Let’s go find our daughter.”
A statement she’d been dying to hear for what felt like an eternity. It was finally time to see the result of their sacrifice. To see the woman her daughter had become. Caro realized in a breath that worrying over her own wardrobe or hair paled in comparison to the reality of being able to hug her daughter again.
Nothing else mattered. Only the reunion ahead.
“Hold on,” she whispered.
“I’ll never let go of you again,” Sethios vowed.
Her lips curled, her eyes falling closed as her wings fluttered to life. She’d never felt more whole than in that moment, knowing they’d finally survived and were on their way to see the piece of them that’d been missing for far too long.
Except, as her wings began to pulsate, a strange sort of sensation settled over her. It tingled and vibrated, the energy an invisible strand that wrapped around her and held on. “Sethios?”
He didn’t reply, his body tense.
Power rippled over them.
Electricity sizzled through the air.
And his limbs began to shake. He held on to her as tightly as he could, but the violent shudders appeared to be forcing him to release his grip. She threw her arms around his neck, igniting her mist, intending to take him with her, only he went ethereal at the same time. Wings twice the size of hers exploded from his back in a flurry of black plumes, tinged with dark blue at the edges.
She gasped, shocked by the display, only to swallow the sound as he sent them flying to an unknown destination.
Caro tried to ask him what he was doing, but they were moving too fast for her to speak.
It was almost as though someone had wrapped a cord around him and yanked him through space and time. She’d only been along for the ride because she’d clung to him. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms tightening around his neck, refusing to lose him.
He didn’t hold her back, his agony at having no control over his actions vibrating through their bond. It’s Osiris, he managed to grit out into her mind. He’s... he’s compelling me to mist to him.
How?
The day in Maine. I felt him unleashing his compulsion, but he distracted me by freeing Skye from his mental hold. I’d assumed the power I felt was from him releasing her. But I was wrong. He embedded a persuasive link in me so deep I couldn’t even sense it.
She felt him trying to fight the compulsion, his mind frantically searching for the cord to sever it. But it was already too late.
White walls formed around them, their destined location revealing itself inch by inch, until they found themselves in the middle of a large living area with windows overlooking a white sand beach framed by the bluest of oceans.
“Ah, you’re here,” a familiar voice said, sending a chill down Caro’s spine. “And I see you found your lost Seraphim.”
Sethios’s blood boiled, his stupidity infuriating him. He should have seen this play coming from a mile away, but he’d been so consumed with finding Caro that he’d ignored the obvious.
His father was always several steps ahead. Of course he’d left behind a compulsion for Sethios to meet him somewhere in the future. He’d never just allow his son to exist on his own; he always needed to maintain some sort of control.
At least Astasiya was safe.
“Father,” Sethios greeted, his arms still glued to his sides. “You can release me now.”
“And risk you using your new misting ability?” He tsked, that strand of power tightening around him rather than loosening. “I need you to hear me out before you take off.” He paused to study Sethios’s wings, his chin dipping in approval. “I see you mostly take after me. That hint of blue must be a marker of your bond.”
Sethios hadn’t even looked at his feathers, too consumed by the fact that his father had bested him. Again.
“What do you want to say?” he prompted, wanting to start whatever game his father intended to play. The sooner they began, the sooner it would end.
“Direct as always,” Osiris replied.
“You say that as though it surprises you.” Just as he mentioned it almost every time they met, like he expected some other outcome. Why would Sethios wish to prolong the torment? Best to rip the first layer off and get started.
“You never were a fan of my theatrics.”
Sethios just blinked at him, unable to move anything other than his eyes and mouth. Well, his chest worked, too, since he was breathing just fine.
Caro was in a similar state, her body frozen against his with her arms locked around his neck and her legs around his waist. It would have been comical if it weren’t so infuriating. His father could at least allow them to stand in a corporeal state, side by side, rather than glued together.
Fortunately, Caro didn’t appear to be tiring of having to hold herself against him in such a manner. If anything, she merely vibrated with fury at having the evil incarnate at her back.
Osiris heaved a dramatic sigh. “Fine. As you’ve probably learned by now, Skye is a Seraphim. Which makes her one of the Fates. Did she t
ell you why she lost her wings?”
“She refused to conform,” Sethios summarized. Technically, Ezekiel had told him, but Osiris didn’t need to know that.
“Yes. When I learned of her deflection and escape, I sought her out as a valuable asset. Now you see the gift I’ve provided by allowing you to borrow her.”
Sethios said nothing. He didn’t consider it a gift to borrow someone. However, he understood why his father would perceive it that way.
“Did she see Elizabeth’s future child?” Osiris asked.
There was no point in lying to the man since he’d been the one to ensure her genetics allowed for procreation. “Yes.”
“And she explained that if she saw the birth, then the Fates did as well?”
Sethios wondered what he was getting at, which prompted him to reply again with the truth. “Yes.”
“Excellent. You can turn corporeal now. I need your legs.” He waved a hand, an invisible band snapping and allowing Sethios to return to a wingless state.
He frowned. “Did you remove my ability to mist?” Another thought immediately followed that. “Have you hidden this ability from me through compulsion?”
His father grunted. “Misting is a useful trait. Why would I keep that from you?”
“To ground me.” Literally. Caro sent a similar thought through the bond as she slowly climbed off of Sethios and shook out her limbs.
Osiris considered the statement, then lifted a shoulder. “I suppose it is something I would do, but no. I merely threaded a command through your soul to return to me when you found your ethereal state. Skye had once predicted that it would be the same day Elizabeth went into labor. And I believe she was right.”
“She predicted I would go ethereal today?” That implied she’d voiced that prediction before Astasiya had helped free Sethios... and Skye.
“She predicts a lot of things when forced to focus on specific destinies. Obviously, your future was one I needed to know.”
