Blood Seeker

by Lexi C. Foss

  Which suggested it hadn’t been Osiris at all, a thought that left Sethios decidedly uneasy.

  “…viable, yes.” The deep baritone came from a male Sethios hadn’t seen in a very long time.

  “Lucian,” he said as the blond, godlike man stepped into view. He had a charisma and power about him that made his role as leader of his people a natural expectation. Sethios had always maintained a level of respect for the man, despite their clear differences.

  “Hello, Sethios,” Lucian replied.

  Gabriel stood beside him, his expression as vacant as always. “I was bringing him up to speed.”

  “Good. Meanwhile, I’ve been causing problems inside,” Sethios admitted. “I’m rather certain Jayson wants to kill me now.” He’d welcome the challenge, if only to amuse himself for a minute. The Hydraian Elder could control metal, which was a fascinating gift to battle.

  Of course, Sethios could just use that ability to his own advantage with a few carefully worded commands.

  “Stas says she wants to go with Stark to the council. While I agree that it’s an ideal opportunity for reconnaissance, we’ve discussed an alternative plan that may work better,” Lucian said, getting straight to the point.

  This was why Sethios liked him—he never wasted time. “Does it still involve her going to the council?” he asked. “Because if it does, I’m going to veto it.”

  Issac had told him Astasiya’s thoughts on going with Gabriel to see the council. He commended her bravery; however, it was exactly what Osiris had predicted would happen and had advised against. And while Sethios typically ignored his father’s instructions, on this, they were in agreement.

  “The council wants her, just like Osiris does,” Gabriel said, stating the obvious. “I think we should apply a similar strategy. Which means I need to go alone.”

  Sethios listened as Gabriel detailed the plan, his admiration for the Seraphim growing with each passing second. Caro had once mentioned that Gabriel came from an old line of warriors. He’d assumed that meant the young Seraphim could handle himself well in battle in a physical sense, but by the end of the discussion, he realized it applied to strategy as well.

  “I had no idea you were so manipulative,” Sethios drawled.

  Gabriel merely blinked at him, then continued his plotting. “I need someone to test my current level of mortal influence. Is there an empath on the island?”

  “You want to make sure the Seraphim can’t detect any emotions in you,” Lucian translated.

  “Exactly.”

  The Hydraian King studied him. “I thought you were immune to our abilities.”

  “I am,” Gabriel confirmed. “But there are ways around it.”

  He arched a blond brow. “Enlighten me.”

  “Do you have an empath?” Gabriel countered.

  “I do. But she might not be a willing participant.”

  Gabriel stared at him. “I don’t need her to necessarily cooperate. I just need some of her blood.”

  Well, that’s interesting. “You need to imbibe her essence?” Sethios guessed.

  “Yes.” Gabriel’s tone was flat. “But not much.”

  “That’s not why she’ll be unwilling,” Lucian informed them. “The only empath on the island is currently in custody.”

  “Clara,” Gabriel said.

  “Who’s Clara?” Sethios asked, hating all these new names and associations. This would be so much easier with just a handful of acquaintances, but the Hydraians operated as a family unit. Hence, their hierarchal structure resembled more of a brotherhood than a dictatorship.

  “An Ichorian. Aidan made her. And she betrayed us all to Jonathan.” The anger in Lucian’s voice rivaled the green flames flaring in his vibrant irises. “She’s locked up in the utility hut off the beach. I suppose we could have B read the reaction from her mind, if you think that’ll be sufficient enough. But she’s not being all that forthcoming with information.”

  Sethios considered him. “Is she the reason my daughter was shot and subsequently buried alive?” Technically, Gabriel possessed some of the fault in that sequence of events. But the burial wouldn’t have been needed without the initial attack.

  “Yes,” Lucian replied. “She told Jonathan about the wedding.”

  “Then perhaps I should tag along,” he suggested. “If there’s one thing my maker taught me, it’s how to intimidate someone into cooperating.” Sethios’s reputation for cruelty spanned millennia, something they could use to their advantage now.

  Unless she failed to fear him like the immortals inside Jayson’s home.

  His lips curled down at the thought. He’d only been out of the game for twenty-five years. That was a few blinks in their overall life spans. Did they all assume he’d reformed himself while under his father’s version of house arrest?

  “Actually, that might help us,” Lucian said, his expression thoughtful. “She’s old enough to know who you are. That she placed your daughter in harm’s way should also sway her to cooperate at least a little. And you bring the added benefit of having no history with her. Which means she’ll know you won’t go easy on her.”

  “Yes, and as an empath, she’ll be able to feel my rage.” Of which he had plenty to go around. Particularly as Caro had shut him out again and he was getting really tired of not being able to feel her.

  “When do you need to report to the council?” Lucian asked.

  “Edicts are expected to be followed. They’ll anticipate my swift compliance, but I have a few hours, or perhaps days, before another messenger arrives. They may allow me more time due to the request to handle the abomination problem on my property.”

  Sethios snorted. “What happens when Issac and I grow wings? Will we still be considered abominations?” The blood bond would eventually turn both of them into Seraphim.

  Eventually, Sethios repeated to himself, annoyed. He should already have his wings, at least according to what Caro had told him twenty-five years ago.

  “It’s not a precedented situation, so I imagine the council will need to meet to declare your fates.”

  “And they haven’t already decided mine?” Sethios asked, surprised.

  “Not that I’m aware of. But as my grandmother may have been awakened without my knowledge or consultation, my expertise on the matter is likely null.”

  Always so practical and stoic.

  Sethios really thought Ezekiel would have loosened him up over the years, but the Gabriel before him was just as bland as ever.

  “Right. Shall we go chat with the empath?” Sethios suggested, needing a distraction.

  Balthazar appeared on the path in a T-shirt and shorts. “Let’s go” was all he said, leading the way without another word.

  Lucian must have communicated the plan to the mind reader. As his fellow Elder, it made sense. There were five of them who essentially led the Hydraian race. Or there were five the last time Sethios had checked.

  Lucian, Balthazar, Alik, Jedrick—who now went by Jayson—and Eli.

  Sethios considered the last one with a frown. He hadn’t seen the giant immortal anywhere. Alik had been playing sentry on the beach. Jayson was inside dealing with his pregnant wife. So where was Eli? Off with Amelia, perhaps?

  Only, hadn’t Gabriel mentioned Jonathan’s son being important to her? Sethios hadn’t bothered to ask why, his concern with the prick revolving around an entirely different matter—telling his daughter about the Arcadia.

  Rather than ponder it all damn day, Sethios asked, “Where’s Eli? I haven’t seen him yet.” And he rather liked the big brute. He could kill with a single touch. A very useful trait.

  Lucian and Balthazar stopped walking, both of them turning to study him closely.

  Sethios’s eyebrows lifted. “That’s a pair of ominous looks.”

  “Eli’s dead,” Lucian replied flatly. “Jonathan killed him.”

  The world fell silent with that announcement, Sethios’s heart skipping a beat in his chest. “Jonathan kill
ed Eli? How the fuck did that imbecile take down a Hydraian Elder?”

  “By taking advantage of our trust.”

  “Why would you trust him?” Then it dawned on him, the reason it’d been so simple for him to infiltrate their world and cause all this havoc. “Right. Aidan took him in as a stray immortal.” And as Issac’s maker, and Luc’s father, anyone else who affiliated with him would be perceived with some level of familial trust. “Fuck. I’m sorry to hear that.”

  Eli had been a formidable adversary, and Sethios respected that.

  Balthazar dipped his chin in gratitude, while Lucian just turned to continue walking.

  “What else have I missed?” Sethios wondered out loud.

  “No other deaths, if that’s what you mean,” Balthazar replied. “None that you would know, anyway.”

  “Jonathan took Amelia and experimented on her for several years,” Lucian said. “Another of his experiments is being kept in the utility hut. She and Tom are determined to rehabilitate him.”

  “And Tom is Jonathan’s son,” Sethios said, not a question but a statement. “You trust him after everything his father has done?”

  “We do,” Balthazar confirmed as they turned off the cobblestone path onto a narrow concrete walkway that would take them down to the beach. “He and Amelia killed Jonathan together.”

  “He was also instrumental in taking down the CRF,” Lucian murmured.

  “And he’s Amelia’s chosen lover,” Gabriel interjected. “She’s the reason they trust him.”

  Amelia’s dating the son of Eli’s killer? Sethios thought, whistling to himself. That’s sort of fucked up. Although, he wasn’t all that fit to judge. His relationship with Caro hadn’t exactly started with sunshine and roses. He’d negotiated her into his bed, then reneged on the deal and tried to keep her. She hadn’t been thrilled with him.

  Do you miss your knives, Caro? he asked her, amused by the memory. If you talk to me, maybe I’ll let you play with them after I find you.

  The resounding silence only made him sigh.

  I’m going to find you, angel, he promised. Then I’m going to fuck you for months, just to hear you scream. Because I can’t stand not hearing you.

  Was this how she felt when he didn’t know her? Had she tried to reach out to him, only to be ignored?

  He considered what he remembered, his lips curling downward with each revisited memory. Sethios couldn’t recall a time she’d tried to reach out. Only mental visions of her drowning and the searing pain of experiencing it with her. But even those felt less and less painful over the years, like he’d somehow numbed himself to it.

  Or perhaps it was because the visual cycle’s effects on him had declined with each repeated experience.

  If it’d all been a sequence, as Gabriel suggested, then it was falsely contrived, and the bond would more or less overpower it. Was that why he couldn’t sense her? Because she’d been truly cut off from him, and the feed the Seraphim had created to keep him temporarily occupied no longer applied?

  “We need to finish comparing the dreams,” he said, interrupting whatever Balthazar and Lucian were discussing. “We only reviewed yours.”

  “Yes, but if my theory about the council having my mother is accurate, then reviewing the dreams is null and void.”

  “Not if she’s been trying to communicate through the visions,” Sethios said. “I heard her briefly before that messenger arrived. She warned me.”

  “You’re sure it was her and not a forced vision?”

  “I could sense her, Gabriel. It was her voice in my head, not a fuzzy image.” And now she’d gone silent again. Stubborn angel.

  Gabriel considered him, then nodded. “We’ll see what level my empathy is operating at, then we’ll talk to Stas about her dreams. After that, we’ll evaluate a plan and proceed accordingly.”

  Gabriel checked his phone as he entered the bunker. Ezekiel had messaged to say that he’d arrived at an undisclosed location with Skye and Owen. Since the latter was considered an exiled Hydraian, he wasn’t exactly welcome back in Hydria yet.

  Okay, Gabriel replied.

  Then he scanned his phone for any notes from Vera. Nothing. His lips threatened to twitch, something they rarely did. She should have called by now.

  He hadn’t mentioned his suspicions yet to the others, but they grew with each passing minute. They were just too coincidental.

  Vera could manipulate memories, which made her qualified to create a mental loop of Caro’s memories. Further, Vera had access to Stas and Gabriel to influence their interpretations of those visions through dreams. She could essentially insert the images into their minds while they slept without either of them sensing the disturbance.

  However, she wouldn’t have been able to access Sethios’s mind. The fact that he hadn’t dreamt of Caro for years suggested that either the circular enchantment didn’t work on him, or the Seraphim initiating the visions hadn’t been able to infiltrate his dream state.

  The remembrance from earlier of Maine could have been sent to him from nearby, and Gabriel wouldn’t have sensed any intrusion because Vera was a welcome member on his property. His wards wouldn’t alert him to her presence.

  That she wasn’t answering his texts or showing up to present her innocence only further confirmed Gabriel’s concerns.

  He would mention them after he finished this test with the imprisoned Ichorian. He wanted Leela there for the discussion. It would exonerate her and also confirm the council’s awareness of her involvement—because Vera had likely told them.

  Loyalty among the Seraphim varied. He wouldn’t necessarily fault her if she’d betrayed them. She would have seen it as a practical course.

  Just as he would see killing her as a practical response. Or perhaps that was emotional. She’d eventually regenerate, so it wasn’t like his punishment would be final or anything.

  He slid his phone back into his pocket and followed the others along a short corridor. The Hydraians only had a handful of holding cells, all protected by solid doors. Prisoners were clearly rare on this island.

  Two females stood in the hallway, one with ash-blonde hair, the other with a mane of silky dark strands. Both Hydraians. However, the darker-haired female was newer. He recognized her as a recent fledgling, but her name escaped him.

  “Luc,” the older Hydraian said, giving him a nod. A seductive gleam entered her azure-colored eyes as she looked at Balthazar. “B.”

  The mind-reading Hydraian merely dipped his chin, his expression uncharacteristically void of emotion. He typically oozed sensuality yet seemed a bit withdrawn today. Perhaps he was dreading the task at hand. That left Gabriel wondering just what they were walking into.

  “What are you doing down here, Eliza?” Lucian demanded, his focus on the brunette.

  She visible cringed at his hostile tone. “I… I was just…”

  “You were just what?” The dark quality of his voice had the hairs along her exposed arms standing on end, yet her expression morphed from contrite to annoyed in an instant.

  “Ash was teaching me about Guardian responsibilities,” she snapped. “I’m a Hydraian now, so I need a job. I thought that might be a useful area for me.”

  Lucian snorted. “Like you have what it takes to be a Guardian.”

  Gabriel evaluated the female, curious. She had on a pair of jean shorts and a pale tank top, revealing her toned arms and athletic legs. That probably made her light on her feet. Perhaps even fast.

  “Are her powers not of a defensive or offensive nature?” he wondered out loud. Because her overall physique suggested strength, confirming her warrior potential.

  “Her power isn’t the problem,” Lucian said between his teeth. “It’s her discipline.”

  “What he means is, I won’t put up with his shit, so he thinks I’m disobedient,” she translated.

  “I see.” Gabriel wasn’t sure what else to say. Lucian’s assessment was valid—an insubordinate soldier was an unfit soldier. “Wh
ich room is Clara in?”

  He wanted to get this next part over with as soon as possible. To counteract his defensive rune, he needed to imbibe the Ichorian’s blood. It was a magical marker he’d altered on his lower back for a slightly different purpose, but it would benefit him now.

  If he imbibed from the Ichorian, she would be able to use her gift on him. And in return, he also temporarily inherited her ability. That had been the primary purpose of his rune—to be able to steal powers as required when in the field. It just came with the negative consequence of lowering his defenses momentarily as well.

  Power lurked in the blood. Everything was give-and-take. And fortunately for the Hydraians and Ichorians, this rune wasn’t one many could replicate. It was Gabriel’s bloodline on his father’s side, in addition to the marking, that facilitated the exchange.

  Sethios possessed a similar ability as the son of an original Seraphim. Unfortunately, that gift diluted with each generation, which meant Stas likely didn’t possess that ability. Gabriel would have to teach her more about the enchanted drawings later to test the theory.

  “This way,” Balthazar said, taking over. Lucian didn’t follow, his darkening gaze on Eliza. She didn’t back down, confirming the warrior spirit inside her. The female would likely prove useful once she understood the purpose of hierarchy.

  Gabriel turned away from her to follow Balthazar. Sethios joined him, his gait casual as they approached the final door at the end of the hallway.

  Balthazar sighed, shaking his head. “She’s still repeating the same words in her mind. No apologies. Just excuses. She won’t let me hear anything beyond them.”

  “Let’s see if that thought process changes upon seeing me,” Sethios suggested, stepping forward.

  Balthazar intercepted him, standing in front of the door. “Don’t hurt her. That’s not how we do things around here.”