by Lexi C. Foss
“Yes,” Issac confirmed, unwilling to back down. “And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
Sethios studied him in silence, his expression giving nothing away. Then, after a beat, he dipped his chin. “Good. Make sure it stays that way.”
Caro giggled, causing Sethios to narrow his gaze at her. But the look lacked heat, unlike when he’d scrutinized Issac.
“Are you laughing at me again, angel?”
“Yes,” she said, her eyes filled with tears from her reunion with Aya. She released her daughter just enough to hold out an arm. “Join us.”
Sethios didn’t hesitate, moving toward them and wrapping them both in his embrace. So many Ichorians believed this male lacked a heart, that he was just as cryptic and cruel as his maker. But in that moment, Issac witnessed the truth.
This man absolutely had a heart.
But it didn’t belong to him.
It belonged to Aya and Caro.
They were his world, which made him just as dangerous as everyone claimed. Because if anyone ever touched either of those two females, he’d destroy them.
Issac understood then why his response to Osiris had mattered so much to Sethios. They’d just become allies. Two men caught up in the love of the women who made them whole, and would do anything to protect them, even take on the most powerful being in existence without blinking.
Sethios met his gaze then, his chin dipping once more in a gesture of respect—one Issac returned.
Aya meant everything to him.
He would do whatever was needed to protect her.
Even if it meant sacrificing himself.
Which was exactly what her parents had done all those years ago. They’d given up everything for her safety. And now they were together once more, a family reunited.
Take your time with them, love, Issac whispered into Aya’s mind. I’ll update you on Elizabeth’s progress.
Thank you, she murmured back to him.
Always, Aya, he vowed, speaking their special version of love, the one only they seemed to understand.
Always, she replied, the single word a kiss to his mind.
He smiled and ventured inside to find Balthazar and Leela for an update.
It didn’t take him long to locate them, Elizabeth’s screams a beacon that led him directly to the second floor. One look inside the room confirmed Issac’s future.
He and Aya were never having kids. Ever.
A bellow from the house had Sethios pulling away from Caro and Astasiya, the hairs along his neck rising. “What the hell was that?”
Caro responded by grabbing his hand, her opposite arm still around their daughter, and misting them inside the room where Elizabeth lay still on the bed.
Jayson raged beside her, his eyes wild as he demanded they revive her.
“This is normal,” Leela was saying.
“How the fuck is this normal?!” Jayson demanded, gesturing at the unconscious redhead. “Her heart isn’t beating!”
Right. This was actually something Sethios could help with. “Caro died several times during childbirth. She’s fine.”
Caro nodded. “Yes. I survived. It’s just the power exchange.”
Jayson looked at them as though they were insane. Even Issac appeared alarmed.
Balthazar was the only one—aside from Leela—who seemed to accept the explanation. He merely bent over Elizabeth to check her vitals, then shrugged as her heartbeat began again. “What do we need to do?” he asked, looking at Leela.
“I need you to calm Jay down so he can help her bond with the child,” she said.
Balthazar nodded, his focus falling on the still-raging Elder.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” Jayson said.
But Balthazar was already using his gift for emotions, the power flaring to life around them and almost instantly calming Jayson.
Sethios had never seen Balthazar use his talent before, other than the constant mind-reading. Emotional manipulation was a powerful tool, something that could be catastrophic in the wrong hands.
“Lizzie needs you,” he said softly. “She needs to perform a power exchange with your daughter. Lie in the bed and hold her through it while remaining calm and lending her your strength.”
“I could have used you about twenty-five years ago,” Sethios remarked.
“You handled it mostly well,” Leela commented.
“A compliment?” Sethios smiled at her. “Thanks, Lee.”
“I said ‘mostly,’ ” she replied.
Elizabeth came back to life on a scream that made everyone flinch. Jayson’s crazed expression began to return, but Balthazar quickly pulled him back, telling him again to get into the bed and hold the girl.
“I’m never having kids,” Astasiya said out loud.
“My thoughts exactly,” Issac agreed.
I’m considering that a win, Sethios spoke into Caro’s mind. I’m not ready to be a grandfather.
You weren’t ready to be a father, either, she reminded him softly.
I’m still not ready, he muttered back to her. But the idea of my child having a child? Fuck, Caro. No. She’s still seven in my head.
Caro’s amusement touched his thoughts. Then hopefully she doesn’t have my genetics, because I defied all the odds by having two children in a single century. That’s absolutely not the norm but may run in my bloodline.
She uttered the words in that practical way of hers, the statements all underlined in realism. Which made them one hundred percent worse because she was right.
Shit. We need to talk to her about birth control. A conversation he couldn’t imagine ever having with his daughter. Actually, can I just kill Issac instead? That’ll be much easier, and far more enjoyable.
You can’t kill him. He loves her.
Then I’ll just castrate him. Problem solved. And still more enjoyable than a conversation about protection.
Caro giggled again, a sound he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed until he heard it today. It was almost enough to make him forget she was laughing at him. Almost.
This isn’t funny.
It’s very funny, she corrected. And there’s no such thing as birth control for a Seraphim. But if it really worries you, we can ask Leela about Astasiya’s fertility. She would be able to sense it.
She said it wouldn’t happen for another five hundred years, he grumbled.
She’s probably right. Unless she inherits my procreation cycle.
Sethios groaned. Stop saying that.
Just informing you of the obvious.
I don’t want to think about it.
You’re the one who started this discussion in my head, she murmured.
You were supposed to let me kill him, he argued.
Caro turned and pressed a palm to Sethios’s chest, her blue eyes sparkling with mirth. You don’t want to kill him. You like him.
I do not.
You do. She lifted onto her toes to press a kiss to his lips. He showed his loyalty in front of Osiris. I felt your response to that. He reminded you of yourself.
This bond is troubling, he replied, not really meaning it at all. I can’t keep anything from you.
I could go back to the reformation chamber, she offered. If you—
He wrapped his palm around the back of her neck and yanked her flush against him. “Don’t even think about it.”
She smiled. “Then tell me how you really feel.”
“I’d rather show you.”
“Could you not, though?” his daughter asked, her voice a squeak beside them. “I... I don’t think I want to see that.”
Elizabeth screamed again before he could reply, sending both Balthazar and Leela into action. “Baby’s coming,” Leela said.
“I’m ready,” Balthazar replied.
She gestured to Jayson with her chin. “Keep him focused.”
“I am,” the mind reader confirmed, his palm on the other man’s shoulder.
“I’ll be in the hall,” Astasiya said, g
rabbing Issac by the arm to drag him with her. “We are never doing that.”
“Please make that a demand,” Issac murmured.
If she does, will it keep them from sleeping together? Sethios wondered.
“You’re incorrigible,” Caro whispered to him, lifting up to nip his lower lip. “But let’s join them. I’ve already lived through this twice. I don’t fancy watching it. And I’d like a proper introduction to my son-in-law.” She frowned then. “That’s the right term, yes?”
“I think we should just call him Issac. Son-in-law is weird.”
She nodded slowly. “Yes. I like that more.”
“He will, too,” Balthazar said, intruding on what should have been a private conversation. But as they were only a few feet away from the bed, Sethios supposed it was fair game to interfere.
He wrapped his arm around Caro’s shoulders and led her into the hallway toward their pale-faced daughter. Issac’s palms cupped her cheeks, his voice low as he said, “She’ll be fine, Aya. She’s strong. You know she’s strong.”
“But she’s not a pure-blooded Seraphim. What if this kills her?”
“We’ll find a way to bring her back,” Issac promised her. “However, I don’t think it’ll be necessary. She’s a survivor.”
“I agree. She’ll be fine,” Sethios said. They would all make sure of it. “I’m more concerned about Skye foreseeing her birth and the council’s response to it. We can’t keep her here indefinitely. Not with Osiris holding the master key.”
“We also need to discuss the Fates,” Caro added. “And how we believe they’re working against the council.”
Sethios nodded. “The High Council of Seraph has always believed the prophecy is in regard to you taking down Osiris and his abominations. But we think that’s their arrogance talking, and the Fates just never corrected their interpretation.”
He went on to tell her about Skye being a Seraphim, how they’d removed her wings, and why they’d done it.
Caro continued the conversation by detailing her realization that the Fates had predicted certain things to give them the upper hand. Such as her being born with a dormant healing ability that came to life when she needed it most. How the Fates had probably helped conceal their locations, perhaps by not predicting the rune on Astasiya’s lower back.
“It’s all theoretical, but Skye’s commentary suggests we’re on the right path,” Sethios concluded. “Which means Osiris might be right about us working with him.”
“So you believe the council is worse than he is,” Astasiya summarized.
“I think there are all matters of evil in this world and that sometimes we have to align with our enemies to take down the larger of threats,” Sethios replied.
“That will require the Hydraians to work with the Ichorians,” Issac said. He’d moved to Astasiya’s side, his arm wrapped loosely around her lower back. It was a gesture that seemed to claim her for all to see—her father included.
Another sign of his confidence and power. Sethios could make the man heel with a simple command, but he suspected Issac would fight back with the full force of his abilities. And Astasiya would help him.
Caro was right.
He couldn’t kill Issac.
But he wouldn’t admit to liking him either.
“My father encouraged a war between you all to test your strengths and remove the weak bloodlines,” Sethios said. “He never admitted that to me out loud, but I know that was his intention. He’s been preparing for this battle with the Seraphim for millennia. He’s obsessed with it.”
“While I can understand the theory, he’s also instilled significant distrust throughout his supposed army.” Issac’s sapphire gaze blazed with intelligence. “The Hydraians will never stand side by side with the Ichorians who attempted to slaughter them. Just as the Ichorians have been bred to hate their offspring for being more powerful and immune to the blood-drinking requirements.”
“Give them a common enemy, and they might fight,” Caro said. “The Seraphim want to destroy all of them. It doesn’t matter if they’re Ichorians or Hydraians; to the council, they’re all abominations that need to be destroyed.”
“How do we fight an army that can’t die?” Astasiya asked. “Even if the Ichorians and Hydraians work together, it’ll be moot if the Seraphim will just survive.”
“I think that’s where you come in, love,” Issac murmured. “The prophecy.”
“An unknown power is surfacing. She will possess the strength and will to destroy us all unless certain measures are put in place to curb her inclinations.” Caro spoke the infamous words softly, reiterating them for all to hear. They’d never heard it from Skye’s mouth but had it repeated back to them from Gabriel years ago. The prophecy had been forever ingrained in their minds and hearts.
“The measures we put in place were to ensure you valued humanity. But that doesn’t mean the power inside you suffered. It just suggests you’ll use it appropriately.” Which, Sethios assumed, now meant she would direct her talents at the appropriate enemy, not the wrong one.
Of course, that required them to determine whom they were destined to fight—Osiris and his minions, or the Seraphim.
“You believe Astasiya has the power to destroy a Seraphim,” Issac said, his British accent more pronounced with the weight of that statement.
“Yes.” Sethios looked at his daughter. “You’re a descendant of the Seraphim of Resurrection, which means you can control and design life, as you already know. Caro descends from a line of messengers with healing and concealment abilities. We’re not sure how those markers have combined inside you, but the Fates ensured your creation for a reason.”
Caro nodded. “I’ve always believed the council sent me to Osiris with that edict because they knew I would meet Sethios and thereby bring you into existence. They just misunderstood your purpose.”
“This all works on the belief that the Fates are no longer aligned with the council,” Sethios added. “So it’s just a theory. But it’s a theory that feels right.”
“Yes,” Caro agreed. “It does.”
Astasiya blew out a breath, her body leaning heavily into Issac as he held her with ease. “This is a lot to take in.” Her voice held a touch of exhaustion in it.
None of them had slept much over the last however many days. All the traveling had really warped his sense of date and time, not that it mattered. They were on the brink of a supernatural war.
“If this happens, our existence will become known to the humans,” Issac said. “And with the CRF destroyed, new military agencies will be created to fill that void. Because it’s safe to assume that at least some government officials are already aware of us through Jonathan’s former contacts. Which means the mortals need to be factored into this equation. They’re volatile and have a penchant for acting preemptively.”
Approval radiated through the bond from Caro. I do like him, she mentally informed Sethios.
Yeah, yeah, he muttered back at her.
He felt her smile, but her lips didn’t actually move until she started speaking. “The Seraphim have always viewed humans as a glorified experiment. They descend from our family lines—that’s why those of you who have been reborn via Osiris’s influence have unique abilities. They all tie back to the Seraphim familial lines.”
Astasiya’s blonde brows rose. “So humans are descendants of angels?”
“Not exactly.” Caro fell into a contemplative silence for a moment before elaborating. “They evolved over millennia of natural cycles on Earth, but the Seraphim assisted in that evolution. I’m not sure of the full history, as that’s not my specialty; I also wasn’t alive then. But I know the ancients helped in some capacity via the bloodlines.”
“That’s not what I was taught in school,” Astasiya replied.
Caro blanched. “They teach about Seraphim in schools?” She looked at Sethios. “They know of our existence now?”
“I believe our daughter was being sarcastic,” Sethios
replied.
Caro blinked. “Oh. Yes. Right.” She shook her head. “Sarcasm isn’t… my forte.”
Sethios kissed the side of her head and pulled her into a half hug. “Seraphim don’t understand humor.” Or pleasure, he added into her mind.
She elbowed him. I’ve grown into my emotions. Her mental voice held a lethal undertone to it.
You have, he agreed, his thoughts warm as he pondered all the emotions she’d exuded earlier. Do you still have Ezekiel’s knife?
You mean my knife? Yes. Yes, I do.
Good, he murmured back to her. We’ll need that later. Then, out loud, he said, “I agree with Issac’s assessment that the humans will soon be involved. It’s inevitable. And they will add an unpredictable angle to the war. A lot of them will also die.” A crude assessment, but true.
“Is there any way to avoid it?” Astasiya appeared even more exhausted now than she had moments ago. “A war, I mean. Do we have to fight the Seraphim?”
He lifted his shoulder. “It remains to be seen. We’re not even sure they’re the ones we should fight.”
“Skye said they would want to kill Elizabeth, but they didn’t attack Hydria,” Issac pointed out. “Perhaps because Osiris got to her first. However, it’s all speculation at this point.”
“I agree,” Sethios replied. “We need to get over the hurdle in the other room and figure out how to help Elizabeth hide from both my father and the Seraphim. After that, we can focus on the potential fight ahead.”
“And Osiris’s request to train me,” Astasiya added gruffly. “I’ve not particularly enjoyed his version of training so far. Pretty sure I’m not interested in learning more from him.”
Sethios snorted. “Trust me, I understand that better than anyone you’ll ever meet.” He’d spent thousands of years beneath his father’s tutelage. While many of his trials were practical in nature, none of them were easy or favorable to endure.
“We should—”
A cry of agony from the bedroom interrupted Caro’s words and had them all turning toward the door. Astasiya was the first to move, the sound coming from her best friend.