by Lexi C. Foss
“I love the way you taste, angel,” he whispered against her slick flesh before crawling up and over her again. He entered her without warning, his thrust causing her to cry out into his mouth as he claimed her lips in a harsh kiss.
She writhed for him.
Screamed for him.
Gave him everything.
Misted with him.
It was so erotic and beautiful and was punctuated by him biting her to send her over the edge into oblivion once more. She returned his bite, her teeth sinking into his neck and forcing him to come apart deep inside her.
He growled.
She growled back.
And their coupling turned feral in an instant, their bodies overcharged and ready to make up for years of lost time.
He slammed into her. She fought him with her thighs, squeezing him, pressing her ankles into his ass to encourage him to go harder.
She gave in to the experience, allowing him to consume her every thought and breath.
His name left her mouth on a prayer, just as he echoed hers in kind.
They were utterly absorbed in one another, falling into the bliss of their temporary tranquility. Their lives had constantly been in flux, spent running and hiding and preparing. They knew how to use a down moment to their advantage, which was exactly what they did now.
She indulged him, just as he indulged her.
Until they were a panting mess of tangled limbs, their sweat enough to warrant another shower, but neither of them was fit to move.
Caro nearly laughed.
Except she couldn’t. That required too much energy.
“I think you’ve killed me.”
“It’s a beautiful way to die,” he said, just as breathless as her.
She giggled in reply, the sound oddly liberating.
He rolled onto his side to face her, the two of them sharing a pillow. They’d just ridden each other to oblivion for what felt like hours and yet was still nowhere near long enough.
His palm found her hip. “Are you laughing at me again? Because I had no idea I was so hilarious,” he deadpanned.
She kissed him, and he responded by rolling her onto her back and going to his elbows on either side of her head. Energy danced off his skin, the full weight of seraphic abilities seeming to ripple over him.
“Do you feel that?” he asked her.
“Yes. I think our intensified bond is what has strengthened your Seraphim genetics. That’s probably why you can mist now.” Which she loved. He had the most-gorgeous blue-tipped black wings. “Show me your feathers.”
He did, igniting his ethereal state with a stray thought. “This took our daughter a week to learn, but it feels natural to me.”
“Likely because your wings were suppressed, but always there. You just didn’t know how to access them until recently. While Astasiya’s needed to grow.”
“I assumed mine were growing like hers over the last twenty-five years.”
“Maybe,” she replied, thinking it through. “I’m not really sure how it works. You’re an abomination, after all.”
He snorted. “I’m your abomination.”
“You are,” she agreed, smiling. “Hmm, but I wonder if my reformation impacted your Seraphim ascension.”
“Or my father did,” he replied. “He claimed it wouldn’t have been useful to keep me grounded and unable to fly, but he’s not exactly a trustworthy source.”
“Yes.” She considered it more, then added, “However, our bond feels fuller now. Like we completed something by reuniting.”
“I sense that, too,” he whispered, pressing his lips to hers. “I feel alive.”
“Me, too.” She kissed him back, reveling in all the sensations of his touch. “I love you, Sethios.”
“I love you, too, angel.” His tongue slid into her mouth, hypnotizing her all over again with his potent touch. She sighed beneath him, content to remain there forever. But she knew they had a future to face. A dark fate. One underlined in war and violence and blood.
Her daughter was the key to it all.
She just didn’t fully understand what that meant yet.
They would figure it out together as a family. As a powerful unit. As Seraphim reborn beneath a renewed purpose.
“I think that was what the Fates had in mind,” Caro whispered, voicing her thoughts. “They wanted Astasiya to grasp humanity because they knew it would impact her decision-making. And rather than kill indiscriminately, she’ll think through each and every resolve with compassion—something the council lacks. They’re all about practical decisions, but she follows her heart.”
It was so obvious to Caro now. Her daughter had loyalty to family and friends, not a blind purpose tied to a council of ancients. Astasiya would always do what was right for those she cared about, something the council would never understand.
“She’s going to destroy them by shredding apart the system,” Caro continued. “By introducing them to emotional reasoning. They won’t know how to battle it.”
He palmed her cheek, his green eyes sparkling with understanding. “I think you might be right, angel.”
“But you think there’s more.”
“I think she’s only begun to understand her power, which is why my father wants to train her. He knows something about her abilities—or the potential of her abilities—that he’s not telling us.”
“Because he wants to use her,” Caro said.
“Yes.”
“And you think we should let him,” she added, seeing the strategy unfold in his features.
“I think we should consider it and ask Astasiya what she wants to do. It would be a risk, but it also might just give us the upper hand we’ve been missing since this all began.”
“An attempt to be one step ahead of him,” she mused.
“We could use the advantage,” he replied. “But she’ll need to agree.”
Caro nodded, concurring. However, she already knew what her little warrior would say. “She’ll take the risk.”
“I know.”
Her lips curled. “She’s a lot like me, isn’t she?”
“Very much so,” he murmured. “We made the right choice, Caro.”
“I know.”
His eyes took on a serious gleam. “I don’t regret it.”
“Neither do I.” She palmed his cheek. “She makes our sacrifices worth it.”
“She does,” he whispered, his nose gliding against hers. “She makes everything worth it. And so do you, angel. I’d suffer it all again, just for this moment.”
“Me, too,” she replied, her voice equally quiet. “Kiss me, Sethios.”
“Forever,” he vowed, taking her mouth and sealing the promise with his tongue.
Caro’s heart warmed, her soul reveling in their embrace.
She was finally home.
With her love.
Her Sethios.
For eternity.
Vera hid in the shadows just outside the coliseum, her wings folded against her back. This was her favorite place to spy because no one ever noticed her here, tucked between two pillars of decorative rock.
The security cameras were all angled away from her, thanks to Mateo’s interference. She texted him now, letting him know her position.
Roger, he sent back.
She was here for the sole purpose of listening for the council’s verdict on Elizabeth and her new daughter.
Osiris had gotten her out just in time, sequestering her to the manor he’d procured for this purpose. But that left Hydria exposed and vulnerable, which wasn’t acceptable.
Mateo had stayed behind on the island, despite his cover being blown—a disappointing development he’d overheard via his penchant for technology. Regardless, he’d remained and put the lives of all those on Hydria ahead of his own, an admirable feat and one Vera very much understood.
She frequently put her life in jeopardy.
Such as now as she awaited the verdict.
If Vera reported a pending attack, Mateo would
deliver the message to Lucian and accept the penalty of confirming his allegiance to Osiris. It would alert the others to her recent activities as well, but they were going to learn about those soon anyway.
Attacking Osiris that day had resulted in a new understanding of him—one that had given her pause.
She’d witnessed his memories of what the council had really done to him.
A vile, horrid event that had knocked the wind from her lungs and forced her to return to him a day after ensuring everyone’s safety at Gabriel’s home.
“I have to know,” she’d told him. “Let me see it again.”
He’d studied her for a long moment, his green eyes flashing with fury. “If you alter my mind again, I will add you to my collection downstairs.”
She knew what he spoke of—the immortals he kept locked away in conditions far worse than death.
But she’d taken a chance and agreed to his terms.
Then she’d relived his memory in each excruciating detail.
By the time she’d finished, she’d been on her knees in tears while he’d stood over her with a stoic expression. “Now you know.”
There was no faking a memory like that. Even now, it sent a chill down her spine. Because it’d happened inside these ancient coliseum walls.
She might not agree with his methods or his penchant for cruelty, but she respected his goal of taking down the council.
They needed to go.
And he was one of the few beings with the power to do so.
His memories had also proved his intentions in regard to Sethios and Stas. He truly saw his actions as teaching methods, as ways to empower them and strengthen their abilities. Caro was slightly different, as he’d believed her to be a weapon sent by the council. Now he understood the truth and wanted her to prosper with Sethios in a twisted, dark, horrible manner.
Yet it was the right manner. Because he knew what they would face.
Vera shook her head.
It was troubling to be inside Osiris’s mind for that long and actually understand his choices, to see the practicality behind each harsh decision, and realize his true intent wasn’t to torture or harm but to grow.
She nearly blew out a breath, her mind exhausted from the myriad of tasks she’d performed over the last few days. But this one was too important for her to fail, which was why she stayed utterly still, waiting for the council to disperse.
They were quiet inside, just the bare minimum of rumbling, which meant they hadn’t argued much.
That could mean anything.
The council wanted the Hydraians destroyed and could easily agree to take that path right now, under the guise of wishing to find and annihilate Elizabeth.
Or they’d unanimously decided it wasn’t time yet—which had been their ongoing decision for millennia. Until the Hydraians posed a significant threat, they’d leave them alone and hope Osiris would come to his senses.
That was the party line, anyway.
Vera understood the truth now. Just as she knew that Osiris would never “come to his senses.” Not after what they’d done to him.
Shuffling started, the sound echoing around her. She pressed herself more firmly into the stone siding, waiting in her ethereal form. If someone happened to see her—which they wouldn’t—she’d be able to mist to a safe location in seconds.
But no one ever looked back at the coliseum. It served no practical purpose. Just as they didn’t anticipate eavesdroppers lurking about, because all the Seraphim believed in serving the council, not questioning them.
It was a perfect society of silent compliance.
Except for the few—like her—who saw through the inhumane treatment.
Murmurs touched the air, words flowing between councilmen and councilwomen as they walked and misted out of the infamous theater-like structure.
A few voiced irrelevant comments.
She ignored them, waiting for the signs of an edict being issued.
When Adriel appeared, her spine stiffened. A pair of warrior Seraphim immediately flew down to meet him.
Leek and Kital.
The former was Adriel’s oldest son—a Seraphim Gabriel had bested in a fight three decades ago. The other, Kital, was within his line, but a much younger generation and not as highly ranked as Leek.
“An abomination and her offspring have been taken to a warded complex in The Bahamas. We need you to retrieve them.”
Vera’s eyes widened. How do they know?
“The coordinates aren’t clear, but three of the Fates were able to pinpoint it to a general location. I recommend you take Patreel and Arvane with you. They’re two of our best trackers.”
“Of course, Councilman. Are we to bring the abominations back alive or dead?”
“Alive is preferred, as we would like to run a few tests, but if they prove difficult, then corpses are accepted.”
“Consider it done,” Leek replied.
Adriel nodded, then looked up to the sky. “You’re dismissed.”
The two warriors misted without a word.
No other comments or edicts were delivered, confirming Hydria was safe for now. However, Elizabeth and her child were in serious danger.
Vera texted a summary to Mateo, then she headed to the Caribbean to deliver the bad news.
Fortunately, several of them had experience in hiding those they cared about.
This situation would be no different.
An incoming message buzzed her phone as she landed in the sand outside the manor, the number belonging to Osiris. I’ll take care of the warrior Seraphim to buy you some time.
She blinked at his words just as a second message vibrated through from the same number.
I suggest you move them to Iceland. Skye and Ezekiel will help protect them.
She agreed with a nod, then started her journey inside, all the while preparing herself for a complex conversation about truths and lies.
Some promises were meant to be broken.
Others were made to bend.
But she was about to shatter them all.
And would likely pay the ultimate price.
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The Immortal Curse Series Continues with Wicked Bonds
Curious about what happened when Gabriel confronted Clara about his “emotional enhancements”? Find out in Blood Burden, a free bonus scene available to newsletter subscribers. If you would like to see additional bonus scenes, let me know and I’ll release more (there are several in my head!).
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Have you joined the Immortal Curse Discussion Group yet? If not, click here for fun, behind-the-scenes details and conversations on this series.
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Looking for more vampires? Check out my Blood Alliance series for a darker world where lycans and vampires make the rules… But be warned, these alphas bite.
Continue the Immortal Curse journey with Balthazar and Leela in Wicked Bonds…
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Welcome to the Immortal Curse world where angels and vampires exist in secret… for now.
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A passionate affair of sizzling heat.
Forgotten and buried.
Because what happens in Brazil stays in Brazil.
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That was the plan, anyway. Until Balthazar started to remember everything. Now he’s forcing Leela to pay the ultimate price—by making her beg.
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Every hot touch ignites her soul. Every smoldering glance makes her thighs clench. And worse, there’s no escaping him.
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They’re on the run from a horde of warrior angels, protecting an innocent from a fate worse than death.
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The High Council of Seraph has issued an edict.
Comply or die.
Only the faithful will survive.
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Wicked Bonds
Music Playlist
Blood Seeker
Addicted, Saving Abel
Carry Me, Euriell
e
Hard for Me, Michele Morrone
Hate Me, Eurielle
Here We Stand, Hidden Citizens
Hold Your Breath, Ruelle
Is This The End (feat. Young Summer & Sam Tinnesz), Hidden Citizens
Out of the Fire, Digital Daggers
Sacrifice, Mars Lasar
State of Seduction, Digital Daggers
Strange Young World, Ranya & Hiden Citizens
The Razor’s Edge (Piano Version), Digital Daggers
Too Far Gone (feat. Svrcina), Hidden Citizens
Until It Hurts, Fransisca Hall
We Hit a Wall, Chelsea Wolfe
Whispers, Eurielle
You Said, Eurielle
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author Lexi C. Foss is a writer lost in the IT world. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and their furry children. When not writing, she’s busy crossing items off her travel bucket list. Many of the places she’s visited can be seen in her writing, including the mythical world of Hydria, which is based on Hydra in the Greek islands. She’s quirky, consumes way too much coffee, and loves to swim.
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Lexi also likes to hang out with readers on Facebook in her exclusive readers group - Foss’s Night Owls.
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Oh, and don’t forget to check out B’s Blog for exclusive Hydria updates (if you’re into that kind of thing).
Where To Find Lexi:
www.LexiCFoss.com
Also by Lexi C. Foss