influenced by them. That was why Osiris’s abominations were resurrected with enhanced talents—it all came from the bloodlines.
Gabriel’s pocket buzzed as he landed just outside the massive coliseum dedicated to the council. Turn left, then right, the message read.
Of course Vera would choose now to finally reply to him. She likely knew about his summons and had anticipated him arriving just outside the coliseum’s entrance.
He narrowed his gaze in irritation, then remembered his surroundings and blanked his expression. This empathy shit was going to be a problem. The last and only time he’d inherited a power in this manner, it’d taken several hours to wear off.
Damn it.
Stowing his phone, he followed the directions Vera had just sent him and found her waiting outside a cafe with her vibrant navy wings fluttering around her. Her eyes were bluish green in this form, but they shifted to a glimmering silver as she turned corporeal.
It was an uncommon trait among the Seraphim. Gabriel’s irises remained light green no matter his form. Leela’s remained turquoise during her transition. Stas’s stayed green. I wonder what pigment—
He blinked, forcing the thoughts of colors from his mind. It was entirely irrelevant and unimportant to the situation at hand. Fuck, next he’d probably start analyzing all the possible plume hues.
Gabriel nearly rolled his eyes, then realized that wasn’t helpful either.
Enough.
“Are you here to confess?” he asked, his voice flat and void of emotion just like it should be.
She snorted. “Not exactly.” She pressed a petite palm to his cheek, and energy flared between them.
He tried to step back to avoid the impact, but it was too late. A series of memories unfurled inside his head, each one a new explanation that left him gasping out loud.
“Remove them. It’s the only way,” Gabriel said, his voice void of emotion. Yet he felt the ache in his heart, the pain of having to make this choice.
She’s better off, he promised himself. At least she isn’t drowning.
However, as the memory began to change, Gabriel wondered if they’d made a mistake. What if he found out via other means? Would he break all his oaths to rescue her?
“The loop will help,” Vera promised. “I’ll do what I can to regulate it for you all.”
“I know you will,” Gabriel replied. “Do what you need to do. Make me forget.”
The council had found Caro hours after Osiris had left her at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. They’d saved her only to put her in a different sort of cage, one where they would do their best to reform her.
But her ties to Sethios could never truly be broken.
Even a hundred years in that reformation chamber wouldn’t be enough to destroy their bond.
He’d bring her back.
He’d have to. There was no other alternative.
As the memory of his mother’s captivity slid from his mind, another came to him, the one of Vera delivering the news of the council retrieving Caro from her water prison.
A debate had followed. To save her now could dismantle everything they were working toward, not just in regard to Osiris but also in safeguarding Astasiya. She was too young and therefore susceptible to their influence. If the Seraphim found her now, everything Sethios and Caro had given up would have been for nothing.
No, they had to let this play out. Reformation wouldn’t hurt. It would just put Caro in a state of limbo, her mind constantly monitored for any and all signs of emotion. Another Seraphim would be there to bring her back, to reprogram her under the mentality of her true purpose—to live a life of practicality.
She’d grown up in that environment. Then Sethios had changed everything. He would just have to do that again.
“It was the best way,” Vera whispered now, drawing Gabriel back to her.
Next, she showed him the memory of altering Leela’s mind as well, removing the knowledge of what the council had done, while adding in little changes that protected her from discovery.
No one knew they were searching for Caro.
Vera had orchestrated everything, morphing the loop within his mother’s mind to ensure the regular blasts went unnoticed.
“But she keeps undoing them,” Vera muttered, stirring Gabriel from his thoughts. “Your mother is a lot more powerful than she realizes. She continues to access that back door because she sees it as a connection to her bonds. I have to shove her out every time so the others don’t notice what I’ve done.”
“Why are you showing me this now?” Gabriel asked, his voice a rasp of sound from