Blood Seeker (Immortal Curse #7) - Lexi C. Foss Page 0,42

required a blood vow from him, he would reject it. So instead, he said, “I would discuss the appropriate alignment of my fealty at that time, yes.”

He suspected it would stay with his sister. But that all depended on the future events—events the council was hiding and trying to manipulate.

Was that why they punished Skye? Because she refused to assimilate to their protocols? Did Ezekiel know of her true heritage?

The questions pelted his thoughts while the Seraphim around him fell completely silent, their inquiries seeming complete.

That was how these trials always went—quick and efficient. They’d gathered the majority of their evidence before calling him here. This part of the discussion had merely been about what truths he was willing to reveal.

His father glanced around once, then nodded with finality. “As there are no other clarifications, the council will convene on a proper course. You are temporarily dismissed, Gabriel. We will call you back when we have our final edict.”

“Thank you, Adriel,” Gabriel replied, using his father’s given name as a sign of respect to the family line. He bowed deeply, then took his leave, aware that this might be the last afternoon he was permitted to roam inside the Seraphim city walls.

He glanced around.

Then shrugged.

He’d rather spend the time packing up his minimal belongings because it seemed Hydria was about to inherit a new seraphic resident.

His wings flickered to life around him just as an alarm flared about a hundred yards to his right. Seraphim took to the sky in a flurry, their defensive training igniting in an effort to protect the council.

Only, the threat wasn’t outside the gates.

But inside.

In the form of a naked, blue-winged Seraphim with furious blue eyes.

Gabriel relaxed his plumes and arched a brow. “Mother,” he greeted. “Would you like to borrow my shirt?”

“Take me to Sethios.” Her voice was a rasp of sound, confirming she’d only recently awoken. And given her bloody state, he suspected it wasn’t with the council’s permission.

Rather than question her, he held out his hand.

It seemed he wouldn’t be packing after all.

And Hydria wasn’t going to gain one seraphic resident, but two.

A Few Minutes Earlier

Talk to me, angel, Sethios said, his mental tone holding a touch of concern. It was a warranted reaction, considering the fiery essence standing in the doorway.

My creator is here, Caro whispered to him. When did the council wake her?

She searched her own mind for the answer but came up blank. The last however many years or decades blurred together in a sea of sunshine and nothingness.

Because the council had put her in a rehabilitation pod.

A part of her had always known that would happen, yet she couldn’t identify where the sense came from. Some memory, perhaps, that failed to form. Not surprising, given her current situation. Seraphim were notorious for wiping the mind during the reformation process.

It was a miracle she remembered Sethios.

Or, at least, certain things about him.

Such as the fact that they were bonded.

Other aspects were fuzzy. Hopefully, they would clear in time.

We’ll make new memories, angel, he promised.

Her thoughts must have gone to him via their connection. Rather than try to turn it off, she held on to that link while looking at the woman who had birthed her.

The winged Seraphim blinked back at her and then stepped into the room in her corporeal form, her white dress dancing around her knees. “It isn’t time for you to wake yet,” she informed flatly. “I’ll fix it.”

Caro said nothing.

“Fixing it” required opening the container, which meant all she had to do was wait. And the calmer she appeared, the better. She would need the element of surprise for this to work. Mostly because she wasn’t yet sure how strong she would be after all this, and her mother out-aged her by a few millennia.

But Chanara wouldn’t expect her to react. It was entirely impractical to fight the conditioning process.

Unfortunately for her mother, Caro wasn’t feeling all that practical at the moment.

She wanted out of this hell.

To escape.

To fly.

To feel.

Goose bumps pebbled down her arms and legs, her limbs tingling with the anticipation of having a purpose. She’d lain here to the point of atrophy, her mind nearly reprogrammed to forget her entire existence.

Parts of it still glimmered in the shadows—dark specks on her otherwise white conscious. But it was enough to pull her focus, to force her into action. Because something existed outside these walls that she cared about.

Sethios.

I’m here.

I know, she breathed, her heart skipping a beat. She could see him in her