of the emotion, her mind constantly lost to the troubles of the future and unable to remain in the present for long enough periods to feel.
Vera misted into the small dining nook of the kitchen, her eyes narrowed. “Thanks for the directions.”
Ezekiel lifted a shoulder. “Gotta keep you on your game, Seraphim.”
“And if I hadn’t been able to grab that memory fast enough, you would have, what, left me to freeze in the middle of Iceland?”
“Southern Iceland,” he corrected, pulling a beer out of the fridge to toss to her. “And I’m sure you would have found a warmer place to wait for further instructions.”
“Are we still in Iceland?” Sethios wondered out loud. He owned a home here that he hadn’t visited in quite some time. Actually, he possessed several properties. Or used to, anyway. He’d have to look into them later to see what sort of conditions they were in or if they even still existed.
“Yeah, Northern Iceland. I just had to make sure you weren’t being followed by anyone.” Ezekiel opened a cupboard to pull out some sugar and set it on the counter beside the mugs Skye had arranged. She had little tea bags in each, her focus on the water she poured into them.
Sethios frowned as he counted them all—eight cups. Ezekiel, Skye, Vera, me, Caro, Gabriel… “Who else are we expecting?”
“Oh! That reminds me,” Skye replied, moving to the oven to catch the dial right before the timer sounded. She slid on a pair of gloves to pull a pepperoni pizza from the oven. “No one touch that. It’s for Jacque.”
Sethios and Vera shared a look while Ezekiel disappeared without a word.
“Jacque’s in Hydria,” Vera said.
“Is he?” Skye blinked big blue eyes up at the ceiling, then she cocked her head to the side as though listening for something. After a beat, she shook her head. “He’ll be here shortly.”
Sethios shrugged. The woman could see the future. Who was he to argue with her expectation?
“I need to prepare your room,” Skye went on to say, glancing from Sethios to the clock. “And later, I’ll draw Caro a bath.” She left them staring after her from the kitchen.
He arched a brow at Vera after the dark-haired seer disappeared from view. “Why will Caro need a bath?”
“She’s not bathed in several years because of her reformation status, but the Seraphim keep the pods relatively clean. Perhaps Caro and Gabriel had to battle their way out?”
Are you okay? he asked his angel.
She didn’t reply, causing his heart to skip a beat. Caro?
Nothing.
A demand lined up in his mind just as a commotion came from the living room. A familiar scream had him running toward the source, only to come up short at the sight before him.
Not only was she naked, but she also had one of Ezekiel’s knives in her hand—one he recognized because of the trademark handle.
“Angel?” he asked softly, confused by why she had the blade pointed at his best friend.
“You betrayed us!” she accused, only seeing Ezekiel.
Ezekiel had both his palms up in the air in a placating manner. “Darlin’, I did exactly what we planned.”
“That wasn’t the plan. None of this was the plan!” she shouted back at him, making Sethios’s eyebrows draw farther downward.
What do you mean, angel? he asked her mentally.
But she ignored him. Just like she refused to look at him now.
Gabriel materialized beside her, his shirt torn and decorated in bloodstains that matched his red feathers. They disappeared as he turned corporeal, his focus falling on Caro. “She grabbed Ezekiel’s knife mid-transport.”
“Of course she did,” Sethios replied, both impressed and completely baffled as to why she’d done it. He took a step toward her, only to freeze as she hissed over her shoulder at him. “Caro, it’s me.”
“Lies,” she said, her blue eyes wild with fury. “It’s all lies!”
“What the hell happened?” Sethios demanded.
“Yeah, I’d like to know that, too,” Ezekiel added as he took a step away from Caro. She growled at him in response, causing him to freeze.
At least she seemed physically fit. Every part of her was just as he remembered her—toned legs and arms, flat stomach, beautiful tits, supple waist, long blonde hair to the middle of her back, and a face crafted by God himself.
He wanted to hold her, to kiss her, to tell her how much he’d missed her.
But she seemed completely oblivious to him. As though he meant nothing to her. Like she’d forgotten every key part of their bond.