This cycle fed into a link somewhere. And that connection was her key to survival.
She had to warn them.
Before it was too late.
“Osiris released Skye from his compulsion as a gift?” Astasiya looked as incredulous as she sounded. “For me?”
Sethios dipped his chin in confirmation. “Gabriel convinced him that you required a sign of good faith in order to consider working with him.”
“I will never work with him,” she replied immediately.
“Obviously,” Gabriel said from the recliner chair in his great room. He had his eyes closed and one ankle crossed over his opposite knee, the picture of ease. The rising sun outside indicated the very early hour, confirming yet another sleepless night for all of them.
“Osiris doesn’t know you or your resolve,” Sethios added when the Seraphim in the chair remained stoic and silent. “Your brother played on that because, I believe, he wanted Osiris to provide us with your mother’s current location. But he gave us Skye instead.”
“So he thinks by undoing one evil thing, I’ll forgive him?”
“My father is a master strategist. Therefore, I suspect he also removed his compulsion for a self-serving reason.” Something that his comment regarding it being a practical course had indicated. “He stated we needed her more than he did, suggesting he intends for her to deliver some sort of prophecy that will likely put us right in his path.”
Astasiya visibly shivered. “No, thank you.”
Issac wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him on the couch. It was such a natural move, one she accepted with trust and an open heart. While the thought of her having a mate irked Sethios to no end, every moment in their presence indicated the strength of their connection.
Rather than comment on it—or break Issac’s arm—Sethios took the chair across from Gabriel, leaving the lovebirds on the couch. “Have you heard from Leela yet?”
“No.”
“That’s troubling.”
Gabriel lifted a shoulder, his version of disagreeing, apparently. “According to Owen, she’s with Jayson, Balthazar, and Elizabeth.”
“And where’s Vera?” Sethios pressed.
“That one is more troubling,” Gabriel murmured, finally opening his eyes. “My alert goes to her as well, and she’s neither here nor in Hydria.”
Sethios considered that. While they’d charged Leela with monitoring the council, Vera possessed the same insight.
“You mentioned when you returned that it’s possible Caro’s mother—Astasiya’s grandmother—might have found her.” Issac glanced first at Sethios, then at Gabriel. “How are Leela and Vera related?”
“Leela was supposed to monitor the council’s decisions,” Sethios replied. “It was her job to warn Gabriel of any sign that they’d chosen to awaken Caro’s mother.”
“Awaken?” Astasiya repeated.
Right. She was probably not aware of the Seraphim penchant for taking century-long naps. Sethios hadn’t known about it either until Caro had explained it all to him. “How much do you know about the Seraphim?” he asked, curious as to where they needed to start this discussion. “Are you aware of their political structure?”
“We haven’t reached that part of her education yet,” Gabriel put in.
“Yes, because someone spent the last eighteen years of my life fucking with my head,” she shot right back.
Gabriel rolled his eyes, an action that would have entertained Sethios on a normal day.
Alas, today was not a normal day.
So he ignored the show of annoyance and focused on his daughter instead. “The High Council of Seraph is the governing body of the Seraphim. They issue edicts and rely heavily on the Fates to guide them in those decisions. That’s actually how your mother and I met—she was sent to deliver an edict to Osiris.”
His lips threatened to curl at the memory of that night. He’d seen her pretty blue wings glowing from across the Arcadia nightclub and sauntered over for a chat. She’d been the opposite of amused by his interest. Then he’d persuaded her to remain silent and still when his father had approached—an act that had saved her life—and she’d threatened to kill him soon after.
It’d been lust at first sight for Sethios.
