“She discovered the truth after trying to contort my recollection of what happened in the Bahamas,” Patreel confirmed. “The cloth she used with your blood immediately conflicted with my sensory memory, and my mind rejected the manipulation.”
“And she sent you to me,” Leela whispered.
“Not quite. She took me to Osiris first, to learn the truth about reformation. To prove to me that everything I’ve ever been told about the purpose and source of it has been a lie.”
Balthazar released her chin as she glanced up at Patreel. He stood beside them in corporeal form wearing jeans and a sweater. The picture of angelic innocence. Except for the ancient flare of knowledge in his eyes.
“What did he tell you?” she asked, her voice low.
“Osiris created reformation.” Patreel’s jaw hardened. “That’s why the council exiled him. Not for making it, but to remove his ability to control it. Because they wanted the power for themselves. To controlusby removing emotion and feeling from the world, thereby forcing us to fall in line.”
“They’ve turned you into powerful puppets,” Balthazar replied.
“Essentially, yes. With only a handful of Seraphim in true control.” Patreel’s golden-brown irises darkened. “And Dian is one of them.”
Chapter22
Vera
“Leela first metBalthazar in current-day Bulgaria at the brothel he’d grown up in.” Vera paced the length of Balthazar’s living room while Stas, Issac, and Luc listened.
She’d intended to tell Gabriel this first, but Osiris had caught her upon entering and suggested she go to Stas and Issac. She’d been too exhausted to question his directions.
Then Issac had insisted on Luc joining them for this history discussion.
She’d expected the Hydraian King to want his fellow Elders present, but he’d merely sat down and waved for her to start talking.
So she had.
First telling them about Patreel and how he’d been assigned to Leela for her first reformation—a fact she’d learned when her memory manipulation had failed.
She’d continued into a discussion on how she’d subdued him and taken him to Osiris. Which led to Luc asking why.
“Let me tell you about Balthazar and Leela first. Then I’ll explain everything you want to know about Osiris,” she’d said. “Well, everything I can, anyway.”
Luc had agreed with a nod.
And so her tale began at the brothel.
She didn’t know much about what had happened, at least not the full details, but she knew enough to explain the events at a high level.
“Leela had been assigned there to learn more about her fertility gifts,” she explained. “It was meant to empower her and help coax her into her own cycle. The Fates had predicted a procreation match between Leela and Dian.”
Vera swallowed, the name not one she wanted to mention in conversation. The lethal Seraphim’s intimidating aura was well known among her kind.
“He’s the Seraphim of Death and Destruction,” she added. “His powers are essentially the opposite of Osiris. Where Osiris resurrects, Dian kills.”
“Even Seraphim?” Stas asked.
“As far as I know, that theory has never been tested.” That wasn’t to say it hadn’t been. And that thought scared her even more. “He’s as old as Osiris. Sits on the High Council of Seraph. And he has no progeny or any other members within his line. Because Leela denied him.”
No. It was worse than that.
“She also tainted her bloodline,” Vera continued. “Which served as an even larger rejection, not just to Dian but to the entire council. She defied a direct edict and broke decorum.”
Luc stared at her. “How exactly did she taint her bloodline?”
“Leela bit Balthazar.” Vera gave them a moment to absorb the shock, as it’d certainly been a huge surprise to her.
