What the fuck is happening to me?

“I hate you,” she whispered. “I will kill you one day.” The vehemence in her voice shocked him, but not nearly as much as the reply that followed.

“No, young one. You won’t.”

Sethios met the gaze of his father. “What are you doing here, Dad?”

“Solving a problem,” he answered easily. “Return to the estate with Ezekiel while I handle your garbage.”

Sethios let go of the woman’s hand with a shrug. It’s not like she’d been all that remarkable. “Of course. Enjoy.”

Another pang slammed into his abdomen, causing him to flinch. Then he met the gaze of the angel beside him and blinked. For just a moment, he could swear he knew her. Then the sensation disappeared as quickly as it arose.

Strange.

He clearly needed a shower and perhaps a heavy drink.

Ezekiel stood waiting, hand outstretched, gaze shadowed.

Sethios frowned. What are you hiding, old friend?

His brain fought to solve the puzzle around him—how he ended up there, why he felt such a real connection to the strange woman beside him, why his father was here in what Sethios considered to be his favorite safe haven…

I’ve never told Osiris about this place. Or Ezekiel. Sethios planned to use it as a retreat should he need it.

His gaze caught and held the beautiful blue eyes of the blonde. Then a vision of him holding her flashed through his mind. Another vision of their lovemaking. A small blonde girl. Their daughter? A life he knew nothing about. Nor one he would ever have desired.

“You’re a Seraphim,” he realized, looking her over. “A bewitching one at that.”

“Don’t worry about her,” his father said. “I’ll handle everything. Just go with Ezekiel and wait for me.”

The hint of persuasion in his tone forced Sethios to take a step forward. He rolled his eyes. “I’m already going, Father. No need for the theatrics.”

“You know how I enjoy a good show.”

Unfortunately, Sethios did. With a final glance at the too-familiar woman, he held out his hand for Ezekiel and watched her vanish from view.

His heart vibrated with agony, causing him to lose his breath as the familiar walls of his old room appeared around him. He fell to his knees with a cry, his world unhinged.

“What’s happened?” he demanded, his voice hoarse.

“Welcome to my world” was all Ezekiel said as he stepped away.

Sethios stared after him, his body too weak to move.

His pulse raced with a sudden fear centering in his gut and radiating through his veins. It left him winded and pained, but he didn’t know the cause. Yet the face of the gorgeous Seraphim filtered through his mind, her emotions a live current inside of him.

He rocked as her terror sifted through his being, followed by a stinging to his lungs.

Fuck. He couldn’t breathe.

Water infiltrated every pore, causing him to gurgle on air.

It felt as if his room had been submerged at the bottom of the sea, yet he could see the sunlight streaming through his open windows.