He thought of the new fight against the Brethren they were about to take on. He thought of the ledger that had given them the locale of the nearby Brethren meeting place. And he thought about the attack they were planning. Thinking of that brought him back to this room yesterday, and Noa. Gabriel stared at the desk and the empty seats before it and recalled where everyone had sat. His eyes drifted to the table of liquor. He remembered how Noa had followed him there to pour drinks, and how she’d taken him in her hold and thanked him for the housekeeper’s house.
Goosebumps broke out on his arms as he replayed her holding him. And not in a good or comforting way. Gabriel had always had strong instincts. He had always known that something was wrong with Michael; something inside had screamed at him that his brother was different, that his soul was tainted with darkness. So, from a young age, Gabriel had done all he could to keep Michael from hurting others, tried to distract him from his infatuation with blood, with death and, worse, with draining others of their blood. He never could—the wickedness in his younger brother was too strong even for someone of Gabriel’s moral strength to defeat.
And when he had met his other brothers in Purgatory, the hairs on the back of his neck had told him that that same darkness lived inside them too. The same darkness that polluted Michael’s soul. That hell-born unknown substance that made good people sin and peaceful people commit horrific acts in its name.
Gabriel hadn’t felt that sensation around someone for so long … not until the Coven had walked into their lives and Noa had stepped to the front of the pack, her brown eyes shielding a part of herself that she wanted to keep hidden. The warning gooseflesh on his arms had spread like wildfire over his body during that first meeting in the graveyard. Gabriel stilled. His gut had never failed him when it came to his family, to sensing the sinful nature of someone’s corrupted soul.
He recalled the Fallen and Coven’s breakfast, and the strange way Noa and Diel had become locked in one another’s stares, as if the rest of the world didn’t exist. Bara had goaded Noa, as his redheaded brother often liked to do when bored, and Diel had reached such a high level of anger so quickly that his collar had hissed at Bara like a viper. Gabriel hadn’t been able to tell if they were attracted to one another or they wanted to rip each other apart.
Then there was Noa’s confession of how she had killed—unlike her sisters, bar the one who wasn’t with them anymore. Noa had killed, just like Gabriel’s brothers did, and as she’d spoken, there was zero remorse on her face, in her voice. He squeezed his eyes shut and remembered Noa’s peculiar and sudden embrace once again. His heart started racing, panic building in his chest.
Gabriel shot to his feet, chest tight, veins filling with dread. Ignoring the excruciating pain in his thigh and side, he burst from the study and raced up to his rooms. He ran straight to his closet and the black pants he had worn yesterday. He plunged his hand into the pocket. Then he exhaled slowly through his nose—the key and remote that controlled Diel’s collar weren’t there.
“No,” he whispered aloud to no one but himself and God. His heart slammed against his ribs and his hands began to shake. He turned, searching the clean and clear floor, chasing the slight possibility that they had fallen out. But he became lost to the memory of Noa’s embrace …
She took them.
Gabriel knew deep down in his heart that Noa had taken them. Dinah had briefly told him of how the Coven had taken money from the Brethren to fund their makeshift home for the rescued children. She had touched upon what each of the Coven’s roles was. Noa was the thief.
A master one at that.
And she planned to set Diel free.
Fear, true and stark, jetted like petroleum through Gabriel’s body, and he ran for Diel’s room. He sprinted down hallway after hallway until he reached his brother’s quarters. He didn’t even knock; he just turned the knob and burst into Diel’s rooms. He searched inside every room—bathroom, bedroom, closet—only stopping dead at the foot of the bed when Diel wasn’t anywhere to be found. His bed was still made. It hadn’t been slept in last night. His curtains hadn’t been closed.
Gabriel looked out the large window that overlooked the grounds. The sun was rising, swathing the manicured lawn with a golden morning kiss. Checking his watch, he saw the time and knew his brothers would be gathering at the gym, preparing for their first training session with the Coven.