Page 114 of Wicked Bonds

Fragile…

His lips brushed hers, drawing her back to the moment, giving her mind a temporary reprieve from the chilling kiss of her past.

Or was it her present?

Dian haunted her past, present, and future.

The Fates had predicted a child. It was only a matter ofwhen.

“It already happened,” Balthazar whispered. “That’s what Patreel is trying to tell you.”

She blinked. “Wh-what?”

“You denied Dian,” he told her. “You denied the council.”

“For him,” Patreel added before she could speak. “You bit Balthazar to ignite the bond, thereby soiling your bloodline. Dian ordered your reformation. I was the one who tracked you down and took you in.”

Her heart stopped beating. “No…”

“They altered your memories and removed Balthazar from your mind entirely.” Patreel spoke as though she hadn’t denied his statement. “It was Dian’s suggestion. He told the council it was the only way to ensure your reformation succeeded. Except it didn’t. You’ve returned to Balthazar multiple times since then, undergone two more rounds of reformation, had countless memories altered, and still, you find him.”

Her vision blurred as the veracity of his statement vibrated through her soul.

Balthazar continued to hold her, his eyes holding a touch of understanding, as though his soul felt the same shift of knowledge, that reverberation of truth telling them this wasn’t a lie, but very real.

All their moments.

The visceral sense of déjà vu.

“This was the first time you had his memory of you altered of your own volition, which showed promise. At least in the eyes of the council,” Patreel went on. “But when I caught your blood on that cloth, I knew it went deeper than that. However, Vera stopped me before I could do something about it.”

“How?” Balthazar asked, the question rolling through Leela’s mind as well. “What did she do that made you stop?”

“She told me the truth about reformation,” Patreel replied. “The origin story. How it came to be. And… and that truth has me questioning everything I know. Including this. Including everything I’ve done. I’ve tracked Leela so many times. And if I catch her now, she’ll go through reformation again. But what will it change? She’s proven to be utterly broken.”

“She’s not broken,” Balthazar retorted, a hint of darkness in his tone. “If anything is shattered in her, it’s a result of that torture you callreformation. There is nothing wrong with emotions. They make us superior, not inferior.”

Patreel didn’t reply.

He probably didn’t see much point in arguing about emotions. He would consider it a frivolous discussion unworthy of his time.

“She always goes back to you,” Patreel said as though thoughtful. “Yet your memories were altered, too.”

By Mel, Leela thought, frowning. “And Vera didn’t know?”

“Very few people know about this,” Patreel replied. “That’s the case with all reformation assignments. Key members of the High Council of Seraph are aware of the details, but the general population has no idea. It’s how they re-assimilate members back into society. Otherwise, they would be outcasts.”

“And they wipe the memories of those closest to them,” Balthazar said.

“From what little I know, yes,” Patreel admitted. “Leela is my primary case. But I’m not the only tracker.”

No. There was an army of them.Are they all assigned to cases like mine?she wondered.Is that why the Fates often suggest procreation within that line?

“Did they alter Vera’s memories?” Balthazar asked. “Of Leela, I mean.”

“Her mother manipulated some, yes. Just enough to keep the truth of Leela’s reformation from her.”

“Yet she discovered it from you,” Balthazar replied.