Page 112 of Soulbound
Gifts? "You're not the one dreaming about playing chess with a demon," she muttered, trying to ignore the chill in her chest at the thought. She'd always thought her Foresight a gift, but what if it was something far more sinister?
His hand squeezed her knee. "We'll get the answers. I promise. There's no point worrying about it in the meantime."
Cleo slid her fingers into his hand. It was easy for him to say. He wasn't tainted by a demon's blood.
"I've spent most of my life being told I was a monster," Sebastian said, squeezing her hand. "If there's anyone who knows how you feel right now, it's probably me."
Her heart broke a little. He'd spent years with no one at his side to assuage his fears. She could do this for a week or two.
"Be brave," he said, bringing her hand to his lips to press a soft kiss there.
"I'll be your conscience," Cleo whispered, "if you'll be my courage."
"Deal."
* * *
Lady Beaumont lived in Knightsbridge, not far from Bishop's home. Cleo rested her head against Sebastian's shoulder as they travelled in silence, trying not to think grim thoughts. She could stay there forever, she thought, with his arm around her and the soft thud of his heartbeat echoing near her ear, but all too soon they were pulling up, and the hack driver called out, "Whoa there, lads."
And how long was forever, anyway?
They disembarked from the carriage, and Cleo stared up at the mansion while Sebastian paid the driver. Breath steamed hot from the horses’ nostrils as they nickered, and Cleo wrapped her arms around herself until she grew used to the morning's chill. Choking clouds of soot stained the murky morning, and someone had left the gaslights burning faintly in this section of town, an extravagance she didn't expect to see elsewhere, except perhaps Mayfair.
Lady Beaumont certainly held a posh appointment. Sharp little spears of wrought iron circled the property, and one could barely see past the lush foliage and the hedge of sharply pruned conifers. The house loomed out of the greenery, its shutters peering back like beady little eyes.
Behind her, reins slapped on the horses’ rumps, and then the hack was moving off with the heavy jingle of tack and the rush of its wheels on the cobbles. Sebastian appeared in the corner of her eye, staring coldly up at the mansion as if he saw more than just a house.
"I'm never certain what inspires people to mount those horrid structures on their roofs," she murmured.
He followed her line of sight. "Gargoyles?"
"They're considerably eerie."
The coldness in his mind dissolved, and the faintest of smiles etched his lush mouth. "Every sorcerer has to have at least one. Isn't it written in the Order's handbook?"
"There's a handbook?" She bantered with him as they strolled along the street arm in arm, pretending there was naught amiss.
"How do you intend to go about this?" she murmured, pausing by the end of the fence. "A frontal assault? Or are we going to break in and tie Lady Beaumont to a chair?"
"Breaking in and scaring the devil out of her is tempting, but she'll have wards in place." Taking the look away cloak out of the small bag he carried, he shook it out and swung it over her shoulders. "Julia hinted she'd like to continue our acquaintance at the ball."
"Acquaintance? Is that what they're calling it these days?"
His mouth twisted a little, and she felt the sharp stab of unease slide through him. It was so different now with the bond unshielded. All those minute quirks of his expression suddenly made sense.
"Fine, she wants to fuck me," he said, a little coldly.
It wasn't a coldness meant to warn her off, she realized, but a means to protect himself. Whenever his emotions were severely compromised, he shut down, until only ice remained.
"When hell freezes over. You're mine," she said. "And if she lays one finger on you, then I will give her hell, regardless of whether Madrigal thinks I ought to future-walk or not."
His expression remained cool, but something unknotted within him. "She's not going to touch me. I just need her to open the door."
"I'll stay here then," she said.
* * *
Cleo waited just inside the gate in Lady Beaumont's gardens as her husband knocked on the door. Minutes ticked past. What was taking so long? Peering around a ruthlessly pruned satyr, she caught Sebastian's eye.
