Page 46 of Soulbound
"Of course, I suppose it seems easier to run away," she added. "No demon to contend with. No sign of your mother, or her murderous cronies. No more torturous lessons with Bishop. And not to mention your wife...."
"I'm not running away. And this has nothing to do with the demon, or my mother, or my wife."
"Does Cleo know you're leaving?"
"No."
"You would leave her in a bit of a quandary."
"If I left now, I could offer her an annulment. This marriage was only ever one in name. She would have the chance to remarry, and to create a family of her own." "And if you don't leave now?" Verity asked quietly.
Then it would be too late. The taste of Cleo's mouth had haunted him all night. "If I don't leave, I doubt I'll be able to offer her an annulment." Not on the grounds of nonconsummation anyway.
"Last night bothered you," she murmured, tucking her hand through his arm as if he'd offered, and settling into a stroll. "I could see it on your face when Gray kissed her."
"I don't have the right to feel that way."
"Some could say you have all the right."
"I can't give her what she needs," he countered.
"Have you ever asked her what she needs?"
To be loved. He rubbed at his mouth. "Verity...."
"All I ever wanted was a family, and a home, and perhaps a husband who cared for me," Verity said. "I never believed it would be possible. I was the best thief in the Dials. But I had nothing—no family, really—beyond the girl I was raised with. Who could have loved me—a girl who lied, and stole, and knew little more than how to watch her back? I owed the Crows money for the roof over my head, and the food they put on my table. And no matter how much I stole, I could never pay back that debt. There was always something to add to it." She looked up. "I know what it feels like to be trapped, Sebastian. And then your brother walked into my life, and told me I was owed more. I deserved to be loved, and treated with respect. I deserved the right to learn my magic. I deserved my freedom. And he took me away and offered me his heart, and suddenly I have everything I ever wanted." She took a deep breath. "But the transition was hard. It took me a long time to realize I could trust him, and my first instinct is always to watch my back. He's patient enough with me, but he doesn't understand you, or what you're going through."
She looked at him, her green eyes shining. She did, he realized.
"Give yourself time," she murmured. "You have a family here, if you could only open your eyes to it. And I've seen you with your wife. Your first instinct is always to protect her, did you realize?"
"How do I protect her from me?" He breathed the words. "She had a Vision—"
"I know." Verity patted his hand. "London's doom."
"Me," he said hoarsely. "She sees me in the middle of a hexagram, and the skies tear open above me, and I bring death and destruction to London. It's not the demon you should be worried about."
"She sees you, and she sees destruction, and it's somehow linked. It doesn't mean you're the cause of it."
"Is that what Bishop thinks too?" He'd seen the look on his brother's face whenever Cleo mentioned her particular Vision.
Verity hesitated. "One thing at a time. Let's deal with the tangible. The demon. Your mother. The enemies we can see. Cleo sees a lot of things, but she's only just learning to dream-walk. Now she's claiming this black queen is the true threat. Maybe you're not the one who causes the destruction? Maybe you're the key to stopping it? We don't truly know what is going to happen."
He looked away. "Can we take that chance? If I'm not here, then perhaps the Vision doesn't come true."
"If you're not here, what happens to all of us if it does come true? What happens to Cleo?" Verity asked quietly.
His mouth twisted. "I haven't even decided if I'm going yet. It was just a whim."
"But you have a ticket...."
"I.... Yes."
"And an annulment doesn't happen overnight."
"Verity," he said, more of a warning than anything else.
"When do you leave?"
