Page 111 of Soulbound

"Did you say something to her?"

"I didn't have to." Cleo shook her head. "Verity's been, ah, giving me tips on how to seduce you for weeks. She knew."

Tips? He stared at her. It wasn't as though it should surprise him, as Verity was quite free with her affections whenever she thought she and Bishop were alone. "I don't think I want to know."

Cleo cleared her throat. "I might be able to change your mind on that later."

He definitely didn't want to know. Not now. Not with an entire day ahead of them, and the need to focus.

He glanced at the door, draining the last mouthful of tea from his cup. "Ready?" Then he added, "That's why we need to keep these conversations private. Don't breathe a word of what you told me last night. Not to anyone. Especially not Verity."

He thought she looked a little sad. "What's wrong?"

Cleo shook her head and pushed away from the table. "Nothing. I just.... I hate lying to my friends."

So did he, but when it came to keeping Cleo safe, he'd do anything.

* * *

"Where are we really going?" Cleo asked breathlessly as she hurried down the back stairs of Bishop's small townhouse onto the street. They'd waited almost fifteen minutes to make sure Bishop and Verity weren't likely to return, before slipping out the back door when cook's back was turned.

"I've been thinking about what Morgana said the other day when we stole the Blade of Altarrh back from her."

"I think it best to ignore almost everything that leaves that woman's mouth," Cleo muttered. "She's the most horrible woman I've ever met."

"You're the one who didn't want me to kill her."

"For your sake, not hers," she pointed out.

Sebastian strode ahead of her, lifting a hand to hail a hansom cab. A pair of glossy black geldings trotted toward them, and he helped her up into the carriage, leaning out to give an address to the driver. As he closed the door, he settled on the seat next to her. "She said Lady Beaumont was working for her."

Cleo's chin jerked up in surprise. "Julia Camden?"

His gaze slid to the window as the hack started moving, the clip-clop of horses’ hooves ringing on the cobbles. "Yes. Considering Morgana doesn't seem to have much to say to Bishop, I thought Lady Beaumont might be more inclined to speak."

"And you didn't tell Bishop?"

"I can handle Julia. And if she is working for the demon, then she might know the true identity of the black queen. I just want to make sure she knows nothing before I turn her over to Bishop," he said, his gaze meeting hers.

Cleo wished he didn't sound quite so cold. "Are you certain you're up to that?"

"I have you by my side."

"Little help I may be when it comes to confronting dangerous enemies."

"No, you're here as my conscience." Sebastian's hand settled on her knee, and he let go of a small breath. "And you're more of a help than you might think. You did singlehandedly bring my mother to her knees."

"And Madrigal Brown warned me I wasn't to future-walk anytime soon."

"When have you ever listened to reason?" he teased.

"I listen to reason all the time," she scoffed, but she folded her hands in her lap. She could feel his gaze upon her face, and knew he'd picked up on her small deception. Cleo sighed. "All these new abilities I'm discovering.... What if.... What if they were from the demon that sired me?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Perhaps I shouldn't use them."

"The demon that used your father's body as a vessel when he sired you."

"Semantics," she said, arching a brow at him. "Tremayne's seed, the demon's stain."

Sebastian turned a cool brow upon her. "You said you thought all your Divination gifts were inherited from the demon and you've been using them all of your life without any dubious side effects. I doubt there's anything to worry about with your new gifts."