Page 88 of Soulbound

Taking a small knife, she cut her finger and dipped the crystal in her blood, before turning to the map. And then she hesitated.

What if there was a child out there who shared her blood? There was a hollow feeling in her chest. She almost didn't want to know.

A sister?

Imagine the hallways of her childhood then, filled with laughter instead of silence. Imagine being able to curl up in bed together, knowing their father cared little for them, but at least they had each other.

If the child survived, then why had her father sent her away? To be raised as this... this black queen?

"Blood reaches blood," she whispered, opening herself to her power. "Show me the blood."

Setting the crystal swinging over the map, she closed her eyes and felt for any answering tug. Sweat dripped from her upper lip as the minutes ticked by. Cleo finally opened her eyes.

Not in London.

She rifled through Bishop's desk, coming up with a map of the British Empire. A droplet of blood slid from her nose, but she dashed it away and turned back to the crystal. She needed to know.

But there was no sign of anyone sharing her blood in London. No one in the entire Empire. Cleo finally let the crystal spin to a halt.

Nothing.

It made no sense.

Unless the child truly hadn't survived childbirth.

* * *

"Do you remember the runes your mother used for your illusion watch?" Bishop asked, as Sebastian sat down for breakfast the next day.

"I can do better." He reached inside his waistcoat pocket and produced the bloody thing, sliding it across the table toward Bishop.

"What is that?" Lady E demanded, peering at it over the top of her teacup. "It makes me feel wretchedly queasy."

Bishop examined it. "Morgana etched the watch with illusion runes. When Sebastian wound it, the watch changed his appearance in the eyes of all who saw him."

"It's been broken for years," he said, seeing where this was going. Surely Bishop wasn't that desperate?

Last night reared up in his mind. The camaraderie they'd shared for a few brief minutes had evaporated when Bishop pronounced Drake's fate if they failed.

It made Sebastian uncomfortable. The only thing they shared was blood, but his brother loved Drake. It was clear in every plane of his face when the man's name was brought up. Killing him would destroy something inside Bishop, and while he might have wished all manner of curses upon the bastard, that... that was a line he didn't think he wanted Bishop to cross.

Bishop snatched the watch up in his palm. "Then it's a good thing I have a certain knack for restoring spell-crafted mechanisms—or creating them."

"You're going to fix it." Lady E's eyes narrowed. "And you think to use it against Morgana and the demon?"

"Why not?" Bishop suggested. "Perhaps we can use it to spy, or get close to them before they know it."

She turned and settled that beady gaze upon Sebastian. "Did your mother ever not recognize you when you wore the watch?"

"No."

"Is your mother the greatest Mistress of Illusions the Order has ever seen?"

He almost enjoyed ganging up on Bishop. It chased away the last of his moody thoughts. "As far as I know. She made me believe I'd destroyed the Blade of Altarrh, when all I bloody melted into slag was a kitchen knife."

"Adrian," Lady E raised her voice, "do you have any gifts of Illusion at all?"

Bishop laced his arms together over his chest and scowled at her. "I'm an assassin, Agatha. The answer is yes, though I'm not Morgana. And I wasn't planning on sending Sebastian in wearing a disguise. I was planning on sending myself in."