Page 96 of Soulbound

They bolted out of the cellar, through the kitchen, and straight into chaos. Black smoke clung thickly in the air, and Cleo bumped into Sebastian as he stopped abruptly. Neither of them could see a damned thing.

"Didn't think of that," Sebastian muttered, groping for her hand in the dark.

She coughed as the thick smoke filled her lungs, and his hand came to rest between her shoulder blades, pushing her low where the air was clearer.

"We just need to find a window or a door."

"Not a door," he called. "It's her first rule. If we were ever under attack, then she locked down the house wards. The second we open a door she'll know where we are."

Cleo couldn't stop coughing. "I'm fairly sure... she's going to know anyway."

Wind stirred through the air, sending the black smoke roiling. Sebastian stumbled through a doorway, and they found themselves in the main entrance, where the air was considerably clearer.

A swish of red skirts appeared on the main staircase, the last remnants of Bishop's smoke globes thinning to mere threads in the air as Morgana stirred wind through the house.

It was a shock to suddenly see her, face-to-face, and Cleo squeezed Sebastian's hand.

Morgana froze on the stairs, the rings on her fingers glittering where she rested her hand on the bannister as she and Sebastian finally faced each other again.

"Hello, Mother," he said, in a voice practically dripping with ice.

A hammer strike of Vision suddenly slammed through Cleo's head. Blood. Everywhere. An explosion of red light; a mage globe. Then she was blinking past it, trying to suck in the air to breathe. Bang. Bang. Bang. Little Vision vignettes struck her, one after the other. Morgana screaming. Sebastian's hands closed over her throat, his eyes black with pure rage. The walls trembling. Parts of the ceiling ripping away as he lost himself to his power.

Expression. Always dangerous. Always uncontrollable. This was why it was considered illegal, and all practitioners either forced to learn to harness their will and control their powers, or be executed.

She came back to the world huddled against the nearest wall. There was an icepick in her brain. She could barely breathe. Premonition screamed through her, leaving her virtually crippled.

It was the first time the full force of her Visions had stirred since her father took her blindfold. Instead of relief, she wanted to vomit.

"Fancy seeing you in here, Sebastian," Morgana drawled, advancing down the staircase, her skirts trailing sinuously over each step. Green eyes flickered toward Cleo. "And your precious little wife. I have a bone to pick with her."

Morgana's smile could only be considered menacing.

He stepped between them, blocking Cleo's view. Frost crackled up the walls, but he was still in control of himself. For now.

"Sebastian," Cleo rasped. "No."

They needed to get out of there, before her Vision came true.

"We have the Blade," he said. "And you're not going to manipulate me today."

"Aren't I?"

The carpets crunched with little particles of ice as Sebastian took another step toward his mother. "No."

"Look at you," Morgana drawled, pausing on the stairs. "Almost reined in. It's quite impressive."

"Perhaps it's time we finally had that little discussion I've been promising all these years," he threatened.

"I can hardly wait." Morgana lashed out, power lancing like a dart toward him—

Cleo screamed, but a bubble of iridescent power shimmered around him, and his mother's attack skittered harmlessly aside, sheering through the wall.

Sebastian advanced upon her, hands clenched at his sides. For the first time, something else flickered in Morgana's eyes. Fear.

"You've been learning," Morgana chided, clucking under her tongue. "Who was fool enough to teach you how to ward?"

"My brother."