Free The Binding Stone (The Djinn Series) by Lisa Gail Green Page B

forth like springs.
    “You
don’t know that, Soph,” he says quietly.
    She
looks at me, but I shake my head, begging her not to reveal my presence.
“Hmph,” is her only response.
    The
truth stings, and I find myself wondering if I should have let Mira fulfill her
purpose. I would be free. Free of masters who always manage to disappoint me.
    “You’re
here to see Daddy,” Sophie is saying.
    “Yes.”
Jered sets her down on the gleaming hardwood floor of the entryway.
    “He’s
sleeping. Come in and have breakfast, then when he gets up he’ll see you.” She
starts toward the kitchen, but Jered lays a hand on her shoulder.
    “I’m
thinking I should wake him, Soph.”
    “Oh
no. Don’t do that, please.” She sounds truly frightened.
    “Why
not?” Jered squats to meet her eyes.
    “If
you wake him, he’s mean. Like it isn’t even him. But if you let him get up on
his own, he’s much nicer.”
    “I’ll
take your advice then,” Jered says. We follow her down the hall and past a
sweeping staircase with a curved balustrade worthy of my last master’s mansion.
Sophie doesn’t even bother a glance. She simply continues skipping toward the
enormous dining table to the left.
    I
take in the gourmet kitchen along with Jered. Marble counters, expensive
appliances. Fine crystal and china in pristine lines behind the glass cabinet
fronts. Copper pots and pans hang from the ceiling decoratively. I doubt
they’ve ever been used.
    Sophie
doesn’t notice Jered’s expression of surprise. She bounds over to the cabinets
and fridge to arrange two bowls of sugary cereal.
    Jered
ruffles her hair affectionately, and I see him focus on his magic until he
appears clean and well kept in nice khakis and a polo shirt. Impressing his
father matters enough for him to resort to magic.
    “Omigod,
there’s a burglar! Call 911.” A girl of about twelve is standing at the foot of
the stairs, golden hair sticking up in all directions, fuzzy purple slippers on
her feet.
    “Relax,
Mandy. It’s just Jered,” Sophie says.
    “Just
’cause he told you his name, doesn’t mean he isn’t some kind of perv or
something.”
    “Wait,
did you say ‘Jered’?” A boy of about fifteen has joined the girl. “He’s our
brother, Mand. Right, Sophie?”
    Jered
approaches the two siblings and holds out his hand in greeting. The boy takes
it gingerly, then becomes more enthusiastic with each shake, a grin breaking
over his face.
    “I’m
Chris. This is Amanda, and you’ve already met Sophie.”
    “What’s
going on down here?”
    It
appears the mother has joined the party. I see now where the golden hair and
ice-blue eyes have come from. She’s a petite woman, but, judging by the
expression on her face, I doubt she lets anyone intimidate her. “Jered?” Her
mouth drops open.
    “You
know me?”
    “What
are you...does your mother know you’re here?”
    “She’s
in the hospital,” Jered says, turning away to collect himself. “I had to come.
I have to talk to my dad.”
    “Well,
you can’t. You can’t just come waltzing in to my house, unannounced at all
hours of the morning demanding to see people.”
    “It’s
all right, darling.” I follow Jered’s gaze to the man on the stairs above, and
I gasp. How could I have missed it last night? Because his eyes were closed, I
realize. And because he was only an aura surrounded by a blanket in the dark.
    Achan.
    But
how? How is this possible? I am so stunned by his appearance, I hardly notice
his hand glow on his wife’s shoulder. The glassy look in her eye.
    “Yes,
of course it is. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Kids! Time to get ready for
school. Come on, now. Your father and Jered have to talk.”
    Sophie
throws herself into Jered’s arms for one last hug before bounding off after her
siblings. But his eyes are only for his father. The man who betrayed me over a
thousand years ago. It has to be a coincidence. It couldn’t possibly be him. A
descendant,