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But right now, right in this moment, his confidence is a fragile, breakable thing. And I’m going to shatter it.
I tilt my head back against the stone, let my mouth curl into something slow, something vicious. “You really should have killed me when you had the chance.”
Severin raises a brow, unimpressed. “Should I have?”
I hum, letting the chains bite into my wrists as I stretch against them. The magic burns, but I barely feel it. “Mmm. Because now you don’t just have to worry about us coming for you.” I pause, dragging out the next words, letting them settle like poison. “You have to worry about her.”
Severin’s expression doesn’t change. But I’ve been around long enough to know him. I catch the slight shift in his stance, the subtle tightening of his jaw.
“Her?” he repeats, bored.
I grin. “The one who’s going to bind you.”
A slow silence unspools between us.
Then Severin laughs. I let him. Because he won’t be laughing for long.
“There hasn’t been a Sin-Binder for the Sub-Sins in the last thousand years,” he drawls, rolling his shoulders. “You expect me to believe another one has miraculously appeared?”
I shrug. “Believe whatever you want.”
His silver gaze sharpens. “If such a thing existed, I’d already know.”
“Would you?” I cock my head, my smirk widening. “Because she knows exactly where to find you.” I lower my voice, letting the words slip out slowly, like I’m savoring them. “And she’s coming, Severin. For you. For all of you.”
A flicker of something flashes through his eyes. Doubt. Not much. Not enough. But just enough to feed on. I push deeper.
“What’s it going to feel like?” I muse. “When she binds you? When you’re leashed again, reduced to nothing more than a weapon for someone else to wield?”
Severin’s sneer is instant. “No one commands me.”
I chuckle. “You sure? Because from where I’m standing,” I rattle the chains for effect, grinning up at him, “You already look pretty fucking controlled.”
His eyes darken.
The temperature shifts.
I lean in, voice dropping to a whisper. “What’s it going to feel like, Severin?” I murmur, a blade hidden in the softness. “Having a girl control you?”
For the first time since I’ve been in this damned place, Severin looks furious.