Page 6
Story: The Sin Binder's Descent
He rolls to his feet with theatrical flair, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder. “Rude.”
“You're fighting like you're stalling.”
He grins, but there’s something under it. A flicker of sharpness in his gaze. “Maybe I am.”
“Branwen watching?”
He shrugs. Doesn’t answer. Which tells meeverything.
She is.
And he’s trying not to hurt me.
Just like I’m trying not to make him bleed.
We’re both trapped. Fighting not because we want to—but because the bond pulls me like a marionette. Except Silas? Hefakesit. Hides the pain behind the jokes. Drowns the resentment in theatrics and flirtation. But I see it. I know it’s there. The way his jaw clenches too tight after every lunge. The way his hands shake, just a little, when he resets.
And I know what that means.
He’s burning through too many powers at once.
Too much envy. Too many stolen things that were never meant to fit inside him.
He’s falling apart.
And smiling while he does it.
He spins. Not just once. All versions of him—twirl in unison like they choreographed the move during a blackout drunk séance. Barrel rolls. Actual barrel rolls. Across the scorched ground, through smoke and scattered ash, each Silas commits to the bit like we’re in a combat ballet directed by a madman.
When he lands—graceful as a cat, blades raised like he stuck the damn landing at the Olympics—he shoots me a look so smug it should be illegal.
“Well?” he calls out, winded but grinning. “Scale of one to badass, how cool did that look? Be honest.”
He’s not askingme.
Not really.
His eyes flick to the right—subtle, fast—but I know who he’s performing for.
Luna.
She stands too far to hear him clearly, but that never stopped Silas from trying. The clones mirror him, all facing the same direction now, all puffed up with pride and glittering mischief, and gods help me—
Ismile.
It hurts. It hurts in a way I’m not ready for.
Like something deep in my chest has been frozen for too long and is finally cracking under heat it doesn’t know how to handle. My face pulls with it, this soft, unwilling expression I didn’t give permission for. A curl of amusement. A flicker of affection. Something ancient and sharp and unspeakablyfond.
Because gods, I missed him.
I missed this.
His chaos. His irreverence. His inability to take anything seriously—even now, when the world’s unraveling and our hands are slick with magic and blood. I missed the way he moves like gravity is optional. The way he talks through pain, through exhaustion, through every rule we’ve ever been told not to break.
Even now—especiallynow—he performs.
For Luna.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6 (Reading here)
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189
- Page 190
- Page 191
- Page 192