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"I theorized," he corrected primly. "There's a difference."

"It’s true then," I interrupted, my head spinning. "I’m actually the seventh Deadly Sin?"

"The missing piece," Gluttony said solemnly. "Wrath died half a century ago. It seems the essence of Wrath was hidden within your bloodline, waiting."

"Waiting for what?" I asked, feeling cold despite the warmth of the room.

"For an unjust death," Sloth said quietly, his eyes meeting mine with understanding. "For resurrection."

“The line was in you all along, dormant, until Xavier murdered you,” Gluttony explained.

"When you returned from death," Pride added, "it wasn’t enough in itself. Today, when you faced your killer, Wrath finally awakened. You broke the seal."

I looked down at my hands, remembering the golden light that had poured from them. The impossible strength. The righteous anger that had felt so foreign yet so familiar.

"That's why you feel drawn to us," Lust said softly, his earlier teasing replaced by something deeper. "Why you've been able to see our true forms from the beginning. You're one of us. Family."

"But I don't feel like a...a cosmic force of sin," I protested weakly.

"You must simply embrace it,” Gluttony encouraged me, “and further your relationships with the other sins.”

"You have other talents too. Your witch talents are extraordinary,” Pride added.

Lust nodded, his lips curving into a knowing smile. "That bottle of fear you extracted from yourself? Quite the talent. Most impressive."

"I call it emotional alchemy," I explained, the term coming naturally to my lips.

The Sins exchanged looks of surprise and interest.

Gluttony leaned forward, suddenly concerned. "You extracted emotion from yourself? That's extremely dangerous.”

"Reckless," Sloth added with a frown.

"I know it was risky," I snapped, frustration flaring. "I'm not a child. I'm thirty-five, for god's sake. I did what I had to do to cope with what happened to me."

Lust raised an eyebrow, looking pleased at my outburst while the others seemed taken aback by my flash of temper. At least someone was on my side. I’m not going to sit here and let another person dictate what I do again.

"Emotional alchemy," Gluttony repeated, changing the subject tactfully. "An apt name for a rare and powerful art."

"Most practitioners of traditional alchemy spend decades trying to achieve even basic transmutation. It's not a talent that any witch has ever mastered," Pride said, studying me with new interest. "Yet you've intuitively mastered the emotional variant. It makes perfect sense for Wrath, being such an emotionally driven sin."

"I just did it instinctively," I admitted, my tone softening. "It felt...natural."

"Yet another sign of your true nature," Envy said, his voice tinged with admiration and, well, envy.

"So what happens now?" I asked, looking around at them, these immortal beings who claimed me as their own. "Do I just...stop being human?"

"No," Sloth said with unexpected gentleness. "You don't lose yourself; you expand. Become more."

"Either way, we are here for you." Gluttony said. "We shall help you understand and control your abilities. And strengthen the bonds between us."

Me, a Deadly Sin? It seemed impossible, and yet...something about it rang true in a way I couldn't deny. The anger that had simmered beneath my surface my entire life. The satisfaction I'd felt seeing Xavier trapped. The magick I shouldn't have been able to access.

I noticed something else too. The way the Sins kept glancing at me. Not just Lust with his obvious interest, but Pride too, watching with an intensity that sent shivers down my spine. Even Envy and Greed seemed drawn to me in a way they hadn't been before. As if some invisible thread was pulling us all together, growing stronger with each revelation.

"I need to..." I gestured vaguely. "Process."

"Of course," Gluttony said, understanding in his ancient eyes. "Your room is prepared."