Page 12 of The Sin-Binder’s Fate (The Seven Sins Academy #1)

Daemon Academy looms behind us like something out of a gothic fever dream, all sharp spires, blackened stone, and the kind of oppressive presence that seems to swallow the sunlight whole.

The sky is dull, overcast, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and something darker, something more primal.

The grounds stretch wide and treacherous beyond the main structure, a labyrinth of overgrown courtyards, dead gardens, and jagged cliffs that drop off into a churning abyss below.

It’s beautiful in the way a predator is, lethal, waiting, coiled with unseen dangers.

The students here know it, too. They move carefully, darting between stone pathways and rotting archways, never straying too far from the safety of the main hall.

And they give us a wide berth.

Lucien stands beside me at the edge of the courtyard, his arms folded, gaze locked on the far side of the grounds. He’s too still, too calculating. He watches like he’s already three steps ahead of whatever’s happening.

I follow his line of sight and feel my jaw clench.

Caspian.

The bastard has her draped over him like a fucking ornament, walking her along the outer paths near the abandoned watchtower. The way he leans in when he speaks, the smirk twisting his mouth, he’s fucking with her, the way he always does.

I roll my shoulders, trying to shake the irritation creeping up my spine. “She’s still here.”

Lucien hums, the barest tilt of his head acknowledging me. “Of course she is.”

I exhale sharply. “You think she’ll last long enough to bind one of us?”

His lip curls. “No.”

Simple. Absolute.

It should be comforting, but it isn’t. Because, despite what Lucien thinks, Luna is already sinking her claws in.

The others feel it, whether they admit it or not. The way Caspian toys with her, the way Silas and Elias can’t stop circling her presence like starved wolves. It’s happening, even if we don’t want it to.

Lucien shifts beside me, his voice quiet but edged. “She’s nothing.”

“She doesn’t look like nothing,” I mutter, watching the way Caspian dips his head closer to her ear, the way she stiffens and glares up at him, defiant despite how outmatched she is.

Lucien finally turns his full attention to me, his golden eyes sharp and demanding. “Are you interested?”

It’s a challenge. A fucking provocation.

I let my hands flex at my sides, a slow, humorless grin cutting across my face. “I don’t do fragile.”

He scoffs, turning back toward the path. “Then she shouldn’t be a problem.”

That’s what we keep telling ourselves, isn’t it? That Luna Evernight is not a problem. That she’s just another foolish girl who wandered into a world she doesn’t understand. That whatever is shifting in the air, whatever force is tying her to us, can be ignored.

I watch as she pulls away from Caspian, the fight in her a wildfire that hasn’t burned out yet.

And I wonder. For how long?

The last time I saw her, she was drenched in blood. It wasn’t supposed to happen like that. We’d fought for her. I’d fought for her. And still, she died.

I don’t know why I’m thinking about this now, maybe because this new girl, Luna, is walking across the same damn courtyard that Maeve once lived in.

I exhale sharply, rolling my shoulders. “The last one fought harder than she should have.”

Lucien doesn’t look at me, but I know he hears me. Lucien always hears everything.

“They always fight.” His voice is smooth, cold. “Doesn’t mean they win.”

Maeve didn’t win. She wasn’t supposed to be in that fight. She wasn’t supposed to die. But she had been so sure, so fucking sure she could handle it, handle us, handle the academy, handle the weight of being what she was.

I clenched my jaw. “She wasn’t weak.”

Lucien finally flicked his gaze toward me, unreadable as ever. “And yet, she’s dead.”

I can still feel it, the way she trembled under my hands as I tried to stop the bleeding. The way she looked at me, not with fear, but something worse.

Apology.

Like she knew she was leaving me behind.

Like she knew there was nothing I could do .

I push the memory down, burying it deep beneath the roiling anger in my chest. I don’t talk about Maeve. I don’t think about Maeve.

But this girl, this fucking girl, is making it impossible to forget. Luna is standing in the same goddamn place, about to do the same goddamn thing. And I don’t know if I want to watch her fail or see if she survives.

I should’ve known Caspian would pull this shit. He’s grinning as he leads her straight to us, his hand on the small of her back like he owns her. Like he’s already won.

Lucien shifts beside me, arms still crossed, but his posture tenses, a subtle tell for anyone who knows him. He doesn’t like this either. Caspian’s making a move, and Lucien doesn’t appreciate being played.

I roll my shoulders, shaking out my arms. The anger’s already simmering, coiled low in my chest like a waiting beast. The ground beneath my boots vibrates, not enough for anyone to see, but enough for me to feel it, just under the surface.

It always starts that way, the slow build, the warning sign.

Heat in my ribs. Pressure behind my teeth.

Don’t.

Not yet.

“Couldn’t keep her to yourself, could you?” Lucien finally speaks, his tone indifferent, but I know better. He’s gauging Caspian’s angle, figuring out why the hell he’s parading her in front of us like some kind of prize.

Caspian smirks, running a hand through his hair, like this is just another one of his games. “Sharing is caring, isn’t that what they say?” He tilts his head toward Luna. “Figured she should meet the ones who’ll be throwing her around soon enough. ”

Luna stiffens at his words, her expression twisting in something almost like defiance, but there’s wariness there too. She’s not stupid. She knows exactly what’s coming.

I exhale sharply, looking her over now that she’s standing right in front of me. She’s too fucking small for this. The academy, the trials, the weight of it all.

Too soft.

Caspian nudges her forward. “Go on, sweetheart. Say hi.”

She doesn’t. Smart girl.

Lucien’s gaze slides to me, waiting for my reaction, because he already knows. He can probably feel the heat rolling off me. Caspian knows, too. That’s why he’s doing this.

He always wants to see what it’ll take to make me snap.

I take a slow step forward, letting my body do what words won’t. The space between me and Caspian evaporates. The moment stretches, a held breath, a silent threat.

Luna is watching me.

Me, not Lucien. Not Caspian.

I feel it like a weight behind my ribs.

The ground pulses beneath my boots again. Fucking hell.

Caspian only grins wider. “Relax, Kain. Just thought she should know what she’s up against.” His voice lowers, mocking. “What’s wrong? Afraid she might make it?”

Lucien exhales through his nose, already tired of this. “She won’t.”

Luna flinches. It’s small, barely noticeable, but I catch it.

Caspian glances down, still smirking, but his stance shifts just a little. He feels it too. Knows the signs.

I roll my neck, exhaling through the burn in my chest. Control. Not yet .

Caspian chuckles. “Careful, Riven. You might scare the poor girl.”

I cut my gaze to him, teeth bared. “Good.”

Something shifts. It’s so slight, so fucking subtle, I almost miss it.

She lifts her hand to her chest, fingers pressing lightly over her heart. Then, one breath, two, three. Steady. Measured.

My breath catches.

I don’t know if she’s doing it for herself or if she thinks it’ll work on me, but the heat behind my ribs eases, just enough. The pressure against my skull stops climbing. The ground beneath my boots stops humming, the raw energy curling inward instead of out.

No one else notices.

Lucien’s still watching Caspian, calculating, waiting for his next move. Caspian is smirking, smug as ever, oblivious to what’s happening right in front of him.

But I notice.

She keeps her eyes locked on mine, and for a second, I can’t look away. I can still feel it, the anger, the heat, the need to fight, to burn, to ruin, but she’s... holding it back. Not by force. Not by command.

Just by being there.

What the fuck is this?

Her lips part slightly, like she wants to say something, but she doesn’t. She just keeps breathing. Steady. Grounding.

And I let her.

My fists loosen. The ache in my teeth dulls. My skin stops burning from the inside out.

It works. Not entirely. Not completely. But enough. And that’s the part that fucking terrifies me.

She smiles .

At me.

Not out of nerves. Not out of fear. It’s not one of those forced, shaky things people give when they’re trying not to piss themselves in my presence.

It’s small. Barely there. But real. And just like that, I’m fucked.

Because no one calms me down. No one tries. No one dares. They either get the fuck out of my way or try to bring me to my knees. It always ends in blood, in violence, in the only kind of peace I’ve ever been able to find, destruction.

But this girl? This small, insignificant human girl with nothing but a handful of deep breaths and some goddamn nerve?

She steadied me.

She smiles. And then she looks away.

Like she didn’t just fucking ruin me.

Like she didn’t just do the impossible.

Like she didn’t just shatter every fucking thing I thought I knew.

She turns back to Caspian, shifting her focus as if this moment never even happened.

But it did. And now, I don’t know what the fuck to do with it.

I should look away.

I should fucking move.

Instead, I watch her.

She stands there like she didn’t just tilt my entire goddamn world off its axis, like she doesn’t have the first fucking clue what she just did to me.

She’s small, too damn small for what she is, for what she’s supposed to do. Delicate, but not breakable. Soft in all the places I should want to tear apart, but I don’t. It pisses me off .

Because now, I’m seeing her. Seeing her. And it’s a problem.

The way she holds herself, the way she keeps her chin up despite standing between two men who could end her in a heartbeat, it’s not fearless. It’s not stupid bravery. It’s something else, something steadier, something built in. Like she doesn’t know any other way to be.

Fuck.

She’s pretty.

Not in that polished, perfect way most girls try to be.

She’s raw. Untouched. A fucking mess. Blue eyes that flicker too fast between defiance and uncertainty.

Lips just soft enough to make a man think about biting them, testing them.

And that mouth? She talks back, even when she shouldn’t.

Even when she knows it won’t end well for her.

She’s fucking dangerous. And I already know she’s going to ruin everything.

Lucien and Caspian are still talking, but my focus is stuck on her. It doesn’t matter. I hear everything.

“She’s coming along,” Caspian says, and the bastard sounds impressed.

Lucien, as expected, doesn’t. “One day isn’t enough.”

“She’s picking it up fast.” Caspian leans against the desk, smug as always. “Surprised you, didn’t she?”

Lucien doesn’t answer, but his jaw tics, and that’s enough.

I’m still watching Luna, and she knows it. I can tell by the way her shoulders shift, like she can feel me looking, like she’s trying not to let it show.

I don’t like that either.

“She’s not ready.” Lucien’s voice is flat. “You know that.”

“She will be.” Caspian grins, slow and knowing. “And when she is, you’re all fucked. ”

Lucien exhales sharply through his nose, the kind of breath that carries weight. Displeasure. Annoyance. Boredom. It’s his favorite fucking thing, to look down at someone and make them feel like nothing.

“Enough of this.” His voice is quiet, but final. He doesn’t need to yell. His authority is a blade, sharp enough to cut without being drawn. “You’re wasting our time.” His cold eyes land on Luna, dismissing her like she’s already a failure. “Go. Now.”

I expect her to argue, to snap back, but she doesn’t. She doesn’t raise her voice. She doesn’t flinch. Instead, she does something none of us expects.

She laughs.

It’s small, almost like she doesn’t mean to, like it just slipped out. But it’s there, and that’s all that matters.

Lucien goes still.

Caspian grins.

“Something funny?” Lucien asks, his voice like crushed glass.

Luna tilts her head, considering him in a way that most people would never fucking dare. “A little,” she admits. “It’s just…” She breathes out, shakes her head, and then steps forward. “You’re not used to people ignoring you, are you?”

Lucien’s jaw tightens.

Wrong fucking move, princess.

Except… maybe not. Because she doesn’t back down. She doesn’t lower her gaze. If anything, she pushes further.

“You think I should be scared of you,” she continues, voice even, steady.

“But I’m not. I don’t care how powerful you are, how much you hate me, or how much you think I don’t belong here.

I’m here.” She takes another step forward, so close now that if Lucien wanted to, he could crush her in an instant. “And I’m not going anywhere. ”

Caspian exhales a quiet, amused fuck me.

I just stare, because what the fuck?

Lucien never backs down. Ever.

But he doesn’t move. Doesn’t say a word. He just looks at her like he’s seeing her for the first time.

And then, with a single flick of his fingers, he dismisses her again.

“Do what you want,” he says, turning away. “You always do.”

Caspian whistles low under his breath, eyes gleaming with something close to admiration. “Well, fuck me,” he mutters, a slow grin creeping across his face. “That was hot.”

Luna doesn’t react. She just watches Lucien walk away, head tilted, expression unreadable. Like she’s trying to figure him out. Like she’s studying him.

I don’t like that.

Lucien is the hardest of us, the least likely to break. He’s made of something colder, sharper. He doesn’t bend. And yet, for one second, she made him hesitate.

Caspian nudges her shoulder, dragging her attention back. “You did good, little thing,” he says, voice low, teasing. “Didn’t think you had it in you.”

Luna finally blinks, as if snapping out of whatever trance Lucien put her in. She glances at Caspian, then at me. “I didn’t do anything,” she murmurs.

Caspian’s grin widens. “That’s the best part.”

Lucien isn’t weak. He’ll take this as an insult, a challenge. Next time, he won’t just dismiss her, he’ll make her regret it. And yet… she doesn’t look worried. If anything, she looks intrigued.

Too intrigued .

I grind my teeth. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ve won something here, little girl.”

Her gaze flicks to mine, steady. “I don’t.”

Liar .