Page 35 of The Sin-Binder’s Fate (The Seven Sins Academy #1)

This is going to be a disaster. I lean back against one of the stone pillars lining the courtyard, exhaling slowly, rubbing the back of my neck.

The early evening air is sharp, laced with the cold bite that always lingers here, no matter the season.

The sky overhead is iron-gray, heavy with clouds that never quite break.

The courtyard is empty except for the occasional flicker of blue fire from the sconces along the walls, casting long, restless shadows across the worn cobblestones.

I should be anywhere else.

I should have found a way out of this.

How the hell did I get roped into training her?

Lucien, probably. That smug bastard. Or maybe it was Riven, though he’s more the punch first, think later type. Wouldn’t put it past Caspian either, he’d enjoy watching me suffer. But the why doesn’t really matter. The result is the same.

Luna. Training. Me.

It’s not like I can’t teach her. I know how to fight, how to use my abilities, how to manipulate time in ways that leave people dizzy, slow, vulnerable. I just… don’t usually bother.

And then there’s her .

I groan, dragging my hands down my face.

It’s not that she’s, Okay, no. It is that. She’s a problem. And not in the way Lucien or Riven or the others keep insisting. Not just because of what she is.

It’s the way she looks at me. Like I’m interesting. I’m not. But she hasn’t figured that out yet, and I don’t know what the hell to do about it.

“You gonna puke before she even gets here?”

I don’t bother lifting my head. “Fuck off, Silas.”

Silas snickers, perched on the edge of the courtyard wall like a smug little shit, one leg hanging lazily over the side. He’s playing with something in his hands, a small, glinting object that shifts in the dim light. A knife. A coin. A piece of someone’s stolen magic. Hard to tell with him.

“She’s gonna eat you alive,” he muses.

I exhale, tilting my head back against the pillar, staring up at the sky. “Not helping.”

“Wasn’t trying to.”

I flick a pebble at him. He dodges effortlessly, still grinning.

“You could switch with me,” I say idly, knowing full well he won’t.

Silas grins wider. “And miss watching you make an ass of yourself? Never.”

I sigh dramatically. “You’re a terrible friend.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He leans back, bracing himself against his hands, eyes gleaming with amusement. “Honestly, I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that you’re actually supposed to teach her something, or the fact that you’re gonna be a complete wreck the second she shows up.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I am not, ”

He lifts a brow.

I scowl. “I can function around her. ”

Silas barks out a laugh, loud and sharp. “Sure you can, buddy.”

I kick another pebble at him. This one lands.

He winces, rubbing his shin. “Rude.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re a fucking eye sore.”

“And you’re doomed.”

I groan, shoving my hands into my pockets, trying to ignore the creeping weight in my chest. Because the last time I was alone with her, I might have forgotten how words worked for a solid three seconds. The time before that? Almost walked into a fucking wall.

It’s her eyes. That’s my theory, anyway. Too dark. Too sharp. Too… curious. Like she sees things no one else bothers noticing. It’s fucking weird. And I’m not built for this shit.

Lucien is the cold, unreadable bastard. Riven is wrath on legs. Caspian is a menace. Ambrose plays chess with everyone’s lives. Even Orin is a feral little monster with too much hunger in his veins.

Me? I’m just trying to nap in peace. I’m not meant to be the focus of anything. Not meant to be watched like that. And yet, every time she looks at me,

I drag a hand through my hair, exhaling through my nose.

Silas hums, still watching me like he’s deeply entertained by my suffering.

“You know,” he muses, “if you just used your power on her, you could slow this whole disaster down. Make it last forever.”

I shoot him a glare. “That’s the opposite of what I want.”

He grins. “You sure? ”

Before I can throw something else at him, I hear the sound of footsteps approaching.

I go still.

Fuck.

Silas perks up, eyes flicking toward the arched entryway. “Oh, this is gonna be good.”

I don’t turn immediately. I don’t need to. I already know it’s her.

The air feels different when she’s close. It shouldn’t. But it does.

I exhale, forcing my body to stay relaxed. Normal. Not weird. Then, finally, I look. Yep. Still a problem.

Luna steps into the courtyard, her dark gaze flicking between me and Silas, her expression wary but determined. Her uniform is slightly rumpled, like she’s been moving too much, pushing herself too hard. A strand of dark hair slips from behind her ear, catching in the evening wind.

She stops a few feet away, crossing her arms. “Are you gonna train me or just stand there?”

I blink.

Silas chokes on a laugh.

I clear my throat. “Uh.”

Luna lifts a brow.

Silas makes an exaggerated yikes expression behind her back.

I ignore him, straightening, trying to shake off the way my brain absolutely short-circuited for a second. “Yeah. Right. Training. That’s… why we’re here.”

Luna stares at me like I’m an idiot. I probably am an idiot .

Silas, still grinning, pushes off the wall. “This is gonna be hilarious.”

I flip him off.

Luna glances between us, exhaling. “Do I even want to know what’s happening?”

“No,” I say quickly.

Silas smirks. “Absolutely.”

I groan. “Go away, Silas.”

Silas stretches lazily, looking deeply unbothered. “Fine, fine. I’ll let you humiliate yourself in peace.” He winks at Luna. “Have fun with this one, little Binder. He’s very delicate.”

Luna frowns. “I don’t-”

But before she can finish, Silas flickers. One moment he’s there. The next, gone.

Luna exhales sharply, shaking her head. “I hate it when he does that.”

I exhale, rubbing the back of my neck. “Yeah. Same.”

She turns back to me, crossing her arms again. “So?”

I blink. “So?”

She gives me a look. “Are we doing this or not?”

I nod, rolling my shoulders, trying desperately to remember how to be a functioning person. “Yeah.”

I grin, a little too sharp, a little too reckless. “Try to keep up, Binder.”

And then I move. Or at least, that’s what it looks like to her.

To me, it’s different. The world slows as I step forward, the air thickening around me, stretching time between the beats of her pulse.

I see the exact moment her breath catches, her muscles tensing as she registers the shift.

She doesn’t know what’s happening yet, only that something is wrong.

I like this part .

Everything is so quiet here. It’s the one place I don’t feel like I’m dragging my body through wet cement, the only time my movements aren’t sluggish and heavy. Out here, when I choose to move, I’m faster than thought.

And yet. Somewhere in the sluggish haze of her perception, Luna’s eyes find mine. And I hesitate. Not long. Not enough for her to notice. But it’s there, an almost imperceptible stall, a brief delay where my body doesn’t do what it’s supposed to.

Because she sees me. And it throws me the fuck off.

I recover fast enough to avoid embarrassing myself, pivoting on the balls of my feet, shifting around her like smoke. I don’t let her touch me, but I feel the way she’s tracking me, the way her weight shifts, trying to predict my next move.

Not bad. For someone who has no idea what the hell she’s doing, anyway.

I exhale, letting the time-slip ease just enough to let her catch up a little. Enough to think she has a chance.

“C’mon, Binder,” I murmur, circling her. “You gonna stand there looking intimidated, or are you gonna actually try?”

She exhales sharply, spinning toward me, her dark hair catching in the wind.

“I am trying,” she snaps.

I grin. “Could’ve fooled me.”

I see the moment she decides to throw herself at me, frustration outweighing whatever plan she thought she had. Her body tenses, her fists clenching. And then, she moves. I let her get close. It’s almost cute, really. The way she throws herself into it, the way she thinks she has a chance.

And then, I shift. The air around me compresses, time snapping back into place for me while it drags around her.

She reaches for me, And misses. Or, more accurately, she never had a chance to hit me in the first place. I slip just out of reach, watching the realization bloom across her face as her arm swings through empty air.

I laugh, stepping back. “Yeah. That’s not gonna work.”

Luna exhales sharply, adjusting her stance, trying to read me. Her frustration hums between us, sharp and electric. She tries again, a little smarter this time. Instead of aiming straight for me, she feints, shifting her weight at the last second, forcing me to react.

Clever girl. Too bad she’s still too slow.

I dodge easily, slipping past her reach, my breath a ghost against her ear as I whisper, “You’re gonna have to do better than that.”

Luna jerks back, startled. And then, she swings.

I barely avoid it, laughing under my breath. “Wow,” I say, stepping back, just out of reach. “That almost looked competent.”

Her glare could set things on fire.

I grin, lazily flicking a hand in her direction. “Don’t get mad, Binder. Get faster.”

She exhales, steadying herself, eyes narrowing. Calculating.

And then, she moves again. And this time, she nearly gets me.

Shit .

I jerk back just in time, feeling the brush of her fingers too close to my sleeve. My stomach flips, because she shouldn’t have been able to do that. I should have been ahead of her.

But I was watching her again. I hesitated.

Her lips curl slightly, catching the way I faltered.

My smirk flickers. “Don’t get cocky.”

She tilts her head. “Why?” Her voice is smoother now, a little too pleased. “You almost look worried.”

My stomach tightens. Okay. Nope. We’re not doing this.

I exhale, shaking out my limbs. “Alright. Playtime’s over.”

She barely has time to process that before I move.

Fast.