Page 7 of The Sin-Binder’s Fate (The Seven Sins Academy #1)

I lead her through the halls, taking my time, enjoying the way she moves, stiff, wary, like she’s waiting for something to pounce. She should be. She has no idea what she’s walking into.

I don’t bother filling the silence as I push open the door to the study hall.

It’s empty, lit by old chandeliers and lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

A few of the high-backed chairs by the fire have been overturned, and there are deep scratches on the heavy wooden table in the center, evidence of past arguments, past fights.

I gesture for her to sit. She doesn’t move.

“Relax, sweetheart.” I drop into a chair, sprawling lazily, watching her. “I’m just here to educate you.”

Luna’s lips press together. “I don’t trust you.”

I grin. “Good. You shouldn’t.”

She doesn’t sit, but she doesn’t leave, either.

She wants answers.

So I give them to her.

“Lucien,” I start, tapping my fingers against the armrest, “is a royal pain in the ass.”

Luna doesn’t react, so I elaborate .

“Pride isn’t just a concept to him. It’s who he is. He can command anyone, bend them to his will with a single word. The more arrogant they are, the easier they fall under his control.” I tilt my head. “And his secondary ability? Aura of Supremacy.”

Luna exhales slowly. “What does that do?”

I smile. “It makes you feel like you’re nothing.”

She freezes.

I nod. Oh, she felt it already.

“It’s not mind control, not like his main power, but it doesn’t have to be. People challenge him, and he immediately crumbles. It makes them doubt themselves, weakens them, leaves them feeling so inferior they can’t fight back.”

Her fingers twitch slightly, like she’s trying not to react.

I smirk.

“Pride is always the strongest in the room,” I say smoothly. “And he knows it.”

“Then there’s Riven.”

Luna’s arms fold over her chest, and I bite back a laugh.

“He’s always angry,” I continue, “but that’s not just a personality trait. It’s how his power works.”

Her brows pull together slightly. She doesn’t get it yet.

“Wrath isn’t just about rage,” I explain. “It’s about what rage can do. The more pain Riven feels, the stronger he becomes. He doesn’t slow down, he doesn’t stop. He just keeps getting stronger.”

Luna swallows.

“And then there’s his secondary ability.”

Her gaze flicks up.

“Pain transference.” I drag out the words, watching her absorb them. “He can take pain from someone else, or push his onto them. If he wants you to feel what he’s feeling, he can. ”

Luna shifts slightly, like she wants to move but doesn’t want to show it.

Good.

She’s starting to understand.

“Silas is… tricky.”

Luna frowns slightly.

“He is envy,” I continue. “He has everyone else’s.”

Her breath catches.

I nod. “He can take other people’s abilities. Mimic them. The stronger his envy, the longer he keeps what he steals.”

Luna’s eyes widen slightly. “So if he…”

“If he hates you enough, he can use your power longer than you can.” I grin. “Exactly.”

She exhales shakily.

“But,” I say, watching her reaction, “it’s unstable. The more abilities he steals, the harder it is for him to control them.”

I see the moment that clicks. The moment she realizes that Silas is dangerous to everyone, including himself.

“His secondary ability is Shadow Leech,” I add. “He can drain energy through touch, steal someone’s strength, and use it for himself.”

Luna looks sick.

Perfect.

“Ambrose?” I smirk. “He’s insufferable.”

Luna doesn’t look surprised.

“Greed is exactly what you’d expect. He wants everything. And he can take it.”

Her brow furrows slightly. “What do you mean? ”

I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “His power is Possession. Anything he touches belongs to him. He can command it. Own it. It becomes part of his control.”

Luna sucks in a breath.

I nod. “That includes people.”

She visibly stiffens.

“And then there’s Golden Tongue,” I add, grinning at her. “His words are irresistible. If he offers a deal, it’s nearly impossible to refuse.”

Luna sways slightly, like she’s realizing how fucked she is.

I enjoy the view.

“Elias is interesting,” I continue, stretching out my legs. “Most people think he’s harmless.”

Luna glances at me. “And he’s not?”

I laugh.

“His power is Time Dilution.” I watch her eyes widen. “He can slow time around him, make it feel like he’s barely moving while his enemies are crawling.”

Luna exhales. “That’s…”

“Unfair?” I grin. “Welcome to Daemon Academy, sweetheart.”

She glares.

I smirk.

“His secondary ability is Forced Stasis.” I let that settle. “He can put someone in a suspended state, freeze them in place until he decides to let them wake up.”

Luna swallows.

“And finally, we have Orin.”

I drag my tongue over my teeth. Good. She already knows this one is bad.

“His power is Endless Consumption. He can consume anything. Magic, life, energy. If it exists, he can take it and turn it into raw power. But it’s never enough.

His secondary ability is Hunger’s Touch.

” I watch her like a predator sizing up prey.

“Anything he touches begins to deteriorate, to wither. Until it’s gone. ”

Luna finally lowers herself into the chair, like she needs to sit. Her gaze is distant, her fingers clenching slightly on her lap. I love seeing them like this, right when the reality sinks in.

Right when they realize how fucked they are. But she’s not just any girl, is she? She’s our Binder. And that means, no matter how badly she wants to run, she can’t.

I drag my fingers along the edge of the chair, watching her, letting the silence stretch. The firelight flickers behind her, casting her in warm golds and deep shadows, highlighting the delicate curve of her jaw, the subtle part of her lips.

She’s pretty. And I always want pretty things.

“You haven’t asked about me yet,” I say lazily, my voice a little too smooth.

Her fingers twitch in her lap. “I already know what you are.”

I grin. “Do you?”

Her throat bobs .

I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees, voice dropping to something low and slow. “Then tell me, Luna, what am I?”

She shifts but doesn’t look away. “Lust.”

The word is softer than it should be, almost reluctant.

I smile, dragging my tongue over my teeth. “And what does that mean?”

She swallows again.

I wait.

Then, after a second too long,

“You… manipulate desire.”

I exhale sharply, amused. “That’s a sweet way to put it.”

Luna’s lips press together, the slight hitch in her breathing giving her away.

She knows. She felt it earlier, when I led her through the halls, when my hand brushed against the small of her back for just a second too long. She felt it the moment she looked at me, when something inside her tilted, shifted, twisted in on itself.

I drum my fingers against my thigh. “I don’t just manipulate it, sweetheart. I make it… unbearable.”

Luna exhales, but it’s too slow. Like she’s suddenly too aware of how she’s breathing.

I let my grin widen. “I can turn something as simple as a thought into an obsession. Make a look, a word, a touch, intoxicating. The more someone fights it, the harder they fall.”

Her pulse jumps. I can hear it.

“Do you want to feel it?” I murmur.

She goes still.

Her breath catches, dark eyes snapping to mine. “No.”

I grin. And then I do it anyway. I push. Just a little. The shift is immediate. Her pupils dilate. Her lips part slightly. Her hands tighten on her lap, fingers digging into fabric, like she needs something to hold onto.

She sucks in a breath, sharp, shaky, like her own body is suddenly too much. I can feel it working. The way her skin warms, the way something low in her stomach pulls tight.

She looks stunned. Her reaction betrays her.

I lean forward, my voice barely above a whisper. “That’s the problem, Luna. You don’t get a choice.”

Her chest rises sharply, her lips parting like she wants to speak, but can’t. That slow, insidious ache is creeping in, building, spreading like a wildfire with no escape.

I tilt my head slightly, watching her soak in it.

Then, just as suddenly as I started,

I pull back.

She gasps, hands slamming onto the table, gripping the wood like it’s the only thing keeping her from falling apart. Her body jerks forward slightly, like I’ve yanked something out of her. Like she’s been left empty. The loss is palpable.

“See?” I murmur. “Unbearable.”

I lean back against the chair, stretching my legs out in front of me, giving her time to adjust, to register what just happened. My power lingers in her bloodstream, a slow-burning ember of something she can’t shake, something she won’t be able to forget even if she tries.

She will try. They always do. And yet, here she is, still sitting across from me, staring, still trapped in the aftermath of something she doesn’t understand.

“Breathe,” I murmur, watching as she forces air into her lungs, shakily, unevenly. “It’ll fade in a moment. Maybe.”

Her dark eyes snap to mine, something furious lurking beneath her confusion. I can see her battling with it, struggling to mask whatever she just felt, but the flush creeping along her neck, the way she presses her knees together, it gives her away.

She felt it. She liked it.

I drag a hand through my hair, slow and deliberate, before letting it drop to my thigh. “You wanted to understand my power, didn’t you? Well, now you do.”

She exhales through her nose, sharp, controlled, like she’s trying to compose herself before speaking. “What the hell did you just do to me?” Her voice is hoarse.

“Your body just learned what it feels like to want something so badly it hurts.” I tap my fingers against the armrest, watching her closely. “That was nothing, Luna. A whisper. A tease. I barely touched you, and yet here you are, looking at me like I just set your world on fire.”

Her breath stutters.

“I am fire, sweetheart. And you?” I let my gaze drop, trailing slowly over her body before dragging it back up. “You’re just waiting to burn.”