Page 50 of The Sin Binder's Chains

I should push her. It should force her to speak.

But something in me hesitates.

Instead, I say, “We’ll be there soon.”

She nods, just once. But it’s enough.

I watch the way her fingers flex against Elias’s side, the way her head rests against his back like it’s natural, like it’s something she’s done a hundred times before. But she hasn’t.

Not with Elias. Not with any of us. It’s tender, a word I don’t associate with her. With us.

She probably doesn’t even realize she’s doing it.

Elias, for once, doesn’t make a joke. He just rests his hand over hers, fingers curling against the back of her knuckles. Protective. Grounding. And then he looks at me.

A quiet look. A rare moment of understanding from the one who never takes anything seriously.

I should say something. Should stop watching.

Instead, I think about Maeve. I had bound myself to five before her. But only her did I love.

Or at least, I thought I did. Looking at Luna now, something itches under my skin.

Maeve had been beautiful, strong, the longest-standing Sin Binder before Luna. I had been her first bond, but only after a year of resisting. I had convinced myself it was my choice, that I had stepped into it on my own terms.

That it had been love because I had willed it into existence.

But Luna, this is different. Faster. Messier. Unavoidable.

It is out of my hands, and I don’t like that.

Elias sighs, his voice a low murmur. “She’s exhausted.”

I nod, but I don’t stop watching.

He doesn’t remove his hand from her leg.

And she doesn’t pull away.

---