Page 88 of The Sin Binder's Chains

I smile. A slow, wolfish thing. "That I don’t just steal power."

I take a single step forward, closing the distance between us. My magic follows, unfurling like poisonous smoke, tendrils of it curling around my wrists, my fingers.

"I ruin it."

I don’t just copy abilities like some parlor trick. I undo them. I take the power people think makes them special, the thing they think makes them strong, and I make it worthless.

I rob them of the one thing they think they can always rely on.

And Malachi, poor, bitter Malachi, has always been so proud of his little gift. His ability to corrupt, to twist, to break apart what others wield.

But what happens when he is the one being unraveled?

He stiffens as I raise my hand, magic crackling at my fingertips, not touching him. Not yet.

"You walked in here so sure of yourself," I murmur, letting the words drip into something low, poisonous, inevitable. "So ready to bare your teeth, to sneer, to taunt me about things you don’t understand."

A flick of my wrist.

Malachi stumbles back.

Not by choice.

Because I just took something.

It’s subtle. A small thing, at first. But he feels it.

The slight drain of power. The way the magic in his veins twitches, falters, struggles against something it can’t resist.

I exhale, flexing my fingers as my magic grows sharper in response. "How does it feel?" I ask softly. "Knowing I can make you nothing if I want to?"

Malachi clenches his jaw, covering his slip with a sharp laugh. "What’s wrong, brother? Feeling violent for once?"

I smirk. "I just don’t like being reminded how weak you are."

I’m done being mocked. I step forward again, slow and deliberate, watching as he keeps still this time. His muscles are coiled, his breath measured, his mind calculating the moment he should strike.

I stop just shy of touching him, tilting my head, my voice smooth, dark, and absolute.

"Now, be a good little dog, " I lower my voice, watching his throat tighten with restraint, " and run back to Severin. Tell him if he wants Luna, he’ll have to come and take her himself."

I watch the words settle.

Watch the realization flicker behind his cold, bitter eyes.

And then, I smile.

Because we both know, Severin doesn’t stand a fucking chance.

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