Page 64 of The Sin Binder's Vow

I dust myself off, fingers slow over the collar of my coat. The village square is too quiet. Festival banners flutter above like they're waiting for music that never comes. And then—

She appears.

Luna.

She stands at the edge of the street, the sun behind her painting her in light she doesn’t deserve to wear so well. Her gaze finds mine instantly, unflinching, too knowing. Something tightens in my gut—not desire. Not quite. Something uglier. Something older.

She turns to the one person she can trust to be as loud, chaotic, and unfiltered as possible.

Silas.

He’s lounging beside her, eating something fried and far too cheerful for this hour of the godsdamn morning. He watches me with a lazy kind of curiosity, then leans toward her as she whispers something in his ear.

His eyes spark. “Who kicked your ass?”

I say nothing.

Luna whispers again, and Silas gives a deeply exaggerated gasp, clutching his chest like he’s wounded.

“Oh my gods,Rivenkicked your ass? I alwaysknewhe was the hot-tempered one, but Lucien,darling, you’ve got to learn tododge. What’s the point of all those broody muscles if you don’t use them?”

He winks at me. And I resist the urge to light the entire street on fire.

Another whisper from Luna. Silas turns serious—for half a second.

“Okay, okay,” he says, lifting his hands. “I’ll stop. She wants to know if you’re compromised.”

He gestures wildly with both hands. “And she says—and I quote, mind you—‘if you even think about lying, she will find a way to make your balls implode.’”

I blink at him.

“Implode,” he repeats with a solemn nod. “Very specific. Very concerning.”

I glance at Luna. She stares back, impassive.

“I’m fine,” I say, slow and clipped.

Silas arches a brow. “Which is exactly what someone who’s not finewouldsay.”

Luna nudges him in the ribs. Another whisper.

“She wants to know how close Branwen got.”

Silas’s tone drops, his grin vanishing beneath a thin sheen of seriousness he rarely wears. “How deep did she reach into your head, Lucien?”

I can’t look at Luna when I say it.

“She didn’t speak. Not aloud. Not in words.” I take a breath. “But she used Dominion. Through the bond.”

Silas’s face shutters. Even he knows what that means.

Luna’s gaze sharpens. There’s a flicker of something wild beneath it—rage, maybe. Not at me. For me. No one’s ever looked at me like that. Like they’re furious I was hurt.

She whispers again.

Silas shakes his head. “That’s a terrible idea.”

More whispers. Fierce this time.

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