Page 97 of The Sin Binder's Destiny

I tap my fingers against the stone, biting back a grin.

He’s not the only one who knows how to manipulate a situation. All he needs is the right moment—the right spotlight. And me? I can build that moment.

“Hey, pretty boy,” I call out low enough that no one else will hear, tipping my chin at him. “I’ve got an idea.”

Elias glances over, suspicion already pinched across his brow. “Silas,” he warns, like my name alone is enough to signal bad decisions, which is fair. “Last time you had an idea, we almost got set on fire.”

“That was mostly your fault,” I shoot back, already grinning. “And this one’s genius.”

He narrows his eyes, but he steps closer anyway, because he’s an idiot and because when it comes to me, he can’t help himself.

“What,” Elias drawls, voice dripping with suspicion, “is this genius plan?”

I lean in conspiratorially, lowering my voice to a murmur. “We need Lucien to stop being the asshole villain in her story, yeah?”

Elias’s mouth twists. “Good luck with that.”

I ignore him. “So… what if we make him a hero?”

He blinks at me like I’ve sprouted another head. “You want tofixLucien’s image problem? What, you planning on writing him love letters too?”

I shrug. “Not letters. But maybe a crisis.”

Elias squints harder, and I can almost see the wheels turning under that dark, messy hair. “What kind of crisis?”

“One where I almost die. Dramatically.”

“Silas—”

“Look,” I cut in before he can talk sense into me, because I know this is stupid and reckless andexactlythe kind of thing I’d do. “She loves heroes. She loves us because we’re disasters, but she loves him because he’s strong. She won’t let herself admit it, but it’s true. So, I just need to… be in a precarious situation. One thathehas to get me out of. Big, loud, heroic. Boom.”

Elias rubs his face, muttering something about how I’m the reason he drinks.

“You want me to help you almost die?”

“Preferably without the ‘almost’ part failing.”

His lips twitch, like he can’t quite help it. “You’re out of your godsdamn mind.”

“Yeah,” I say, grinning wider, because it’s true and he knows it. “But it’s going to work.”

He glances back toward the cathedral doors, where Luna’s voice filters faintly through the cracked stone, soft and sharp all at once.

Then Elias sighs like a man about to jump off a cliff he knows he shouldn’t.

“Fine,” he mutters. “But if youactuallydie, I’m not resurrecting you.”

I clap him on the shoulder, a wild rush of glee twisting low in my gut. “That’s the spirit.”

Because if Lucien won’t save himself, I’ll make sure he gets the chance to save me. And when Luna sees him do it—maybe she’ll finally look at him the way she looks at the rest of us. Even if I have to almost get myself killed to make it happen.

The ledge isn’t impressive.

Which is why it’s perfect.

I stare down at the jagged drop—just enough rubble and crumbling stone that, from the ground, it’ll look like I was a hair away from being flattened like a tragic, sexy pancake.

Elias leans against the wall behind me, arms crossed, watching me like I’ve grown a second head. “This is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.”

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