Chapter 27
Vivian’s Point of View
Rule twenty-seven: While public displays of affection may not save you from your impending doom, it’s certainly worth a shot.
“Fellow members of the Council and leaders of the realms, it is my pleasure to announce the arrival of our precious Creator,” Need announces from the top of the grand staircase.
The ceremony is being held in the same hall where Leon announced our betrothal. The wide steps make for the perfect grand entrance, and all eyes turn to where I stand on the top step. A hushed silence falls over the crowd.
“Vivian will be removing her cloak and joining her fated mate for their first dance,” Need says with a forced smile, and the order comes through the leash.
A servant appears behind me to take my cloak. My pulse races, terrified she’ll notice that the cloak isn’t poofy like the dress they chose for me.
Not wanting to give her the chance, I untie a silk ribbon, letting the covering slip off my shoulders as I start down the steps. By the time Need realizes what I’ve done, I’m already halfway down the stairs.
Scandalized whispers and indrawn breaths fill the room, but I don’t stop.
Leon is waiting for me at the bottom of the steps, his face contorted in rage. I barely spare him a glance.
I’m not here for him.
The room is filled with guests, but my eyes find him instantly. Even without the mate bond, I could find him anywhere. Sin is standing at the back of the room, dressed all in black. He stares at me with a look of utter wonder as I make my way over to him.
People part, creating a wide path between us, but our gazes don’t waver from each other for a second. The lingering agony in my chest dulls, and not even the mental leash gets in my way. Need ordered me to go to my fated mate, and that’s precisely what I’m doing.
It doesn’t matter how many times Leon repeats that I belong to him. It doesn’t matter if the Fates tampered with my destiny to force me into a corrupted bond, because my fate is my own.
And I have chosen.
I only stop when I’m a hair’s breadth from Sin, tilting my head to look up at him. My heart beats wildly in my chest as I do it, because I know this is an act of war. And yet, even with that knowledge, the entire world seems to fade away when he smiles down at me with a mixture of pride and awe.
“A wondrous display of peace from our Creator. She has decided to forgo her own happiness, to mend the relationships between our realm and her kidnappers. Creators are such peace-loving, self-sacrificing creatures.” Need’s voice is a bare echo, as she tries to do damage control.
“Let us celebrate this incredible display.”
Haunting cello music fills the space, but Sin doesn’t move. He barely breathes as he watches me, and the longing between us is an almost tangible force.
Always my choice.
Tears gather in the corners of my eyes, and I bite my bottom lip as I try to blink them away.
Sin takes a sharp breath, and his hand twitches, like the effort of not reaching for me physically hurts him.
Not wanting to make him wait a moment longer, I reach for him. The moment I do, Sin sweeps me into his arms. The scent of woodsmoke washes over me, and all the tension leaves my body as he pulls me flush against him.
A faint tremor rolls through him, even as he begins to spin us around the room.
We’re close – far too close for this to be anything other than an intimate reunion. Yet even now, this feels like too much distance. My fingers curl around the back of his neck, and I almost melt when his hold on my waist tightens. It finally feels like I can breathe again.
Gods, I’ve missed him.
I’m almost afraid to blink in case he disappears.
“I have missed you so fucking much,” he whispers, his voice wavering. There’s a yearning in it, so raw and vulnerable, that it feels as though someone is twisting a knife into my gut.
I swallow, feeling like there’s a rock stuck in my throat, even as I nod in agreement.
I did this to him.
Does he know the bond is broken?
Did he feel it?
Wordlessly, I try to tell him how desperately sorry I am for everything. He deserves so much better than this, so much better than me.
Sin is gentle as he pulls me even closer, until there isn’t any space left between us. Our bodies are melded together, and the contact lights up every one of my nerve endings.
His lips brush the shell of my ear, “You are in so much trouble, kitten.” His whisper is deliciously low, and he utters the words like a dark promise.
Heat pulses through my core, and I’m suddenly hyperaware of every place our bodies brush against each other.
Sin meets my questioning gaze with a smirk as he dips me low, his gaze raking over my body.
Hunger flashes in his eyes, but he shutters it away in an instant, pulling me back into his arms to continue spinning us about the floor.
“You shut me out. I stopped feeling you. Never do that again. Please.”
There’s no mistaking the hurt and frustration in his gaze, but his hands never tighten around me any further.
Always comforting, never trapped.
I start to nod, until the implication behind his words hits me – he thinks I can shut him out again.
Oh shit.
He doesn’t know that I can’t let him back in.
He doesn’t know the bond is broken.
I open my mouth, and no sound comes out. The pain I’ve been trying to shove down claws its way back into my chest. Shame bubbles up to the surface with it, and I try to lean my head against his shoulder rather than facing him.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay.” Sin releases my hand and gently tilts my chin up, not letting me hide from him. “We’re going to fix it.”
He says it with complete certainty, like there isn’t a force that could ever come between us.
Butterflies flutter against the burnt edges of my soul as I let myself hope, just for a second, that there’s a possibility we can be whole again.
But the feeling of lightness is short-lived when, from the corner of my vision, I catch sight of Leon and Need.
They’re standing together at the bottom of the stairs. Leon glares at us with open hostility, whereas Need does a better job of masking her rage. Her eyes are only slightly narrowed, and she looks like she’s calculating her next forty moves.
When my eyes return to Sin, whatever hope I had has already been extinguished. There is no future for us after tonight. Even if I convince the other realms to fight, I know I won’t be leaving this castle alive.
He stares back at me with a broken expression, his eyes momentarily flitting to the exit doors, as if he’s desperate to escape with me. Instead, he takes a shuddering inhale and tenderly cups my cheek. I lean into his embrace, needing lifetimes more of his touch.
“There is nothing I wouldn’t give to free you. I would burn all the realms if it meant you were free.” His fingers draw small, soothing circles on the small of my back.
My breath catches at the thought of leaving all this behind.
“But you don’t need me to save you, kitten – you never have,” he continues, and as he says it, there’s a fire in his eyes that burns into mine.
I frown, not understanding. Even if I succeed in sparking a rebellion, when I refuse to bind myself to Leon, he will either take over my will completely or kill me outright. Either way, I won’t survive him.
Sin leans in closer, his lips once again brushing against my ear. “There are no chains that can hold you. You aren’t stuck here.”
His answer only deepens the confusion swirling through my already drained mind.
I’m so tired – tired of failing, of not being enough.
I tried to save myself. But I failed. They’ve shattered me beyond repair. I can’t fight this.
Can’t he see it? The best I can hope for is that my death will inspire others to fight, and that they’ll be strong enough to fix what I couldn’t.
Sin takes in my defeated expression, and his own hardens. “Don’t you dare give up,” he says in the same tone he uses when we train.
Unable to argue, I glance around the room, then back to him, as if to ask, ‘how can I possibly fight against all of this?’
It’s too much, and I’m not enough.
Sin’s eyes narrow a fraction, and he presses his forehead to mine. “Stop letting them think they’re stronger than you.”
His words light the faintest hint of a spark, somewhere deep in my chest. Sin believes I can do this. And even with the weight of the universe pressing down on me, I let that small flame grow.
The man I love believes in me, and right now, that’s enough.
I don’t second-guess myself. I reach for him.
Sin meets me halfway, and our mouths crash together in a desperate tangle of desire and yearning. Neither of us holds back. We kiss as though the world around us is ending, and this moment is the only thing worth remembering.
When we pull away, it’s to the sound of scandalized shouts and clanking metal as guards flood the hall. Need is shouting something, but still, Sin doesn’t look away from me.
There’s an easy confidence in his voice, like he’s telling me the most obvious thing in the world when he whispers, “Fight back, kitten.”