“What?” I whisper. “You found something.”
Cleo sighs, pushing her tray away. “We didn’t find much. Most of it is… useless speculation. But there’s one thing that keeps coming up again and again.”
“Which is?” I press.
Brix exchanges a look with Holly, then says, “That a sin power can sometimes manifest after a bond is... completed.”
My stomach sinks. “What do you mean by ‘completed’?”
“You know what they mean,” Holly says. “Bonded. Emotionally. Physically. Mentally. A full bond. All the way. Sharing blood with whom you are tethered too, solidifying the connection. "
“Oh,” I say. “That’s… not ideal.”
“We weren’t going to say anything until we were sure there wasn’t another way,” Sly adds quickly. “But every source we found hinted at it. Some outright said it. That — the moment of completion—can trigger a power.”
My chest tightens. “And you all agree?”
Silence answers me.
Tabby shrugs. “Look, we’re not saying you have to sleep with someone. But out of the four bonds, there must be one you could try to take things further. Even emotionally. It’s better than exile.”
I lean back in my chair, pulse racing. “You’re asking me to pick one of them. To... give myself to them, bind myself to them, in hopes I might get a power.”
“We’re not asking you to do anything you don’t want to do,” Brix says. “But we are saying it might be the best way, at least with the deadline we are under.”
I exhale, heart pounding in my ears.
Complete a bond.
Four choices. Each dangerous in their own way. Each holds part of me already. Not to mention the fact that not a single one of them wants anything to do with me outside of Alexi, who just seems to want my body to satiate his lust.
I stare down at the untouched food on my tray, my appetite gone.
“I need to think,” I whisper.
And gods help me, I’m terrified of what that choice might lead to.
***
I haven’t slept.
We stayed up all night arguing, strategizing, obsessing. Half the semester is already almost gone, and I’m still sinless. Still at risk of exile. Still waiting for something to change while everything around me moves at full speed. And it’s clear now that the exposure from the Sin training classes is not helping.
I haven’t heard from Dean Bellows in months…
We made a decision. It has to be Atticus.
It makes sense. He’s powerful, respected… not to mention the only one who has actually spoken to me more than once. And… he was kind to me yesterday. He held me when I was falling apart. Looked at me like I mattered.
If I develop a sin power from Pride, his father might have some pull. It just makes the most sense.
So this morning, I gather every last shred of courage I have and walk toward him.
He’s in the main courtyard near the fountain, surrounded by his Pride posse. Camille and Daphne are draped on either side of him like ornaments. Two guys I don’t know are laughing at something. They look perfect, as usual. Wealthy and dangerous and untouchable.
I hate this.
But I’m not here for them.
