I purse my lips, wondering what to ask him. “What did Morgana want to talk to you about? She seemed a little upset.”
Sin ties off the first set of stitches and gets to work on the second scratch.
It’s very inconsiderate of forsaken to have five fingers.
His voice is low but not angry when he answers, “Morgana has looked after the forsaken for three thousand years. And now they’re gone – who knows where. We checked the forest. There were hundreds of thousands of them spread throughout. They’re all gone. You effectively wiped out the Shadow Realm’s standing army.”
I think of the silver bubble that projected out from me, only to come blasting back. It must have freed them all.
“It serves her right for leaving me in there,” I grumble.
Another scratch is patched, and Sin moves on to the third. “Morgana is very direct. She doesn’t hesitate to do what she thinks is right. When we heard the forest go silent, we apparated to the edge, listening for any signs of distress. You weren’t abandoned, only meant to think you were. It’s brutal but effective.”
I hiss when Sin stabs a little deeper. “Sorry,” he mutters, working on closing the wound.
I go back to squeezing my eyes shut. Every prod of the needle is becoming agonizing. Did this realm not invent those freezing needles?
“So, Morgana has been around for a while,” I note. “Have you both worked together for that long?”
Sin moves on to the fourth scratch. Almost there.
I try to forget about the blood running down my back and my arm.
“I was changed into a Destroyer a little over two thousand five hundred years ago. Morgana has been my Keeper ever since,” he answers.
Sin is focused on his task, and I mull over whether I should ask if they have a lover’s bond. From what Rosie was saying, I don’t think they do. But it might be good to know.
It’s intel gathering. Know your enemy and such.
But I have no idea how to ask without sounding like I’m interested.
“So, are you two together?” I ask.
Smooth, Vivian. Very smooth.
Sin pauses again to look up at me. From the look on his face, I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m interested.
I’m definitely going to be needing that time-share in Hell.
“I just want to understand more about the bonds,” I rush out.
His eyebrow does that thing where it quirks up again, and Sin just shakes his head at me, looking like he might laugh, before getting to work on cut number five.
“Morgana is my family. When the Council took me, I wanted to fight, to burn them to the ground for what they’d done. She convinced me to work with her so we could bring them down for good. She reminded me of my older sister, and the role stuck,” he answers.
My brows furrows. “What do you mean, they took you? I thought Destroyers and Creators were prestigious volunteer positions for rich people.”
Sin laughs darkly. “For the Creators, yes. But they didn’t want such noble breeding for their Destroyers. My family lived in one of the lower villages of the Otherworld, well away from the Council. We had a modest life. My parents were farmers, and my sister and I helped out where we could. When we fell into debt, I started working for the black market. I always had a gift for convincing people to do what I wanted.”
He ties off the last stitch and starts adding a bandage over it. “I was away one week on a job, and when I returned, Council soldiers were there, burning my village to the ground. They executed everyone. It turns out rebels had been hiding out nearby, and the Council wanted to send a message. Any village found hiding rebels would burn.”
He finishes bandaging my leg and stands. “My employers from the black market were there, working with the Council guards to ensure their own safety.Once they saw me, they traded me, convincing the guards I had powers of manipulation. And the rest is history,” he says as he places the dirty tools in a bowl.
I gingerly prod at the bandage before standing. I can put weight on it, and I’m grateful. Bracing myself against the lounge chair, I answer, “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
I don’t feel pity for Sin; I’m sad for his loss. I hope he sees the difference.
Sin nods brusquely and answers, “It was a long time ago.”
