Sin Undone

“Really? Why don’t you share.”


Tayla hopped up on the table and folded her hands in her lap as though settling in for a nice, long lecture. Great. “Okay, here’s the deal. My mom was a junkie. I was born on the floor of an abandoned warehouse, addicted to heroin. I grew up in foster homes and on the streets. I was abused. I did drugs. I stole. I was always in a lot of trouble. When I was a teenager, I watched my mom be torn apart by a demon. A Soulshredder. After that, I was even angrier. I joined The Aegis and killed every demon, vampire, and shapeshifter I could get my hands on. Eventually, I met Eidolon, discovered I had a twin sister, and learned the demon who tortured my mom was also my father. How’s that for a start?”

Christ. No wonder Tayla’s emerald eyes were those of a warrior. She might not be as old as Sin, but she’d fought just as hard to survive. Grudging respect for her sister-in-law softened Sin’s demeanor. “You have my attention.”

“Good. Because I was royally pissed off for a long time. At the world, at humans, at demons. I hated everyone and everything.”

“Yeah, well, that’s the difference between you and me,” Sin said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t hate the world.”

“No, you just hate yourself.” Before Sin could even attempt to deny that, Tay asked, “What do you think of Lore?” Sin blinked at the rapid change of subject. “What?”

“Lore. Do you respect his feelings? Do you think he’s a bad judge of character?” “I’ve always trusted his judgment. Why?”

“Because he loves you. So if he’s a good judge of character…”

Sin rolled her eyes. “Please. Spare me the psychobabble and pep talk. I’m not going to off myself or anything. I’m free now, and life is good.”

“Is Con part of it? Your good life?”

Butterflies flitted in Sin’s stomach. The sensation was weird, almost panic-inducing, but at the same time, it was strangely… pleasant.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Tayla leveled a flat stare at Sin. “I’m neither blind nor stupid. I saw the way you freaked when he offered to do something nice for you.”

“Doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want me. Not like that.” “How many bullshit flags do I have to throw down? You didn’t see him when he got to our apartment. He was terrified for you. I thought he was going to explode out of his skin while the boys were working on you. And just a minute ago, I saw how he looked at you. He might not want to admit it, even to himself, but there’s something there. Let him in, Sin. I know it’s hard. Giving myself to Eidolon was the toughest thing I’ve ever done. But I haven’t regretted it. Not once. Con’s a good guy, and you can also trust your brothers.”

God, this was getting so old. “I don’t need—”

“I know. You don’t need them.” Sarcasm laced Tayla’s words. “You don’t need anyone. But you know what? They need you.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Sin slammed her glass of water on the counter, sloshing liquid everywhere. “They’ve done fine without me.” There was a long silence, and then Tayla smiled, but it was a sad upturn of her lips. “No, they haven’t. Their sick, twisted brother, your brother, Roag, nearly destroyed their lives. And he tortured and killed Shade’s sister. But in a way, he brought Lore and you to them. If they can turn Roag’s deeds into something positive… Let’s just say they need that.” She closed her eyes and took a ragged breath. “My father was a monster. I can still taste my mom’s blood on my tongue because it was so thick in the air. But because of him, I have a sister. The fact that some tiny bit of good came out of the horrors he inflicted on me and my mother has kept me sane and kept me from wasting my life on bitterness.”

Sin turned away, unable to think too hard about what Tayla had said. Because for as much as Tayla and Sin had in common, they couldn’t be more opposite. Sin had wasted her life on bitterness. Maybe Tayla was right. Maybe it was time to accept the good things that had come into her life instead of shoving them away. Her brothers were tight, and though things had been rough for a while, the way they’d ultimately accepted Lore into the fold was absolute, like he’d never been missing. Maybe they’d accept her like that.

A strange frisson of longing shot through her. She hadn’t had a family, a real family, in more than a hundred years. Then again, the very idea made her break out into a cold sweat. And then there was Con. She’d told him things she’d never told anyone. She’d done things with him she’d never done, and her body heated at the memories. He’d protected her when he could have killed her. He forced her to confront things she didn’t want to… and even though it totally wasn’t cool, no one else had ever bothered to go that far with her. Not even Lore, who wanted to be close but was too afraid of pushing her away.