His Sin ✔️

TWENTY

Word Count: 1919

¬Amolet

Stace doesn't respond for a long moment, he just stares at me.

"I hope Cian hasn't been manipulating you," he responds quietly after a moment. It may be the wrong thing to do, to reveal my hand right now, but if I go behind everyone's back to find out the truth about Abella, the fallout will be worse. Now I just have to prove to Stace that the need to know whether Abella is okay or not is fueled by me, and not Cian.

"Tell me the truth, Stace," I demand, taking a step toward him, making him step back warily, even if he is the one with some unspoken power that he is holding back from telling me about. He looks past me, almost like he is looking to see if Cian followed me here.

"I've told you nothing but what I know," Stace explains slowly, shoving his hands into his pants. I narrow my eyes, trying to figure out whether he is lying right to my face or not. He's hard to read, his expression like some expertly arranged mask that changes depending on who he is talking to. "Abella is dead. Cian killed her."

At this point, I'm finding myself wanting to convince him. "What if he didn't Stace? What if it was Noah who killed her?"

"I trust Noah more than I trust a Sin, who is built to lie," he mutters.

"But what kind of messed up freak kills his mate?" I question, demanding the answers from him with such ferocity that it's clearly catching him off guard, a worried look seeping into his eyes.

The reason why I have so many doubts about Cian killing Abella is because how could someone kill their mate? I would sooner believe Noah has locked her away somewhere, or perhaps accidentally killed her and is blaming it on Cian, than for either of them to have done is purposefully. The mate bond is special, and no matter how demented someone may be, it's unlikely that anyone could get past their true nature to kill their mate...even a Sin.

Stace shakes his head at me, lowering his tone to sound like he is speaking to someone who doesn't understand. "An immortal, who doesn't want to be tied to someone from a realm that is not his own."

I blink. "What are you talking about?"

"What you don't know is that I come from another realm completely. And Abella came from that realm too, as well as Noah," Stace explains slowly. Closing my eyes, I try to make sense of that. It's possible that Stace could be lying to me right now, but it's obvious Stace isn't from this realm, so another must exist to accommodate someone like him.

"That doesn't make any sense..." I say regardless, shaking my head. Surely if there is another realm, I would have heard about it by now, or surely I would have come across someone else who has come from there. I can't help but wonder if they all have tattoos similar to Stace, or if he is unique.

"The only reason I'm in this realm is to rid this world of pure-blood Sins, all of which have tried to kill off my kind who once lived here," he explains, a sense of anger playing in his dark gaze that suggests that not a single lie is coming from his mouth.

"This is so confusing," I mutter, placing my hands on either side of my head. "What other realm?"

"It's hard to explain, but clearly I'm not from here." He motions over himself. He is far taller than me and most people here, and his tattoos are otherworldly and controlled by some kind of magic. "I'm helping Noah because I want to kill Cian. And I need your help to do it."

"I'm not helping you kill him if that's your only reason," I growl.

The thought of killing Cian...I'm not sure why, but it makes my stomach twist in knots, to the point I could be sick. Maybe it's because I'm terrified of Cian. Both him and Stace could kill me whenever they pleased, so who am I to side with? Stace is on some revenge kick, although I suppose Cian is too. Maybe I should just run and hide away from the both of them instead of being willing to work with either of them.