Page 46 of A Sin So Pure

“I’m sure he helped. The party was in his territory that night,” I say. I clench my hands harder, nails digging into my palms as the anger about that night fuels me. “Silas threatened that a similaraccidentwould befall Leo if I didn’t answer any question that he had about you.”

I tilt my head up, and we stare at each other. Both of our jaws clench as the seconds tick by.

“I can’t lose him, Nor,” I say, my voice breaking. “And I’m sorry. You know how racked with guilt I’ve been keeping this from you? But he’s family. He’sall I have left.”

I don’t stop the tears from falling. It might not be fair to cry, but it’s the first time I’ve said it all aloud. And it’s too much.

I’ve spent four years suppressing my grief and this is my breaking point.

“There’s no one who will beat me up about it more than myself,” I say. “But the worst part is that I realized I can’t lose you guys either. Josie held me as I cried at their funeral. You stocked my icebox and pantry so I would have something to eat as I figured out how the hell I was supposed to run my House. You both guided me through my sorrow. Leo’s too. You were there for us because you knew what it’s like to lose your parents.”

I wipe at my cheeks, my hand coming away sticky with tears and stained pink from my blush.

“Silas forced my hand. He made me choose. But I don’t want to choose anymore,” I say. “You guys are my family too. I just didn’t know what to do. I was stuck.”

Nora sighs. It’s one of defeat, where all the angry tension in her shoulders dissipates.

“Look,” she says, scrubbing her hand over her jaw. “I don’t want to, but I understand.”

She swivels in her seat, staring up at the back bar. I follow suit, the mirror reflects the two of us between bottles of liquor.

“When I think about it logically, if the roles were reversed and Josie was threatened, I’d protect her the same,” she says. “But I also would have tried to find a way around it. I wish you would have told me. Josie and I could have helped.”

“I realize thatnow.” I huff a dead laugh. “But he’s theking,Nora. Don’t be foolish.”

“Silas isn’t invincible,” she says. “Kings are only strong because of the pieces that surround them.”

I shake my head. “Life isn’t chess.”

“Isn’t it?” she asks. “Pawns and Houses. Knights and Sins. Kings and Queens.” She shrugs. “They all sound pretty similar to me.”

We lapse into silence, both leaning on our elbows and staring at each other through the mirror. We keep falling into each other’s gazes out of habit, unable to stop the collision before it happens.

We’ve always been like this.

It happens slowly, the way her eyes can’t help but run over my flat hair and the dark circles under my eyes. The few tears that fell have already dried up, their tracks tight on my cheeks. Nora’s eyes land on my lips and darken.

She’s probably noticed how chewed up they are; the metallic taste of blood blooms on my tongue as it darts out to lick over the ripped flesh.

“I told him off after you left.”

Nora blinks out of her haze. “Silas?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. He deserves it for being a nosy prick,” she huffs. “Promise me, if he comes to you again, you’ll tell me.”

“I promise.” I don’t even have to think about it.

“And you’ll politely inform him that if he has questions, he can talk to me directly.”

“He won’t like that.”

“I don’t care what he likes. I only care about you.”

My head tilts down, heat rushing to my cheeks. Nora’s hand enters my view, landing on my knee.

She squeezes.

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