Page 15 of The Sin

The balance of power could be adjusted.

Women didn’t have to be second-class citizens in order to be wives and mothers. We wanted a voice. We wanted autonomy. We wanted equal standing in society.

That is what I knew of the Sisterhood.

Did Sector Five and what I’d learned of the Outerlanders change any of that? I wasn’t sure. The Sisterhood was based on the founding principles of the Eastern Coalition. Some of those founding principles were most certainly a lie. Our foundation had cracks.

But if we burned Capra down to the ground, where would we go? The Outerlands wasn’t dead, but it was still an unsavory place. The Smoke was a mystery I wasn’t about to put my faith in.

So maybe nothing would change.

And maybe everything would change.

What I’d seen, what I’d discovered… well, it was the kind of information that could—should—cause a fundamental shift in momentum for our cause. Rose had given me my first mission and I’d successfully delivered Julian Edgar’s handprint to her. She couldn’t tell me why it was so important, only that it was. She’d said it would be used to good effect when the time was ripe.

When I’d asked when that time would be, she’d said,Every rebellion needs a spark. We’ll know it when we see it.

I didn’t know much, but Sector Five and the Outerlands felt like it could be a pretty big spark.

As soon as I was released from house arrest, I’d pay Rose a visit. Tell her everything. The Sisterhood would know what to do with the lies.

For the first time in days, I felt lighter, as if some of the weight of responsibility had shifted.

The sun had gone down by the time Roman got home. I’d already eaten dinner on my own and soaked in the tub until my skin pruned. I’d already dressed for bed in a camisole and cotton shorts.

“Georga?” he called from the passage.

“I’m here!” I grabbed a hoodie from the drawer and tugged it over my head as I perched on the edge of the bed.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, why he was seeking me out after ignoring me for days, but it couldn’t be good.

My gaze flickered to the doorway as he entered.

As per usual, he was dressed from head to toe in warden black. But this evening, instead of the windbreaker, he wore a black overcoat that met the top of his black boots. It looked more formal, leant an additional air of authority to a man who already had more than his fair share.

I didn’t ask where he’d come from or where he was going. As I’d learned long ago, that was an exercise in futility.

I fisted my hands inside the hoodie sleeves for comfort. “I saved dinner for you. It’s in the oven.”

“Do you want to go to The Smoke?”

My thoughts stuttered.

“I’m offering to take you,” he said into my shocked silence. “Tonight. If that’s what you want.”

He sounded completely serious.

He looked completely serious.

There was no way in hell he was serious.

I eyed him warily. “Is this some kind of test?”

“It’s just an offer.”

Then why did it feel like the start of another battle of wills between us?

I launched off the bed to my feet. “Youwant to takemeto The Smoke?”

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