Page 138 of A Sin So Pure

34

NORA

Bennie slams down his cards, rattling the metal garden table.

Leo groans, head hanging back as he throws his cards to the table. They scatter across the poker chips, flipping over to reveal a handful of random numbers and houses.

“You lot are surprisingly shit at cards,” Bennie says. He snickers as he collects his bounty of chips. “I thought empaths were supposed to be good at reading people?”

In just a few short hours, Bennie has developed a comfortable cockiness around us, as if we’re old friends and not enemies.

Josie quirks a brow at me as if to say,can you believe this guy?

Leo snorts, cracking open one lid and side eyeing the Virtue. I suppress the smile threatening to break across my face. Leo is a master at cards, but today our goal isn’t to win. Quite the opposite—it behooves us to lose.

Winners get comfortable. Comfortable fae get loose lips.

I gather the long since folded cards in front of Imogen and me and pass them to Josie. Josie packs them back into their case with nimble fingers.

Silence settles over us.

Leo sighs, basking in the last rays of sun; it has finally begun its descent for the night, bidding us goodbye.

I check the watch in my pocket: twenty-eight past four. Strange how the sun still sets as it does in winter, yet the air is warm and riding the edge of humidity.

We set up shop in the center of the courtyard, taking over the long rectangle table and chairs. They’re a set of green iron furniture, with unique twisting patterns and floral motifs. The metal was warm when we sat down, having baked in the sun all morning.

Not only was it too nice out tonotenjoy the courtyard, but out here, we also have a semblance of privacy.

“They say Anwynn has exceptionally brisk winters. Is that true?” Bennie asks.

He stretches, reaching muscular arms up to the sky with a groan. Those of us in suits have abandoned our jackets, Bennie, Leo, and I all in various states of rolled up sleeves and unbuttoned collars to avoid overheating.

He’s asked a slew of similar questions through the afternoon; some would say he’s curious, but I know better.

I’d argue there’s a carefully hidden reason why he wants to know so much about our lives.

Bennie’s entertaining, but he’s still a Virtue.

“It isn’t much different from winters human-side,” I say.

“Another reference to a place I’ve never been,” Bennie says. “Are you trying to call my bluff?”

“Can you blame me?” I ask.

Leaning back in my seat, I cross one ankle over my knee and stretch an arm over the back of Imogen’s chair. She shifts in her seat, scooting back enough that I can tease the base of her neck with my knuckle.

“Fair is fair.” Bennie scratches his chin, tracing the sharp contour of his jawline. “When I was a youngling, I had acousin who lived there with my aunt. I was a jealous little shit.” The garden buzzes, bees fluttering between the overgrown wildflowers as his eyes sheen over with nostalgia. “I begged and begged my father to let me visit them, but I was always denied.”

“Aren’t the only Seelie who live human-side exiles?” Leo asks.

A shrewd smile spreads across Bennie’s cheeks, revealing matching dimples that peek around the curved edge of his mustache.

“I didn’t say they weren’t exiles.” Leo’s face goes slack with understanding; Bennie raps his knuckles against the metal table to emphasize his point. “Now you see why I was denied. The family drama back in the day was intense.” He shoots me a knowing wink. “Still is.”

I lick my lips, ignoring the strange pit forming in my stomach. “So, I take it you never got to meet your cousin?”

“I had to focus on more important things, according to my father. Things like my magic.” Bennie rolls his eyes. “I was an early bloomer, and was shipped off to train at age six. Patience—as I’m sure you could tell by looking at him—holds a tight leash on his assets. But I am happy to say I was able to meet her eventually, even though it was under less-than-ideal circumstances.”

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