Page 1 of Magic of Sins

Chapter One

You shouldn’t be here.

The thought keeps repeating in my head. It drowns out even the booming bass of the song playing in the other room. I stand next to the checkroom, hugging my coat to my chest. The outfit I’m trying to conceal is nowhere near as scandalous as I’d believed it to be. My neck is uncovered, as well as a little bit of cleavage—a v-shaped strip of pale skin. But compared to what I’m seeing on the dance floor, my dress is harmless. Bare arms stretch toward the ceiling in time with the music. There are flashes of uncovered shoulders. I even see a woman whose skirt only reaches to her knees.

You shouldn’t be here.

My gaze wanders to the narrow wooden staircase my roommate Ava and I just descended. I could simply go back up, put on my coat, and make my way home under cover of darkness.

It would make sense.

It would be safe.

“Kaya, is everything okay?”

Ava tugs at the sleeve of my dress. She has undone her braid and is now combing through her reddish-blonde mane with her fingers, revealing a silver streak of hair. She dyed it in secret and usually hides it carefully. If anyone outside these four walls knew about it, she’d be in big trouble. Vanity is a mortal sin. And sins are punished harshly in Virtue.

Since birth, it’s been drummed into me to always walk the path of virtue. Yet here I am, among all these people who haveleft that path, even if only for an evening. Ava calls it an act of liberation. I’m not so sure about that yet.

“Hey, Earth to Kaya!”

My roommate has to scream in order to be heard over the music. She pulls out a tube of lipstick and applies it carefully.

Red. Bright red.

I press my coat even tighter against me as a young woman with a studded collar pushes past us on her way to the cloakroom, annoyed because we’re in her way.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I ask just as loudly as Ava had spoken. My throat feels scratchy because I’m not used to raising my voice.

My roommate purses her lips provocatively.

“My lipstick?” she asks.

“All of this.”

I make a gesture that encompasses the entire nightclub. Ava tries hard not to roll her eyes. Not very successfully, I might add.

“Don’t be such a killjoy, Kaya! You’ll get through this. I’ve been here countless times.”

Shaking my head, I search for a comeback, but Ava is quicker.

“Come on! You might even end up having a little fun.”

She winks at me and her brown eyes flash with amusement. Against my will, I smile at her enthusiasm.

I can’t believe I let her talk me into this. I’m usually the last person to break the rules. Any rules. After all, they’re there for a reason.

Again, I let my gaze glide over the dance floor. I wonder if one ofthemis here tonight.

They are called sin mages because they feed on other people’s vanity, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and laziness. They call itfeeding. To them, entering our minds and sensing our darkest thoughts and feelings is like a drug. They live to taste sin on their lips and feast on it.

If a sin mage were at this party, they’d revel in the debauchery. The smell of alcohol and sweat hangs in the warm, stuffy air, mixing with the rosy scent of perfume. Add to that the abundance of naked skin, glittering jewelry, colorful clothes, and fancy hairstyles—it allscreamssin.

“Let’s go!” Ava calls, and before I can change my mind, she snatches my coat from me and struts toward the checkroom.

For some reason I’m gripped by the silly idea that everyone would turn toward me and gasp, clutching their hands to their chests or covering their open mouths in shock. But of course no one here is interested in my outfit. This is an underground party. A secret rebellion against the current laws.

And I’m smack-dab in the middle of it.

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