Page 17 of Magic of Sins

“What a pleasant surprise, Your Royal Highness.”

My eyes fall on the title of the book:Macbeth. Can’t say I’m surprised by his choice of reading material. Whenever I have to censor a work by Shakespeare, I run out of ink—so much anger, lust, and greed can be found on those pages.

Caden’s gaze slides from Ophelia to me, lingering on my turtleneck which is sticking to my neck now, drenched in sweat. This is definitely the wrong outfit for this room.

I make a show of crossing my arms, giving Caden a challenging look. The last time we met, he fazed me so badly that I threw my wine in his face. This time I won’t let myself be provoked. And there’s something else I’ve decided as well. I will no longer be a pawn between the sin mage and the royal family. If Caden Nox wishes to continue to have these little get-togethers, he has to agree to make a deal withmeas well.

“I’ll leave you to it then. Are you going to be okay, Kaya?” asks Ophelia. Doubt rings in her voice, and I grimace wryly.

“It’s not like he’s going to eat me.”

“Interesting choice of words,” Caden comments as the princess leaves the conservatory. He gets to his feet and circles me once, stopping behind me. Then he leans toward me. “But I can’t promise that.”

I hear the smirk in his voice as his breath brushes over the top of my ear. Instinctively, I take a step forward, feeling the bench against my knee preventing me from fleeing any farther.

“What do you want this time?” I ask, glad that the tremor inmy voice isn’t noticeable.

Caden turns away from me and shrugs.

“A little idleness, a good meal, a little pleasure. Whatever you feel like doing.”

“And if I feel like leaving?”

“That wouldn’t make the royal family very happy now, would it? I guess Princess Ophelia told you what was at stake.”

“Why should I care about that?” I reply.

I stroll along the path and stop to stroke a palm leaf with my gloved finger. I pretend I’m indifferent to the whole idea even though inside I’m seething.

Caden follows me. I no longer feel like the lamb before the wolf. I’m one predator squaring off with another.

“What if I want to make a deal of my own with you?” I ask as I turn to the sin mage.

That was a mistake. He knows I’m bluffing, that I couldn’t bear having those deaths on my conscience. I can see it in the corners of his mouth, which twitch in amusement.

It completely throws me off my game. I take a step backward, promptly stumbling over a tree root. The only reason I don’t fall is because he grabs my wrist. Gently, he pulls me toward him. Despite my thick wool sweater and blouse, I can feel every single one of his long, slender fingers and my racing pulse underneath them.

“I’m all ears, Kaya,” he says softly. “What kind of deal did you have in mind?”

He will refuse, of that I am suddenly sure. He’ll say no and my wish will have revealed something about myself that he really shouldn’t know. But there’s no going back now. Not if I don’t want to make a complete fool of myself.

“My mother,” I begin. I decided what I would say last night when I made up my mind that I didn’t want to be a pawn any longer. But now I’m struggling to get the words out. “She… shewas killed by sin mages when I was a baby. I want to find the ones responsible.”

It’s the first time I’ve said that out loud. I’ve never told anyone about my past. Ava knows I was raised by a foster mother in the country outside of Virtue. She knows about my hard life on the farm, about my six foster siblings, how we barely had enough to eat. But I never told her about my mother’s death.

Sin mages are said to have driven her mad. I was only a few months old at the time, so I have little to no memory of her. Only a lock of her brown hair, a photograph of her holding me in her arms, and a small card on which was written the words:Never lose sight of the path of virtue.

She did. Lose sight of the path of virtue, I mean. And it seems I will have to follow her example and do the same.

It breaks my heart to ignore the only advice I ever received from my mother. But even if I try to refuse Caden, the crown won’t let me. One look into the king’s eyes was enough for me to know that I have no choice in this matter. At least this way, I may still have a chance to solve my mother’s murder.

Caden doesn’t seem nearly as surprised as I thought he would be. He’s probably heard stories like this countless times before—children who’ve lost their parents to sin magic, married couples cruelly separated … the news is full of them.

“Your mother, then,” he says, as if he knows I’m still grieving the loss. “Well, I could help you investigate her death ...” His voice trails off.

“But?”

There’s always abut. I suppress a frustrated sigh. Caden brings his thumb to his lips as if needing to think.

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