Page 11 of Sin and Salvation

Crow squeezed my shoulders lightly. “If he comes calling… you will not be going.”

And that sealed my sentence: I belonged to the Black Hearts now.

ChapterFive

The most shocking aspect of being taken in by the Black Hearts was that they were… actually kind of nice. I hadn’t expected that from the demons I’d been told would beat the shit out of me and rape me on sight.

On the other hand, it seemed that most of the things Maxime had told me were lies. I was beginning to feel the slightest tinge of shame for how naïve I’d been, how easily I’d swayed by his lies.

If I hadn’t been, I could’ve found a way out years ago.

I was given two nights off, for my feet to heal from the battering they’d taken in the streets of Concordia, and somehow, during that time, I seemed to become the local charity case for the other strippers.

From them, I’d expected cattiness and venom.

Instead, it was like being swept into the arms of long-lost sisters, all of whom were determined to wipe away the last vestiges of the southside of Concordia, turning me into one of their doppelgängers.

The blonde demon turned out to be named Kylaea. She’d come to my door with an entire bag stuffed with clothes—”These are just some athleisure pants and shirts I had laying around, you’re a little short but if you roll them you should be fine”—makeup, and a grocery bag that was steaming and filling my small room with the mouthwatering scent of fried dumplings.

I made room for her, thanking her for the gift of clothes and food.

The room I’d been assigned to wasn’t very big, but it was more than I’d expected. The second floor of the building was for employees. Anyone in the Black Hearts’ employ was entitled to a small studio apartment; mine had a window that looked out over a street that was busier by night than by day.

The minute Kylaea had showed up, I’d changed into the new clothes, happily consigning my pencil skirt and designer trench coat to the dumpster out back.

This was the beginning of my metamorphosis, I told myself. I was shedding the cocoon Maxime had smothered me with, and spreading my wings to find out who Venus really was.

“Oh, my Devil, what’s in these?” I popped a dumpling in my mouth, my stomach rumbling.

Also gone were the days of starvation diets.Good riddance, Maxime.

“You’ve got the pork and goat dumplings,” Kylaea said, squinting at the receipt. “Tash does incredible things with food. We’ll have to take you there sometime.” She sat at the small kitchenette table, somehow managing to look lithe and beautiful even while curled up on a cheap folding chair.

‘We’ turned out to be Kylaea and a girl named Tyri, who had only started here about six months ago. Tyri’s blue hair marked her as a descendant of the House of Sloth, but there was nothing sleepy about her vivid orange eyes or pixie-like features.

It was only when they were leaving that I saw an unmarked package outside my door. Kylaea looked down at it and shrugged. “We didn’t leave that. Must be from your new secret admirers.”

She leered at me as she picked it up, tossing the package into her hands.

I waited until the door shut behind them before I unwrapped it. Silky black lace, glittering with tiny diamonds, fell into my hands, along with a note.

I quickly scanned the rough scrawl.This is for your first night, sugar. Remember who you’re dancing for. Aeron.

The hellhound, with his mischievous green eyes and tousled auburn hair.

I scoffed to myself, even though I was a little pleased. But honestly, did they think I’d forget? It would be impossible to live here and not remind myself almost every minute that I owed that particular minute of freedom to their help.

It almost made me feel a little bad that I hadn’t come clean about my situation.

I shook out the lingerie, laying it across my small twin bed. It was by far the nicest thing in the room, but I couldn’t complain.

I had a dresser with a mirror, left by a previous tenant, and the other girls had been extraordinarily kind about pooling some bedding together for me. I slipped into the small bathroom and crammed myself in the walk-in shower, using Kylaea’s vanilla-scented body wash and shampoo.

The hot water relaxed me. I could do this; they’d shown no inclination towards selling me out, nor that they knew Maxime would be looking for a pink-haired succubus.

All I had to do was get up on the stage, dance like my life depended on it—because it did—and put away enough money to escape from Concordia and… what? Live comfortably in a faraway city that wasn’t my home?

Despite the bad about Concordia, I still loved the city itself. I’d never been outside its limits. The thought of leaving was utterly terrifying, but in the end, I supposed there was no choice.

---