Page 1 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

ONE

HOUSE OF CRYOS, APERION, MANY YEARS AGO

It’s beentwo hundred and eighty-five days since I’ve last killed a demon.

Two hundred and eighty-five days since I’ve been on a battlefield.

And now I am forced to stand witness to the musical atrocity in front of me. All in the name of being seen in high society. All so I can be seen as ladylike and not a heathen who enjoys making demons bleed before sending them off back to the Source.

I tighten my fingers on the leaflet detailing tonight’s performance, and a gust of chilly air blows through my hair, messing the updo my maid had painstakingly spent hours to style.

“Minerva,” my mother hisses in my ear.

I glance at her from the corner of my eye.

The scowl on her face accompanies a deep frown that ought to permanently get etched into her features. It really should, considering how often she sports it. But alas, she’s a powerful deity from a reputed clan. Despite her advanced age, she only looks slightly older than me, which she never fails to point out.

She’s a beauty. A scowling beauty, but one nonetheless. And there’s nothing worse than a female who is well awareof her attributes. Somehow, her sullen appearance makes her even more intriguing to the male population, which she greatly enjoys.

It’s disconcerting how many admirers she has—males who openly profess their adoration to her even though she is married. To a king, nonetheless.

But my father is most often oblivious. Or if he notices, he turns a blind eye.

He is busy withimportantmatters, not frivolous ones like monitoring what his wife is wearing or if she flirts with half of Aperion. In his eyes, she has done her duty. She provided him with three children: an heir, a spare, and a female—yes, that is exactly how both of my parents refer to theirpreciousoffspring.

It’s laudable to have three children, considering an Aperite female has an average of one point five children. Not to say that they birth halves, though perhaps that happens sometimes? I’ve never personally witnessed a birth, so I cannot say how those little creatures come into the world, nor have I been allowed to investigate it, though I have been curious about it.

It’s a matter for the worldly female, my mother would say, snatching a book on the topic from my hands. “You will learn about it after you get mated.”

That means that no matter how many military treatises I read or how many classic works on the topic of demonology and spiritual energy I memorize by heart, I will never be allowed to investigate matters that are of a more…intimate nature.

Those are for the worldly female only. And why? Because not only my mother, but other females within our circles believe that worldly knowledge equals temptation. Once a young, unmated female becomes aware of those secrets, she is naturally bound to want to explore them.

Alas, it seems I am about to find out soon enough, seeing as how I am betrothed to be married.

I have been engaged for two hundred and eighty-five days. The connection between my new betrothal and my lack of demon killing is clear, though perhaps not as intuitive as one might think.

My fiancé is a refined male. A bit of a peacock if you ask me. Unfortunately, my parents chose him for me without even seeking my opinion.

But I gave it nonetheless at the engagement party they sprang up on me.

Quite loudly.

Quite…unladylikely.

Oops.

Who told them to spring up on me a surprise of such magnitude in public? I am not the type to silently acquiesce to everything, which my parents are well aware of. Perhaps they thought that by announcing the engagement in front of an audience, I would be less inclined to throw a fit.

Oh, well…

Theron of the House of Pyros is by all accounts a perfect match. He is a reputed warrior who has recently gained favor with Commander Azerius for his last mission. Rumors say he might make general soon.

Now that is quite the achievement, and I’m almost jealous about it—if it were actually deserved. It’s no secret it is my ardent wish to excel in the army and become a general myself. Thefirstfemale general in Commander Azerius’ army. You would think that Theron, a warrior himself, would appreciate my aspirations.

No.

Not. At. All.

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