Page 228 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

The male is around Mine’s age. I can only see his profile as he approaches Mine and the female. He has a straight nose and a tanned complexion, his hair the darkest of black. He’s dressed casually in a pair of gray pants and a black sweater.

The female turns to him, her lips spreading into a dazzling smile. She leaves Mine’s arms and launches herself at the other male, who takes her in his arms, his hands moving possessively down her back. Then he pulls her in for a kiss.

A full-on, mouth to mouth kiss.

I blink in confusion. What is happening?

Mine rolls his eyes and says something to them. They break apart a few seconds later and more words are exchanged, after which Mine looks up, directly at the angle of the mirror.

His eyes are narrowed to two slits, but as the other male continues talking, his face erupts in a bright smile.

The couple are now holding hands, with the male throwing one arm around her to keep her close. His face is tilted toward her, his lips curved up in a perpetual smile. I cannot see his features clearly or the color of his eyes, but his bone structure reminds me of Mine in a way.

As that thought enters my mind, my eyes widen in comprehension.

He must be related to Mine! A cousin or something. Which means the female is family too.

I let out a sigh of relief. It seems I will not be murdering anyone tonight. Though when I see Mine again, I must let him know that regardless of whether he’s related to those people, unless that’s his mother, he cannot put his lips anywhere near her.

Nodding to myself in satisfaction, I watch them for a few more minutes as they busy themselves around the kitchen to prepare food. Well, it’s mostly the female and the other male. Mine just stands there, looking into empty space with a rather stupid grin on his face—stupid because it’s not for me, of course.

Suddenly, the image from the mirror dies, and no matter how much I try to reactivate it, it’s in vain. I suppose these aren’t meant for constant surveillance. Since I don’t know how to power it up again, I toss it in a drawer and go to bed, satisfied I won’t have to kill my beloved for wronging me.

Ah, it’s always the little things that make me the happiest.

But that happiness is short-lived when the following day my maids fuss over me to make mebeautifulfor Theron and his family. A constant frown is etched on my forehead as I have to withstand being poked and prodded.

The most work goes into my hair as the maids add jewels and embellishments. The entire ensemble is heavy and uncomfortable. My mother comes by a short while later, nods her approval, and asks the maids to add a few more pieces of jewelry to my neck and hands.

In the end, I no longer feel like myself, just a pretty display piece. But that is exactly what mother intended.

The meeting takes place in the blue room of the palace of Cryos—a dining room reserved for special guests whose walls are painted with the rarest shade of blue in Aperion.

My parents and I are the first to arrive. Both Maledo and Molokai had begged out due to previous engagements.

When Theron and his parents arrive, a succession of greetings ensues as well as false platitudes that I have a hard timenotrolling my eyes at.

“Theron, dear, what happened to your face?” my mother asks when she gets a better look at him.

I raise a brow at him. Though the wound is not as bad as before, there is a rather ugly scar running down his face.

“He got it in his last mission. It was a hard one. Commander Azerius has praised him for it, of course,” his mother interjects.

Theron glares at me, a warning in his gaze not to say anything about the real cause of his scar.

I smile to myself. So he had to lie… I’m sure his pride would have been shattered if anyone found out a female scarred hisperfectface.

Clown.

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Theron. It must have been a very difficult mission. Was it a level twelve demon?”

His nostrils flare. “Yes,” he answers in a clipped voice.

“Oh my, I’ve never even seen a level twelve demon. Are they very scary?”

He looks ready to explode. “Yes.”

“Yes what?”

---