Page 181 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

“I don’t trust your washing skills enough,” he answers, amused.

“What?”

“You have long hair,” he clarifies. “It takes longer.”

“So you wanted to shower with me just to make sure I washed properly?”

“Yep,” he hums as he continues to squeeze the moisture out of my hair. “You’re welcome.”

“You’re weird,” I say with a chuckle.

“Maybe, but now you’ll get a restful sleep.”

“Speaking of sleep…”

“Yes, Minnie, we are sharing the bed, too,” he adds indulgently.

Somehow I am too tired to argue with him on this, so I simply grab a cotton shirt from the clothes we’d bought earlier and shrug it on before getting in bed.

His eyes never leave me as he continues his ablutions, and once he’s done, he joins me under the blanket.

We’re both on our sides, looking at the each other.

Despite the horrendous detour we’ve taken and the horrors we saw both in prison and outside, Mine is surprisingly relaxed. He has a small smile on his face, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

“What are you thinking about?” I ask, curious.

“You, me, one bed.”

I frown at his wording.

“Never mind. Sweet dreams, my dear Minnie,” he murmurs and he lays a kiss on my forehead. He closes his eyes and goes to sleep.

Despite how tired I am, I can’t seem to do the same. My thoughts are in disarray as I find myself more confused than ever about my situation and my purpose. The time is dwindling and the thought that I’ll have to leave Mine behind leaves me…cold.

Yet how can I allow myself to stay when a relationship with a human is not only forbidden but would make me an outlaw for all of Aperion. We might be together, but we’d always be hunted because I don’t for a moment believe the Aperite Supremes would allow a deity to get away with such an egregious rule break without making an example out of us.

If only I had been born a human, too…

“This ishow males dress in your world?” Mine asks as he fastens a dark blue linen tunic around his waist before donning a thick leather belt around his midriff.

“The common folk. The nobility wear much finer cloth. Although for females, the dresses are also a bit more extravagant,” I say as I go about putting on my own ensemble.

The dress is made from the same ordinary linen as Mine’s, but this one is a lighter cream color. It has an empire waist and a high neckline, not leaving too much exposed flesh. After I tie back the dress, I add a thin brown leather belt under the bodice.

“The shoes are comfortable, though,” he comments after he’s put on the leather boots.

“Yours maybe. Not mine.” I crinkle my nose as I wiggle my toes around in the narrow toe box. Female clothing, whether poor or rich, is not made for comfort. These shoes are no different. They have pointy toes and a small, rounded heel at the back. As opposed to the male shoes, these ones are not made out of leather, rather of some satin imitation.

Once dressed, we leave the inn and head to the military headquarters that is in charge of sin demons.

The Capital is huge, so to get there faster—and without the chance of running into someone recognizing me—I buy us tickets on theProhodos, a tram-like vehicle that services all the districts of the Capital.

It’s mostly used by s’Aperiotes since they make the bulk of the commuters from the outer districts to the central ones.

“Try not to speak too loudly,” I whisper to Mine. “We don’t want anyone taking notice of us.”

He nods.

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