Page 227 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

I prick my finger again and write that name.

Nothing.

What in the Source?

I wipe the mirror again and this time, I write only Valerìon de Vitry.

The mirror shines brightly and this time, an image forms on its surface.

I blink in confusion. Is Lucian not his name? Otherwise, why would the mirror only work when I write Valerìon de Vitry?

The question slides to the back of my mind as I focus on what I’m seeing.

He is in a foreign room, leaning against a counter and sipping on a cup of dark liquid that I assume to be that human coffee he enjoys. He’s not dressed in his military uniform but rather in a casual white shirt that molds to his muscular body and a pair of dark slacks. My eyes are drawn to his big and strong arms and a sigh escapes me as I remember being held in his embrace only a week ago.

He seems well. He certainly doesn’t look upset or distraught at my absence. His scars too, have healed much better since I last saw him, another sign of the passage of time in Anthropa.

He’s smiling and nodding at someone.

I narrow my eyes. Who is he talking to?

As I study his surroundings more, I note it’s some sort of a kitchen, but not the type I’d seen at the base. This is smaller, more personal. Something that would be found in an apartment in the city.

His lips move. Heisspeaking to someone. But I can’t see yet who is around him.

Biting on my lips, I clench my fist in annoyance. Why doesn’t the mirror have audio too?

His mouth moves too quickly and I can’t make out too much of what he’s saying except for the wordsfineandtomorrow.

A flash of navy blue material catches my eye in the periphery of the image. The person whom it belongs steps closer, and a gasp flies past my lips.

She’s a woman in her twenties, her hair primly tied at her nape in a clean bun. A few strands of hair flow down her forehead in a thin fringe. She half turns and I get a better view of her face. Small heart-shaped face, china-like complexion with a smudge of blush on her cheeks, she has big blue eyes framedby dark long lashes. Her nose is small and upturned, her lips full and pink.

I gulp down uneasily.

She is absolutely gorgeous. I don’t think I’ve seen a more beautiful female. Most of the goddesses I know cannot compare to her either.Icannot compare.

She walks closer to Mine and as he places his cup on the counter, he opens his arms for her to hug him.

I grip tightly onto the desk until the wood cracks so I don’t break the mirror instead.

She’s shorter than him, her head reaching his chin. He leans forward and lays a tender kiss on her forehead and I see red.

I. See. Red.

The temperature drops abruptly in my room and errant energy seeps off my pores in dangerous waves, freezing everything in its path. My eyes become glazed with jealousy as I stare at Mine,myMine, hugging and putting his lips on another female.

How. Dare. He?

Who is she? Who in the Source is this beautiful female and what is she to him?

My energy is so uncontrollable, it reaches the mirror, enveloping it in a film of ice. I’m close to my tipping point. I can feel it. I amsoclose to forgetting about all the rules and going back to Anthropa tokillher. And him. If he dared to cheat on me, then he is next too. Becausehow dare he?

I’ve only been gone a short period of time and he’s found someone else already? What about all those promises and sweet words he told me? Is he telling her the same thing? Is he telling her she’s his only one, that he’s never looked at another before?

You are so dead, Valerion de Vitry. When I catch you, I’m going to make you suffer in ways you’ve never in your life imagined for making a fool out of me.

Before my rage can morph into devastating heartbreak, another figure appears in the room. The angle of the mirror shifts, pulling back to reveal the entire kitchen rather than just the angle where Mine is.

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