Page 303 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

He leads me back to the table and all of a sudden, the conversation switches to mundane topics like politics and the latest news about the war. I half-listen and mumble some replies, but deep down I am still unsettled by the previous conversation.

I quietly finish my steak and move on to dessert. But even the delicious sweetness of the donuts cannot calm my racing mind.

Something is off. A heaviness develops in the pit of my stomach that weighs me down, making it hard to breathe.

Soon, the dinner is over and Rità gets up to leave.

“It was lovely to meet you, Minnie. I will see you again soon.”

Rità gives me a warm hug before she leaves, promising to arrange a dinner with her husband present as well. She seems in a hurry to leave, which once more makes me suspicious of the entire exchange.

“Thank you for the food. It was excellent,” I tell her, mustering a small smile.

“See you soon, Mom.” Mine waves her off.

After the door closes behind her, Mine and I find ourselves alone again.

Silence descends between us, heavy and palpable.

We’re sitting a distance away from one another, both looking at the now closed door, both not daring to look at the other.

Something is wrong. I can feel it, not only in the way Mine and his mother behaved, but also in his body language.

A strange tension rolls off him as he stares into empty space.

“What are you hiding from me?” I ask him directly.

He swallows hard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Yet he averts his gaze.

“This, everything. Something doesn’t add up and I need you to tell me what it is immediately.”

“Minnie—”

“Don’t you Minnie me. I might be a little naive, but I’m not stupid. Perhaps I should have questioned this more when I first learned you could see the spiritual world, but though rare, that can happen. I should have questioned it every time you had the right solution to my problems.”

I move and plant myself in front of him. Hands on my hips, I stare at him, scanning his face for any reaction.

“But I was far too enamored with you to see any signs. Whenever I thought something was off, I convinced myself it’s just a coincidence, or that I’m overthinking it.”

Retrospectively, more things start to become suspicious. It wasn’t just his so-called ability to see and touch ghosts and demons but also his unusual athleticism and speed. The time he’d cut that male in two in Aperion comes to mind.

Back then, I thought he was only a good soldier. Now it makes me wonder.

Just days ago, he took out multiple soldiers in the blink of an eye and with barely any effort.

Are there humans out there who are skilled fighters? Sure. But I’ve never seen someone of his caliber.

Then there’s the greed demon. How many times did I read through those books and found nothing, yet he easily found exactly what we were searching for? Almost as if he knew…

Still, I didn’t think much of it.

Until now. Until I find out that both him and his mother know far too much about my world—more than it is humanly possible.

“Don’t even think to deny it. You promised you wouldn’t lie to me.”

“I won’t.”

His lips flatten in a tight line. He glances at me with a combination of pain and longing.

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