Page 82 of A Story of Sinners

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A small table had been placed in the dining room of my palace, decorated with silver and gold and a variety of the continent’s highest quality cheese. What I had to do to get that cheese should never be spoken of, ever again. First, I sifted to New Hazel, cutting Fin’s and Kieran’s time short in the Dragon Lands, which I was sure to never hear the end of. They were then ordered to clear the mountain in search of every single black dahlia they could find while I sifted from land to land in search of the highest quality cheeses.

I stopped by each state of the Mortal Lands and demanded the best they had. I even saw Brandon, settled into his new home in the Mortal Lands with Lord Henshall. He explained that after the women were stolen away, his brother and Aiden had a complete meltdown. Their actions in response had been so barbaric, he couldn’t stand the sight of them and chose to flee the country.

That had sent me to my next destination: Cambriel. I’d planned on avoiding the kingdom all together, but after speaking with Brandon, I couldn’t help myself. I found George, alone in the kitchen, sneaking food from the chefs. I snuck up behind him and placed the tip of my blade to his neck, demanding he tell me which cheese was Dahlia’s favorite. I stole ninety of each and left a small scar for him to remember me by.

Oh, the curse words that followed.

Now, here I stood, pride in my chest as I gazed around at my creation. Black dahlias covered every surface of the room, minus the gold and silver carpeted walkway. Bottles of pink wine sat chilled on the dining room table, which was covered with every variety of fruit I could get my hands on.

I hoped she liked it.

Fin’s hand squeezed my shoulder as his gaze darted around the room, evaluating the cumulation of our hard work. “She’s going to love it.”

A barely contained grin stretched across my face as my eyes landed on Kieran arranging a vase of flowers.

“I apologize for interrupting your evenings, but please be gone when I get back.”

I’d released the entirety of the palace staff for the night. There were no chefs, no servers, no maids—only her and me.

Fin chuckled. “You don’t have to tell me twice. I want to get back to Eulalia as soon as possible.” He tilted his head and observed Kieran’s tense posture. “Are you coming to the Dragon Lands with us, Kieran? Or are you going back to the winter court?”

He only shrugged, then sifted away, disappearing without a response. I shook my head, and Fin rolled his eyes.

“That girl has him in a vise grip,” Fin sighed, a slight frown crossing his face, one that was quickly replaced with a smirk as he met my eyes. “Now, let’s go get our women.”

And so we did.

Chapter34

Dahlia

The sun slowly sank over the horizon as I leaned over the balcony outside of bedroom, waiting for the sky to settle into darkness. Dragons flamed through the dusky sky, taking joy in their final flight of the day, and though I typically enjoyed watching them, my mind was on other things. Nerves fluttered in my stomach as I marched back into the bedroom and took one last look at my reflection.

Gabriella had done my makeup, painting coal over my eyes to create a smokey, sultry look, and Eulalia had curled my hair with the help of a spell. I’d picked the outfit, a floor length, sparkling black gown that dipped low at the chest. It was a style I would have scoffed at before but had grown rather fond of.

A knock sounded at my door, and my attention whipped to the window, noting the sky’s descent into night. I inhaled and steeled myself for what would come next.

When the door cracked open, there he was, in all his glory. Ryken, with hair meticulously slicked back, donning a silken jacket and trousers. He’d put just as much effort into his appearance as I had.

He didn’t say a word, only held out his hand. I gazed into his silver eyes, noting how much calmer they were than earlier, and took his hand.

“Hold tight,” he said, gripping my hip with his free hand.

I didn’t expect what came next.

A calm wind swallowed us whole, and it felt like falling but steadier, more controlled. We sifted through the void as silver swirled about us, wrapping us in a cocoon of sorts, and when we landed, it was on our feet, something I still failed to do when sifting myself.

My mouth dropped open as I took in my surroundings: the same dining room where we’d had that initial fight but decorated differently. In the center sat a small two-person table, filled with wine and some sort of food, and surrounding it—black dahlias. Tons of them. Vases upon vases were filled with the flower, occupying every corner and surface. The ground was littered with the black petals.

My eyes widened at the sight. “How? How did you know?”

“I have my sources,” he winked. He cupped the palm of my hand and led me to the table in the center of the room. “I’m hoping you’ll like the spread even more.”

I clapped my hands upon spotting the endless rows of cheese and fruit, the multiple bottles of pink fairy wine. My eyes landed on one cheese in particular: a cranberry wine cheese found only in one territory. Cambriel.

“How did you get that cheese? It’s my favorite.”

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