Bereft

- 25 -

I winced as Darius' fingers applied mounting pressure to my collarbone. Ah. So this was why Darius required my presence.

"You're about to break your mortal's arm."

Darius' grip relaxed, then disappeared entirely.

Amoroth bent her neck and edged nearer. I flinched, and internally swore at myself for being so ridiculous. "Now, now, Ms. Gaspard, I'm nothing to be afraid of. Unlike that thing over there, I'm not a brute." Smug, she crossed her arms, eyes on Darius. She said she didn't want to speak to the other Sin, yet Amoroth wasn't above taunting him. "You came here to ask something, no? Ask what you will of me."

My mouth was so dry with dread I couldn't find my voice. "We wanted to ask...about the details of what goes into a ritual calling. What one would need to be successful in summoning a Sin."

Amoroth's brow rose again. "Why would you—." She was looking at Darius again, and the smile sprawling across her lips was nothing short of delighted. "Oh, how priceless. You don't know, do you? The Original Sin of Pride, he who goeth first—ignorant as a mewling human babe." She tossed back her head and let out a lingering chorus of laughter. "Ah, and here you are, in my city, forced to come crawling to me. How perfect."

Darius said nothing, but tiny crystals of ice were forming in my breath and frost nipped my backside.

"Your city?" I asked in hopes of distracting Amoroth before she could goad Darius further. Call me stupid, but it had been my idea to approach another Sin to ask for this information, and despite Darius' reluctance, he had arranged this meeting. I almost felt...guilty for subjecting him to the other Sin's taunting. I didn't understand their relationship, but Amoroth was visibly hostile.

"Yes, of course my city." Amoroth swept her arm out as if to encompass the entirety of the rain-clad valley beyond her windows. "I have been cultivating and building Verweald for the past forty years. You don't truly believe your kind could construct a mecca like this in such a short amount of time, do you? Verweald is mine. I am its master, and I will allow no one to taint its streets." Her final words were yet another jab toward the Sin of Pride.

My God. The woman was not exaggerating; she thought Verweald was hers, and I couldn't help but believe her. I knew of four Sins, and of those four, Amoroth and Daniel were obscenely rich and influential amongst my kind, while Balthier commanded enough power to make the rest of his kin tremble. They mocked Darius. Darius, who was starving for energy and short-tempered to a fault, a Sin out of touch with humankind and the supernatural world, a Sin who slept on my sofa. Imagine if I'd formed a contract with a creature like Amoroth! The information she would have access to! I didn't need knowledge of Amoroth's personality or character to recognize her as a capable woman and an efficacious Sin.

I dropped my gaze to my knees as I frowned.

"Oh, I think she just realized what a wreck you are, Darius. Have you been misleading the poor mortal? Lofting your title as 'original,' hmm? Did you tell her where you were for the past forty years—?"

"Amoroth." Darius' voice was hushed, the uttered name blaring audible warning.

"Ms. Amoroth," I interrupted as I shivered from the cold. "The information I asked about?"

Amoroth pursed her lips and leaned to the side again, bringing herself closer to me. "Why, of course. I do know the information you seek. Most Sins would, after all. Maybe not Danyel, but he is only a child." She chuckled, the sound harsh. "The real question is, Ms. Gaspard, what information will you give me in exchange?"

"Exchange?"

"Of course. Did you think I would help you from the goodness in my little black heart?" She touched her chest to highlight her point. "Dear, I may be a Sin, but I am also a female executive in a world that spits upon the professional woman. In other words; I don't barter what I know or have for free." Amoroth extended her hand toward me, two fingertips pressing themselves under my chin to tip my eyes upward. "Why do you want this information?"