Sinner (MATURE 18+)

19

He laughed.

A full, hearty laugh. Head tossed back, mouth wide open. I had told him my true identity and he just laughed. I knew this was going to be his reaction; disbelief and taking it as a joke. I had already begun to regret even bringing it up.

"You're actually hilarious," he managed between bursts of uncontrollable laughter. Seeing the deadpan look on my face, he paused. "No way that's true, Elena. This is real life not a fucking fairytale." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not lying Lincoln," I muttered, taking a frustrated sip of my coffee.

"And demons are real too? What's next? -vampires and werewolves?" he snorted, shaking his head. I held back a sarcastic response. Linc's eyes were dancing, his lips twisted into a giddy smile.

"You want proof? I'll give you proof," I snapped, pulling my phone out to dial Carsir. Lincoln furrowed his brows, fixated in a confused look. "Hey babe, are you still home?"

"Yeah, why?" he replied, his voice deeper than usual. He sounded angry and worked up. I refrained from asking him what had happened until later. But anger was good for my current situation.

"I'm coming over. With Lincoln," I said and hang up soon after. "Come on." I gestured to Linc to pack up his stuff and with my coffee in hand, we got into our separate cars and he trailed me. On the drive to Carsir's place, I prayed that this would make Lincoln believe me. The last thing I needed for him was to think I was some unstable nut job. After parking, I dragged him upstairs and knocked on the door.

Less than a second after it opened, I grabbed Carsir's hand. "I need you to show your wings to Lincoln." Carsir chuckled, shaking his head.

"So clearly I'm not the only one that thinks you're absolutely nuts," Linc muttered, running a hand through his hair. I kissed my teeth impatiently.

"Please, Carsir! He needs to know the truth," I explained, rubbing my hands up and down his arms. "I'll owe you one later," I added cheekily, an almost seductive smile on my face.

"Are you sure about this, Elena?" Carsir asked, his eyes unsure. Both our kinds were forbidden from telling humans about our existence and as royalty, it was even more crucial to abide by the law, but I couldn't care less. Maybe I wasn't as fit for the throne as I once thought I was.

I nodded quickly at Carsir and stepped back for him to do his thing. "Watch him," I whispered to Linc. He seemed hesitant but listened anyways as Carsir squeezed his eyes closed. He was probably either thinking of something that made him angry or aroused. Hopefully the latter.

In a matter of four seconds, black wings sprouted out of his back, his eyes burning a brilliant shade of rouge. "Fuck!" Lincoln screamed, jumping back a foot. He looked terrified and confused, but slowly his eyes almost cleared as the pieces of the puzzle came together. "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit," he whispered and stumbled to the couch. He held his hands in his hands, muttering to himself.

"You can put them away now," I said to Carsir, brushing a finger delicately over the soft feathers. He shivered at my touch but they sank back into him.

"What the fucking hell!" he swore, shaking his head.

"Take your time, Linc," I consoled, rubbing my hand up and down his back.

"So you're both angels? Did God send you? Is God even real? Is there a devil?" Lincoln shot question after question. I smiled and sat next to him, placing my hand on his shoulder supportively.

"I'm an angel and Carsir is a demon. In fact, I'm the Queen and he's the prince," I explained, glancing over at Carsir. His eyes were on my hand on Lincoln and I sheepishly withdrew myself.

"So you're royalty? Does that mean there's no God?"

"Modern religion is far off the truth, Lincoln. It was always just us; angels and demons. Good and evil- despite how subjective that is," I said. Linc shook his head, his jaw dropped. "It's a lot to take in, I know. But I may as well explain our situation right now." I gave him a rundown of the last few months.

"So what you're trying to say is that you -The Queen- has to marry your," he turned to Carsir, "father, but you're actually in love with him and now you're torn between doing what's right and doing what you want," Linc summarized. I nodded slowly, surprised that he was taking it this well. He breathed out shakily, burying his head in his hands again.

"I'm not in love with him but yes, you're correct," I said, glancing at the beautiful man who stood behind me. He had a faraway look on his face as if he was so deep in thought, his mind and body were no longer connected. "Do you understand now, Linc?"

"I think I do, but I also think it's time for me to go," he said suddenly, laughing nervously. "I just need some time to process this." I didn't protest and instead followed him to the door but waited as he continued downstairs. I turned back to Carsir.

"I have to look over the wedding details today," I started, playing with the threads of my sweater "I uh- will talk to you later." Carsir came to me and kissed me gently, making me want to do nothing more than jump into his arms and take it to bed. It made me want to wrap my legs around him and let him have his way with me. His sandalwood scent surrounded me for a second longer before he pulled away, a solemn expression on his face.

"I also know something happened, do you want to talk about it?" I asked finally, pursing my lips together.

"I just had an argument with Alias about the wedding," he answered, not giving any other details. I nodded and said goodbye once more before leaving.

***

Before entering my aunt's old home, I adjusted my dress and ignored the ache in my heart reminding me of my last time here. The council had agreed that because I was going to live with Alias, the palace would turn into a meeting place for us. The guards bowed as I passed by and I greeted by Leia Raziel who swept into a curtsy. She followed me as I headed into my office and sat at my desk.

"We have much work to do, your highness," she exclaimed, pushing a file of papers into my hands. I opened the cover and held back a sigh, my eyes drifting over the wedding planning papers. "We have taken over the choice of venue, decor and half the attendance. I have selected a few options for you to choose from and any other suggestions will go directly to the King's staff where we will come to a final decision."

I nodded, sitting on the couch as she excitedly pulled out photos of different venues. "The King has chosen the venue for the wedding itself, but you are welcome to decide on the reception." She handed me images of various banquet halls nearby the wedding location. Alias had chosen a large church, which was ironic considering he was a demon.

All of the provided options were grand, enough to fit at least a thousand people in. The wedding ceremony was set to be a smaller, 100 or so of important families. As a child, I always wanted a small, quaint wedding with just my close family and friends present. I absentmindedly flipped through the images and selected one at random. I didn't care where it was held, the thought alone of me getting married to Alias, made me sick.

"I also have selected a seating plan that I think you may approve of, but of course your word is final," Leia added, holding a large seating chart in her hands. I put the file down and took the chart from her, holding back yet another sigh of annoyance. Vaguely familiar names took up most of the chart, so I focused my attention at the top of the room, where I was seated. Alias took up space beside me and to my surprise, Carsir was placed on my other side. I held back a smile as I scanned the rest of the table; Lord Cleanthe and Lord Aurelian.

"Replace Lord Cleanthe with Chase Deangelo and Lord Aurelian with the name Lincoln," I said, handing the chart back to her. She looked confused for a second but nodded anyway. "Put them both with their remaining family please."

"No problem, your highness," she said, bowing. But before she could leave, she turned back. "I also need you to look over decoration themes." I bit my lip in frustration.

"Lady Raziel, I feel very tired and I believe you are more than capable to make this decision yourself," I bit out, rubbing my forehead. If it was any other issue, I would be more than happy to help but the last thing I wanted to think about was my political marriage.

"Of course, your majesty. Shall I call a guard to escort you back home?"

"I'll be okay."