Sinful

by Jenica Saren

  "Well, you brought it up, so I wanna know." I insist. There's no actual, legitimate reason that I need to know, except to give him a hard time.

  After several long seconds of silence, I decided to see how strong my powers of irritation were. "You know, I could always just-" My words were cut off as I was roughly grabbed from behind and tossed over a broad shoulder.

  I didn't even need to see my captor's face to know immediately which asshole would have no qualms about manhandling me. "Kel! Put me down, Tarzan!" I demanded, slamming my fist down onto his steel back. It wasn't actually steel, obviously, but you couldn't convince my hand otherwise.

  "We're nearly there, love, just hang tight and look pretty." Eliam mocked from somewhere ahead of Kellan, but behind me. That infuriating son of a... Well, son of the universe. I supposed that should have been my sign that the universe had it out for me from day one, but I was a little on the slow side of the curve.

  Seething as I was, I didn't know if we had been walking for seconds or minutes by the time my chariot slowed to a halt. Kellan slid me off his shoulder and I couldn't help but think that falling off a building probably felt something similar to being released by an actual fucking giant.

  Once on my feet, I wobbled for a split second before regaining my composure and turning to face Eliam to give him a solid piece of my mind. However, I wasn't exactly prepared to see him standing in the middle of a mushroom circle with a flower crown on his head. "Uh, E...?" I said, approaching cautiously. I was actually fearful, at that moment, that my annoying self had caused the eldest Sin to lose his damn mind. "Is there a reason you're wearing flowers on your head?"

  Eliam turned to me and grimaced, obviously unamused. "She won't let us in without them. You two should get on swimmingly, you are both absolutely ridiculous." He grouched. I, however, was completely amused.

  "So, what do we need to do, then?" I asked, trying to sound like this was a perfectly normal occurrence that certainly was not sending my blood pressure skyrocketing above the dense treetops. Which is exactly what the sight of Gatlin approaching me with my very own flower crown did to me.

  If I was feeling faint by the time he was right in front of me, it was nothing compared to how I felt when he gingerly placed the flowers on top of my head. My soul straight up left my body and I could have died happy right then and there.

  "I feel like a princess," I told him breathlessly.

  The side of my angel's mouth quirked up in a sort of smouldering, sexy, cocky grin. "You should. Because you are." He planted a quick kiss on the crown of my head and my resulting sigh felt like it contained my last breath.

  I began fanning myself dramatically and I heard Rafe chuckle. "Don't swoon now, princess." He teased.

  The tanned Sin snorted as I shot him a glare. "Women don't actually swoon, moron." I volleyed.

  Rafe raised an eyebrow at me and crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh yeah?" He challenged. "Tell that to the women who have swooned over me through my many centuries."

  While part of me was mildly impressed by this statement, my usual snark wasn't going to give up the chance for even a weak roast. I slow clapped, as if genuinely praising him. "Wow, so that makes a whole three, does it?" I quipped.

  Beck and Eliam were the ones nearest and, surprisingly, both snorted at my insulting joke.

  The greed Sin shot me a wink as his mouth turned up in a crooked smile. "Counting your sweet ass."

  A number of comebacks ran through my head in just a couple nanoseconds but I was denied the chance to unleash the wrath of my silver tongue when Kel decided he was the new squad comedian.

  "In your dreams, asshole," Kellan joked. "She was swooning over your punch card for a free coffee."

  Even though everyone got a good chuckle out of that one, I couldn't help thinking he was probably right. Coffee definitely seemed like the right motivator for a good swooning. Especially free coffee. And if Rafe still had it, I would gladly swoon just to guilt the punch card off him.

  As the guys continued their banter, I took the opportunity to glance around the clearing and wonder - again - why we were there in the first place. I mean. I knew that we were there to glean some wisdom or insight or some shit from an "old friend" of the guys', but what did standing in the middle of the forest have to do with that anyway? The way the forest appeared in the early afternoon light, I was half anticipating a centaur or goblin to come out of the overgrowth on a unicorn or something.

  And hadn't Eliam said that the mushrooms were fairy circles? I vaguely recalled a story that my grade school teacher had told me about a man called Ripp Van Winkle, who danced in a circle of toadstools and got sucked into hell for centuries, until they let him go. And when they did, he was an old man in an entirely new time with no recollection of what had happened. Of course, I'd since then learned that it was fairies and not the devil who spirited the old man away, but I still found myself glaring accusingly at the cheerful-looking fungus.

  The intensity with which I found myself staring, I didn't realize until a small light like a lens flare popped up dead centre in the circle of mushrooms.

  "Uh guys, I think my powers are doing that weird thing again," I said casually, not taking my eyes off the slowly growing light.

  Their chatter died down instantly as they all turned to follow my line of sight. Glancing around at them, I was a little pissed and confused about why none of them seemed the least bit shocked or surprised.

  Eliam stepped forward, making sure to stand right at the edge of the circle without exiting. "Alright, it's just about time. Everyone get in and get ready to go through," he commanded with all the gentleness of a sabre tooth tiger at mealtime. I supposed joking and teasing time was over.

  "And Ria, find a hand and hold on. Don't let go," he added in a slightly softer tone. Not much softer, but enough that I appreciated the sentiment. He really was trying to be less of an ass, and I could get on board with that.

  To show him that I saw that he was trying, I slowly approached him and linked my hand with his, entwining our fingers. At that, he turned and gazed at me incredulously before quickly resuming his own stare-off with the floating light thing.

  When the light had gotten to just about Kellan's height, Eliam gave my hand a quick squeeze before walking forward and dragging me into the lens flare with him.

  7 Ria

  Unlike when I travelled, I didn't get that stone-in-gut feeling when Eliam and I stepped into the light and out into... The same forest?

  "Okay, now I know you guys are fucking with me," I grumbled, glaring at the trees.

  I don't know exactly what I was expecting to happen, but it certainly wasn't the same forest that I had already been staring at for several hours.

  One of the guys shushed me and I bristled. I was already cranky, tired, and hungry, therefore, not in the mood to play these ridiculous games.

  Debating whether or not to whip around and give my shusher the what-for, I was caught completely off guard by the appearance of a woman's head poking through some of the brush. My shock is the only explanation I could come up with for what I did next.

  "Face!" I squeaked, pointing obviously at the curious figure. Once again, I was shushed and I didn't even have the right mindset to retaliate.

  The woman approached slowly and I found myself staring, probably very rudely, at her slender, willowy form and delicate facial features. She had wide, doe-like brown eyes, and somewhat of a baby face that reminded me of anime characters. Her lashes were impossibly long and dark in contrast to her almost-white hair that hung in a single braid over her shoulder.

  The most astonishing part was her ears, which were long and pointed, almost reaching almost as high as the top of her head.

  Give me house occupied by the Seven Deadly Sins themselves, and I could accept that. I could roll with it. But elves? No. Fucking. Way.

  I leaned in closer to Eliam, never taking my eyes off the woman. "Who's the elf?" I asked on a breath, so as not to seem like a complete dolt.
Well, out loud at least. Apparently, that was a moot point, because the elf woman gasped and covered her mouth with a hand, and all of the guys groaned as one.

  "Uh, what did I just do?" The elf woman was turning a bright shade of pink and staring angrily at the mossy forest floor. She looked a bit like she was ready to explode, implode, or something equally scary-sounding.

  Eliam tightened his grip on my hand as he leaned in close. "She's not an elf, she's a nymph. The elves and nymphs have been at war for centuries." He explains quickly before turning his attention to the offended nymph. "I'm so sorry, she's new to this world. Please accept my deepest apologies and a favour for the trouble."

  Damn, he was really good with words.

  The woman lifted her eyes to meet mine, her cheeks still flushed. "I really am sorry, I had no idea," I told her sincerely. I really hadn't meant to offend her, I'd just seen a lot of games and movies, and she really did look like an elf.

  The nymph nodded to me and smiled softly. "No apologies or favours necessary, though they are appreciated." She assured us. I heard all of the guys let out synchronised breaths of relief and groaned.

  I'd bet they thought I was gonna get us all killed. Which wasn't likely, since they were all invincible and I was the only mortal. Granted, a mortal with an intimacy shield that I couldn't control or explain, but still a mortal.

  "I'm Lotis," she stated. "The Goddess, our Lady Vermillion is expecting you, if you'll follow me to the Grove." Without another word, Lotis turned and started off in the direction she came from.

  Goddess?

  “Is she actually a goddess?” I asked from the corner of my mouth. “Whoever we're going to see?”

  Eliam nodded. “Yes, she is.”

  Holy shit on a shitake circle. “A goddess of what?”

  “Her speciality lies in… Intimacy,” he muttered back. Intimacy? As in, like, sex?

  Oh.

  With a quizzical glance over my shoulder at the rest of the guys, I started forward, still not releasing Eliam's hand, which I had apparently been squeezing the whole time. Whatever, it's not like it hurt him any, even if my fingers were a tad sore.

  I was expecting to face brambles and bugs, the usual associations with nature - a dirty word in my vocabulary - but the path that Lotis led us down was relatively smooth and obstacle-free. It was certainly a nice change of pace.

  As I glanced down at my hand clasped tightly with Eliam's, it made me take a mental pause. Why was my intimacy shield so fickle? I couldn't look at one of their... Uh, equipment without my barrier making every nerve inside me writhe in agony. But holding hands and being all swoony over a flower crown was fine? Even dirty jokes seemed to be earning me little torture sessions.

  I just really hoped that whoever this old friend was, they would know how to make this shit stop. I needed to get laid, or I was going to end up talking to myself - or inner self, in this case - a lot more often.

  Just as I was getting to the point where I was ready to hack off one of my exhausted limbs, Lotis stopped in front of us and bowed her head. "If you continue through here, you'll find our Lady awaiting your presence," she said demurely as she gestured to a tangle of branches that almost resembled a gate.

  On closer inspection, it really did seem to be a gate. A stupid one, since it was made of sticks, but who was I to judge? The second little pig had to learn his lesson the hard way, the Lady Vermillion would have to as well.

  I waited for Eliam to approach the gate first and watched as it swung open without him ever laying a hand on it. Out of all the insane things in my life at the moment, you'd think I'd be a lot less impressed with an automatic door made of sticks, but impressed I was.

  Once the gate was fully open, all six of us started following Eliam through it and into what I can only describe as a utopia. My jaw hit the floor cartoon-style as I gazed on in wonder at the world around me.

  Gone were the copious amounts of thorny underbrush, creepy twisting tree trunks, and poorly filtered sunlight. The Grove was filled with sunshine and the sounds of nature that I had always associated with Disney princess movies.

  Waterfalls sprang forth from the sides of a towering mountain, flowing gracefully into natural springs where strangely-hued people with wings frolicked and animals rested. Lush trees canopied the edges of the clearing where hammocks of twine were strung and massive toadstools provided seating for many of the winged people.

  In the middle of the clearing sat a multi-coloured throne on a slight hill, but it was the woman who shocked me the most. I had seen a lot of fantasy movies and read many a book, but I was kicking myself the most for even thinking that Lotis had resembled an elf from those fictitious works.

  She was taller than almost any woman I had ever seen, but not in an imposing or intimidating sort of way; she was willowy, looking as though the slightest breeze might take her away. Her hair such a white blonde that it appeared both silver and gold in the light from the sun. Her ears rose up from the mass of twists and braids, sticking up just enough to make the point clearly visible. Her eyes were an intense shade of gold that I didn't think I had ever seen on a human - not that she was human in any way, but they were ethereal, appearing to gaze through the universe itself even as they pinned me in place.

  I swallowed hard past a lump of nervousness in my throat as I struggled to make my feet move. I glanced around at the guys to find that they were similarly stopped in their tracks and were dropping to one knee.

  "Uh," I whispered to Gray directly behind me. "Am I supposed to do that too?"

  I felt something tug the back of my shirt, pulling me to the ground on both knees. Not cool, why did I have to be on both? That was just the sort of masculine dominance that I would gladly do without. Hashtag equality, bitches.

  "Just sit still for a moment," Gray whispered back.

  Not wanting to offend another magical being on the same day, I decided to do as he said. When the woman rose from her throne, I almost fell over. When she began striding toward us with all the grace and fluidity of a quiet stream, I did fall over. Apparently, I was more nervous than I thought.

  There was a collective groan from six sources around the Grove and one amused chuckle. I dusted myself off and moved to get back to my kneeling position when a hand materialized before me.

  With a start, my gaze shot up to the woman, now standing before me in all her ethereal beauty and grace.

  Holy fuck.

  After hesitating for much longer than could possibly be considered appropriate, I gently grasped the woman's hand as she helped me to my feet.

  Once standing, she assessed me even as those vibrant eyes of hers seemed to stare right through me. She walked a small circle around me while I stood there feeling awkward as hell.

  "Hmmm... Yes, she's lovely," she muttered. "You've brought me another, then?" She directed the question as Eliam, though she didn't turn to him I could tell because he stiffened slightly.

  "Sorry, V, this one is ours," he told her. "But we'll let you know if we find another for you." His tone was cool and business-like, and it made me feel a little queasy. I supposed it was safe to assume that this was the Lady Vermillion I had heard so much about. And by so much, I mean her name.

  Lady Vermillion turned to Eliam this time and stuck her bottom lip out in a pout that I was definitely going to have to try to replicate at home because it was hot as hell. "But it's been so long," she whined. She sounded almost like a spoilt girlfriend. "If she's not for me, what brings you to the Grove after all this time?"

  Somewhere behind me and to my right, Gatlin cleared his throat. "V, we need your help."

  When "V" turned to Gat, her eyebrows shot all the way up into her hairline. I wished with all my might that it felt like an appropriate time to laugh, but I was ninety-nine per cent sure it wasn't.

  "The legendary Deadly Sins need my help?" She asked in astonishment. I could see the gears turning as she tried to process this. I was trying to process it myself.

  She shook he
r head as if trying to clear it. "Of course, this must be a very serious matter, indeed," she mused. "Allow me to take us somewhere a tad more private, then." I moved to follow wherever she was heading, but the second my foot moved, the world around me spun and I felt that familiar rock-in-gut feeling that I got when I travelled. Or, back when I could travel at all.

  When everything righted itself again, I was standing on a cobblestone floor inside of what appeared to just be an empty old house. I would have expected the gorgeous woman to live somewhere much less... Quaint. And dusty.

  "Come, come, please sit," Lady Vermillion ordered. The guys began pulling out various chairs and plopping on cushioned benches.

  Meanwhile, I just stood there like a moron.

  "Ria, come sit here, I'll take the cushion on the floor."

  I turned to her so fast that I almost toppled over. "How did you know my name?" I asked in shock.

  Lady Vermillion just smiled kindly at me. "I know the names of all who pass through the circle to my realm. I have to approve them all, you see." It was a logical explanation, but it still made me uneasy. I didn't like people knowing things about me that I didn't tell them. If I wanted someone to know something, they would know it.

  "Alright then," she began, addressing the room as I took the chair that she had placed for me. "Let's discuss this issue of yours, boys."

  8 Ria

  While I left the guys to explain the brunt of the situation and Lady Vermillion only sagely nodded intermittently, I stared on in rapt fascination as innumerable varieties of creatures mulled about the cabin-like space.

  In particular, my attention was caught by multiple glowing orbs of light that hovered in the air. While they appeared to be made of light, they didn't actually spread any. Upon closer inspection when one hovered by my face, it seemed that the orbs were made of glass, holding within them clouds of coloured mist and smoke that constantly changed shape.

  They were gorgeous and captivating, and I'd never seen anything like them in my entire life. I was overcome with a sense of awe at their brilliance. Since I had met the guys, my life had been one big fucking mess, all the fighting and mystery, not to mention all the days I'd spent unconscious.