Let Me Win You (Seven Horny Sins #2)

Chapter 11

11

Nicole

“ Y ou look lovely, Nicole!” Kindness exclaimed, clapping her hands. “Like a real princess.”

Maybe not exactly a princess, but I liked my reflection in the large mirror on the main floor of the virtue’s teahouse.

The white satin of my dress flowed down my body, skimming my curves. The gossamer mint-green overskirt shimmered softly, as did the wide sleeves of the same transparent, light-like-a-cloud material. Silk white lilies decorated the sleeves and the bodice. And I had a matching barrette in my hair.

“This dress is so beautiful.” I smoothed my skirts with my hands, enjoying the glide of the luxurious fabric under my palms

Maybe I did look like a princess, after all. A swamp princess?

The thought made me smile.

Pandora entered, giving my outfit an assessing glance. “Is this from Invi? Who knew he had such a good taste in clothing? I always thought it was only Sup’s area of expertise.”

“Invi is good at many things,” I replied.

His family seemed to think that Invi spent his time wallowing in envy, tortured by unfulfilled wishes for what he couldn’t have.

Instead, he used envy in the most constructive way—he made it his motivation to better himself. He might not reach his brothers’ level of expertise in each and every thing that they were good at, but he strived to reach and beat his personal best, learning his limitations and improving his skills. Invi tried to be the best he could be, and I admired him for it deeply.

“Well, our mounts are here,” Pandora gestured at the door impatiently. “Let’s get going, shall we?”

Her color changed rapidly in wild bursts this morning, making her flowing garments and unbound hair look like the tiny supernovas were exploding all over them. I assumed that must mean that the mother of mortal sins was excited for the race taking place today.

Kindness took off her apron for the first time since I got to Purgatory.

“Alright,” she said, hanging the apron on the hook by the kitchen door. “Let’s go then.”

The snow-white “mounts” that Pandora had mentioned beat with their hooves against the cobblestones of the road in front of the teahouse.

“There you are,” Charity exhaled with relief, handing the reins of one to Pandora. “What took you so long? The boys must be waiting for us at the maze already.”

She tried to give the reins of the next one to me, but I just stared with my mouth open at the magnificent creature.

“They have wings,” I gasped.

“Of course they do.” Kindness hurried to another winged horse, hiking up her skirts to jump into the saddle with the grace of a much younger being than her appearance suggested. “They’re pegasi, the winged horses.”

“It's practically impossible to get to the maze without them,” Pandora explained, getting into the saddle too.

Apparently, it wasn’t going to be just any plain old race in the open. No, Pandora wished to make it “a little more exciting for everyone” by sending her sons through an ancient maze located somewhere on the outskirts of this world.

“I thought distance didn’t matter in Purgatory,” I said.

“Distance doesn’t matter much, but some things on the ground between here and there do. Flying is safer.” Charity shoved the reins into my hand. “Let’s get moving, shall we? Because time flies here just as fast as it does everywhere else.”

“Have you ridden a horse before?” Kindness asked quietly, leaning down from her saddle.

“I have. I live in a small town surrounded by farms with lots of horses. But I never rode one with wings.”

I wasn’t the strongest rider, but I felt confident in the saddle. Normally.

My pegasus stretched his great white wings straight up, almost concealing the sun from view, and my apprehension spiked. I hesitated, gripping the reins in my sweaty hands.

“They aren’t that much different from horses,” Kindness tried to assure me. “You’ll be fine.”

I wasn’t certain if I should trust her on that, especially after what Invi told me about Kindness’s propensity to tell people what they wanted to hear regardless of the truth.

“They’re definitely much nicer than unicorns,” Charity confirmed. “Those moody beasts would stab you with their horns without a doubt.”

“Come on, sweetie,” Pandora urged. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

“Um, that I’ll fall off and die?” I took a step closer to the magnificent but intimidating animal. He snorted and ruffled his wing feathers, probably sensing an inexperienced rider already.

“Oh, you mortals.” The mother of sins rolled her eyes. “You’re always so afraid of dying, like that’s the worst thing ever.”

The worst or not, I really didn’t want to go through the whole death experience due to choosing a wrong mode of transportation.

“Are you sure I can’t walk?”

“And risk being devoured by some stray creature of the underworld?” Charity asked casually.

“What creature?” The nervous flutter of apprehension in my stomach pulsed stronger.

“Charity, don’t scare her,” Kindness pleaded. “Look at her. The poor thing is stressed enough already.”

Pandora leaned over and grabbed my winged mount under the harness.

“Here, I’ll hold him for you,” she said. “Jump on.”

I blew out a breath, grabbed the horn of the saddle, shoved my foot into the pretty golden stirrup, and did as she said.

The stirrups were shorter than what I was used to and positioned a little more forward to allow for the wings to move below the narrow saddle. But other than that, the feel of the saddle under my butt was familiar.

I exhaled, adjusting my grip on the reins.

“Well, it’s not too bad?—”

The wings moved, and my pegasus soared into the air. I squeaked, dropped forward, and hugged his neck in a death grip.

“Do we absolutely need to fly?” I yelled into his white silky mane.

The wings didn’t appear to grow from the animal’s shoulder blades but were positioned closer to the middle of his body, behind my legs. It made our position in the air almost identical to the one on horseback, roughly horizontal and parallel to the ground. But the pegasus’s lurch up with each flap of his wings was vastly different from a horse’s gait on the ground.

My mount tilted to the right, making a sharp turn in the air, and my stomach leaped up, choking my scream of horror. The ground shifted in my view, making me feel like I was falling.

“Oh, my fucking shit!” I cursed, finding an odd comfort in the filthy words when the entire world appeared to turn upside down.

“You’re doing great.” Pandora lined up her pegasus behind mine. “We’ll be there in no time. And it is safer this way. Charity wasn’t lying when she spoke about the beasts of the underworld. They don’t usually come up all the way to the surface. But it’s better to be safe than sorry, right?”

“Why are there any beasts at all?” I choked out between the gasps and screams as air rushed by me. “We aren’t going to the underworld, are we?”

“No, of course not. But the maze is kind of close to it.”

“Kind of?” What the hell did that mean? “Are you kidding me? Are we literally going to hell?”

“Not quite.” Pandora grinned. Unlike me, she looked like she was immensely enjoying the wild ride or…the wild flight , to be precise. “The maze is just at the entrance to hell, but we’re not going in. And look! We’re almost there already.”

Hugging my winged mount’s neck tightly, I ventured a glance down.

The green forests and vistas below us gave way to a wasteland with sharp, black rocks jutting out from pale dirt.

“And the boys are already here.” Pandora perked up, craning her neck for a better look. “I bet they’re so excited to meet you. Sadly, Ace couldn’t come, but he sent his regards.”

“Which one is Ace, again?”

“Acedia, the Sin of Sloth. He rarely bothers with anything, just like most of my daughters, who tend to stay away from fun in general. Diligence is always too busy with something to ever take a break. Chastity can really only exist in a complete isolation. She lives the farthest away from the town and any possible temptation. Frankly, I’m surprised even Charity and Kindness decided to attend. But Charity has a streak of curiosity in her, and Kindness probably just came to make sure everyone was alright. She rarely misses any gathering if she’s invited.”

She peered closely at the large colorful shapes congregating by a massive gate in a high wall that rose from the ground in a semicircle.

“Unfortunately, Avar and Sup couldn’t make it either,” she sighed. “Both are currently in your world, for unrelated matters. But I don’t see Lux there. He promised to come for sure. He was so excited about the race and the prize. I wonder if he’s running late or something.”

I tried not to think about the possible reasons for the Sin of Lust to be excited about winning me in the race.

“You promised me last night that no one will hurt me, no matter who wins today,” I reminded Pandora, growing more concerned the closer we got to the wall.

“Don’t worry.” She waved me off. “Lux wouldn’t do anything to you that you wouldn’t beg him to do.” She tapped her chin, surveying the area below. “Now, where is he?”

The wall was a part of a giant circular structure under a roof that had partially prolapsed, leaving a segment open to the elements. From the air, the piled-up dirt and scattered rocks on the remaining roof made the entire complex appear buried in the ground.

Three sins waited for us in front of the massive metal door in the wall.

Invi was easy to recognize by his long green tail trailing across the scorched sand. The moment my pegasus touched the ground and I exhaled in relief from arriving alive with all the contents of my stomach still inside me, Invi rushed over to me.

“Nicole, are you alright, my darling?”

Jumping off her mount, Pandora quickly stepped between us.

“No contact with the prize until she’s won.” She waved him away. “Such are the rules.”

“We should be able to at least say hi to her, shouldn’t we?” came in a low rumbling voice from another sin.

I scrambled off my pegasus in the most ungraceful way in a hurry to walk on solid ground again, then peeked at the one speaking.

Bright yellow, with the head of a bear, the thick horns of a ram, and a long fluffy tail of a fox, Invi’s brother met my eyes unabashedly.

“Greetings, sweet thing,” he rumbled, good-naturedly.

Invi’s tail lashed out like a whip, landing on the ground between his brother and me. Dust rose into the air, leaving a line in the sand that Invi clearly didn’t want his brothers to cross.

“Easy, Invi,” the giant yellow bear drawled. “I’m just trying to introduce myself.”

“Make your introductions from here,” Invi barked. “No need to get any closer. You’re scaring her already.”

I remained partially hidden behind my pegasus, using the animal as a shield from the monsters on the other side of the line drawn in the sand by Invi.

The horned bear shrugged his wide, furry shoulders. “Hey, I’m much better looking than any of you.” He winked at me. “No need to be afraid, cupcake. I’m Gula, the Sin of Gluttony. But you can call me Gul.”

“She has no reason to call you anything,” Invi muttered under his breath. “Trust my word, you’ll never come close enough to her to have a conversation.”

“We’ll see.” Gul laughed heartily. “Don’t let my size fool you,” he said to me, slapping his sides. Gul didn’t have his brother’s washboard abs. His humanoid shape seemed equally wide everywhere, from his fur-covered shoulders down to his tree-trunk sized legs. “I can run faster than anyone, especially if there is a treat like yourself waiting for me at the finish line. Get ready to sleep in my house tonight, sweet dumpling.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Invi growled like a grizzly bear. His hands clenched into fists. A red streak of anger sliced through the serene green of his shape like lightning through the clouds.

Before a fight could break out, however, the third sin shouldered his brothers out of his way and away from each other.

Just as tall as them, he was bright red, which made me step back in alarm. Red was the color of anger as I’d learned. Only this beast didn’t exactly act raging mad. His massive shoulders seemed tense, his hooves stomped into the ground hard as he narrowed his eyes at me. His long tail whipped around his calves, as if he struggled to contain the rage that threatened to erupt any minute.

“You…” I exhaled with a whimper. “You must be Ira?” His name came out in a squeak.

He bowed his great head of a bull, graced with a pair of horns, but said nothing.

“Well, let’s start then.” Pandora clapped her hands loudly, spooking my pegasus.

The animal shrank back, flapping his wings. I gripped the reins tighter, struggling to keep him in place.

“Nic?” Invi slipped over his own line in the sand.

“Nuh-uh!” Pandora raised her arms, signaling him to back off.

“I’m good,” I assured him quickly, afraid he might get penalized or even worse, disqualified, for breaking the rules.

Our gazes crossed, and I held eye contact, unable to let go. I wished to say something special to him, just to him. But I didn’t want to make it too obvious that I felt closer to him than to anyone else here. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to have favorites in this contest.

“Thank you,” I said, running a hand down my skirt. “Thank you for the dress. I really like it.”

“Hey!” Gul roared. “You gave her a dress? I didn’t know we were allowed to give her presents like that.”

“Oh, spare the outrage,” Pandora groaned. “Like you didn’t bring her cannoli the other day.”

Ira glowered at Gul, clearly unaware of Gul’s cannoli offering.

“That was just a little treat,” Gul explained, scratching behind his ear apologetically. “To welcome her to the neighborhood, so to say.”

A low growl vibrated threateningly deep inside Ira’s wide chest, like a rockslide rushing down.

“Alright, alright.” Pandora raised her hand again. “Save all that energy for the race. Now, has anyone seen Lux? He promised to be here.”

“He changed his mind,” Invi smirked.

“Invi.” Lowering her voice, Pandora squinted at him the way my dad used to look at me when he knew it was me who painted our cat’s tail green. “What did you do to your brother?”

“Nothing.” Invi shrugged innocently, “Lux is fine. Avar will let him out when he’s back.”

“Out of where? ” Pandora threw her hands in the air, exasperated.

Despite his confidence about winning the race, Invi obviously decided to improve his chances by eliminating at least some of the competition. And for that, I was grateful to him. The peculiar nature of the Sin of Lust alone would increase my worry exponentially if there were even the slightest chance of him claiming me as the prize at the end of this race.

The heavy metal gate rumbled and screeched on its hinges. Thick, black smoke rushed out through the gap of its opening.

“It’s starting!” Charity yanked at her reins, taking off on her pegasus.

“Quickly, Nicole,” Kindness urged, lifting off into the air too. “The race is about to begin.”

“Time to get out of here.” Pandora hopped back into her saddle.

“Nic!” Invi rushed to me, smudging the line in the sand with his tail. “You need to leave. It’s not safe for you on the ground.”

“If it’s not safe, how about you?”

“I don’t have a body to lose, remember?” With the swing of one arm, he lifted me off the ground then deposited me into the saddle. “Go. Stay safe. I have a race to do.”

I leaned from the saddle to him, catching his gaze.

“Win this thing, Invi. I want you to win.”

A wide grin curved his lips.

“Will do.” He winked, then slapped my pegasus on the rump, making him flap his wings and rise into the air. “Trust me, Nicole dearest, you will be mine.”