Of Sins and Sacrifice (House of Cryos #2)

Chapter 1

ONE

HOUSE OF CRYOS, APERION, MANY YEARS AGO

It’s been two hundred and eighty-five days since I’ve last killed a demon.

Two hundred and eighty-five days since I’ve been on a battlefield.

And now I am forced to stand witness to the musical atrocity in front of me. All in the name of being seen in high society. All so I can be seen as ladylike and not a heathen who enjoys making demons bleed before sending them off back to the Source.

I tighten my fingers on the leaflet detailing tonight’s performance, and a gust of chilly air blows through my hair, messing the updo my maid had painstakingly spent hours to style.

“Minerva,” my mother hisses in my ear.

I glance at her from the corner of my eye.

The scowl on her face accompanies a deep frown that ought to permanently get etched into her features. It really should, considering how often she sports it. But alas, she’s a powerful deity from a reputed clan. Despite her advanced age, she only looks slightly older than me, which she never fails to point out.

She’s a beauty. A scowling beauty, but one nonetheless. And there’s nothing worse than a female who is well aware of her attributes. Somehow, her sullen appearance makes her even more intriguing to the male population, which she greatly enjoys.

It’s disconcerting how many admirers she has—males who openly profess their adoration to her even though she is married. To a king, nonetheless.

But my father is most often oblivious. Or if he notices, he turns a blind eye.

He is busy with important matters, not frivolous ones like monitoring what his wife is wearing or if she flirts with half of Aperion. In his eyes, she has done her duty. She provided him with three children: an heir, a spare, and a female—yes, that is exactly how both of my parents refer to their precious offspring.

It’s laudable to have three children, considering an Aperite female has an average of one point five children. Not to say that they birth halves, though perhaps that happens sometimes? I’ve never personally witnessed a birth, so I cannot say how those little creatures come into the world, nor have I been allowed to investigate it, though I have been curious about it.

It’s a matter for the worldly female, my mother would say, snatching a book on the topic from my hands. “ You will learn about it after you get mated.”

That means that no matter how many military treatises I read or how many classic works on the topic of demonology and spiritual energy I memorize by heart, I will never be allowed to investigate matters that are of a more…intimate nature.

Those are for the worldly female only. And why? Because not only my mother, but other females within our circles believe that worldly knowledge equals temptation. Once a young, unmated female becomes aware of those secrets, she is naturally bound to want to explore them.

Alas, it seems I am about to find out soon enough, seeing as how I am betrothed to be married.

I have been engaged for two hundred and eighty-five days. The connection between my new betrothal and my lack of demon killing is clear, though perhaps not as intuitive as one might think.

My fiancé is a refined male. A bit of a peacock if you ask me. Unfortunately, my parents chose him for me without even seeking my opinion.

But I gave it nonetheless at the engagement party they sprang up on me.

Quite loudly.

Quite…unladylikely.

Oops.

Who told them to spring up on me a surprise of such magnitude in public? I am not the type to silently acquiesce to everything, which my parents are well aware of. Perhaps they thought that by announcing the engagement in front of an audience, I would be less inclined to throw a fit.

Oh, well…

Theron of the House of Pyros is by all accounts a perfect match. He is a reputed warrior who has recently gained favor with Commander Azerius for his last mission. Rumors say he might make general soon.

Now that is quite the achievement, and I’m almost jealous about it—if it were actually deserved. It’s no secret it is my ardent wish to excel in the army and become a general myself. The first female general in Commander Azerius’ army. You would think that Theron, a warrior himself, would appreciate my aspirations.

No.

Not. At. All.

After my rather loud outburst in which I may or may not have said that he is a peacock—perhaps I should have chosen a different word for it, but I was too annoyed at the time to mind my vocabulary—he announced that he would magnanimously forgive me for my careless words. With a caveat, of course. I was to stop all unladylike activities and dedicate myself to becoming the model of decorum.

His prestige alone would be enough, so I do not need to concern myself with such business.

Psh! What an arsehole!

I would have said that to his face, too, if my parents had not promptly removed me from the ballroom.

As it stands, both families have signed the mating contract. The wedding is as good as done. But that doesn’t mean I am pleased about it or that I bow down to what they dictate.

It’s just a matter of…figuring out the best course of action.

So for now, I will smile and keep my mouth shut while silently planning my next move.

After all, it’s not as if Theron likes me either. With his enormous ego, he probably thinks I am not fit to be within a few paces away from him. But egocentrism is not his only quality, you see. He’s also a mamma’s boy. And if his mother has decided on a bride for him, then he will of course do as she says.

Ugh!

“Minerva! Was that a snort I heard?” My mother gasps.

I bite my lip to stop a retort I know will not be welcomed. Instead, I put on my fake smile.

“Something was obstructing my breathing, Mother,” I murmur in a low voice.

Her eyes narrow at me.

With a huff, she turns her attention back to the musical.

I release a sigh of relief.

I wonder how much longer I will have to withstand this cacophony.

My mother suddenly rises to her feet. Her eyes sparkle as she looks to the side. I follow her gaze, and my lips flatten in displeasure.

Theron and his mother, Olivia, are heading toward us.

He’s proudly wearing his military uniform. On his jacket, he has displayed all his honors, including the ones that are more of a…participatory nature. But one would only know that if one happened to be in the military as well. To the rest of the world, so many medals on his jacket must be highly impressive.

Peacock .

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him that I own most of those medals too. But that would earn me a scolding—the last thing I need now.

“Olivia, dear,” my mother calls out. “And dashing Theron.” She studies his medals with interest. “I did not realize you were such an accomplished soldier. My congratulations.”

Theron grunts. Tipping his chin up, a proud smile prods at his lips.

“Thank you.” He inclines his head.

“Minerva,” my mother whispers, giving me a look. “Isn’t Theron so impressive?”

“Of course,” I add with a fake smile.

He preens.

“I would never boast around with a participation prize. But if that gives him joy…” I trail off.

Theron and Olivia gasp at my words.

My mother is a little slower in understanding what I mean, but when she does, she elbows me in the ribs.

“She just meant that Theron must be quite involved in a lot of activities, no?” my mother says in an attempt to cover for my blunder.

Theron’s eyes flash at me.

“Why don’t we give them some time to talk during the recess,” she continues. “They must be excited to get to know each other.”

“It’s not proper, Mother?—”

“There are so many people around.” She waves her hand to the rest of the audience mingling around for the break. “It is quite proper, I assure you.”

Olivia agrees, and they all but shoo us to a more discreet corner so we can get to know each other .

We’re still within their sight, but now there’s no one to save me from having to make small talk with him.

Great.

Just what I needed on an already abysmal day.

Theron studies me, his lips curled with disdain.

“That mouth of yours will get you in trouble,” he comments in a bored tone.

I shrug.

“At least I keep my mouth out of other people’s arses. Who knows how many you had to kiss to get those distinctions ,” I grumble.

He reddens with anger. His hands are balled into fists by his sides, and he makes to grab me. But realizing how many people are around, he thinks better of it and stops himself before doing something scandalous .

“You will learn how to behave after our nuptials, Minerva. If I have to muzzle you, don’t think for a moment that I will not.”

“What?”

“I don’t like you. In fact, I actively dislike you. But Mother has decided your family name is good for us, so we will marry. But do not for one moment think that I will let you behave thusly after we are mated.”

“Really?” I ask drily. “And how will you have me behave?”

His lips press together in annoyance.

“As if you did not exist,” he replies through gritted teeth.

Oh, my! That’s quite the auspicious beginning to my marriage.

I smile sweetly and bat my lashes at him. While he’s distracted—or better said disgusted—by my charms, I gather some of the moisture in the air and fashion it into a block of ice.

I should make a spear and stab him through the heart. Unfortunately, that will only get me in trouble, not only with my family but with the law as well. Alas, I must resign myself to something…smaller.

While he’s scowling at me, I carefully manipulate the ice and send it flying toward his crotch, imbuing it with a little chant so it melts on impact.

The moisture splashes across the front of his uniform pants.

He stumbles back, his eyes alarmed, and as he takes in the big wet spot on his light uniform, I can barely hold onto my laughter. He stares at the wetness for a moment, almost as if he’s too flabbergasted to react.

“I hope they give you a participation prize for that, too,” I say with a wink.

His mouth opens and closes, his eyes now a stormy black as he slowly looks at me.

Energy swirls around him, threateningly so.

Oops. Or maybe make that double oops.

“Is that Theron of Pyros?” someone asks, pointing a finger at him—or rather, his crotch.

People stop to look at him. Well, at his crotch. Some even say he must have been overly excited. I suppose that’s one way to empty one’s bladder while in public. Safe to say, the whispers abound. Mayhap I did not plan for such a thorough humiliation before. But now that it’s happened?

My, my. This is rather delicious. If Theron’s humiliation had a taste, it would be a cloyingly sweet one. Of course, for someone who lives off sweets, there is nothing better.

“Minerva,” he utters my name in a low, dangerous voice.

“Is that his betrothed? That’s why he was too excited…” another voice comments.

So many people have stopped to comment that I see this as my chance to make a run for it. Before he can put his hands on me and strangle me—I will not put it past him at this point seeing how angry he is—I slip away and rejoin my mother.

“What happened?” she asks, her voice the epitome of motherly concern. She eyes the commotion suspiciously.

“I think Theron had an accident,” I whisper. “Perhaps it’s time to leave.”

“Accident?” Olivia intones. “What accident?”

A crowd is gathered around Theron.

Mother frowns, but as she looks at me, it dawns on her that I must have had something to do with it. She releases a long sigh before she addresses Olivia.

“Perhaps we should cut this evening short. I see that my daughter is not looking too well.”

Olivia barely minds her as she tries to find her son in the crowd.

“We will be in touch, of course.”

“Of course,” Olivia replies absentmindedly.

Taking advantage of everyone’s distraction, my mother and I slip out of the music room. We increase our pace as we go down the palace doors until we find our carriage.

“I cannot believe you, Minerva!” she bursts out when we’re in the back of the carriage and on the way home. “What did you do?”

“Me? Why do you think I did anything?” I pretend to be insulted by her accusations.

“I know you.” She narrows her eyes. “You did something. Otherwise, we would not have left in such a hurry.”

I shrug.

“As I said, Theron had an accident. I was just as surprised, you know. Someone of his age should be able to control his bodily functions better.”

My mother gapes at me.

“W-what? Bodily functions?”

“Perhaps it’s all that time in the military. It must have affected his…” I trail off. “Poor male.” I shake my head.

“Do not try to deceive me, Minerva. I know you must have done something.” She pauses before a concerned look crosses her face. “How will I face Olivia now? How will we face Theron?”

“Maybe we…don’t?”

She gives me a harsh look.

“The marriage is on, whether you like it or not. But you have made a fool of your betrothed now, and if he treats you badly, then it is on you .”

“So you will allow him to treat me badly?” I blink.

“I will not be able to do anything. You have brought this upon yourself.”

“But, Mamma , you’ll let a male treat your daughter badly?” I ask in an attempt to appeal to her emotional side.

She snorts.

“Perhaps it is high time someone did. Your father and I have been giving you too much freedom and it shows. By the Source, Minerva, you are a princess ! I don’t think there is anyone else with your status in Aperion who has such a disregard for manners and social protocol.”

“I didn’t exactly have time to cultivate manners in the army, Mother. I could hardly go to a demon and say pretty please, can I kill you ?”

She glowers at me.

“And this is why you should have never been allowed to enroll. Goodness, Minerva. You’re little more than a heathen despite your royal upbringing.” She removes a handkerchief from her reticule and wipes away a fake tear. “I don’t know where we went wrong with you. I really don’t.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe I don’t want to get mated? That my purpose is not to be a paragon of decorum, but rather to keep the universe safe?”

She releases another snort.

“You?” she asks in disbelief.

“Yes, me. I did well in the army. You know that. I have the skills. I have?—”

“You have only opened your fifth gate, Minerva. I would not call that having the skills as you put it. Look at your brother. By the time he was your age, he had already opened his ninth gate.”

“Because I was hardly given the opportunity to!” I cry out.

She shrugs. “You would have if you were good enough.”

“Good enough? What? I’ve had dozens of opportunities in the last few hundred years to take the next exams. Every time I registered, something happened and I never made it to the exam. As if I don’t know you and Father had a hand in that.”

“Males do not appreciate overly ambitious females,” she mutters. “It is for your own good.”

“What?”

“You already have your pedigree. The fact that you’ve opened your fifth gate is in your favor, of course, but your future mate will not care about that. Your job will be to deliver him strong children—stronger than both of you combined.”

“Mother!” I exclaim.

“We have arrived. This conversation is over. You must go to your room and craft a letter of apology to Olivia and Theron.”

“But—”

“No buts. You will apologize, Minerva.” Another harsh look and she’s gone from my side.

I hunch down my shoulders and stomp to my room, careful to avoid running into my father. The last thing I need is another lecture about how I am not good enough for the military, only for popping out children.

The moment I’m in my room, I release a loud groan and kick the first thing I see—which happens to be a wooden table.

“Ugh!” I yell out in frustration.

“Am I to understand your outing with Mother did not go as planned?” a voice calls from behind.

I swivel and come face-to-face with my brother.

“Kai!” I call out and run to him. “I didn’t know you’re back!”

“Well, not for long,” he says with a chuckle, giving me a tight hug. “I was allowed one day at home before the next mission as it’s going to be a long one.”

“Next mission? What is it?” I ask excitedly.

He smiles indulgently at me as we take a seat at the table.

He’s wearing his full military garb, which tells me he hasn’t even stopped by his room before coming to see me. That warms my heart. At least one person in this wretched household believes I am good enough .

“It’s in Anthropa. There is a violent conflict going on, affecting the entire world. Commander Azerius dispatched me and my regiment to prevent demons from consuming the souls of the mortals dying in the conflict.”

“Oh,” I murmur. I don’t know where Anthropa is, but it’s standard for an Aperite regiment to head to a world when there is a widespread conflict. Demons are always lurking around, waiting for such an event so they can swoop in and consume as many souls as they can.

“I am not sure how long we will be there, so I wanted to see you before I left.”

“That’s so sweet of you, Kai. I wish I could also be there.” I sigh.

“You don’t.” He laughs. “It’s not going to be pretty, Minerva. It will likely be bloody and dirty. That’s not a place for you.”

“I don’t care about that. I only care about killing demons,” I tell him. “And I can already imagine they’re going to be swarming around.”

He grunts.

“The casualties the House of Psyche reported so far for Anthropa are in the millions. And that is only the souls that have managed to cross over. We don’t have an estimate for how many have already been consumed.”

“Why didn’t Commander Azerius send you there earlier, then?” I frown.

When a world becomes embroiled in such a conflict, Aperite forces are immediately dispatched to prevent the loss of souls.

Kai flattens his lips.

“He sent another regiment. But they are overwhelmed.”

“There are that many demons?” I ask in awe.

He nods grimly.

“We don’t know why, but lately there’s been an increased demon activity. He sent a regiment based on the normal estimates in the case of such a conflict, but it seems this particular event is more violent than we thought.”

“Violent how?”

He looks away for a moment.

“Genocide.”

I blink.

“W-what?”

“It is not just the soldiers on either side that are dying or some unfortunate civilian casualties. There are people specifically targeted for extermination. Hundreds of thousands of them as far as we know. Maybe more.”

“Genocide?” I repeat weakly. “On that scale?”

“Thousands die daily. The current regiment cannot keep up with it.”

“And we can’t do anything to help?” The words are out of my mouth before I can think it through.

“I wish we could do something about it. I wish we could do something about all the conflicts in the universe. But you know we cannot, Minerva.” He sighs. “We cannot intervene in mortals’ fates. If they wish to destroy themselves… They have the freedom of will to do so.”

“But—”

“It saddens me just as much as it does you. Our only duty is to prevent demons from disturbing the natural cycle of a soul, nothing more.”

“I don’t like it,” I grumble.

He gives me a sad smile.

“And that, my little sister, is why you would have never made a good soldier.”

“Hey!” I suddenly stand up. “I am a damn good soldier and you know it,” I declare emphatically.

“I am not talking about your abilities, Minerva. I am referring to your penchant for ignoring orders.”

“Oh, well…”

“We both know you have a hard time following the chain of command.”

“But I’ve been actively trying to be better. If only I could get a chance to prove it.”

“Your betrothed does not want you in the field.”

“Because he knows I might be better than him!” I exclaim.

Kai chuckles.

“That might be so. But Theron is a good soldier. He will make you a good mate.”

“No. He will not,” I retort with a huff. “He is an arrogant peacock who only thinks of himself. The moment we’re mated, he will lock me away and oppress me even more than I already am.”

“Minerva…”

“Can I join you on the mission? Please? One last mission before the wedding. I know I cannot back out of it, but this way?—”

“You know I cannot do that. You have already been discharged. And Mother and Father would have my hide if they knew I abetted you in any way.”

“They don’t have to know. We can just come up with something else. Besides, you need more soldiers, no? To keep up with the demons,” I add excitedly.

“You think they would not notice your prolonged absence?” He laughs. “You are too na?ve, Minerva.”

“You could tell them you need me. You’re the only one from Cryos in your regiment, aren’t you? I’m sure you could use my skills and?—”

“The answer is no, little sister.”

He stands up to leave.

“But, Kai, please…”

“It is not the place for you. You have done your duty to Aperion, and you have proven yourself. Now it is time for you to marry and settle at your own home. That is safer.”

“Safer for whom? Not for me. Not with Theron for a mate. He will make my life unhappy, Kai. You have to see it.”

“This discussion is closed. It was good to see you, Minerva. Take care of yourself.”

“But—”

He’s gone.

Just like that, he’s gone.

I scowl and kick the table again, though this time with intention.

Damn it.

Damn Theron and damn my family for thinking he would be a good match when I cannot stand the sight of him. Oh, and the feeling is mutual. Our mating would only be a disaster.

And of course, damn Kai for not letting me have this one thing.

Am I really to never kill a demon again?

I sigh and wipe the moisture from my lashes with the back of my hand.

I know he thinks this is what’s best for me. But he doesn’t know what’s best for me.

Unless…

I bite my lip as a barrage of ideas inundates my mind.

He will never give his consent beforehand. But what if it’s an accomplished fact?

Without regard for the consequences, I go to my closet and pull out my uniform.