Virtue - a Fairy Tale by Amanda Hocking

Author:Amanda Hocking [Hocking, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-05-27T05:00:00+00:00

11

Wick had her hand on her wand, and Lux was at her side, his stance defensive and confident. She’d expected him to cower in the corner, but when he ran to her aide, Wick started thinking that perhaps she’d underestimated him. Not that she had much time to think because someone entered her cottage.

The thin man came inside with an overly casual stride. His clothes looked even finer than Lux’s, all silks and leather. Gaudy rings ordained his hands, along with a heavy chain around his neck. His features were refined and delicate, bordering on feminine but still attractive. He kept his blond short and perfectly styled, and his dark eyes went over the room with contempt.

“You didn’t have to clean up on my account,” he said. He ran his finger along the counter, and when it came up covered in dust, he wiped his finger off with disgust.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Wick demanded. She hadn’t raised her wand yet, and she didn’t want to waste her energy if she didn’t need to. Her other hand dropped into her pouch, digging for something to frighten him away.

“Avaritia, what are you doing?” Lux asked when the man didn’t answer.

“Avaritia?” Wick questioned, looking at Lux out of the corner of her eye. He was another peccati, but Lux hadn’t relaxed since he came in, so she wasn’t sure if it was good that Lux knew him. “Greed?”

“Right.” Avaritia smiled at her, flashing perfect white teeth. “It’s a good thing you’re smart, because you’re horrible at housekeeping. And you’re not much to look at either.”

“Why are you here?” Wick asked, ignoring his jabs.

“I came to see how Lux was slumming it.” Avaritia turned his attention to Lux. “This really is quite repugnant, even for you. You can’t possibly be intimate with that woman … can you?” He wrinkled his nose and nodded at Wick, who rolled her eyes.

“What I do doesn’t concern you,” Lux said flatly. “I don’t have anything you want. You have no reason to be here.”

“Oh, I know you don’t have anything! That’s why I’m here!” Avaritia gestured to the mess and laughed, but it was a joyless sound. “I’ve been hearing all about your terrible fall from grace, as it were, and I had to see it for myself. Disasters are so much better up close.”

“What have you heard?” Lux narrowed his eyes at him.

“That you’ve completely lost your mind. You’ve forsaken our master in exchange for the castimonia, although Gula thinks she might have put a spell on you so it’s not your fault.” He picked absently at his manicured nails.

“You know she’s the castimonia?” Lux sounded shocked, and Wick looked over at him. It was starting to seem less and less like he’d lied to her.

“You didn’t?” Avaritia smirked at him. “Oh my. You’re even dumber than I thought. What on Earth did you possibly want with that wretched girl?”

“Nothing you would understand.” Lux lowered his voice, and before Avaritia could comment on that, he rushed to continue.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.