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“The bad men,” she said solemnly, bright purple eyes widening again. I saw horror and pain reflected in them.

“Right,” I coughed. “Well, there are no bad men here. Just...irresponsible men.” I grinned at my own joke.

Her head tilted to the side, confused.

When we reached the backdoor, the sun was kissing the horizon, a red bruise across the sky.

“I’m brave,” Kiva stated seriously, out of nowhere. Her eyes scanned the house and the gardens excitedly.

“You’re a mess,” I replied. “But brave works too.”

I wanted so badly to do something stupid and simple–like play in the garden. But I needed facts, because G would demand them the moment he returned and found her.

“Were your parents killed by poachers?” I asked.

Her expression twisted, face dropping to the ground.

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” I muttered. “A living child would fetch a high price. A fae? Even higher.” My resolve hardened into steel. “You will be protected. Celebrated, even.”

Her head tilted up to me, her eyes shy with hope.

It was true; the world was broken. And sometimes, it needed someone even more broken to care.

I kept staring at the fae–Kiva. Something shifted inside me. Something old and slow and heavy. It wasn’t as good as being whole with all seven sins, but it was the beginning of something.

Kiva smiled at me, like maybe—maybe—she saw me now. Not the background noise.

Me.

Sloth.

And weirdly?

I didn’t hate it.

Chapter

Twenty-One

PRIDE

Ihad picked the cravat carefully–even though my brothers were adamant that they were no longer in style. I didn’t care. I enjoyed the ivory silk with subtle embroidery; it was refined, elegant, and appropriate. Everything about my outfit was understated excellence, the quiet confidence of a man who knew precisely where his fork went in a place setting.

Unlikesomeof my brothers.

And I wouldn’t mess any of it up, because tonight was important.

Tonight, I was having dinner with Juniper.

The reservation was at the place I would have picked myself; somewhere sophisticated and deserving of someone like Juniper.

Elysium.

The vineyard was notoriously hard to get into, so I arrived early. Out of respect of course, and not because I was nervous.

Not at all.

I took a seat just inside the marble archway on the cold stone bench, the creeping magickal vines giving off small puffsof calming, serene energy. A waterfall fell neatly over top of the plants, completing the serene space.