Sold For Sin

Chapter 1

Valkus

     “This might be the best thing I’ve ever done. Or the worst.” I cock my head to the side as I consider my latest painting.

     A low purring roils through the air from below me as Nexus, my pet likar, nuzzles my foot.

     I took Nexus in some time ago – I found him half-starved, wandering around the edges of my parents’ large estate. He was completely feral at first. He still is, to be quite honest, but he has certainly warmed up to me. He isn’t fully domesticated yet, and I would never expect him to give up the basest parts of his nature for me.

     But having him around has been good for me, I think.

     I continue examining the painting as Nexus stretches underneath the table before rolling onto his belly.

     The painting is darker than my typical work. As one of Pyrthos’ artists in residence, I usually spend my days painting commissions for the royal family. But I am taking a slight break in between commissions. The darkness of this painting has been calling to me for months now.

     I cannot get it out of my head, no matter how I try.

     “I just wish I knew what this is about,” I murmur, frustrated.

     I stiffen when I hear her coming, her footsteps grating on me long before my mother finally makes her way up the stairs to my studio.

     I sigh and stand, walking over to the table to grab the cloth that I use to cover my paintings. This is nowhere near complete, and I cannot let anyone, even my mother, see it yet.

     Not that it’s any good, I think almost miserably to myself. I glance at the canvas. I have never worked harder on anything than I have on this painting. This painting and the concept behind it have bewildered and angered me in equal measure.

     It has been a lot of effort. I’m not sure that it’s paying off.

     My mother has finally made it up to the landing outside the turret, one of the highest parts of my family’s mansion. Her heels click on the floor as she struts towards the door.

     Nexus, curled up on the floor at my feet, yawns and lets out a questioning chirrup. When he hears my mother’s footsteps just outside the door, he lets out a more frantic chirrup before he stands and scurries away.

     My mother despises Nexus with every fiber of her being, and Nexus knows it as well as anyone else. Hiding for a while, even among the most pungent of my paint mixtures, is better than getting an ‘accidental’ kick in the ribs.

     “My darling boy!” My mother throws the door open without knocking and sweeps into the room, her eyes glistening and her arms outstretched.

     Burning hatred – the kind of hatred that you can only feel for family members – washes over me as she pulls me into a hug. I lean reluctantly into the hug as my mother’s perfume engulfs me, and she pats my back in the least maternal way that she can manage.

     “So.” I brace myself for the inevitable storm that is coming. “I came here to tell you that Aerius Quinlin just found his mate!” My mother smiles enthusiastically as if she expects me to be excited about the news.

     I don't even know who Aerius Quinlin is.

     Her bright smile falters slightly at the expression on my face, but she continues on. My mother, Meriana Elenil, is nothing if not determined. She has to be, to maintain her social standing.

     “She’s a beautiful dark elf woman. She comes from a very good family, and she will be a great mother.”

     “That’s great for Aerius,” I say, my voice devoid of emotion. I walk away from my mother, to my desk where I do all my correspondence.

     “I’m sure his family is very happy.”

     My mother cracks then, and when I turn back to her, her expression has changed completely. Her mouth is set into a hard line, and her eyes are glittering angrily.

     “You’re an absolute disgrace!” She hisses the words. I do not flinch away from her like I once would have. And she doesn’t seem happy that I’m not cowering in front of her. “Do you know how negatively your bachelorhood is impacting this family? Do you know how embarrassing you are?”

     “No,” I reply, my voice casual. “But I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

     Nexus creeps out from his hiding place then and comes to stand at my side. He growls slightly, his hackles raised, as my mother’s voice becomes more and more shrill with every word that she speaks.

     “And look! You’ve got a bloody wild animal in here! No wonder you cannot find a mate! You’re a spoiled little bastard!”

     I lean against the other desk in the room where I mix my paints. When I look down at myself, my shirt is completely stained with the dark blue paint I used earlier. Drops of vivid red paint are splattered across the dark blue, and they look faintly like droplets of blood against the darker stain.

     “Clearly I am not a bastard,” I say idly, lifting a pencil to clean the paint from underneath my fingernails. “You and Father did have your mating ceremony before I was born. Or will you be creating a greater scandal than my bachelorhood is?”

My mother seems to have become apoplectic. I watch her with some interest, because I cannot help but be curious about what would happen if she lets her anger take over.

     My mother has a lot of anger.

     I think anger is a prerequisite for being of high social standing. The gods know I have a lot of it, too.

     “I just want the best for you.” She has taken several deep breaths, and her voice has dropped several octaves. Nexus is still growling.

     “That is all I want. And you aren’t making it easy. You need to find a mate, move out, and settle down. It will do you a lot of good.”

     My own frustration and anger at my mother’s unwarranted attack bubbles over. I walk past her, grab my coin purse and house keys, and whistle to Nexus.

     “You cannot avoid this forever!” she yells as I run down the stairs. I walk through my bedroom with Nexus practically bouncing alongside me.

     “Trust me,” I mutter underneath my breath as Nexus and I leave the house. The air in Python is crisp and bright, and my anger dissolves slightly. “I can avoid it as long as I need to.”

     Evening has fallen, and the aftermath of the winter still lingers. This year’s winter was particularly difficult, and it isn’t going away without a fight, although the days are warmer and some spring flowers are coming up.

     Frost still creeps across our window panes every night, and walking outside without a jacket at night, like I have just done, isn’t the best idea.

     Right now, I am dressed in just my painting clothes. An old cotton shirt that has completely lost its original color and a pair of thin trousers. On my feet I wear a pair of beat up taura leather shoes that won’t provide me much protection from the elements.

     I decide to walk into town tonight, despite the cold. I could have taken one of the many carriages that line the driveway, but Nexus prefers to walk. Besides, I don’t think I want whatever I do tonight getting back to my mother. I have long known that all the carriage drivers, and all the house staff, report back to my mother about my movements.

     I am not sure what she hopes to discover about me. She probably hopes to find some information on me that she can use to blackmail me with.

     At this point, she’d do anything to ensure that I find my mate and complete the mating ceremony as soon as possible. She is becoming desperate, and I shudder to think what she is going to do when she reaches her last straw.

     Something in me says that she is pretty close to snapping, and I am not quite sure what I am going to do when that day comes.

     Nexus leaps through the air in an arc as we finally reach the gates that surround my family’s estate. A sudden feeling of euphoric lightness descends on me as Nexus and I walk through the gates.

     “What do you want to do tonight?” I murmur to Nexus who chirrups at me. Sometimes I think that Nexus is the only one really listening to me.

     I am not sure my mother is capable of hearing anything but her own voice, and my father is never around.

     All I have is Nexus.

“All I have is a wild likar and my paints,” I mutter. I stick my hands into my pockets as the city comes into view. “I’m as pathetic as my mother.”