Page 41 of Let Me Win You

“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 fromfun 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 theground 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.

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