Lux tried to fight it off. Lily cried, and he could vaguely hear her, like her voice was coming from underwater. But the pain was too intense. He would’ve greeted death gladly just to make the agony stop. Then finally, his body gave up, and he passed out.

10

Before Lux opened his eyes, he felt a lingering burn in his chest and muscles. He tried to move, but his arms felt weighted down, shackled at his wrists. Then, with excruciating clarity, he remembered what had happened, that Ira had taken Lily, and his eyes flew open and he struggled to sit up.

“Oy!” a woman snapped. “Settle down, unless you want to get hurt.”

He couldn’t sit up completely, thanks to thin strings of silver that lay over his wrists and ankles, but he stopped fighting enough that he could take in his surroundings.

The cottage was tiny, and it appeared to have weathered a small battle recently. Everything had been thrown about, and part of one wall and the roof were missing. Lux lay pinned in a bed, his shirt removed. His bare chest revealed a large dark circle over his heart, the mark left from Ira’s magic scorching through him.

“What’s going on?” Lux demanded.

“Why don’t you tell me?” Wick asked. She stood in front of the damaged wall, a tub of wet clay and a pile of thatched roofing by her feet.

“You’re the one that’s holding me captive!” Lux growled and pulled at his wrists again, but they refused to budge. A piece of thread managed to immobilize him. “What is this? Why can’t I move?”

“It’s irin hair.” Wick brushed a lock of her hair from her forehead, leaving a muddy trail behind on her skin. Her dress and skin were stained with clay and dirt from the work she was doing. “That particular strand came from Sofiel. Have you been acquainted with her?”

“No, I’ve never met an irin.” Lux lay back on the bed, growing frustrated. “Can you please let me go? I don’t have time to waste.”

“You’re peccati, aren’t you?” Wick put her hands on her hips and stared at him. “There’s no point in lying. Your reaction to the irin hair confirms it.”

“If you know what I am, then why are you asking?” Lux asked.

Instead of answering, Wick stepped closer, inspecting him. She still wasn’t sure she’d made the right choice bringing him back here, but she thought he might be the only key to finding Lily.

After she heard the canu howling, Wick had tried going after Lily, but she’d been too weak. As soon as she’d been able, she’d gone out, but all she had found was Lux. He’d been lying on the ground, the front of his shirt burned open with the mark on his chest.

Peccati couldn’t be burned by flames, so the only thing that could’ve left that kind of mark was one of his own. Wick didn’t know what that meant, but she brought him back to her cottage in hopes that he could tell her something about Lily.

She pinned him to the bed and tended to his wounds. He’d been heavily battered when she found him – broken bones, bloodied nose – but he’d already started healing. Peccati had rapid healing rates, but she used potions to help speed things along.

“I’m not going to hurt you, if that’s what you’re afraid of,” Lux told her wearily. “But I can’t stay here any longer. I have to find someone.”

“You mean Lily?” Wick asked, and he instantly tensed.

“How do you know about her?” Lux narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?”

“I’m a friend of Lily’s.” She crossed her arms over her chest and returned his glare.

“You’re Wick?” Lux felt some relief at that and relaxed a bit. “Do you know where Lily is?”

“No. I was hoping you would.”

“No.” He sighed and stared up at the ceiling. Lily was either at Valefor’s or on her way. “I need to go so I can find her.”

“Why do you care so much about her?” Wick asked.

“I just do.” He turned back to her. “And if you care about her at all, you’ll let me go so I can find her. I know you don’t trust me, but I can save her from where she’s going. I’m her only hope.”

“You shouldn’t go anywhere just yet. You’re still healing.” Wick reached down and took the irin hair from his wrists. It didn’t hurt him at all – he was just incapable of moving it.  “Don’t try anything. I have magic, and you’re not well.”

Lux sat up, feeling the ache in his body for the first time. He healed incredibly fast, but she was right. He wasn’t done yet, and his bones cracked when he moved.

“Does Valefor have her?” Wick moved back, watching Lux as he stretched. With her wand tucked in the waist of her dress and the irin hair in her hands, she wouldn’t hesitate to stop him if he made a wrong move.

“I don’t know. Not yet, I don’t think.” He cracked his neck, wincing at the pain. “Last I know, Ira took her.”

“Ira?” Her face paled. “You mean ‘wrath?’”

“Yes.”

As each virtu exemplified one of the seven virtues, each peccati was one of the seven sins. Ira had been built for wrath. Quick tempered, mean, violent, and more powerful than any of the other seven, he had one purpose in life – be angry and make everyone else angry. Lux hadn’t stood a chance against him.

Of all the peccati that could’ve taken Lily, Ira had to be the most dangerous.

“Where’s my shirt?” Lux looked around the room, eager to get on his way.

“It was destroyed.” Wick turned and gestured to his jacket hanging on the chair, the one Lily had left. “I believe that’s your jacket, though.”

“Thank you.” Lux went over to the chair, his gait more labored than usual. He ought to take time to finish healing, so he could be at his peak to rescue Lily, but if he didn’t go fast enough, there wouldn’t be a Lily to rescue.

When he picked up his jacket, he saw it was covered in dirt and had a bit of blood on his sleeve. His heart throbbed with a now familiar guilt. Lily had gotten hurt when he’d left her in the woods. He never should’ve left her, not that she seemed to be doing that well when he was around.

“Who are you?” Wick asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Lux,” he replied absently and slipped on his jacket.