Saints (SAINTS #1) | ✓

37

THOUGH PEOPLE NORMALLY WOULD have had the problem sooner, Jasmina knew she could easily have let the sins stay with her for years before her parents noticed. Still, her father seemed to have chosen not to ignore it, chin resting on his hand as he watched her. He knew better than to try to read her though - she had learned from him how to hide any emotions quite a while ago.

"Why do you ask?" she said innocently.

"Because they're apparently living in our house," her father said," have you been sucked into a cult, Jasmina?"

"We both know that I would be the head of a cult before I would be sucked into it," she said with a distasteful shake of her head. "But to answer your question, they're just some friends of mine."

"Influential friends?" her father said.

"In a way," she said, flashing her father a charming smile," and even if they weren't, they still would stay here. The time has passed ever since you could tell me what to do, daddy dearest, and that was a long time ago."

Her father parted his lips, but she cut him off with a smile. "Don't give me your sermon about what you do with disrespect, I learned from you."

"I am in the business world with the top of the top," he sighed, the words leaving his lips in Arabic," and yet my daughter's still the only one who stops me from talking." He nodded then. "I hope you do the same with every other person you meet, Jasmina. If so, I have raised you right."

He waved a hand at the door to dismiss her and she left, surprised that her father hadn't made a bigger deal about the seven strangers in their house. She supposed the money going towards them didn't matter with how much he made though, but most of all the conversation with Alan's father had probably annoyed him. It wasn't often he spoke Arabic with her,  but when he did he was either impressed by something she had done or tired. Right now she guessed it to be a combination of both.

"Jasmina!"

Someone lifted her up, but she already knew who it was before she was even set down. The white chocolate trail towards her on the carpet confirmed her suspicions and she clicked with her tongue, her feet meeting the ground again not much later. Once he had placed her down she looked around, facing a sheepishly grinning Daichi.

"Hello," he said.

"Why did you shout?" she said.

"So," he said, his eyebrows knitting together," I have something serious to tell you, before you get in trouble for it. We m -"

"You met my father?" she finished his sentence for him.

"How did you know?" he blinked.

She started walking, him following quickly. "I just had a conversation with him. It's solved, so don't worry about it."

"Are you sure?" Daichi said, raising his hand as orange sparks flew from it," I know I've gotten more human now, but I'm still a sin. I can use magic if you want."

She chuckled, but shook her head. There was no need for magic to be involved, not unless it was a last resort. Besides, she knew the magic tired them out more now, the price they had to pay for becoming human. For a moment she wondered if she would be able to use any special powers as queen, but that just would have to be a thing she asked Azriel later.

"By the way," Daichi interrupted her thoughts," we were thinking and if you're up for it, we can show you around in hell. Let you see a piece of our job descriptions. The devil has placed seven temporary people there in our place, but it's still our domain."

"Yeah," she said, a slow smile starting to play on her lips," do show me."

Daichi beamed at her, his eyes flashing a vivid tangerine in excitement. Once they reached her room she could already hear the sins talking and when she entered, all of them already seemed ready for the trip. They were all wearing the same outfit they had when she had first seen them in hell, an all black ensemble with a pin on their right breast pocket, all the color their sin represented. A sharp tattoo with the same color swirled around their wrist and neck and if she looked close enough, they seemed to move.