- unedited + unformatted because i feel like i haven't updated PB in a month

The second Pride finished speaking, there was a shift in the air. I could almost feel it—as though there wasn't enough air left for us all to breathe.

A breeze washed over us all and the Sins and Virtues' conversations quickly fell silent.

Before, their voices were buzzing with curiosity and excitement.

Now, their silence was almost as painful as the looks on their faces.

Diligence strutted in, her normal confidence slightly askew. "They're here," she said. "The Nine Muses."

And if they were here, someone in this Court had mated last night.

My eyes drifted back to Wrath and Patience—Wrath's face was struck with uncertainty and Patience shuffled awkwardly in her seat, her eyes pinned to her lap.

It was like a scratch at the back of my head, like a small whisper in my ear.

Something wasn't right.

"Wrath," I spoke before I knew what I was doing. "Pass me that plate, please."

He blinked to the plate and then back to me. "Are you seriou—here." He held the plate out for me, and I took the chance to brush my fingers up against his.

Colours glittered behind my eyelids and a swift, startling sensation rocked all the way to my toes.

I sat back with a small smile and slowly piled the food onto my plate. "Thank you."

Memories. Memories were what I saw whenever I came into contact with the Sins and Virtues. Normally the memories I saw were the ones on the surface of their minds—the one memory they were always thinking about, could never forget.

When the Seraphics turned each one of them—turned each shred of what was human into a Sin.

This memory was confused. Wrath had greater problems to think about than the horror of the Seraphics.

He couldn't even remember what had happened last night.

I looked up in time to catch his unwavering glare on me—angry and red. It wasn't just him. All of the Sins were carefully watching me, their calculating gazes flickering between me and their siblings.

A series of echoes bounced around the room; Pride grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet just as the other Sins and Virtues stood.

"Keep your head down," she whispered. I could only stand behind the huddle forming in the centre of the room—I quickly ducked behind Sloth's broad shoulders and not for the first time, I wondered where Beast was.

There were nine of them and all nine of them appeared at once. They walked—no, glided—as if the floor was something they didn't require, as if they were beyond the rules of gravity.

"Ah, finally. My favourites," the woman in the middle spoke. A writing tablet floated just above her palm, moving as she did. The other Muses stood on either side of her, in a perfectly symmetrical line. "The Unholy Court. How long we've waited for this day—you have no idea."

She was easily the prettiest and somehow, even though I stood behind all of the Unholy beings, her eyes still found mine.

"You are new." Nothing about her tone was sarcastic or unpleasant. Something told me that the Nine Muses weren't capable of being unpleasant.

Sloth's back visibly tensed and he shifted to hide me better. "She's not a permanent member of the Court."

A moment of silence passed and each of the Muses shared a glance. The woman in the centre smiled. "We'd like to meet her."

I would soon realise that Sloth moved because he wanted to; because no one could deny the Nine Muses.

Pride gave me a silent nod.

"I'm Pandora," I said.

She took a step forward. "I'm Calliope. The muse of Poetry." As if on cue, her writing tablet began to glow.

The second Muse took two steps toward me. "I'm Clio." She held a scroll in her hands and looked as though she was reading from it. The paper had curled at the edges with age as if it held history from the beginning of time. "The muse of History."

I found myself wanting to take a step back when the third Muse took three steps forward.

"I'm Erato." Her voice was like velvet—like the silken bedsheets I was on last night. My cheeks flushed at the thought. As if she could read my mind, Erato smirked. "The muse of Love Poetry."

The was something erotic about her—in the crown of roses on her head and in her intense gaze. I knew at that moment that she could craft a poem about someone's skin alone.

I looked away immediately.

Four steps. "I'm Euterpe," the fourth Muse said. Her words travelled lightly, almost like a song. She smiled joyfully at me, "The muse of Music."

Five steps. "Melpomene," the fifth one introduced. The Muses were forming a diagonal line as they each took an increasing number of steps—at this point, they'd have me surrounded. "I'm the muse of Tragedy." My shoulders jerked up in surprise as she placed a tragic mask onto her face. A shiver ran down my spine; the mask's face looked as if it was in pain and I watched as a tear slid down the carved metal.

Six steps. "I'm Polyhymnia," the Muse said. Her face was veiled with thin white lace, her eyes cast downward beneath the fabric. Her hands were poised in front of her neatly as her plain robes brushed the floor. "The muse of Sacred Poetry." As soon as she finished speaking, her cloak dropped down to her chin, hiding whatever was visible of her.

The seventh Muse skipped her seven steps up to me. "I'm Terpsichore. The muse of Dancing." She held a golden plectrum—an instrument used to pluck stringed instruments.

Eight steps. "I'm Thalia." She was crowned with ivy and a comic mask. Just like Melpomene's mask was crying, Thalia's was laughing. "The muse of Comedy."

Nine steps. The ninth Muse was inches away from me and I stared at her, entranced. "I'm Urania." A globe floated by her side, twirling on its axis. She was dressed in a cloak embroidered with glittering specks—stars. I felt as though the entire universe was caught in the fabric; stars and planets, entire galaxies and moons. "The muse of Astronomy."

"It's," I began breathlessly, "n-nice to meet you all."

Calliope's smile widened. "Where is our mated Sin?"

My limbs turned rigid. "Pardon?"

Urania turned to Patience. "Patience, where's Wrath?"

Patience's eyes flickered into a pale red. "What?"

Wrath strode in. I caught a flash of his wings and I watched as he struggled to control them.

"I'm here."

Beast walked in after him, his eyes darkening as he spotted the Nine Muses.

A slight pang spread through my chest at the sight of him. His golden gaze didn't even brush over me—not once.

Calliope took Wrath and Patience's hand in each of hers. Patience shook her head to herself as she placed her free hand against her temple—not once did she look at her mate. Pain struck Wrath's face into two and he shot Beast a glare.

I frowned in confusion when Beast looked away guiltily.

What the hell?

They were supposed to be mates. They were supposed to be in love.

They were supposed to be each other's happy ending.

But this was no fairy tale.

"My gift to you is that of eloquence. Keep it and cherish it as you two will each other," Calliope recited, joining Wrath and Patience's hands together.

"My gift to you is that of life," Clio said. She placed her hand on their joined ones. "You will have eternity with each other, and I promise to keep every moment of your eternity in history."

"I bless you with the quality of love," began Erato. She plucked a rose from her crown and tucked it into Patience's snowy braid. "Love each other and adore each other. Trust one another and bore this trust in every second of your love."

"My promise to you is that your lives together will be filled with sweetness like that of music," said Euterpe. "For as long as you remain together."

"I take an oath today that for as long as the Fates allow," Melpomene said, "you will not see tragedy and tragedy will not see you." She clicked her fingers and the tragedy mask and its tears disappeared.

Polyhymnia lifted her white cloak. "I bless you with the approval of the Seraphics."

My palms balled up into fists by my side.

The muse of Sacred Poetry said no more.

She didn't need to.

"I promise that every step you take, every decision you make hand in hand will be as perfect as a waltz," Terpsichore smiled. She slid identical gold bands onto Patience and Wrath's wrists. "I take an oath today to protect the joy in your lives for as long as you are together—both in life and in death."

Thalia took her comic mask off. "I take an oath today that for as long as the Fates allow, you will forever see comedy and comedy will forever see you."

Urania's globe slowed and she regarded it carefully. "My gift to you is that of peace. You will find peace in each other's embrace as the stars do with their light." A sliver of light encircled the couples' heads and each band of light morphed into a planet of every colour and size. "I promise to keep the planets in your favour for as long as you are together."

Envy's claws began to extend—she rapidly pushed her hands behind her back and I felt that anger in me begin to boil. The siblings were happy for Wrath—I could see it on each of their faces and that emotion was brighter than the Sins the Seraphics had turned them into.

My Vessel uncurled within me, battling against my ribcage.

Suddenly, Beast was by my side, his presence heating my skin. His eyes were pinned to Calliope; if I didn't know better, I would have thought he was being protective.

The Muse's smile faltered slightly. "Although, this is not all we have come for."

A large hand clamped down onto my waist and Beast gently eased me behind him.

•••

So sorry I haven't updated this story in ages! I've been a little unmotivated and kind of lost track of where I was at after exams but uploads should now continue for every Wednesday and Saturday <3

Leave a vote if you enjoyed and add PB to your library so you're notified of future updates!

Love,
Laila.