Sin’s Thief (Vampires of Vadin #3)

Chapter 1 Act of Defiance

It was late afternoon, and the breeze was cooling against Cecil’s skin. Too bad he couldn’t have stayed out and enjoyed it. He had shit to do.

Sighing, Cecil turned the knob of the door in front of him and pushed—it creaked loudly. The noise made him wince. There was no doubt in his mind that the man inside had heard. Not that his father wouldn’t hear his heartbeat the minute he walked in.

Hiding when surrounded by immortals was almost impossible.

At times, Cecil couldn’t help but think that the only way to be completely free was to abandon everything.

Skipping right to the end seemed better than wasting time trying to figure out how you were going to get there.

Considering immortals didn’t die from old age… well, it took a long fucking time.

Luckily, this was not one of those times.

He was actually in a good mood. Today was the day he had been waiting for.

Cecil had held out, and finally, he would be free.

He was finally eighteen. Things would get better—they had to.

Hell, it sure couldn’t get any worse. At least, Cecil hoped it wouldn’t, as that would suck.

“So, you’re finally home, boy,” his father sneered loudly from somewhere further inside the decrepit house.

Cecil would never call this place home. It was a place for someone to run away from, a place Cecil avoided until either the stench of his unwashed body or his hunger became too much.

Or until even the lowest of men wouldn’t bother with him.

No one wanted to be near someone who smelled like a trash can.

He shuffled across the threadbare carpet into the living room and came face to face with his father, Ernest Baxter.

Ernest wasn’t a tall man, only about five foot ten. There was nothing special about him; his features were bland. However, with his bloodshot blue eyes, scraggly black hair, and unkempt beard, Ernest honestly looked like he spent more time on the streets than Cecil did—a perfect hobo impersonation.

His father wasn’t exactly fat—for an immortal, getting fat took a lot of effort—but the man didn’t have much muscle mass.

That, of course, didn’t stop Ernest from trying to prove how much of a big strong man he was. Not that his father knew how to fight, he would probably lose against most opponents. But as Cecil was only five foot four and about a hundred pounds, he wasn’t one of those.

Staring into his father’s beady little eyes, Cecil allowed himself one last act of defiance—he let the bastard see how much he hated him. It was stupid. Judging by the scowl on his father’s face, and the vein popping on his forehead, the man was pissed off enough already.

Though…Ernest didn’t really show any other emotions around him, so it was nothing new. Because, apparently, Cecil’s entire existence angered him.

Whatever, it didn’t matter. Cecil needed to show his father that he would never completely break him—he would never give in.

When the man backhanded him, Cecil barely flinched. The cry of pain his father wanted to hear never came. And when blood began to drip from his split lip, he did nothing to wipe it away.

It wasn’t like it didn’t hurt—it did. But he had expected it. Cecil was used to it.

“What? Nothing to say?!”

With his hands clenched into fists, he looked away.

God, was there so much Cecil wanted to say, but he remained silent.

What would come out of his mouth would only play into Ernest’s sick and twisted games.

Cecil had learned years ago that the man enjoyed beating the crap out of him.

His father would use every word Cecil spoke to justify what he was doing.

Because he was looking away, Cecil wasn’t prepared when his father’s fist connected with his stomach. Cecil let out a single gasp and doubled over. Swallowing back the bile rising in his throat, he ignored the pain, straightened up, and glared.

“I’m talking to you, boy! You’ve been gone for two fucking weeks. And ya know what, you stupid whore, I found out exactly what you’ve been up to.”

Cecil’s heart stalled in his chest. Whatever the man thought, wrong or not, it would not end well for him. “I don’t know what you're talking about,” he stated vacantly.

When his father pulled his arm back, Cecil’s hands instinctively went up to protect his face. Still, the force of the hit had him knocking into the wall and falling to the floor.

“Don’t you lie to me!” Ernest screamed.

Cecil smirked—fuck it, no matter what he said now, he was in for some pain. “I’m not. I really don’t know what you are talking about. Though…you’re drunk most of the time, so I usually don’t,” he sneered defiantly.

“What’d you just say?” Ernest growled.

“I called you a drunk. Oh, what a pity!” Cecil cried dramatically, and then deadpanned, “It seems your hearing is going the same way as your brain cells. Of course, you didn’t have many brain cells to begin with, so it wasn’t a big loss.”

“You’re going to regret talking to me like that!” his father snapped.

“Why? What are you going to do? What more could you possibly do to me?” Cecil laughed. His laugh had come out a bit high in pitch, and rather than mocking, as he had intended it to be, it had sounded more hysterical.

“Boy, you have no idea. And you know exactly what I’m talking about. You're just like your mother, a useless whore. It was only a matter of time. Well, since you are so willing to open those pretty little legs of yours, you’ll have no problem with what I have planned.”

“W-What?”

The baby in Sin’s arms giggled when he tickled his little belly. Prince Silas was adorable, with his chubby cheeks, curly white hair, and large violet and gold eyes—the same color as his birthing father.

“He is simply beautiful, Your Highnesses.”

“Thank you, Sin.” King Adrian smirked. “I will say, it is about time you came to see him. It has been seven months.”

“I do apologize. I would have come sooner, however, the cases I had been working on were not ones I could leave unfinished.”

Sin chuckled when Silas grabbed his finger and promptly shoved it into his mouth.

“I wouldn’t…” King Xavier started to say, but trailed off when Sin winced.

Prince Silas was apparently a biter, and one of his little fangs was currently piercing Sin’s finger.

“No, no, no. Bad Silas, don’t bite Uncle Sin,” Adrian admonished. Standing up from his throne, the man gently extracted Sin’s finger from the infant’s mouth and took him into his arms.

Prince Silas let out a small whimper. The little boy's bottom lip trembled and tears began to form in his eyes.

“Oh, my little snuggle bear, don’t cry,” Adrian cooed, cuddling his child as he sat back down. “I promise you can bite Uncle Dante the next time he visits.”

“Adrian…” Xavier growled.

The man ignored his husband and continued to offer up Dante to the infant. “Oh, yes you can. You can bite Uncle Dante all you want.” Silas softly gurgled when Adrian tapped his nose. “You can chomp, chomp, chomp, because Dante is a pain in your daddy’s butt.”

Xavier let out an exasperated sigh. “I am sorry about that. He’s teething.” The man chuckled. “Though, he also bites when he’s hungry.”

Sin laughed. “It’s quite alright, Your Highness. I assure you, I have suffered worse bites than that.”

“Haven’t we all.” Adrian grinned deviously, wiggling his eyebrows.

Xavier snorted.

A shift of air had Sin peering over the back of his chair at the throne room doors.

One of them had opened just a bit, and a barefoot little girl of five slipped inside.

She had wide crystal-blue eyes and hair the color of fire.

That hair was currently pulled up haphazardly into pigtails that bounced as she ran up to them.

“Hi! Uncle Rian, Uncle Xavy.” The little girl giggled. “Can I play with the baby?”

“Of course, you can, sweetie. But remember, babies are fragile, so you have to be careful.” Adrian beamed.

The little girl nodded enthusiastically, her pigtails bopping. Adrian placed the baby into the six by six foot playpen that was set up next to the thrones.

Sin couldn’t help but smile. Baylin and Kellin Ambrus’s little girl, Ava, was simply precious. And easily as hyperactive as her birth father, Kellin. However, Sin did wonder where her counterpart, Caleb, was—not to mention why she was wandering around alone.

“Sweetie, where is your brother and Uncle Kaiden?” Xavier asked, the tone of his voice slightly admonishing. “I believe you should be with them.”

Ava waved dismissively, her gaze remaining on the baby. “They’re coming. They’re just slow.”

Someone had been spending too much time with Adrian, Sin thought. Though Ava’s bare feet were more of a giveaway than anything else.

The door was pushed open wider and Councilman Kaiden Voltair and Caleb entered. Unlike Ava, their approach was unhurried. They stopped side by side in front of the two kings. Kaiden’s stance was relaxed, while Caleb’s hands were clasped behind his back.

Caleb truly took after Baylin. Sin could honestly not recall having ever met such a calm little boy.

“I apologize for the interruption, Your Highnesses.” Kaiden’s eyes narrowed on the little girl, who was peering back innocently. “Ava has a tendency to run off.”

“I’m quite aware, Kaiden. No harm was done.” Adrian smirked.

Sin’s gaze roamed over the councilman. Kaiden had become quite dower after the death of his son almost six years ago.

The year following Dorian’s murder, the man had collapsed into himself.

However, with the birth of the twins, and no doubt the efforts of King Adrian, Kaiden had been pulled from his despair.

Still, it had only been a year since the vampire had returned to his position on the council.

It was a testament to how much the people in his district cared for him that Kaiden hadn’t been replaced despite his absence.

Councilwoman Sabriel Argent’s willingness to watch over the man’s district no doubt helped.

Sin felt an overwhelming sense of pride that the councilwoman presiding over his territory was of such high morals.

Though, the other council members were of equal caliber.

Having known Kaiden for many years, Sin was relieved to see the man’s condition improving.

Clearing his throat, Kaiden spoke again. “King Adrian, King Xavier, if I am not wrong, it is time for Prince Silas’ nap.”

Adrian sighed, but Xavier said, “You are correct, I figured it was the reason you were here.”

“Ah, yes,” Kaiden confirmed.

“If you must,” Adrian huffed, his lower lip popping out, much like his son’s had earlier. “However, would there be any harm in letting Silas play with his cousins for just a bit longer?”

“Yes,” both Xavier and Kaiden said at once.

“But—”

His husband cut him off. “Adrian, we will have trouble getting him to sleep tonight if his naptime is delayed.”

“Fine!” Adrian growled and crossed his arms.

Chuckling, Kaiden shook his head and walked over to the playpen. The man crouched down and murmured a few words to Ava before reaching in to pick Silas up. If Sin wasn’t mistaken, there was a tinge of sadness in Kaiden’s eyes as he peered down at the child cradled in his arms.

“Uncle Adrian, Uncle Xavier?” The soft words had the room focusing on Caleb.

Xavier smiled. “Yes, Caleb?”

“I’m sorry my sister is so…” Caleb’s nose wrinkled. “…rude.”

Ava gasped in protest. With her hands on her hips, she glared at her brother.

“No worries, Caleb. She didn’t interrupt anything,” Adrian assured, his eyes sparkling with unreleased laughter.

The little boy nodded before turning to follow Kaiden and his sister, who were heading for the door.

But the child had barely stepped away when he suddenly stopped in his path and turned back around.

Caleb appeared to hesitate for just a moment before rushing up to the thrones and beginning to fuss with the ties of Adrian’s shirt.

Adrian jerked. Looking utterly bewildered, the man peered down at the little boy.

The laces of the king’s top were tied tight when Caleb moved away on a happy sigh. “Your nipple was showing. Uncle Adrian, you really should get shirts that fit. Okay, bye-bye.” The little boy smiled, waved, and then rushed over to Ava and Kaiden, who were waiting for him by the door.

It would be hard to miss the noticeable grin on Kaiden’s face while he ushered the two out. Sin could swear there was just a hint of the old slightly mischievous man peeking through.

Xavier burst into laughter the minute the door closed behind the trio.

Adrian remained speechless, just gaping before growling, “It’s as if Baylin never left! So much for thinking Baylin and Kellin going on a vacation would mean I wouldn’t be nagged for a few weeks!”

“Caleb is very much his father’s child,” Sin chuckled.

“The fact that he is a child makes it fucking worse. Baylin I can ignore, but Caleb is too adorable for me to ignore or yell at,” Adrian groused.

“Language,” Sin admonished.

“Sin, I am almost ten thousand years old, I can swear if I want to.” The king’s eyes narrowed on his still laughing husband. “Stop laughing! It wasn’t that funny!” Adrian snapped.

Xavier’s laughter subsided, but there was still a bright smile on his face. “So, Sin, when are you planning to go back to your current main branch?”

“Ah, I do not have a specific date. I imagine I will be here for a few months. I would very much love to visit the young prince more than once. Also, there are a few cases I have to look into before leaving. Not to mention investigate the only lead we have in the rash of disappearances, which is one of the main reasons I came.”

“Yes, troublesome business, one I doubt will be solved quickly. Though, honestly, Sin, I do not know why you insist on moving your main office every century or two. Either way, you are forced to travel between the three branches when problems arise,” King Adrian pointed out.

“True, but I feel that doing so has strengthened the bonds of my group.”