The Sun Child

Chapter 1

“Crawl to me.”

Her knees buckled to the floor of their own will, slamming into the rough stone below her. She dropped too fast to even think of breaking the thrall, but the moment the small rocks bit into her flesh, the spell shattered around her mind.

But that didn’t mean Hektor could know.

Begrudgingly, Lila played the role of Hektor Reinick’s pet, as he sat on the floor of the dais in the Viper Morada’s great hall. His legs spread wide, a thick, wicked smile slashing his face, he beckoned her like a fucking dog.

She placed her hands on the floor, moving slowly toward him, keeping the blank expression as she knew that was what he would want.

“Little Mouse,” he cooed, and the words made her stomach sick. His voice twisted the words that once made her heart sore. That once filled her with warmth. He took it and sullied it with his disgusting lips. She almost broke the act, almost snapped, picturing her nails digging into his eyes, her hands at his throat. But, even as she neared him, even as his hand cupped her cheek, rubbed her lip, even as he bit into her neck, she did nothing.

Lila Bran was stronger than their torment. She was here to make them pay. She was here to hurt them in any way she could. And to do that, she’d be their pet. She’d be their plaything. She’d be their murine.

And when the opportunity arose, when the fire in her engulfed the Morada in flames, that was when Lila would strike.

The moment she arrived at the Viper Morada three months ago, Hektor tore the leathers off her very back. She still remembered how the cloth felt tearing from her arms, her legs, her breasts, as he pulled it away from her. She remembered the choked sound she made as the collar snagged on her throat—of the embarrassed flush that reached her cheeks the moment she stood nude before the Viper siblings, of the sharp snap against her skin as the material tore around her.

“What a pretty little murine. Your skin,” Hektor cooed, grazing his finger along her bare shoulder, “You’re like a blank canvas for me to mark all over again.” His nail dug into her shoulder, a long, thin cut opening the skin. “This bare neck needs a necklace worthy of its beauty.” Too fast for Lila to react, Hektor grabbed her neck, squeezing till a small gasp escaped her lips. His fingers dug into her throat, bruising her skin as his grin widened. “Welcome home.”

She spit at him. Probably unwise, but worth it.

Ciro snickered as Hektor grabbed her chin, angling it toward him. His sickly yellow eyes gleamed a shade that reminded Lila of bile. “Where did all my marks go? Tell me,” he commanded, and she felt the lick of his thrall all around her.

But Hektor was weak. She felt the pull at first, but was able to shove it away immediately.

“Tell him,” Ciro commanded, seeing her moment of hesitation. And before she even realized she was speaking, Lila said, “Ambrose.” Then, prouder, “He removed your venom and cured my wounds. All of them.”

“Fuck. That damned crow,” Hektor cursed.

Even now, the siblings still believed him to be dead, killed by Lila’s hand. And he has remained in the shadows since, as the Crow Court feigned mourning and loss. “The Crow Lord is dead,”they’d said, and though she knew it wasn’t true, it gutted her each and every time it was brought up.

Lila felt the remnants of Ciro’s thrall on her, an unwelcome hand caressing her mind. She felt . . . dirty. He shouldn’t be allowed in. If he could do this, what else could he do?

Maybe this wasn’t a good idea, she thought. On the battlefield, she was able to withstand both of their thralls. But then, Ambrose had been there. She played along, just to keep them in the dark of how far she had come.

Ambrose had tested Lila, forced her to break from a thrall that had been as powerful as he could make it. And through some intense convincing, she was able to do just that.

Lila theorized Hektor couldn’t push his thrall to those same high levels. But Ciro, once again, proved he could, and the thought that at any moment she may not be able to break out of one made her knees shake.

Ciro stepped close behind her, caging her between himself and Hektor. Lila was sure this must’ve been some kind of sick, twisted fantasy of theirs, but before she could say as much, Hektor spoke up.

“What do you think, Ciro? Should we just have her as our little sex doll, prancing around the Morada, naked and ready at our beck and call?” He flicked her nipple, causing her to flinch back—right into Ciro.

The horned Viper smirked. “I’d like to keep some mystery.” He snapped his fingers at Rebekkah, who had been standing silently, watching from the corner of the room, horrified. “Bring me what we prepared for her.”

For the briefest moment, Rebekkah’s eyes met Lila’s. Regret, sorrow, and guilt swirled in those dark golden orbs, just before she scurried out of the room.

“Plus, brother,” Ciro’s tone turned to ice as his hands landed on Lila’s shoulders. “How many times have I told you? Now that she is back with us, she’s mine. Not ours.” His hand shot forward quicker than Lila could see. Ciro grabbed his brother’s hand, and bent the index finger so far back, Lila heard the bone crack under Hektor’s skin. The same finger—Lila realized—he had used to flick her with. “You do not touch, unless I say you can. You can look all you want, but she is mine to claim. Mine to cleanse.”

Before Hektor could retort, before Rebekkah could return, and before Lila could even think, Ciro threw her over his shoulder, bottom on full display to anyone he passed, and stalked away. His hand rested precariously high, at the base of her thighs, and she feared squirming would grant him even closer access.

He stalked into what was once his parents’ room, past the bedroom and into the adjoining bathroom, and tossed her into a steaming bath. The water splashed over the sides onto the floor as the heat from it stung her body.

“Clean that fucker off of you. I don’t want to smell him anywhere on what’s mine.” Ciro tossed a thick sponge into the water next to her and pointed at the soap on the ledge of the tub.

Lila hesitated.

“Now, or I’ll get in there and do it myself.”

She realized he wasn’t enthralling her. He wanted her to do this by her own will. He wanted her to give in without forcing her. To give in to him.

Ciro stepped forward, and Lila quickly grabbed the sponge. Ambrose was more than just on her skin, she could do this, and still keep him with her. He was her mind, her heart, the very air she breathed. Removing his scent did not remove him.

Lila lathered the sponge and began to swipe at her body as Ciro stepped back to his original position, and folded his arms across his massive chest, watching. She avoided the space between her thighs, and tried hard not to think about it. But he was unrelenting. “You missed a spot. That’s where I smell him the most.”

Lila flushed. She liked smelling like Ambrose there. She wanted him to have the dominance over whatever stupid game this was. Ciro would never own her—not in the way Ambrose did. But if she wanted to stop Ciro from taking what wasn’t his, she knew she needed to comply. She turned her back to the viper and scrubbed quickly.

“Harder,” Ciro commanded, his voice thick with the thrall now. She could hear the smirk over his lips. Her grip on the sponge tightened as it scrubbed between her legs, and as it rubbed against her clit, she got the brief memory of Ambrose’s perfect fingers sliding between her thighs, a wave of unsolicited pleasure purred through her.

Ciro grunted in amusement behind her as her body shivered, just once, and Lila knew he assumed it was for him. “Asshole,” she muttered and released the sponge. He was wrong. No matter what the Reinicks made her do, even if they made her peel her skin off, Ambrose would always be there. In every touch, every breath.

Once bathed and dried, Lila only waited a moment before Ciro allowed Rebekkah into his room. She carried a fabric so thin and light, it looked more like the drape of a window, but she soon realized it was some kind of gown . . . or frock or . . . were they expecting her to wear that?

Rebekkah tossed the loose fabric over her head. The dress—if she could call it that—was indeed flowy and thin. So thin, Lila could see every curve and freckle of her body, and her pink nipples practically illuminated under the white fabric of the thing. The skirt was long enough to trip on, and at her waist in the front, two pieces of fabric were just thick enough to cover her breasts, before meeting around the base of her neck, leaving her back fully exposed.

“Ahh, lovely,” Ciro cooed as he drank her in. “I bet Hektor will go absolutely mad seeing her like this, don’t you think, Bek?”

Once again, her eyes met Lila’s. “He’s going to be begging you for permission to touch her,” she said as her eyes said something completely different. Her eyes were begging, pleading. Lila saw “I’m sorry,” and “run.”

That was three months ago. Three months of walking the halls of the Viper Morada practically nude. Three months of being ogled at by Hektor, who relished on small touches. He’d grope her breasts as she turned a corner, he’d slap her ass as she walked past him in a hall. She could feel him watching her as she slept, as she changed, as she bathed.

But he kept his distance like a beast stalking his prey. She knew he was a pot ready to boil over, and at any minute he would scald her with his forced touch.

But Ciro . . . Ciro was a different kind of animal.

He never touched her. Not once. Time and time again he would force her to lay next to him in his bed, but his skin would never so much as graze hers.

And though she felt this should be reassuring, it was . . . concerning. She felt his obsession for her in the way he watched her, in the way he didn’t let anyone else touch her. Not one vampire in the Viper Morada had spared a second glance at her, let alone anything else. And Ciro was the sole vampire to drink from her before earlier tonight, in the great hall. She felt Hektor’s venom course through her blood like a sludge injected right into her veins. Her knees were scratched, her palms bloodied.

But the wounds didn’t stop there. Her wrists and ankles were marred with bruises and bite marks from Ciro, his favorite places to drink from. He relished in her blood, moaning at each drag he took from her. And though she sometimes saw his hardening cock in his pants, he never took it further.

Like Hektor, she wondered when Ciro would boil over. She feared that when it happened, he would be so much worse.

Lila heard the footsteps make their way down the long stone hallway and her heart leaped. Would it be one of the brothers, there to torture her some more, or would it be Rebekkah, bringing her a moment of solace? She held her breath. She’d been sent back to her room after Hektor filled himself, and hadn’t seen a soul in the hours that have passed as she tended to her own wounds.

“Murine,” the voice was like ice, sending shivers as sharp as blades down her back. “Come out.”

Ciro Reinick stood in her open doorway. They had removed the door—though it didn’t do much before—the moment she arrived back in her cell of a room.

Lila stood, lifting her chin defiantly—well, as much as she could in her state—then walked to him.

“We’re leaving,” he said. “Just for the day. We’ll be back before nightfall.”

This hadn’t been the first time they’d disappeared, and each instance was a breath of relief. The Morada without them was just another dark, dingey castle. The Morada with them was hell on earth.

Lila nodded.

“I want you to behave, pet.” Ciro chucked his fingers under her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his. “Can you do that for me?”

Ambrose’s words sprang to her mind. “Now, are you going to be good for me?” Another night, another time, white lace, and a dark wooden desk.

Lila cleared her throat. “Yes.”

She felt Ciro’s thumb rub against her cheek, just for a moment, and then he pulled away.

“Good. Hektor and Rebekkah might be back sooner than I am.” Ciro turned and began to walk down the hallway that was once the murine quarters—but was now just hers. He paused midstep, and turned over his shoulder. “If they should return before me, stay in your room. No matter what. Am I understood?”

Lila felt herself gulp. The idea of being . . . alone with Hektor was appalling. She knew Rebekkah would be there, and surely, if Ciro wasn’t around, Rebekkah may even help Lila. But she couldn’t rely on that.

The idea of needing Ciro around to ensure her safety also greatly unsettled her. Lords, she missed her freedom. She missed kicking and stabbing and—

“Murine, I asked you a question.”

“Yes. I’ll stay in my room.”

Ciro’s gaze wandered down her body once again, still in that same, idiotic dress, the bottom hem now tattered and torn. She felt the heat of his gaze, as his eyes lingered everywhere they shouldn’t, then she watched as Ciro licked his lips before his eyes met hers once more.

“Good.” And with that, the horned viper turned and stalked from the corridor. After minutes alone, she knew the siblings were gone from the tower.

She was alone.