Chapter 5
Lila’s eyes flashed open and her body leaped up before her mind was fully awake.
Blood.
Paralyzed.
Trapped.
Lila looked for Hektor, for Drusilla, for any of the vampires in the main hall as her head spun violently. Immediately, her legs gave out under her, and she flopped back onto her straw mattress.
Herstraw mattress. Lila was in her room and she was—well, not safe, but she was okay. Her room was dark, save for a small candle lit near her bed, and when she looked down at herself she was actually . . . dressed. She wore a red nightgown that reached her knees, with long, flowy sleeves that cuffed at her wrists. Lila clutched the chest of the gown, happier than she’d expect to be in opaque fabric once again.
“Finally,” a voice said from the corner. Lila jumped out of her skin, a small yelp escaping her lips as she turned to find Rebekkah sitting in a chair near her bed. She curled a piece of her dark red hair in her long fingers, wearing a black robe as elegant as any gown. “I have been waiting all day for you to wake up.”
“Rebekkah . . . how—where—” The spinning of Lila’s head didn’t ease. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on one thing, one question. Thankfully, Rebekkah understood her.
“I don’t have all the details. I was locked in my room throughout the revel. Ciro took the key and didn’t let me out till just before sunset. All I know is you passed out from blood loss. Hektor and Drusilla did quite a number on you. Then Ciro took you, bathed you, and brought you back here.”
The idea of Ciro’s hands on her while she slept made her skin crawl.
“I know he removed Drusilla’s venom, as is evident by the fact you can move. But you’ve been unconscious for two nights now. My brothers and that she-devil left the Morada again. They said they’d be gone for the night, so they told me to watch over you. When I came in and found you, naked and bruised and bitten all over . . .” she hesitated.
A pang of guilt shook her heart. Two nights? I haven’t checked in with Ambrose. He must be worried sick. Then, Naked in bed for two full days? With Hektor and Ciro around? Disgust rolled in the pit of her stomach, and she didn’t allow herself to think of it further. She would just lock that little thought away for as long as possible.
“I’m guessing then you’re to thank for the nightgown?”
Rebekkah bit her lip. “I—Yes. I hate seeing you frolic around in that pathetic thing they forced on you.”
Lila smiled. She could tell, no matter how unusual this was for her, Rebekkah was at least trying.
“Thank you. I mean it.”
A small blush colored Rebekkah’s warm cheeks. “Well, Mousey, don’t thank me too much. I haven’t been able to assist you at all. My brothers—”
“Are treating you just as horribly.” The things she has heard them say to Rebekkah can freeze an ocean. They torture her in a different kind of way than they do Lila. Venomous words, starving her after locking her in her room for nights on end. And that didn’t even cover the rage they took out on her.
Rebekkah sighed. “Well, as much as I hate to say it, I was planning to have us stick together. But Drusilla is smart. She knows how to tame a revolution against her.”
It was true. Lila saw Rebekkah less now that they were both in the Morada than she had when they were apart. This had probably been the first actual conversation they’ve had in months.
“When did Drusilla get here?” Lila asked. Seeing her at the party—lords, that was three nights ago now—was the first she had since their confrontation at the Crow Court.
“Basically since we arrived back. She’s been skulking around, going to our nearby towns and villages.”
“And . . . that revel?”
Rebekkah solemnly nodded, the yellow in her eyes dimmer than Lila had ever seen them. “Spring equinox. Just an excuse to fuck and eat, in my opinion.” She flattened the wrinkles on her lap and stood. “I’m going to go find you some food. That should give you strength. Stay here, and don’t stand up.”
Rebekkah was still a commanding brat, but Lila was happy to have her on her side—if Lila could call it that. It was a stark difference from their relationship just a few months back. Before she met—
Lila. His voice echoed through her mind, immediately sending a wash of comforting shivers down her spine. Lila, the window.
Just then, Lila heard a tap, tap, tap. She turned her head toward the only access to the outside her room had. On the far wall, at the very top, sat a thin window—too small to escape from, but big enough to see the ground it sat above. It was the only way Lila knew if it was night or day—at least, when it wasn’t covered by the thick black-out curtain her nor Marcus had been able to reach. But lucky for her, tonight, it was pulled open.
A gasp escaped Lila as her lips impulsively spread into a wide grin. On the other side of the window, a white crow pecked at the glass.
Darling. . .
Ambrose! Lila jumped up and ran to it. She stood as close as she could, hopping up and down to try to see him better. How are you—why are you—I’m so happy to see you! She squealed into his mind.
He snickered. I’m happy to see you too. The brothers?
Gone! You came at the perfect time, it’s just me and Rebekkah here.
The crow hopped back and forth, and Lila giggled, picturing Ambrose in his monstrous form doing the same little dance. Can you come out? I don’t want to put you in danger—
I can! I’ll be right there!
Lila ran from the room, ignoring the way her head swam with each movement. As she raced up the few stairs leading out of the murine hall, Rebekkah opened the door.
For a moment, Lila halted in her tracks. Reverting back to the little mouse she had been for so long when she saw the sister viper of the Morada.
Rebekkah raised an eyebrow. “I thought I told you to stay put?”
Lila gulped. If she told her, would Rebekkah stop her from seeing Ambrose? Would she sound an alarm? Attack Ambrose? Attack her?
No, Lila reminded herself. Rebekkah is different now. We are different.
Taking a deep breath, Lila met Rebekkah’s eyes. “I-It’s Ambrose. He’s here.”
Lila watched Rebekkah’s face for any signs of anger or doubt, but all she saw was what looked like . . . relief.
“He’s alive,” she stated more than asked. “Does this mean you’re leaving?”
Lila shook her head and the disappointment on Rebekkah’s face—disappointment for Lila—was palpable. “It would be better if Ciro, Hektor, and Drusilla continue to believe he’s dead. Plus, I still—”
“Need to fucking kill them,” Rebekkah said blandly. Lila studied her for a moment, searching, unsure how to respond. “Listen, Mousey. I-I’ve already said how blinded I was. How much of a fool I was. But I will never stop saying it. I’ve spent my life thinking my brothers were . . . everything. My parents were shit, as you know. And they together created three little monsters. But, I don’t know—maybe I’m broken, because I do not want to be like them. And while I don’t believe I can ever do anything to redeem my past actions, I won’t stop trying.” She gently took Lila’s hands, and looked at her own feet. “I don’t deserve forgiveness, but let me try to earn it. They stopped being my brothers the moment they laid their hands on me, and I finally woke up and saw all they did to you—all I did to you—and I know now that they have everything coming to them. Drusilla too, that wench. I just—”
“Bek,” Lila squeezed her hands. “You have already earned that forgiveness in more ways than one. You should never feel the need to compare yourself to them. You are so much more than they will ever be.”
Rebekkah smiled, and then scrunched her nose. “Well, thanks for the girl talk. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m thankful to have you in my life, Mousey,” she let go of her hands and stepped aside. “Now, it seems like that big oaf is waiting for you so go. I’ll come get you soon and help you cover his scent so my brothers don’t notice anything when they return.”
Lila impulsively threw her arms around Rebekkah’s shoulders. “Thank you.” And without another glance, she ran out of the room.
She ran to Ambrose.
As soon as she was outside, Lila’s eyes locked with his. Dark, mysterious, and all-encompassing just as she had remembered. She had seen those eyes in the darkest of nights, and now, seeing them in the moonlight, she felt like her heart stopped beating.
Ambrose’s hair was disheveled, probably from his flight, he was without a shirt—which immediately did funny things to Lila’s stomach—and his trousers were torn past his knees. He was also barefoot, standing in the early spring snow below his feet. Lila tilted her head, before her eyes met his again, questioning his appearance.
But all thoughts died when she saw his face. He had the goofiest grin Lila had ever seen on him, and it immediately brought a warm smile to her face. Lila started running to him, and in less than a blink of an eye, Ambrose had met her. His arms crashed around her as he immediately took her into a wonderfully suffocating embrace.
Lila, Lila, Lila, Lila, Lila,she could hear through the Concord as she threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him to her. Before she noticed it, she felt wet drops on her cheeks and realized she’d begun to cry. Ambrose tightened his grip around her waist, spinning her around so much, they toppled into the soft snow below them.
“Lords, Lila. I’ve missed you, I’ve missed saying your name. I’ve missed your smell, your feel, the way you fit in my arms so perfectly.” He petted the top of her head then, brushing kisses all over it.
“Ambrose—”
“Fuck. I’ve missed that too.” Immediately, he took her chin and pressed his lips to hers. The way his hand felt against her skin sent goosebumps all throughout her body. The callouses brushing her cheek as it found its way through her hair made her realize how starved for his touch she had been.
His lips were hard, chapped, but greedy as they kissed her, and it only took a moment for her to open her mouth and suck on his bottom lip, begging him for more. Ambrose groaned into her throat as he opened his lips, pushing his tongue into her mouth.
He’s here. He’s real.
Lila kissed him as she had never kissed him before, with all the love she could muster. He moved, flipping her on her back so he could cage her under him as he continued taking her mouth. The snow below her was cold against her back, but nothing could compare to the warmth she felt around this god of a man. She ran her hands down his neck, over his bare chest, feeling every bulge and groove of muscle—you know, to make sure he was real. She ran her thumb over the massive crow tattooed on his chest and felt his heart fluttering under her palm. Her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest, her lungs would explode, and—
Ambrose pulled away. “Breathe, Little Crow.” He smirked, and she knew he was also remembering when he said the same thing the night of Sanktus Pernox in the Arachnid Estate. His eyes were drinking her in, as hers were him.
He had bags under his eyes, but he was still so goddamn beautiful, it was alarming.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered, placing a hand on his cheek. Ambrose gulped and leaned into it.
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, your voice. Say my name again. Please, Lila.” His eyes were begging, as though it would physically hurt him if she didn’t.
“Ambrose. Ambrose, Ambrose, Ambrose,” and then softer, “I love you, Ambrose.”
His lips were on hers once more, and this time, the kiss was more than greed—it was desire and heat and love and everything that made them, them. It was the kind of kiss Lila thought she might have been born for.
Ambrose’s hands moved, trailing down the long column of her neck and over her chest. He paused over her heart, smiling against her lips as it fluttered in tune with his.
And then his hand trailed down.
It grazed over her breast, the pad of his finger stopping at her nipple. The moment he pressed into that small bud, all of Lila’s body reacted. Her stomach dipped, and that same funny feeling she had grown so accustomed to in the Crow Court had finally woken up after all these months away. She immediately felt her core heat and dampen, ready to be touched by Ambrose.
She wanted him. Even if it was in the snow. Even if it was outside. Even if it was in the Viper Morada. She. Wanted. Him.
Lila moaned into his mouth, and immediately wrapped her legs around the small of Ambrose’s back, and used her thighs to pull him closer. The moment she felt his hard length grind against her center, they groaned into each other as they kissed.
Ambrose pulled apart, trailing kisses down Lila’s cheek, her jaw, and all along her neck. He immediately found the spot she liked so much, and sucked till Lila was moaning his name.
She bucked her hips, rubbing herself against the bulge, trying to get as much friction as she could. The moment her clit ran over his cock, Lila felt like she’d combust.
“So. Fucking. Warm,” he uttered, still kissing her neck. He thrust against her then, as his hand tightened on her breast, then he bent lower and sucked it into his mouth, despite the nightgown completely in the way.
Lila yelped and grabbed his face, returning his lips to hers. She bucked into him, cursing his stupid pants for being between them as she pressed the sensitive bud against him. She wanted his skin on hers—in her.
“Ambrose.” She kissed him. “I want you.”
“I want you too,” he said against her lips, but continued kissing her.
“No, I want you now.”
His lips hesitated, but his hips dipped one more delicious time, the hard bulge driving right through her center, sending another whimper from her lips.
Ambrose moved his hand from her breast, and rested it next to her, before placing his forehead onto hers. “More than anything, I wish I could. But you mean more to me than a quick fuck outside.” He brought his palm to her cheek, rubbing her bottom lip with his thumb. “I want to take my time when we make love for the first time. I want to ravage you and savor you all at once—not one or the other.” Her heart did a funny flip. This was the reason she loved this man. “So, though my cock feels like it might explode and my balls will be aching for days, being here with you is intoxicating enough.”
Lila giggled at his words, and though she was desperate for him, she knew his point was valid, for she wanted to cherish their time just as much—preferably without the fear of the Reinicks coming home at any moment.
“Plus,” Ambrose started with a wicked smirk spreading his lips, “If I make you any more hot and bothered, you might just create a new ocean.” He nodded his head to the snow around her.
But it was no longer snow. Her warmth had melted it, and Lila was lying in a small pool of water, the back of her red nightgown soaked.
“You became a puddle for me.”
She immediately blushed and laughed.
He grinned, his fangs poking through his lips. “Ah, I miss that sound too. Almost more than your moans.”
A wave of heat flushed her. “If you don’t want me to jump on your cock right now, you need to keep that tongue in check, Lord Draven,” she teased.
“Hmm. I can think of far better things my tongue should be doing right now.”
Again, Lila felt the heat in her core, and a bit more snow around them melted.
“Just because I don’t think we should fuck in the Viper Morada, doesn’t mean I have any issue feasting on that sweet little pussy of yours.” His eyes changed to the feral shade of red. The same shade when he chased her through the woods, when he cornered her in the alcove of rocks, when he drove his teeth into her.
And for some twisted reason, Lila felt herself grow more wet from the memories.
“If you do that,” she breathed. “I don’t think I’ll be able to handle not having you.”
Ambrose blinked, his white lashes long and—beautiful. Like everything else about him.
She watched as Ambrose swallowed hard and blinked very slowly, and then he eased himself off of her. Lila immediately missed his warmth and presence, but as he helped her sit up, she loved cradling into him.
Her mind finally settling from what felt like rabid intoxication, she finally realized the fact that Ambrose was here, and here was a very dangerous place to be. “Wait. What are you doing here?”
“I—” he shook his head. “When I didn’t hear from you for two nights, I needed to come. Honestly, I don’t know when I decided—I mostly just acted.”
“And why are you . . . shirtless?” she asked, grazing her fingers over his abs. “Not that I’m upset about it.”
He snickered, but clenched the muscles there and she saw his cock bob in response to her touch. “I flew here. In my true form. I was training, and just came . . . I honestly didn’t even think to put a shirt on.”
“What a rake you are,” Lila giggled.
“Only for you, darling.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his lap before nuzzling into her hair. “I never want to let you go.”
Lila nuzzled him back, cuddling into the crook of his perfect neck. “For now, you don’t have to.”
They sat there together, in silence, just embracing their togetherness of the moment. She paid close attention to how his skin felt against hers, to the sounds of his breath each time he inhaled, and to the warm feeling of his eyes on her. It was pure and utter bliss.
“If you ever,” he began, chucking his finger under her chin and pulling her face to look at him, “don’t respond to me through the Concord for more than a day, I’m coming right back here, laying waste to this hellhole, and dragging you home. Bound, if I have to.”
Lila smirked and wiggled her eyebrows. “Bound? You promise?”
He snickered. “Who’s the rake now, love?”
Another beat passed between them. Ambrose was looking between her eyes and she realized he was finally studying her. He had been too caught up in the frenzy of their kisses to really look before, but she was sure he now saw everything she didn’t want him to see. The dress she wore should be mostly covering the new bite marks from Drusilla and Hektor, but she was sure she had grown thinner, gaunter, and she had no idea what the bags under her eyes looked like.
She probably looked more dead than the undead vampire she was sitting on.
“Are you okay?” His voice was low, as though he were telling her a secret.
She didn’t want to lie, but she also didn’t want to worry him too much. She didn’t think he would leave her if she did.
“Better now that you’re here.”
In truth, Lila was forgetting why she wanted to be here. Her desire to prove herself hadn’t been going as quickly as she liked, nor as well as she hoped. She didn’t believe she was the meek mouse she once was, but being back here had definitely regressed all her progress. And now, being in Ambrose’s arms, she wanted nothing more than to just go back home with him.
But then all these months would’ve been for nothing, and the Reinicks and Drusilla would know Ambrose was alive, which would eliminate any kind of surprise attack they could pull in the future. And, she wanted to sabotage them more. She wanted to sow doubt between Hektor and Ciro. Maybe, if she were lucky, they would attack each other so she didn’t have to.
“I can feel your mind working, love. Talk to me.”
Lila gulped. “I want to go back with you . . .”
“But?”
She took his hand and squeezed it. “But I don’t think I’m done here yet. Soon. But not yet.”
Ambrose nodded. “I thought as much. I didn’t come here to drag you back against your will. I just came to make sure you were all right.”
And I am,she said through the Concord, because I got to see you. She cupped his cheek once more.
They stayed huddled together for what felt like an hour, and in that time, neither of them grew cold, despite the snow falling around them.
As Lila was curling a gleaming strand of Ambrose’s hair around her fingers, he stiffened. Someone’s coming.
“Lila!” Rebekkah shouted just seconds later, just as she exited the manor. “Draven.” She nodded at him, and though he hesitated a moment, he returned the gesture. “I’m sorry to interrupt. My brothers are returning and we need to wash his scent from you. Quickly.”
Ambrose jumped up, Lila in his arms. I hate that our time was so short, he said in her mind. But I’m glad I came. Promise you won’t be gone for much longer?
I promise.
Ambrose pulled her flush against him and pressed a hard kiss to her lips. She felt everything in it as he mentally said, I love you, Lila.
I love you too, and I’m sorry I can’t go with you.
He brushed his lips against hers. “It’s okay, sunshine. We’ll be together again soon.”
Ambrose gently placed her feet on the ground. She took one step away from him before turning and pulling his head down to meet hers, kissing him again.
“You are my everything, Ambrose,” she whispered, and she saw the shivers it sent through him, felt the warmth it brought to his cheeks as he blushed.
“Say that again when we’re alone,” he huffed a laugh and kissed her chastely on the cheek. “Now go, before those bastards get back and I have to kill them.” He turned her around and gave a light spank on her ass—which did much more to her core than she’d expect.
Lila started walking away, toward Rebekkah, who’d been patiently waiting for her, not saying a word though Lila was sure she’d heard everything.
She turned over her shoulder, looking back at Ambrose once more, his smile was sad, but he waved his hand, encouraging her on. I’ll speak to you after daybreak, when they’re asleep.
Lila smiled back at him, and she knew it matched the sad cadence of his. Walking away from him right now was one of the hardest things she’d ever have to do. And she’d tried—and succeeded—to stab him before.
I’ll be waiting, she thought back. Finally, she felt cold. Colder than the snow, colder than the outside. Her warmth had dimmed and she felt less like sunshine and more like an endless night awaiting the dawn as she stepped back into the Viper Morada.