The Sun Child

Chapter 21

Before the sun was even setting, Ambrose eased Lila awake. She slept through the day, dreamless and unmoving and purely, utterly, exhausted. As she saw the rays of light poking at her vision, Lila knew it was a rest she definitely needed, as Ambrose had said. She’d felt as tired as when she first escaped the Viper Morada, when Ambrose whisked her away, saving her from Hektor.

Only, replace the comfortable and massive bed with the comfortable and massive monster below her.

“It’s time to wake up, love,” Ambrose cooed.

As Lila looked around, she noticed Rebekkah remained asleep, and the sun was just falling behind the horizon line. “Why? Rebekkah isn’t up yet,” Lila huffed as she pushed herself up, straddling him.

“Rebekkah doesn’t have to get venom removed and train to compensate for the three months she’s been inactive.” Lila pouted, but Ambrose simply smirked, lifting Lila up with him as he stood. “Plus, I want to see this new power of yours.”

She laced up some of the stolen boots Ambrose had gotten for her in Asterim, and followed him out of the cave, deciding she would properly dress in the clothes he’d pillaged once they were done with their training and continued to wear the coat from last night. They rounded the mouth of the cave, and instead of heading straight past the trees toward the flowing river once again, Ambrose made a hard turn, following the outer wall of the cave. He stopped them in a spot where the trees made a small circle for them to stand, and the tall wall of the cave—which looked more like a small hill from here—was at Lila’s back.

“All right, love. You know how this works. It’ll hurt, but we need to do it.”

Lila nodded, already eager to get the rest of the Viper venom out of her. “I don’t know which bites are which, or which their last ones were.”

Ambrose took a small step back and studied her.

“I assume the one here,” Lila pointed at her inner thigh, “was Hektor.”

Ambrose’s eyes flared red. “That fucker.” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “Okay, fine. And Ciro?”

Lila couldn’t remember. “I’m not sure.”

Scratching the back of his neck, Ambrose took a step forward, studying her body. “Are there any hidden by the coat?”

“My arms,” she said, rolling the sleeves up.

Ambrose studied her neck, her chest, and then his gaze drifted to her wrist, where she had a mark. He gingerly lifted it closer to him.

“This one, I think. It looks fresher than the rest.” He turned it back and forth, and the red, inflamed puff of the wound with the small spots of dried blood proved he was right. “Are you ready?”

Lila bit her lip and nodded. She would never be ready to voluntarily give herself to this kind of pain. But it was this, or keep their venom inside of her. “I’m ready.”

Ambrose cupped her wrist in his hands, one supporting the back of her palm, while the other rested gently—comfortingly—over the wound.

And then the fire tore through her. She knew what to expect, but it never quite made it easier. She felt her knees buckle right as the last of the fiery thorns ripped from her veins, exploding from the skin at her wrists. Ambrose caught her as she swayed, keeping her upright.

“All right?” he asked, eyeing her.

Lila nodded, too weak to speak, as sweat pooled on her forehead from the short moment of pain.

Taking her wrist, Ambrose carefully examined the wound on her arm. “You said you’d been practicing with your warmth more and more, correct? And discovered it could heal when prompted?”

Lila raised an eyebrow and then nodded.

“I want to see it. Heal your wrist.”

With the aftereffects of pain still raking her body, Lila was finding it difficult to concentrate on love or any emotion near it. She tried to focus her attention on her wrist, but the more she did, the more she felt the pain still radiating from the throbbing wound.

“It’s hard when I’m in pain or upset,” she explained, remembering the night in her village. “It’s hard to force feelings of love and joy, when other feelings are dominating.”

“Don’t I know it,” Ambrose huffed under his breath. “Unfortunately, love, we don’t have the ointment that can heal your wounds, and out here, getting an infection on the slash marks on your back would be too easy. You need to heal yourself. Now.”

He watched her for a moment, and Lila saw something cross his eyes. Something . . . mischievous.

“I’ve an idea . . .” Ambrose pulled Lila into him carefully, his hand at the lowest part of her hips. He leaned down, his long hair tickling her neck, her shoulder. Whispering in her ear, he said, “I’ll bring love and joy to you.”

With swift hands, Ambrose unbuttoned the coat Lila wore, and pulled it from her shoulders, leaving her nude in the open yet again.

Immediate heat welled in Lila’s core, as Ambrose’s hands trailed her body. They caressed down her shoulders, over her hips, and then up her thighs. In a swift move, Ambrose’s hands were cupping her ass, lifting her. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, her core pressed against his hardening length. He eased her against the rockface behind her, careful not to press any of her wounds into the cool surface.

“What are you—”

Ambrose brought his lips to Lila’s neck, softly kissing the sensitive skin there, before trailing up to the spot she loved behind her ear. As his tongue slipped from his lips, his hand slipped to the bite mark on her thigh. Just as pain erupted through her yet again, Ambrose took her mouth and devoured her scream. His tongue was hot on hers, demanding, needy, desperate. He sucked her tongue, taking it into his own mouth before playfully biting at her bottom lip.

But still the pain tore through her and all she could do to escape it was kiss him. Lila threw her arms around his neck, pulling closer.

She groaned into his mouth, “Ambrose,” and then the groan turned into a scream, “show me my sunlight.”

Lila held on, as Ambrose slipped his free hand between them, unbuckling his pants swiftly, pulling his cock free. He wasted no time as he pushed his bulging head between her wet folds.

The hand at her thigh tightened as another wave of pain hit her. Every nerve ending was electrified and it felt like a thick worm was trailing under her skin, inside her veins, moving throughout her body toward the bite on her thigh.

But just as the pain seemed like too much, Ambrose plunged into her.

She screamed his name as he groaned into her mouth. She was still so sore from their night before, but it felt so damned good. Lila took him to the hilt, squeezing so tightly around him, as she felt every inch of him conquer her. With his hand gripping her ass, Ambrose slowly pulled all the way out, and drove back into her again.

Lila moaned so loud, she was sure Rebekkah would hear. But right now, she didn’t care. He thrust into her, again and again, as the venom wormed through her toward the wound.

“Focus on me, love,” Ambrose grunted as a whimper escaped Lila’s lips. “Focus on my cock inside of you. Focus on how well you take me, how fucking tight you are for me.” He bounced her on his length, and each thrust felt like he was plunging deeper and deeper inside of her. Her walls fluttered around him, feeling everything.

“You’re so fucking hot, Lila,” Ambrose groaned. And Lila felt it then too. Her body radiated heat, and the pain on her arms, legs, and back were slowly ebbing, as was the pain from the venom.

Ambrose pulled his hand up, high enough for Lila to see the sickly green ooze coalescing in his palm. Hektor’s venom made her sick to her stomach, and made her violence surge. She stared into Ambrose’s ruby eyes, shining so bright with lust and passion, and power. She imagined Hektor could feel them ridding her body of his venom as she healed and fucked her monster. Her eyes blazed back up at Ambrose, and she met each of his powerful thrusts with her own, riding his cock.

He smirked, “That might be my new favorite expression, right after seeing your face when you come for me.” He thrust deep again, and then he took his palm with the venom in it, and smashed it against the rock wall next to Lila’s head.

As he wiped his hand on the rocks, Lila smiled, knowing all that was left of Hektor was destroyed, nothing more than a stain on dirt. Fitting, to be filthier than the dirt she walked on.

She used her need for violence on his body. She rocked her hips in time with his thrusts, meeting each and every one with just as much force, love, and emotion he showed her. The heat spread along her skin, healing all signs of small wounds Ambrose had from his battle with Ciro, and every mark and slash on her own body—all save for the two tattoos she had from her bargains with Ambrose. “You love to see my face when I come? Then do it, Crow Lord, make me come for you.”

Ambrose groaned. “Fuck, I love when you tell me what to do. Ride my cock, darling.” He thrust into her over and over, her breasts bouncing against his chest as he fucked her against the wall.

She felt the orgasm building and building, ready to explode. Her toes curled and her entire body went taut.

“Come for me, baby.”

And with another thrust, she became liquid as she moaned her release. She felt herself come all around Ambrose’s cock, and it made everything feel even hotter. Ambrose thrust into her, feeling her cum slide down his length, and in a matter of seconds, he erupted inside of her, filling her till their orgasms were fused together, dripping from her core down her thighs.

The two remained embraced for a moment, breathing each other in. All they could hear were their heavy breaths and the birds and crickets singing their evening songs as their sweaty chests pressed against one another, heart to heart.

Ambrose ran his hand up and down Lila’s spine, soothing her as he eased out of her. Lila twitched from the remaining sensations, but slumped into him. “And just like that, love, you’re fully healed.”

Lila eased up, looking down at herself. She felt all the wounds close, but there wasn’t even so much as a scar on her.

“We need to practice it more. While I’m not opposed to making love to you every time you need to use your powers, I feel it might be a bit cumbersome. Especially if we were in the middle of a battlefield.”

“Are you kidding me?” Lila scoffed. “That sounds like the best time to make love. Think of all the lives we’d save by having sex on an open, dangerous, death-infused field.”

Ambrose chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Are you saying fucking me is lifesaving?”

“I’m saying, fucking me is lifesaving.”

For the first time since they’d reunited, Ambrose let out a loud laugh—a real laugh—and it filled Lila’s heart so much, she felt warmth course through her all over again.

After washing off in the river from the night before, Lila and Ambrose returned to the cave. She finally exchanged the coat for proper clothes, a simple green dress perfect for spring, and fresh undergarments. She missed the feeling of normal clothes, of not feeling exposed at all times.

The moon was fully in the sky, and Rebekkah sat, brushing her fingers through her hair. The black dress she wore from the Morada was torn, and Lila took the bag of clothing toward her, leaving Ambrose at the edge of the cave as he watched through the eyes of his crows.

Before even looking up, the vampire cooed, “Hello, Mousey.”

“How are you?” Lila kneeled down, resting on the backs of her heels as her knees were pulled to her chest. With Rebekkah still resting against the cave wall, the two were at eye level.

Rebekkah shrugged. “It’s bittersweet, my situation. My enemies have become my allies and my allies have become my enemies. My own brother was murdered yesterday by a man I have always thought was our biggest adversary—and here I am, traveling with him and conversing with his lover.”

Lila mimicked her shrug. “And that same brother had you tied and gagged in a carriage yesterday to act as a decoy for him to wage war on another vampire lord who ended up saving you.”

Rebekkah sighed. “My point exactly. Everything feels . . . so turned around. I’m not sure if I just haven’t started grieving but . . . I don’t even feel sorry for Ciro’s demise. I feel sorry he became the way he was, but not sorry he is no longer around. I believe I grieved him long before he met death. Even more so, I wish Hektor were in that battle as well . . . I saw Ambrose do a nasty number to him before he escaped. In the last moments, Ciro asked for his help, and Hektor ran—abandoning him.”

Lila wished she’d seen it. Maybe her scheming hadn’t been totally in vain after all. “Ambrose helped me heal the wounds,” she said and Rebekkah immediately grinned.

“I heard, Mousey. You sounded like a wild cat.”

Lila immediately flushed. The need to hide behind a rock, bury herself in the dirt, or scream to the heavens overcame her in a wave of embarrassment. “Oh nonononono—”

Rebekkah laughed, cackling, “Don’t worry, once I heard your first love cry, I excused myself deeper into the cave and didn’t hear a thing. We might be friends now, but I do not need to be hearing any of your love making with the Crow Lord.”

Lila swallowed the waves of embarrassment, still wanting to bury her face behind her hair at least, and met Rebekkah’s eyes. “Do you have any wounds you need healing?”

“Can you manage without Ambrose’s cock filling you?”

Lila groaned and actually did hide behind her hair this time, as Rebekkah once again cackled, her laughs turning to breathless snickers. “I’m kidding! I’ve seen what you could do.” She held out her arm, still giggling, and Lila took it.

She focused that new sensation of warmth she felt hearing Rebekkah laugh and joke with her and channeled it outward. Lila felt heat radiating off her skin, and within moments, the bites on Rebekkah’s neck, the old marks on her face from her brothers’ fists, and the burns on her wrists from where the ropes bound her too tightly all were cleaned away.

Rebekkah looked at her arm, mystified. “It’s amazing. And . . . the feeling. It’s really like touching sunlight.” She opened and closed her palm, flexing her fingers. “My brothers were fools. They never even knew what they had. The Sun Child—real, and right under our noses all along.”

Lila balked. “This is the third time I’ve heard someone refer to me as that. Hearing it again and again, it sounds like an official title?”

Rebekkah stood, changing into a new dress from the bag, also black, and said, “Well, that’s because it is. The Sun Child has been a passing theory—almost a prophecy even—since vampires came to be.”

“With the original vampire and his first wife?” Lila sat a bit closer.

Rebekkah nodded. “The wife is said to have been the Sun Maiden, and eventually there would be a child to take her place—to finish what she could not.”

“And what’s that?”

Pressing her lips together in thought, Rebekkah rubbed her hands together. “All I know is the old wives’ tale. A child of man, with hair like day meeting night, will guide the vampire back into the sunlight. The wife had tried to save the original vampire, but was unable to do so completely. She turned him from a strigoi into what we now know as vampires. Maybe you’re meant to ‘heal’ vampires the rest of the way—whatever that means.”

Lila thought about it for a moment. She could change strigoi back into whatever they were originally. But it hadn’t seemed to work the same way with vampires. Maybe . . . they were as they were meant to be, and “healing” them meant something different.

Coming up behind her, Ambrose lightly tapped on her shoulder. “Ladies, we should move out if you’re ready.”

Rebekkah smirked awkwardly and stood, brushing her skirts off, and Lila followed.

“Um, Ambro—Lord Draven . . . Should I be here? With you both? I fully understand if you’d prefer—”

“Please, Ambrose is fine,” he said, lifting a palm. “What you’ve done for Lila has not gone unnoticed. If you are comfortable traveling with us, I would be glad to have you, Rebekkah.”

Lila grinned. “You can’t leave now, friend.”

Rebekkah wrinkled her nose. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”

“Probably.”

Within the hour, they were soaring through the night sky toward the Maggot Mansion.

Lila loved flying, she loved holding Ambrose as the wind blew through her hair, loved feeling safe while so high up in the sky. Flying with him was just what she needed—it was what she loved. His arms wrapped around her tight, an excuse to hold her body to his, and experience the same freedom they both shared.

Tell me what Gustov is like, Lila mused.

A corner of Ambrose’s lips lifted. He’s . . . he’s something. He was old as a corpse when he was changed—also by the original vampire—so though he’s been a vampire for slightly less time than myself, he has a few years on me. I believe he was miraculously ninety-eight.

Oh lords. Being changed at that age sounds a bit awful, no? Being old forever?

Ambrose shrugged. He doesn’t have any of the issues old men face. He’s not senile, doesn’t hobble, his memory is intact, and he’s actually incredibly spry. I almost don’t want to say more and let you experience him for yourself. He’s quite entertaining.

Lila tried to imagine it. A man with hair as white as snow, a hunched back, limbs skinnier than a twig. And fangs. It just didn’t look right.

The three of them flew through the night, stopping in another cave and sleeping through the day, before setting out the next evening. As they crossed from the Crow Court to the Maggot Mansion, Lila watched the small villages like tiny sculptures below her. She wondered if they’d been plagued by Drusilla and her strigoi as the other vampire manors had been.

Gustov Nostro will likely ask for a demonstration, Ambrose said to her once they were nearing the manor itself.

A demonstration? Of my powers?

The powers of the Sun Child, yes.

Lila blew a breath from her lips and rolled her eyes. You still haven’t told me everything about being the Sun Child. I had to hear from Rebekkah that it was a proper title and not just another nickname you made for me. Am I walking into the dark on this?

He glanced at her. No. I heard what Rebekkah told you, and she knew pretty much everything I know. Besides the fact I saw, firsthand, the monster the original vampire was before the first wife changed him, and after. But I am just as unsure what “guiding vampires back into the sunlight” refers to, if it is literal or not, or if you could “heal” us in any way beyond the obvious. As far as I’m aware, that’s all anyone knows. Because of this, some—like Drusilla—see you as a threat to us, while others—like myself—see you as a savior.

This is why you wanted me to travel with you to the different manors? As a bargaining chip to show your hand? Lila knew her words were harsh, but a pang ran through her at the memory of that bargain in the Arachnid Estate, the feather still on her collar.

Yes, he replied.

Lila didn’t answer for a long moment, lost in the memory, and trying to figure out how she’d show this vampire what she could do.

Remember the circumstances in which we made that bargain, Ambrose bit back.

I’m aware.

He sighed and then said, I’m not using you, Lila. Surely you know that by now?

She balked at his reaction. He could always read her emotions, but now he seemed to confuse them for something else. Of course I do. I’m just processing. Won’t the bargain end once we arrive? We’ve already been to the Arachnid Estate and, technically, the Viper Morada together when you came to visit me.

Taken aback, Ambrose said, I suppose so, yes. Marcus is safe, and we’ve visited the four vampire manors together.

I hope he is staying safe. I cannot wait to see him already. Lila sighed. It’s also a shame. I like the crow feather.

We can always make a new bargain, love, Ambrose smirked.

Lila tightened her grip around his neck. We still have favors to ask for too.

Remember when you asked if they’d be sexual favors? I think I’m liking that idea more and more.

Scoundrel. She huffed a breath, but a smirk was threatening to spill over her lips.

Lila knew she could handle whatever Gustov Nostro decided to throw at her, but the fact that they hadn’t had a chance for even one more training session before arriving worried her. She hadn’t practiced her other power, the scalding heat that could scar even a vampire. Even her healing needed help. She seemed to understand how they worked, but she struggled switching from offense to defense with no more than a thought. Would she know, when the time came, how to activate which was needed for the circumstance?

Fuck, she should’ve trained more.

But it was already too late—the Maggot Mansion was in sight.

Ambrose? What the heck am I looking at?

A chuckle escaped his lips. That, love, is the Maggot Mansion. Quite a sight isn’t it?

Before them loomed a building unlike anything Lila had seen, even odder than the manor of the Arachnid Estate. Clad with mismatched pieces of rock, metal, stone, grass, crystal, and every kind of natural source imaginable, stood the tallest tower—the tallest thing Lila had ever seen. It stood so tall, it seemed to sway in the wind, its peak reaching as high as the clouds. It looked like it reached the stars! But the oddest aspect was just how thin it was. It looked like it should snap right in the center.

For three centuries, the tower has stood tall and strong,Ambrose explained. The mansion has 204 floors, and 3,672 steps from top to bottom. Each floor has a different “theme,” as Nostro likes to call it, and while many are residential, there are also ballrooms, entertainment lounges, markets, theaters, libraries, dungeons, arenas, fighting pits, menageries, and so much more. It’s possible I visited fifty floors the last time here, and maybe fifty the many times before that—not even half and what was inside will forever blow my mind.

Lila felt excitement run through her. It was like its own little world within, and she couldn’t wait to explore it all—even if the structure looked absolutely terrifying.

Due to its size, many in the land of the Maggot Mansion reside in the manor itself as well. All nobility live here, as do the entirety of the capital’s army, which is dwindling more and more by day, as they lose numbers to strigoi, Ambrose explained.

Lila turned from the tower and glanced up at Ambrose, The strigoi are that big of a threat here?

Ambrose nodded solemnly. This is where they were first a problem. It’s worse here than in the other three manors combined. The maggot venom makes addiction to blood—of any kind—a real problem. Any vampire untrained or weak struggles against it. And because of such, so many of those in the Maggot Mansion become strigoi, either because they give themselves over, or because they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Which is exactly why you’ll be staying very close to me, Rebekkah, or Nostro as long as we’re here.And you must keep up Concord communication anytime we’re apart. Not to mention, I’m sure Nostro will want to try your mass healing on some of his people who’ve turned, to see if you could. But I refuse to let you burn out, refuse to allow you to be used as nothing more than an object. If you want, you could help to the extent you see fit. No more, no less. Understand?

Lila loved when he took that demanding tone, it made her toes curl and her thighs press together with a mind of their own. More than that, she loved that even though he sounded demanding, in truth, Lila could do or say or be anything, and Ambrose would let her. If she wanted to heal the entirety of the Maggot Mansion, and be nothing more than a weapon in the eyes of Gustov Nostro, he would let her.

It was the power he gave her to say no that thrilled her, and the power of knowing she could command him much more than he could command her—and they both knew it.

But as they approached, Lila knew, just because she could say no to Ambrose, didn’t mean she ever would.