The Sun Child

Chapter 32

Ambrose was right , Lila thought, the ocean really is blue. As she sank below the frothing waves, the current moving her body around and around, she could see the sunlight shine through the surface, illuminating the jewel-toned blue all around her.

Though she couldn’t move, and her lungs were beginning to tighten, it felt almost serene. Her lilac hair flowed around her, weightless. All of her felt weightless, as she stared into the expanse of nothing. It was almost like looking at the night sky, and knowing it was endless.

Lila wondered what was in the ocean with her at that moment, what swam miles and miles away.

A rough hand clamped around the blood on her shoulder, and she felt the crawling sensation under her skin of the spider’s venom being removed from her veins. She wanted to scream, but fought against the pain, fought against taking any sharp inhale, or any shallow breath.

The lack of air made it all so much worse, intensifying every sensation.

But then another hand was there, wrapping around her waist, pulling her into a strong chest. And just as quickly as the pain began it ended, and the arms around her heaved her to the surface, to the sunlight, to—

“Ambrose!” Lila shrieked the moment she broke through the waves. She was the only thing between him and the sun and she knew her shadow was not enough. But . . .

The morning had dawned, and the sun was sitting along the ocean’s horizon. Ambrose’s wet, ashen brown skin glistened in the sunlight, warming the tone to look like rich chocolate. He squeezed his eyes shut, expecting to burn, Lila realized. But she wouldn’t let that happen.

He looked beautiful, gorgeous, in the light of day, and Lila pushed every ounce of love out of her, toward him.

“Feel the sun, Ambrose,” she whispered, holding herself up on his shoulders and he waded enough to keep them both surfaced.

Ambrose peeked one of his black eyes open, the sun’s light reflecting in them and illuminating all the shades of dark brown and charcoal gray within. His white hair was pushed back from the water, his leather clung tightly to his skin. And Lila took in the sight of all of it. Took in the sight of the love of her life feeling the sunlight on his skin once more. Of seeing a sunrise for the first time in hundreds of years.

“How—” he began, but stopped himself as his eyes found hers.

“The Sun Child will lead the vampire back into the light,” Lila repeated. “This is what I’ve been meaning to show you. My engagement gift. I can bring you into the sun.”

He stared at her, his lips parted in awe. “This . . .”

“You showed me the stars. Let me show you the sun.”

Ambrose watched her once more, the sun behind her, and he smiled as his black eyes grew glassy. He pulled her to him, devouring her lips in a kiss that told her just how much he loved her in return.

After Ambrose swam he and Lila back to the ship, the deck was mostly empty, save for Kaz, the captain of the ship, and a few of the crew members. He climbed them over the ladder and onto the deck, and Lila instantly noticed the vampires hiding in the shadows, watching, waiting to see if they would make it back alive.

When they saw Ambrose stand in the sun, gasps echoed, and Nostro stepped right out into the light. He turned to them with a shit-eating grin on his face. “I told you she was the Sun Child.”

The others hesitantly followed his path, nearing Lila and Ambrose as the two held hands.

The moment Darius’s skin touched the light, he groaned in complete satisfaction. Rebekkah yelped, Constance gasped, and Marcus—

Lila didn’t have time to notice his expression. Not as she barreled herself toward him, throwing her arms around his middle. He’d gotten taller since she’d last seen him, just as thin and gangly, but his sharp chin nearly rested at the top of her head.

Marcus didn’t hesitate, he threw his long arms around her, and squeezed her to him, lifting her and spinning around.

It was the reunion they deserved three months ago, before the madness of the Viper siblings, before Drusilla. Lila felt a hiccup rise in her chest, her cheeks wet with tears, as Marcus shook in her arms, his breath catching on heaves. “Lila,” he whined, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

“I’m here, Marcus. I’m here.” She rubbed his back in small circles, as she always had on particularly bad days, when the Reinicks’ bites were harshest, or when they’d pulled the murine from their chambers more than once.

But they were safe now—both of them—and as Darius and Ambrose threw the strigoi corpses overboard, and the boat sailed onward, they were safe.

She pulled back and really looked at her brother. Marcus was . . . so different. His cheekbones had sharpened, the baby fat mostly gone, his eyes were lighter, almost a golden hazel. His fangs puckered his lips, and his brown mousey hair went from dull and muted, to having a warmth like amber or melting caramel. He was beautiful, a vampire through and through.

Marcus studied Lila with the same scrutinizing eyes. His warm gaze lingered at the tattoo on her finger, the small sun engulfed in the crow. He studied her eyes, her hair, her neck. She wondered if he saw traces of the golden collar the Reinicks put on her, or if he saw a snack he wanted to consume.

“My turn!” Constance stepped up next to the siblings, and threw her arms around Lila. The girl, too, had grown. Her body had developed and her cheeks were thinner. But she was still small, and still just as adorable. Lila hugged her friend, petting the now-loose golden locks down Constance’s back. “I told you you’d be sunlight personified. I didn’t realize I was speaking literally, but here we are.” She beamed, then nuzzled her face against Lila once more.

“You’ve no idea how much I’ve missed you all,” she said to them, and Kaz, who was watching with a warm grin behind them all.

Just then, a loud, shrill, rambunctious squawk erupted above Lila, and as she glanced up, the black mass once more stormed toward her. Lila held out her arms, and let the foolish beast crash into her, taking her down to the ship’s deck.

Lila laughed as Pollock hopped and danced on her chest, nipping her chin, her neck, her shoulders with affectionate crow kisses. He pushed the top of his head into her chin, cawing the entire time.

“Pol! I missed you too!”

“The damn thing claimed your bedroom as his own,” Ambrose groaned, walking up to them and laying down beside her. He spread his limbs wide, basking each part of himself under the sun. “How long can we stay?”

Pollock finally calmed down enough, but stayed on her chest, tucking his legs under him.

“In the sun? I’m not sure. Nostro and I tested it for a bit the other morning. As far as I’m aware, as long as I’m here and feeling love and joy, then you all should be fine. So don’t make me angry,” she teased.

“I wonder how far your radiance stretches,” Nostro hummed, sitting on the deck behind her before crossing his legs over each other. “If I am on the other side of the ship, would I burn?”

Lila tilted her chin back, looking at Nostro upside down. He rubbed his chin with a long-clawed finger, and stared into the horizon. Thinking out loud then.

“I feel the radius of the warmth. I have a general idea of how far it stretches, and right now it is just enough to cover this part of the deck.”

“How does it work?” Marcus sat on her other side, and Constance next to him. The others gathered around, and their oddly shaped and strange circle took up half the ship’s deck as crewmen ran around them.

Lila hadn’t realized how tired she’d been, how tired they all must have been. She fought in a trial, then flew to the Estate, fought strigoi, flew to the ship, nearly drowned, and now was finally safe. Everyone had done so much in one night, it was finally—finally—time for rest.

She turned to Marcus and then explained to them all that with different emotions came her different powers. “I think, with all the love in my heart right now, I am rapidly healing you, so the sun has no effect. That’s how I was able to keep your stamina up until we arrived on the ship.”

“And if you feel anger, you could burn vampires as though it were the sun?” Marcus asked.

Lila nodded. “But not just vampires. I can heat anything. And the marks and scars stay, vampires can’t heal them. Last I saw him, Hektor still had burns on his face. ”

“And Ciro had the burns on his hands,” Rebekkah added.

Marcus glared at her, and something in Rebekkah deflated. It was fair, but also not, and Lila felt incredibly conflicted. Marcus hadn’t seen Rebekkah since she’d changed, not truly. When she was being beaten and abused by her brothers, he was under their thrall. When she helped Lila escape Ciro and Hektor, and gave small reprieves from the violence, Marcus wasn’t there. He hadn’t come to meet Rebekkah Reinick. He only knew the sister of the Viper siblings.

But, on the other hand, she had been part of his life-long torture. Part of everything bad in Marcus and Lila’s life. To him, she was evil, cruel, wicked.

And to Lila, she was a friend.

Nostro broke her thoughts as he said, “We need a plan. Where is this ship even headed?”

“Right now?” Darius shrugged. “Away. It’s sailing into the open ocean, away from the coastlines of the Crow Court and the Arachnid Estate.”

Ambrose groaned, running a hand down his face. “We have nowhere to go. No supplies. And no army. Just three vampire lords—”

“And the Sun Child,” Lila playfully smacked his chest.

Then Rebekkah really did smack his chest. “And I would say four lords—lords and lady.” She groaned. “Fuck it, I like Lord Rebekkah better.”

“I thought Hektor was next in line?” Nostro scrunched his eyebrows.

“You want that bastard to rule the Viper Morada?” Rebekkah countered.

“Of course not.”

“Plus, by being in the Crow Lord’s manor, if that’s where he still is—”

“He is,” Ambrose interjected. “I had my crows spy before sunset yesterday evening.”

He was sleeping in your bedroom, he said to Lila privately, and she wanted to punch something.

Gross.

“Since my brother is still there, no one has made a claim to the title yet. If we go to the Morada . . . it could be mine. Then the four manors will be in unison once more.”

What do you think?Ambrose asked. It was a good plan . . . even if Lila didn’t want to be there ever again.

It might be our only option. And, as long as I’m with you, I think . . . I think it’ll be okay.

Just as she finished, Marcus huffed a laugh. “Yeah, right. You want us to go to the Morada? To be sitting ducks?”

The hostility was palpable. A hostility she didn’t believe Rebekkah deserved. She’d paid for her crimes, and Marcus needed to know. Lila bit her lip, and sat up, Pollock shifting into her lap.

Ambrose placed a palm on her back as he sat up, making her jolt. He smirked at her before turning to the others. “Let’s not overuse Lila’s power. We don’t yet know her limits,” he began. “And we could all use some sleep.”

Kaz turned to them all. “I have spoken with the captain. There are small quarters for all of us to be accommodated. Come, I will show you.”

As everyone stood and wandered deeper into the ship, she grabbed Marcus’s sleeve, making him stay. Ambrose’s hand lingered on her back, tracing her spine, before he let go and joined the rest leaving the deck.

I’m going to sleep. Wake me if you need. And come find me when you and Marcus finish. You need sleep as well.

Always so worried about her.

I will, she promised, then she turned to Marcus, who was watching the small band of vampires leave—watched Constance leave, Lila realized—before his hazel eyes met hers once more. She bit back a knowing smile, and took his hand.

Immediately, any kind of tension broke as he gave her one of his famous goofy grins and threw his arms around her once more. “I missed you so much, Lila. I was so, so worried. If it weren’t for Ambrose, I may have flown to the Morada myself. But . . . I’m still not well versed in my vampire body.”

The corner of Lila’s lips lifted. “I’m sure you’ll get used to it. Do you . . . like being a vampire?”

He shrugged then leaned back on his hands. “It’s not as bad as I thought. And Constance and Ambrose have been helping.”

“Spending lots of time with Constance lately, are you?” she poorly wiggled her eyebrows, causing a slew of laughter to burst from Marcus’s lips.

“Oh, no. I hoped the badass Sun Child would have dropped the wiggly brows! Please, don’t ever make that expression again, for the sake of your reputation and my sanity—please.” He chuckled, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “You know? You haven’t seen me in three months, and the last time we did see each other, I was trying to drink your blood and you were giving yourself back to our life-long tormentors. And the first thing you ask me, once we’re heartfeltly and beautifully reunited, is about girls?”

“A girl.” Again, wiggly eyebrows. Again, Marcus cringed and then burst into snickers. She shrugged, “At least I know my priorities.”

Marcus shook his head, but chuckled. “I think you’ve got a lot of explaining to do, young lady.”

“Young lady? Last I checked I was the oldest.”

“And last I checked, I was the tallest. And the vampire. So, I win.”

“Well, I’m the Sun Child!” she argued back, unable to hold back the giggles spilling forth.

“What even is that?!” Marcus threw his hands in the air. “Sun Child—this, healing warmth—who are you and what have you done to my sister?”

Lila stood then, brushing off her legs. Her leathers were still clinging to her from her dive in the ocean, still wet and uncomfortable. But she did have a lot to discuss.

“I will tell you everything, but first let me get out of this.”

“Please do. You’re starting to stink.”

“Thanks, Marcus,” she rolled her eyes.

“Didn’t you miss having me around?”

She sighed. “Unfortunately.”

He playfully grabbed his chest. “Lila, I’m wounded. Anyway, go change.”

After meeting Ambrose in their room, he helped her find a simple white shirt, similar to the kind he frequently wore, loose and flowy, with lace around the cuffs, tucked into a pair of tan linen pants that didn’t quite fit so he tied a rope around her waist. Lila opted not to wear shoes, since the sunlit cool wood of the ship felt nice under her feet. Ambrose then ran his fingers through her damp hair, tied it in a simple braid, and smacked her ass as she walked out of the room.

She shook her head at him, a grin on her face, as she walked back to Marcus, meeting him in his small quarters. The room was tiny, smaller even than what they had in the Viper Morada, with a small loft bed above a tiny desk and chair. Marcus was already seated in the seat, so Lila swung herself up the small ladder and into the bed. On top of the mattress was a thin, scratchy green blanket, the color of the forest at night, and she knew this was at least better than the Morada.

Marcus folded his arms over his chest as he pushed himself back to the opposite wall, and leaned the chair back to look up at her.

“All right, dear sister. Tell me everything.”

And so, Lila did. She took a deep breath, and started from the beginning. “It all began when they told me you’d run away one night. I ran after you . . .”

She told him everything. Her run through the woods, her meeting with Ambrose, her bargain with him—including being thrown out the window to which Marcus gasped and said, “He didn’t.”

“He did,” Lila confirmed.

Once she was finished catching up to date, she fiddled with her fingers and looked at him through her lashes. “Do you remember anything?”

“To be honest, I remember very little. I remember being changed. I remember being hungry. I remember that night Hektor attacked you, the night Ambrose came for you. I remember scratching your face, your neck, but being unable to help myself.” The light in his eyes dimmed, his expression fell. He shook his head. “But once they enthralled me, I don’t remember much of anything. I don’t remember even leaving the Morada for Sanktus Pernox. It wasn’t until I was made a strigoi by one of Drusilla’s men that my consciousness came back. And that, I remember.” Marcus looked . . . haunted. He gulped and fiddled with his hands, picking the skin around his thumb. “I remember Constance jumping in front to save you from me. And I remember biting her, changing her. I dream of it often.”

Lila’s heart panged. It must’ve been how Ambrose felt then. She had wondered if he remembered, but Marcus just proved Ambrose had. And if Marcus was having dreams . . . maybe that was what had been tormenting Ambrose.

Taking a deep breath, Lila stuck her hand off the bed, down toward Marcus. The boy looked up at her, eyebrow raised, but Lila just shook her hand back and forth until Marcus took it. Lila squeezed, and after a moment, Marcus squeezed back.

“I also remember you being enthralled. I remember you going back with them.”

She pressed her lips together. “It wasn’t like that. I wasn’t enthralled. During the training sessions, Ambrose had taught me to break from a vampire’s thrall.”

“Then why the hell did you go back with them?”

She sighed, exasperated. “We needed to delay them. To stall. Sure, the strigoi I’d changed back were shifting back, remembering their old selves. But even with them, Drusilla and the brothers wouldn’t have stopped.”

“And look what good that did us.”

His words were sharp, and they cut Lila deep. More so, because Marcus was absolutely right. Her “reasoning” to go back didn’t matter at all. She didn’t do anything.

No, her real reasoning for going with them was completely selfish. And she wasn’t even sure she’d met her goals. She could maybe give herself credit for causing a sliver of divide between Ciro and Hektor that possibly led to Hektor leaving Ciro for dead. Potentially.

With another sigh, she admitted, “I wanted to prove to them I’d become stronger. I’d become more than their murine. I wanted . . .” she groaned. “I wanted to defeat them from within. But obviously that didn’t happen.”

“That didn’t happen and you’re friends with Rebekkah Reinick now.”

“She doesn’t deserve your hate, Marcus. She is a victim of the brothers as well.”

He sat back in the chair once more, taking his hand from hers and crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah? Let me decide. Tell me what they’ve done to her, tell me what she has suffered.” Marcus’s voice dripped with malice, a tone Lila was so unused to hearing. He was always so . . . light, joking in the face of adversity, even if he was afraid. Being a monster had changed him, and she wondered how much she’d changed since they last spoke—really spoke.

So, Lila told him the cruelty of the brothers, the beatings, the starvings, locking her away for days at a time. Then she told him about the stolen moments Rebekkah took, the moments she risked. She even told him about the tonic to prevent pregnancies, how real that fear had been in both Lila’s and Rebekkah’s minds.

And when she was done, Lila said, “Rebekkah did awful things, yes. But she had been raised to be awful. She broke through that learned mentality, Marcus. She’s become my friend.”

Marcus stayed silent for a long moment, watching Lila through hooded eyes. She could tell he was sulking, but her last point had gotten him.

He swallowed hard before muttering, “Fine. You can be friends with her. But it doesn’t mean I have to be.” He leaned his elbows on his knees, pushing his hands through his hair. “I—I need to process all of this, Lila. Can we talk more in the evening?”

Lila sat up in his bed, “Of course. It’s been a long night. For all of us.” She climbed down, hopping down the last few steps.

Marcus stood so fast, Lila barely had time to be startled, but he threw his arms around her shoulders once more, tucking her into a warm embrace.

“Let’s never split apart again,” he whispered.

Lila hugged him back, tucking her face into his shoulder. “Deal. I’m so glad we’re finally together again.”