1. Karmen

1

KARMEN

Age 10

I stared at a large black footprint scorched into the hardwood floor. Just one, like a shadow had forgotten to conceal itself for only a moment. The mark still smoldered, and I caught a whiff of hot tar.

They're here.

Just like I'd practiced a thousand times, I dropped to my hands and knees and kept to the shadows. Quiet as a mouse but as quickly as possible, I slipped down the narrow, steep staircase used by the servants to get to the kitchens. People were still working and walking about the house like nothing was wrong, but I wasn't fooled.

Mama had warned me that they'd come. Eventually. No matter where I went. I had to be ready.

I choked down a sob before it could escape. No one noticed as I stepped into the larder. Bins of vegetables and fruit lined the walls, along with other shelves loaded with dishes and equipment the kitchen staff used. In the rear of the dark, cool room, I pressed a shaking hand to the hidden lever in the bottom shelf. A small panel glided open silently, barely large enough for me to crawl through into complete darkness.

I closed the wooden panel that disguised the shelter, followed by a thick, heavy rock that I could barely push into place even with the oiled gears. The crunch of the rock slab sliding into place made me feel a little better. I'd made it. Just like we'd practiced.

Without waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, I crawled over to the tiny bed against the wall. I'd practiced finding my shelter blindfolded. Once Auntie Lynnea even tied my hands and feet together and made me slither around on my belly.

I'd made it just fine, but all those other times… I hadn't actually seen the burning mark on the floor.

I ducked beneath the low bed and pressed myself back into the furthest corner. My heartbeat thundered so loudly that I was afraid the sound would betray me. I couldn't hear anything but that annoying thump. It was too fast, too loud. They'd hear it. Mama said they had excellent senses.

They'd smell me. They'd hear me. They'd know…

Their power was lesser when the sun wasn't out, so all I had to do was stay hidden until nightfall. Midnight would be ideal, but any time after the sun set should be safe. They only came when the sun was in the sky.

I tried to relax. I even closed my eyes. But then I saw the smoky outline of that large footprint again. Too large to be human.

Mama. Auntie Lynnea. I gritted my teeth to hold back a whimper. What if they'd already found her? If they'd hurt her?

To protect me, she'd refused to have a blood bond with me. Even a mother-daughter bond could be used to find me. Auntie Lynnea's nest was enclosed in a blood circle, but she swore it wouldn't do us any good if they showed up. She couldn't keep them out. The burning footprint proved her right.

In all the years Mama had made me practice escaping, she'd drilled me over and over and over. Nothing mattered except me. Even if they hurt her. Even if they killed her. They might try to use her to convince me to open the door, but she'd made me swear I wouldn't open it for any reason. Not until after sunset.

No matter what.

I didn't hear or see anything, but my nose wrinkled. Hot tar again. Or was that only my imagination?

My ears throbbed, straining to hear anything over my pounding heart. I didn't dare draw a deep breath and check for that scent again. They might hear. How many had come? Just the one?

I wished I could talk to Mama in my head. I'd feel so much better if I knew she was okay.

Smoke. I could definitely smell something burning.

The house.

We'd planned for this too. My tiny hiding spot was sealed in thick rock walls that would protect me from damage. We didn't have much of our own. It was easier to hide if nobody was curious about you. If nobody knew who you were. Auntie Lynnea kept her household small, but she did have several human families who'd served her house for generations. I tried not to think about what would happen to them if the main house burned down. If they couldn't get out. Mama and Auntie Lynnea would help them.

But if they were dead…

A choked sob escaped my lips. I slapped my hand over my mouth.

Howls echoed in the distance, a deep baying that stilled my heart with terror. I strained not to move. Not to breathe. Not to even think about what kind of dog that was. What it would do to me if it found me.

Sweat trickled down my forehead.

"Princess," a man called in a deep booming voice. "I know you're in there and you can hear me. Your mother wants you to come out now. She's here with me. It's safe, right Solveig?"

"Yes," Mama cried. "It's safe."

I knew it was a lie. We'd prepared for this. She'd drilled me endlessly. I couldn't open the door. No matter what she said.

No matter how loudly she screamed.

Even if they killed her.

I clamped my hands over my ears, but I could still hear her cries. I had no idea what the man was doing to her. How he could make her scream so much, for so long, without killing her. I screamed with her. I sobbed until I vomited. I couldn't get away from the sound. From the knowledge that she was suffering because of me.

For me.

"Wait until darkness," she'd whispered when she kissed me goodnight each evening. "No matter what."

Each hour crept by with excruciating slowness punctuated by her screams. She'd be quiet a few minutes, an hour even. But then the torture would start again. Somehow it was so much worse because I couldn't see what was happening. My vivid imagination eagerly envisioned limbs cut off. Skin sliced away like a suit. Vials of blood splattered all over the house.

Yet she still screamed.

Chilled and clammy, I lifted my head. My eyes had long ago adjusted to the darkness inside the shelter, but I had to blink several times to find the thin seam of the moveable rock door. My head swam, my stomach pitching queasily. Mama had been quiet for a long time, now.

Hours or even days had passed. I wasn't sure. My senses insisted it was dark outside.

The sun had set.

I could leave. It was safe.

But leaving the shelter meant finding out exactly what had happened to Mama.

My stomach churned. Dread tasted like death on my tongue. I didn't want to know. If I stayed here in the shelter, I could tell myself everything was okay. Mama was okay. She hadn't…

A whimper rasped my throat. I was exhausted, thirsty, and starving. Stupid. I only just now remembered the flasks of water and dried fruit and nuts stashed away beside the bed. I'd been too worried about everyone outside to even consider feeding myself. Not while they were in danger and hurting.

What if Mama was out there, hurt and dying? If I could get to her…

I pushed up to my feet and fumbled to find the small depression that would start the gears to slide the heavy rock panel aside. It crept open with agonizing slowness.

Smoke wafted inside, choking me. Heat billowed through the small doorway, but I didn't see flames. Just the soft glow of embers.

Our house was a pile of ash and blackened timber, fallen down around a rock-walled shelter in the middle of the charred and crumbled foundation. Everything was destroyed. Gone.

Sniffing, I swiped tears away and tried to think. Mama had told me what to do. Where to go. I just had to remember. I had to start now while it was dark. They'd be looking for me at dawn.

But all I could do was stand there in the smoldering ruins and cry.

"Ah, there's our little sun princess."

I whirled around so hard I almost fell. The same voice. The man who'd hurt Mama. I couldn't help but glance at the sky frantically to confirm the sun had indeed set. Stars twinkled in the sky, and over the hill, to the east, I could see the lights from the nearest town. But otherwise, it was completely dark.

The man wore strange clothing that looked like a long, white dress. His head was bald, and his eyes were outlined with thick, smoky black. A gold medallion hung around his neck. He didn't have a weapon that I could see. He just stood there. Looking at me.

Had he made the smoldering footprint? I didn't think so.

"Come, child. Your mother is quite distraught. I'm sure that seeing you will calm her nerves."

My heart leaped with hope, though I knew it had to be a lie. A trick to trap me. He'd hurt her and I hadn't heard her voice for hours.

I gulped back another choked cry. "She's dead."

Shaking his head, he frowned. "No, I assure you. Solveig Sunna is alive and well. Come, princess. I'll take you to her."

He bowed low, sweeping a hand toward me. A large ring caught my attention. It looked like an Egyptian eye.

The symbol associated with Ra, the supreme sun god.

Our worst enemy.

"You recognize the symbol, yes?" The man straightened slightly but didn't withdraw his hand. "I'm High Lord Vizier Amun. I act as His Imperial Majesty's holy right hand. You may honor the goddess of your line, but Sunna belongs to Helios. All solar houses belong to Ra, may he shine forever."

When I still didn't give him my hand, he nodded to himself and softened his voice.

"I know you're afraid, child. I don't blame you at all. But let me ask you this. Would you rather come to Heliopolis like an honored princess descended from His Imperial Majesty, or as a captive who must punished like your beloved mother?"

My bottom lip wobbled. "She isn't dead?"

"Of course not. She's much too important to His Imperial Majesty's plans despite the trouble she caused us by hiding your miraculous birth for so long. In a day and age where heirs are few and far between, she managed to deliver a fine young queen for House Sunna and Helios."

I'd only ever heard Mama's warnings about the sun god's house, but this man acted like Sunna and Helios were siblings. He'd done nothing to hurt me. Yet. But I'd heard Mama's screams, and I'd seen the blackened footprint.

The sun demons were real.

I looked around at the ruin of our home, hoping that maybe one of our friends would still be nearby to help me. But they'd either run away or were dead. I hoped they'd made it away, though I couldn't help the nagging disbelief that they'd left me alone.

Even Thomas. He was supposed to make sure I got to another queen if something happened to Mama and Auntie Lynnea. I couldn't believe that he'd abandon me to find my way across the country all by myself. I had supplies in the shelter, but I hadn't grabbed anything before coming out, and now I was afraid I wouldn't have the opportunity to even grab a bottle of water, let alone money.

What would she want me to do?

I'd never had her bond, but I heard her voice whispering in my head. I closed my eyes, straining to hear her. As if she'd pressed her lips to my ear, I heard her.

"Do anything you must do to survive."

I slipped my fingers into the vizier's waiting hand.

"Very good, princess. Let's go home to Heliopolis now. His Imperial Majesty is most eager to meet you and your mother."