Page 16 of Claimed By Brothers

“You call this easy?” I’m panting, still coming down from the heavens.

But as Izzo withdraws and moves to the side so he can look at me, I realize I’m nowhere near done. If anything, they’ve started a fire only they can put out, and I don’t know how long it will take before I’m sated. I kiss Izzo on the lips while Binzen’s finger flicks my left nipple, his fangs nibbling on my bare shoulder.

“I want more,” I tell them. “I want so much more.”

“And we will give it to you,” Binzen declares.

I hope the nights on Sunna are longer than those of Earth because I intend to take everything these two have to give me. I don’t care what tomorrow brings. I don’t care about anything right now—anything but Binzen and Izzo losing themselves inside me. They must claim me and devour me and fuck me out of my mind until I forget who I am.

Until I forget everything because deep down, I know…

I know I may never go back home.

4

Binzen

Iwas not prepared for any of this.

Izzo and I were mere children when the civil war broke out. We lived in the city, in a great house with our mother, our father, and our two sisters. Unna, the littlest, was the first to die. Then Mila. Our mother contracted the illness while desperately trying to save them, caring for them—day in and day out, until my father, my brother, and I had three withered souls to bury. I thought the universe was punishing us for something. We’d already fled from the violence, having found shelter along the Crimson River Plateau.

I can still remember those days, every memory, every horrible moment forever etched into my brain. I dream of them every fucking night. Izzo, too. We often wake up sweating and panting as we remember where we are. One ordeal was over, but when our father and his allies founded the Fire Tribe, another ordeal began. We’ve been fighting ever since. We were raised to always be on the lookout, to never trust a Sunnaite who didn’t bear the Fire Tribe mark on their chests.

When we found Alana, when we rescued her from a clan of craven Sky Tribe mercenaries, she was ready to fight them to the death. She was ready to tear their eyes out if they dared touch her one more time. It was an age of brutality and confusion, of anger and desperation. Even the girls weren’t safe anymore. Izzo and I bonded with Alana right there and then. The connection was irrefutable and indestructible. Perhaps that’s why we obliterated the entire group of mercenaries with only a few blows. I barely needed my scythe.

I’d thought we’d found peace and happiness by Alana’s side. When Valen was born, I even had the audacity to believe the universe was rewarding us for having chosen the way of fire instead of the sky. I’d thought we were finally on to something better. I was wrong.

And now, as Izzo and I escort Cynthia into the Hadana clan’s town across the river, as I think of Amber still sleeping in our bed—naked and sated after a whole night’s worth of lovemaking, I can’t help but wonder… is this it? Is this the salvation we’ve all prayed for? Or is this just another chapter in the book of doom?

“You said Umok tested your blood when he first abducted you,” Izzo says to Cynthia as we get off the river barge and step onto the pontoon leading to a series of stone steps carved into the plateau. At the very top, Hadana’s town awaits. “Do you remember what he said?”

“He said we were immune,” Cynthia replies.

We made sure she and her friends were given clothes to wear. The little they had made them feel vulnerable and uneasy, even though their bodies certainly pleased the eyes of our brethren. No bonds were formed, but I have a feeling it’s only a matter of time. If Amber was so receptive to my brother and me, surely Cynthia and the others would come around, too.

“Umok didn’t go into the specifics, however. There was no time once the ship breached Sunna’s atmosphere. That’s when the whole thing came apart.”

“That reckless fool,” I mutter. “The Sky Tribe is hell-bent on using technology they don’t understand. Most of the engineers who actually designed those ships perished in the civil war. There is only so much the rest of them can do to safely get them to take off and land, especially considering the how long of a distance they have to travel in order to get to your planet.”

“Tell me about it,” Cynthia grumbles.

She looks rather fetching wrapped in pale brown leather, a wide silver belt cinched around her narrow waist. Her hips are full, and her thighs are thick, while her pale skin has taken on a brownish hue. Our suns seem to agree with Cynthia. There is so much we still don’t about these women, including their long-term resistance to our world and atmosphere, but if they’ve made it this far and if Umok really did do his homework before he snatched them from Earth, then there is hope.

“This isn’t how we wanted to save our world,” I tell Cynthia again. “We never would have resorted to kidnapping another species. But you’re here now, and we cannot let the Sky Tribe take you.”

“No, don’t let them take us,” she blurts out, her green eyes wide with genuine concern. “I’d rather we stay with your people. At least you showed some common sense.”

Izzo chuckles softly as we make our way up the steps. “How are you finding Sunna thus far?”

“What do you want me to tell you? That we love it here?” Cynthia scoffs. “We were dragged off our home world, Izzo, against our will. Nobody asked us if we wanted to be here. Umok and his crew scoured the planet and set their sights on us. They followed and analyzed us and snatched us off a beach. All my friends and I want to do is go back. We don’t belong on Sunna.”

“I am deeply sorry for what has happened,” I say. “But don’t reject us just yet. Amber is already adjusting to this new world. We wouldn’t have bonded if our species weren’t compatible, I’m sure of it.” I smile at her. “Your planet is far away, Cynthia. And I don’t know how we could possibly send you back.”

“The Sky Tribe has all the ships, and even those are few and in shoddy condition, as evidenced by Umok’s disgraceful crash,” Izzo adds. “Give yourself some time. Perhaps we will figure something out, but until then, you should try and make a home of this place.”

“You are delusional if you think Amber wants to stay here with you,” Cynthia says, shaking her head slowly. “You can’t force her. You shouldn’t.”

“We’re not forcing her to do anything,” I reply. “You will see when you bond with someone yourself.”

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