by Kenna Bardot
Sired
Ascension #3
Kenna Bardot & Tove Madigan
Copyright © 2020 Kenna Bardot & Tove Madigan
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Cover design by: Kenna Bardot & Tove Madigan
Disclaimer
Sired is the third book in a reverse harem bully trilogy where humans serve the Descendants of the Gods. It features dark scenarios with questionable consent that may offend some readers and may be triggering, as well as graphic content including m/f, m/m, and group scenarios. Please read at your own discretion.
About the Authors
Kenna lives in her tiny house with her husband and two rambunctious hellions (under five) who she adores. When she’s not chasing all three of them and her shepherd/husky mix around the house, she spends all her free time writing and adding to the hoard of plots stored on her bookshelf and hard-drive.
Kenna always wanted to write, and did from the time she was 10 when she wrote her first full-length fantasy novel. The subject matter has changed over the years, but that passion for writing never went away. She has a degree in Psychology, and prior to having her kids she worked as a therapist using horses in her treatment strategy and working with adults and kids with disabilities.
A full-time mom, Kenna is making a go of making a living from the real passion that has haunted her all her life.
Tove has always had a passion for writing but it started with non-fiction. She was editor of her school paper and wrote heavily for the yearbook committee as well. This funneled into a love for short stories that were entered into contests and, eventually, to the wonderful world of fanfiction.
Tove never thought she'd write as a career but Kenna, who is the yin to her yang, has been the best foil to her insecurities and weaknesses and now she has embraced the darkness, the insanity and, yes, the depravity with nothing but pleasure.
Ten years ago, Kenna & Tove met on an online graphic-design community when they were 19-year-olds. Though they’ve never met in person and live on opposite sides of the world, they’ve talked mostly daily since then. Now 30, they’re using those graphic-design skills they honed in a new way and making their own book covers.
Full circle, right?
Glossary
Core Gods: The four original Gods
Zeevar: God of Death & Reincarnation
Rhiannon: Goddess of Life
Caprice: Goddess of Emotion
Anselm: God of the Physical
Descendants: Children of the Gods
Sylfes: Middle step in the Ascension process where humans who pass the Challenge are granted longevity and ethereal beauty.
Godsvail Academy: Where the Descendants are sent at age 7 to learn and prove themselves worthy of God status.
Sylfeshire: Where the Sylfes live Mt. Demiorgo: Where the Gods live
12 Houses of Mt. Demiorgo
Northern Houses - Moons
Tovenaar: Necromancy
Kald: Cold/Ice
Vide: Pain/Mute
Eastern Houses - Lightning
Byta: Shapeshifters
Tempestas: Weather
Leven: Life/Healing
Southern Houses – Suns
Svadeni: Seduction
Sutre: Heat/Fire
Springen: Warp
Western Houses – Stars
Majele: Poisons
Nastroj: Emotional Manipulation
Karfi: Strength/Invulnerability
Prologue
Mireyah
Scorching and sharp, the sensation burned down my throat as my grip on the frosted glass bottle loosened. Barely able to move, I listened to the sound of the glass shattering as it fell to the floor. My vision blurred. My gaze fixed on the three Bytas who took me from my Sires before I even set foot on Demiorgo.
One of their voices came in a soft whisper, a misguided attempt at soothing that fell on deaf ears. “Let go, Mireyah. Allow the Goddess to take you.” I narrowed my eyes, frustration and rage making my body vibrate with the need to retaliate. The Byta’s eyes met mine as the pain akin to flames coated my insides, an agony so unthinkable I doubted even Char could inflict it.
I wondered that I could still breathe. Still think. Still be.
Another Byta walked over to me, touching my chin and angling my head up to look down at me. “Allow her to strip away your past.” She tipped another bottle into my mouth - the pale blue liquid pouring down my throat and leaving a path of unholy cold in its wake.
The last of the three walked over and took my wrist, her thumb running over the tattoos my Sires had gifted me. The feel of her touch there was like being stabbed by a million sharp and tiny knives. “Please,” I croaked out, desperate to reach the end. Desperate for that place where pain no longer existed and there was only peace.
Dead or alive, I just wanted it to end.
“Accept the gift you’ve been given.” Their three smiling faces surrounded me as everything dimmed and blurred. Everything bled to gray before fading into darkness.
✽✽✽
The black lifted as I regained consciousness. The smooth satin of a pillow rubbed against my cheek as I shifted. Then everything sharpened to the tingling awareness of my Sires nearby. Even with eyes closed, even without seeing them, I felt them in my bones. Felt their presence skittering over my skin.
The feeling of them called to me, pulled me from my sleep. The throbbing of my marks at my wrist only confirmed what I already knew. I allowed my lips to curve into a sleepy smile.
“Snow.” Shephard's hand grabbed mine and tightened when I didn’t open my eyes. The moment, the sudden, jarring intensity of our bond and the emotions connected to it washed over me. Overwhelmed me.
The person I’d been before was gone. Replaced by a woman who felt her five Sires within her very being.
I tipped my head back and took a deep, full breath. A reminder to myself that all the pain and all the suffering had led to this.
Joy and hope.
I opened my eyes, my breath catching at the sight of them: my home, my heart, my Sires. Ryle took my other hand and pulled me to my feet gently. At the back of my mind, I recalled the pain and the fear.
Hollis stepped over to me, and I looked up to see him smiling at me with his red eyes glimmering in happiness. "Are you okay, Pet?" He smiled, a breathtaking beam on a face that was too perfect even for a God.
I nodded, sniffling back the tears that suddenly stung my eyes. I swiped at them furiously, determined to hold the emotion back.
"Welcome to Demiorgo." Char spoke, his voice soft, but blank even as I felt the tips of his fingers barely run through the blue and bronze tendrils of my hair.
“Where are we?” I asked, my voice catching in my throat like I’d not been able to use it for a time.
“Near our new home.” Tate reached out to run a finger running down my cheek delicately. “How do you feel?”
“Tired but happy.” I gave them all a smile. “I’m guessing I passed my final test.”
“You did.” Shep pulled me into his arms, wrapping me tight and surrounding me with his mass. “We had to watch you go, and we couldn’t know what they would do. What you’d have to do to pass, or even if you’d come back to us,�
� Tate whispered, his voice catching.
I might have been the one to experience the physical pain, but the dangers hadn’t left them unaffected either.
"My final step towards complete Ascension,” I murmured as I remembered. "Or my final moment of life."
They were silent as they watched me take a step forward. "I’m more awake now than ever before."
And as I felt the power of me and my life run through my veins, I knew I could not be more correct.
I was with my Sires. I was home, and I was complete.
What could possibly go wrong?
One
Mireyah
6 months later.
I didn’t hate children, and I even wanted my own someday. Having Sires I loved made me certain that I was more than happy to be a mother to their children. But surrounded by an entire gaggle of children who were not mine?
That was misery.
It wasn't even a matter of patience, but of values. The children of the North were taught that they were superior to everyone else. And that simply didn’t sit right with me.
Not to mention the fact that the kids respected me about as much as their parents did. Which was not at all.
“Move!” a tow-headed, Tovenaar boy ran straight towards me with a look of pure disgust on his face.
Shaking my head, I reached over to stop his momentum only a second before an impact that would have sent us tumbling to the ground. Around us, the rest of the Northern children continued shouting, crying and wreaking havoc. All my attempts at calming them down bore absolutely no effect.
"Be quiet." I looked down at the boy who struggled in my arms, and I knew he wasn’t listening when he continued to thrash about. When they assigned me to watch over the children to prepare me for the day I had my own, they’d made a grave mistake. Watching over the children of the North was a greater motivation for abstinence than any I’d ever seen humans use, but it only strengthened my resolve to have my own and raise them to be Descendants I could be proud of.
Descendants I could respect.
I still had my hand on the Tovenaar boy’s head, and I had to reach down when he swiveled to bite me. I shook my head at him, appalled at such a barbaric display from the region that claimed superiority and class. It amazed me that children could be raised as one of the privileged Gods and possess such poor manners when Varo had behaved with more dignity and manners at that age despite being raised in poverty.
The thought of Varo made the sting of emotion rise to my throat. No longer the same child who existed in my memories, I often wondered how he grew. If he was tall or strong, if he behaved as well as I remembered. But his growing up wouldn't bother my parents too much. Of that, I was sure, as it seemed highly likely that Tali would already have a large brood of her own. Children were the one dream Tali and I shared. I let loose another sigh. How easily the thought of my family slipped into my mind when I contemplated a future with my own.
"You're not disciplining them." I looked towards the open doorway where the tall white-haired Goddess who oversaw my daily torture stood looking at me with disapproval. Jaiya Vide regarded me with the same disdain as the rest of the North. Six months taught me it was something I could not correct or control.
But it wasn’t fair to assign the blame on me when the children merely observed the way the other caretakers treated me. They saw that I wasn’t someone they had to respect or take seriously.
"It isn’t as if I spend my time indulging their bratty behavior. They just don’t listen to me and discipline would be an impossible task given that." I huffed out a breath even as she reached out a hand and like she’d flipped a switch, all the kids stopped running. Stopped screaming.
Simply stopped.
Numbed and paused like they were objects instead of living beings. I averted my gaze when I saw tears pooling in wide eyes set in child faces. I met Jaiya’s white eyes as they skimmed me from head to toe.
Judgment. Derision.
The dregs of her power skirted lightly over my skin. "No, my dear, not impossible. You live in a household with five Gods. Surely a room full of screaming under-aged Descendants is nothing to you?" The jab barely landed. Not when it was one in a long line of insulting remarks I received daily.
But I quickly approached the threshold of what I could tolerate. Soon enough, I would snap. A part of me yearned to spit at her feet, on all their feet, as the Mireyah of years back would have happily done. But it was not to be if I wanted to find support for reform when the time came. I had to feign civility, even if the Unwanted Lands seemed more tolerable most days.
"My Sires have better manners than that. Then again, only one of them grew up in this environment." I struggled not to add that if anyone in the room deserved discipline, it was her.
She and all the others who hated me because I did not conform to their ideas of normalcy. Because I offended them by possessing a heart capable of loving five in equal portions. And sharing without boundaries amongst ourselves.
"I would watch what you say, my dear. Lest you find yourself in trouble." She raised her left eyebrow, smirking as she gave a flick of the wrist. "But you may go now before you completely endanger the children. Tomorrow, same time, same room."
I heaved out a sigh of relief and walked out without a word. As the screaming started up back I couldn’t help but smile. Not my problem for a few hours.
I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
✽✽✽
The heels of my boots made a soft tapping noise against the grand marble of the Northern building that housed the nursery. I kept my head down as I walked to ignore the stares I got whenever I passed.
The blue that blended seamlessly with the bronze in my hair was enough to make them look twice. It was a wonder that they allowed me near their children, when I was sure they worried I would be a terrible influence on them.
The Houses of Kald, Vide and Tovenaar took all Descendants born to them and insisted in rearing them the way they saw fit - in an environment that put discipline and superiority above all else. Love and nurturing were unwelcome elements in that equation.
I sprinted down the smooth marble steps, sensing my very own Northerner. The only one who had been reared as a child of the North, but he was a permanent fixture in my heart despite his callous upbringing. Char walked towards my building from the Capitol where I knew he was completing his training. As he ambled towards me carefully, I took it as an opportunity to study him undisturbed. His stark white hair sat in spikes over his darker skin, and he turned a blank gaze up to me that bled into a secret smile the moment our eyes connected.
“Charolais,” I breathed, and though I was certain he didn’t hear me, I knew he felt my words. How could he not, when our bond wrapped around me like a welcome and familiar lover? He walked over and held out a hand to me and closed the gap between us to link my fingers through his. When he brought my hand to his lips, he kissed the top softly before shifting his full mouth to my wrist, where the marks my Sires had given me were forever etched on my skin.
It sent a sensation of such undiluted joy spiraling through me - a stark contrast to the pain I felt when someone touched it who didn’t share in our bond.
“Mireyah,” he replied softly as he laid his forehead against mine. Fatigue crossed over his features for a fleeting moment only to be replaced by joy and contentment, the same that coursed through me the moment I reconnected with one of my five. I threw my head back and laughed and without a thought for where we were, I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a firm press of my lips on his. “You are a wonderful end to an otherwise miserable day.”
“As are you, my beautiful Goddess. Tell me about it?” He wrapped a hand around my shoulders as I wrapped an arm around his waist. We wandered home. There was no hurry when we all knew we had an eternity together.
"I will but are you alright, Char? I can see you’re tired.” I tightened my hold on him and tipped my head up so I could sneak a glance at his face.
&n
bsp; "I'm," he paused, and he looked down to give me a speculative look."I'm fine."
"Of course you're fine. But even the perfect Charolais Vide is allowed to be tired," I teased him, poking at his ribs to elicit any response as we continued walking and eventually left the busy area that was the center of all Northern operations. Our path took us toward the Western regions and toward the house Ryle had built, right in the middle of harsh woods, dense trees and a rough path that was barely walkable. But it was private, and it was home.
Our home.
As the sun set and cast a shadow behind my Vide, I had to imagine he narrowed his eyes at my teasing. "You left before any of us woke up this morning. Another long day, I presume?"
"A very long day, yes." He sighed, and I turned him so he would face me. He closed his eyes. "It wasn’t very pleasant. To say the least."
I barked out a brief laugh. "Well, it's not as though you hail from a House known for its pleasures, Char."
He stopped and gave me a perplexed look. "What? But I find a great deal of pleasure in inflicting pain."
I gave his elbow a comforting pat as I shook my head. "Not my point, Char. Finding pleasure in the pain of others is not similar to giving pleasure to others." I gave him an arched look. "For example, we take Svadenis."
He grimaced and interrupted, "Bad example. Let's not take Svadenis anywhere."
I slapped his arm and continued, "Svadenis know how to give pleasure. They’re meant for pleasing, whereas your House is meant for pain. Besides, Hollis is a Svadeni."
"Hollis is the exception, Mireyah, my dear." I cringed when he called me that, and he tilted his head. "What? What's wrong?"
