Page 56 of Caller of Crows
"I'm simply stating a fact."
Sven met Altair's gaze. "Is it a fact that most vampire lords don't fuck the mortals they catch?"
Altair said nothing.
"I thought not." Sven extended his arm, exposing the inside of his elbow. "Just tell me one thing and I promise to behave in return."
"What do you want to know?"
"What happened to your mate?"
Altair froze, his expression darkening. His fingers, which had been reaching for Sven's arm, suddenly stopped. "Where did you hear about her?"
"Keegan told me."
Altair's eyes narrowed. He didn't say a single word, but the expression on his face was murderous.
"He showed me her," Sven pressed, even though he realized he was treading dangerous ground. He needed to know what had happened. "He showed me a memory of her."
Altair was still, his eyes glowing red now. For a moment, Sven thought the vampire was going to snap and break something, but then Altair took a deep breath, visibly calming himself.
"What did he show you exactly?" the vampire asked.
"Her death."
"Is that all?"
"I also saw you dance. You looked happy."
Altair's expression softened.
Sven swallowed.
If Altair had been as happy as he'd seen in that memory… if that was real… then why had he killed her? Or was that part something Keegan had fabricated?
Had Keegan fabricatedallof it?
"Keegan said you killed her," he blurted out. "Was that a lie?" The question felt extremely personal, but Sven couldn't stop himself from asking. He needed to know—needed to know what kind of man he was dealing with.
"No," Altair admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.
Sven's throat closed up.
Fuck.
Fuck.
"But why?" he demanded. "What did she do?"
Altair didn't reply immediately, and as the seconds of silence between them dragged on, Sven began to think the vampire wouldn't respond at all—and why would he? What right did Sven have to Altair's history? But then, the vampire put the needle aside and let out a quiet sigh.
"She didn't do anything."
"She must have."
"She did not." Altair's eyes met his. There was a heavy sadness in his gaze. Such an unusual sight to see so much emotion in the vampire's expression. Sven didn't know how to deal with it.
"I don't understand," Sven said. "Why would you kill your mate if she didn't do anything?"
