Page 85 of Caller of Crows
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Sven felt the tension in the vampire the moment the man entered the room. It seemed to hang heavy in the air around him when Altair walked up to him and pulled Sven into his arms, holding him tight as though he never wanted to let him go.
Sven returned the hug, concern growing in his chest. He couldn't remember Altair ever greeting him like this. Hell, the vampire hardly even said hello, usually. "Altair," he began, searching Altair's face for answers.
The vampire cut him off with a kiss. "Don't," he said. His voice sounded rough. Almost pained. "You have to understand that I'm just trying to protect you."
Sven stared up at him. "That's what this is about?" His throat grew dry. "You've made your decision?"
"You can't go." Altair cupped his face in his large hands and held his gaze, staring down at him with a seriousness that was almost intimidating. "I can't let anything happen to you. Do you understand?"
"Alt…" Sven's hands curled into fists at his side, though he forced himself to remain still, to hold back the rage boiling inside him. "You can't control everything. I need this. Can't you see that?"
"You have no idea how dangerous the outside world really is, how easy it is for other vampires to track you down if they want to. It only takes a tiny drop of your blood to mark you, and there are creatures out there who can smell it from a mile away." Altair paused, eyes flashing with irritation as his jaw tightened visibly. "I know it must be difficult for you to accept, but I'm not saying this to hurt you. I'm telling you this because I don't want to see you killed."
Sven shook his head. "I can't stay here forever. I have to get out someday. How can you expect me to agree to give up on attending my mom's funeral?"
"She's gone, Sven," Altair said softly. "There is nothing you can do for her now."
Sven flinched back at his words, looking up at Altair in disbelief. "This isn't abouther, this is aboutme! Don't you understand that? This is about me needing to move forward after losing her!" Sven raised his hands, pushing Altair away when the vampire reached out for him. "Don't." He stepped back to get some space between them as his head spun and his heart beat rapidly in his chest.
Altair's expression tightened and Sven knew him well enough now to know exactly what was happening: The vampire was shutting down, pulling back the emotion he'd been letting through earlier.
That thought scared Sven more than he wanted to admit because when Altair got like that, he wouldn't listen to anything Sven had to say.
Altair would make all the decisions by himself.
Whether Sven liked it or not.
It was like a punch in the gut. The realization that he was so fucking powerless in this relationship.
Sven knew why Altair didn't want him to leave. The vampire cared about him, in his own way, and Sven had started to believe it was genuine. Still, his actions contradicted those feelings, and Sven found himself torn between anger, disappointment, and despair.
All the fight drained out of Sven the longer he watched Altair watch him, the vampire's gaze inscrutable. Finally, Sven broke eye contact.
"I've made up my mind," Altair said quietly. "You can't fight me on this."
Anger flared through Sven once more, a fire that burned brighter than before. He glared at the vampire. "What gives you the right to do this to me? This ismylife."
"You're mine." Altair stepped toward him again and this time Sven didn't have anywhere left to go to escape the vampire's proximity. Altair grasped him by the shoulders, forcing him to stand still. "I won't let anyone hurt you."
Sven swallowed heavily, clenching his hands at his side to resist the urge to push Altair back. Instead of yelling at the other man like he wanted to, he met Altair's gaze evenly and asked in a voice far steadier than he'd expected it to come out. "Am I your property? Is that it?"
The vampire didn't even flinch at his question. "Of course you are."
Sven shook his head, feeling something inside him snap as anger gave way to defeat. "So that's it? I have no say in what happens to my own life? This isn't okay. You know it isn't."
The vampire's mouth flattened into a thin line. "You don't know the kind of vampires who are after you."
Sven's fingers dug into his palms, but the pain felt distant compared to the ache in his chest. "Yeah, that doesn't change the fact that I want to go."
Altair's eyes hardened, narrowing as he drew in a deep breath. "I can't let you risk your life. I won't. That's final. You're not leaving this building."
Sven glared back at the vampire, never one to throw in the towel. "We'll see about that," he hissed, then pushed Altair away and turned his back on him.
For a moment, he could feel the vampire's gaze bore into his back as if trying to penetrate his skin and force Sven to look at him.
Fat chance.
