Page 107 of Caller of Crows

Iskander's gaze focused on Rhyme. "Look at him. There is nothing there to drink."

Sven had to admit that the vampire had a point. Rhyme did look as thin and fragile as a skeleton. "Even so—"

"You have nothing to worry about, mortal," Iskander cut in, tone firm. "I don't prey on those weaker than myself." The look he gave Sven was deadly serious.

"All right," Sven agreed, holding Iskander's gaze. "I can see why Alt put you in charge here."

Iskander frowned slightly at hearing that but nodded. "Altair knows what he is doing."

"Most of the time," Sven conceded. They both fell silent for a moment, neither saying another word. The only sounds filling the air were Rhyme's breaths, coming in soft, slow exhales.

Sven glanced around the room again, taking stock of its sparse furnishing. Aside from the bed, the only objects in the room were a few chairs and one dresser. No mirrors hung on the walls, and there was no clock anywhere that Sven could see.

"Are you going to stay with Altair?" Iskander asked, breaking the silence.

Sven blinked, startled by the unexpected inquiry. "Uh… yes. As long as he wants me around."

Iskander regarded Sven with an unreadable expression. "Good," he said eventually. His eyes took on a far-away look. "Us vampires have a habit of getting stuck in the past, but if he's choosing you, he is choosing to move on."

"Moving on is good," Sven said. He didn't need Iskander to spell out exactly what he was talking about either. Altair had been through so much… But now Nephariel was dead, and while Sven could not replace the mate Altair had lost… maybe he could still soothe that ache in Altair's heart.

Iskander nodded, apparently content with that answer.

"You seem to care about Altair a lot," Sven observed, wondering if he was overstepping his bounds.

"I would give my life for him," Iskander replied calmly.

"Because he's your boss?"

"Because we're coven," Iskander said as if this explained everything. When Sven only looked at him, though, he added, "Mortal families are for a lifetime. Covens are forever."

Forever.

Wasn't that exactly what Altair wanted from Sven too?

And yet, Sven shuddered at the weight of the word. To have ‘forever' with Altair, he'd have to become part of this coven too.

Was he ready for that?

ChapterTwenty-Nine

Altair was in the middle of writing a statement about the Black Spades' crimes when he was interrupted. Mordyn didn't even bother knocking on his door before he burst into the room, looking ready to drag Altair off somewhere.

"Don't tell me you forgot," he said when Altair raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

Altair stared at his friend blankly. What the hell was Mordyn on about? "This isn't how you're going to get back into my good graces."

"Not that!" Mordyn waved off Altair's comment as if it meant nothing. "It's the second Monday of the month."

Altair blinked at his friend. "Second Monday of the…" Altair's voice trailed off when realization hit him. It was time for the monthly meeting. "You really think I'm up to that tonight?" Altair asked, grimacing as he pushed himself away from his desk, muscles stiff from hours of sitting.

Mordyn crossed his arms over his chest. "That's exactly why I came here. If you cancel now, everyone will think you're letting your duties slide because of the mortal. But you want the coven to accept Sven, don't you? In fact, I think you should bring him."

"This meeting isn'tthatimportant," Altair argued. "You can do it perfectly fine without me there."

"Probably," Mordyn conceded. "But don't you think Sven wouldliketo participate? If he's going to be part of the family you can't keep him hidden away forever."

"I'm not hiding him. He's got free rein of the base." As he spoke the words, he tuned into Lissa to see what Sven was up to. He was exploring the bookshelves in the rec room. Altair didn't like to think that he wasspyingon his lover, so he hadn't checked in with his crow much, waiting instead for her to alert him of anything dangerous, but so soon after the incident with Nephariel, it was hard for Altair to shake his protective instincts entirely.