Page 118 of Caller of Crows

The bird sat on top of the club's roof, peering up at the sky for them, waiting for sunrise. The sky was still gray in the distance, but slowly, streaks of pink appeared above the horizon, illuminating the stillness of the night. Ever so gradually, the sky transformed into a radiant canvas, bursting into reds and oranges and even warmer colors that Sven couldn't even name. Colors that only birds could see, he realized. They were breathtakingly beautiful.

And so was the rising sun.

Sven had thought he'd never get to watch another sunrise, but now his mate allowed him to witness one in more detail than he ever had before.

"Thank you," he whispered without leaving the vision. "I've never seen anything so beautiful."

He heard Altair chuckle softly and then felt his lover's lips brush his own in the physical world. "I have."

Sven laughed, feeling light and happy and free, and as the crow on the roof jumped up and soared into the morning sky, he tore himself out of the vision and kissed his mate.

He hadn't lost anything by becoming a vampire. He'd only won.

A new home, a new family, and a whole new outlook on life.