The saying goes - don't poke the bear. It should be - don't poke a dragon.
Adeem lives his life in the shadows of Stockholm, stealing memories from unsuspecting humans whenever it suits him. But with a knack for getting into trouble, and a serious h...
"I can't be honest because I don't want to put you in danger."
"And see how that worked out for Vincent."
The words cut like glass. Harsh and unforgiving. They were also true.
"Point taken."
Nev slammed his palm on the table. "Damn it, Adeem. Why can't you just tell me?"
The anger in Nev's voice was laced with determination, and it sent all the wrong kind of shivers down his spine. He took a deep breath. They want me to distrust him. The problem was that his instincts had abandoned him these last few hours.
"I need to sleep on this. I'm sorry. I'm not myself and I don't know what to do."
Nev's features twisted into a sneer that was so foreign that he wished he wouldn't have said anything at all. He wanted to spill every secret, every intention, but couldn't.
"I'll leave you to it then." Nev's voice was too cold. Fissures spreading through expanding ice. Wedges. It was all about to crack.
"Stay. Please."
There was a pause, stretching endlessly in a void so vast that breathing became difficult.
"Why?"
"Because..." He found it hard to form the words. "If you leave I won't be able to sleep."
"You're so fucking selfish sometimes." Each word like a knife.
"Is it selfish to care whether you live or not?"
As always, Nev couldn't hide his emotions. They were right there in his eyes, fighting a battle. Adeem clasped Nev's hand across the table, only to jerk back. Nev hadn't wanted that touch and his skin burned from the cold. Ice. Fissures. He was losing the only person that mattered to him.
"Nev, I can't do this without you."
"But you can't do it with me, either." The anger was gone replaced by something that cut even deeper.
"Just give me until tomorrow."
"No. I've had it with lies." Nev stood, still holding on to the table.
"You know more about me than anyone. I'm not lying to you."
"But you're not saying everything."
"Are you?" It was unfair to turn the question, and he knew it.
"My maker is in Stockholm. There. Now you know."
He rose as well. This was bad news. Very bad news. Not only did Nev hate his maker, but he wouldn't be able to keep secrets from the vampire who commanded him.
"And you're asking me to tell you everything when it might kill us both if he knew?"
He could see how Nev lowered his gaze, slowly as if the vampire slowly came to realize their predicament.
"It's not fair," Nev said after another long silence.
"No. It's not. Perhaps we should leave. Start over somewhere else." He willed Nev to see that meant it and waited until their stares locked. "I can't lose you."
Carefully, he moved around the table, reaching out to his friend—assessing if he would be refused again. Nev gave him a brief glance of acquiescence. It was all he could ever ask. He hugged the vampire close, feeling the stiffness in Nev's muscles relent into something pliable. It wasn't the hug of a friend or a lover, it was that of a brother afraid to lose the only family he had left.
"I can't believe he's gone," Nev said.
Adeem didn't have to ask who he meant. Vincent wasn't coming back, but they could still save Astrid. Regardless of what had happened earlier that night, even if it felt like a lifetime ago, he had to get her out of that dungeon. No, they had to get her out. He didn't care that Nev's maker would know. It was more important that he saved the few connections he still had.
"There's something else you need to know," he said.
Nev tensed, perhaps anticipating that whatever it was he was about to say would be bad news.
"What?" Nev asked.
"Kyung has Astrid locked up in a dungeon." Then, after a pause, "I think she might want to kill me."
"Why would she want to kill you? What did you do?" Nev leaned away from the embrace.
There was no easy way to say it. "He ordered me to search her mind. I thought it would help her." Another pause. "He thinks she was one of those who killed that innocent family."
"And?"
"She almost did kill me. But I can't... I can't let him have her."
The emotions warred in Nev's eyes, as clearly as they had before. Nev had never trusted Astrid before, but something had changed recently. "How? How did she almost kill you?"
They needed honesty. "Her mind was a scary place. A nightmare. She drained me of power."
"I thought she liked you."
"If she did, she no longer does." Defeat. At this pace, he truly would have no one left. He wasn't sure that Astrid would ever forgive him. She had even said those very words, he recalled.
Nev stepped back. Their embrace had lasted too long, but Adeem felt strangely abandoned.
"If anyone can get her out of there, it's you. And she will forgive you."
"You don't know that."
"True, but I feel it in my gut."
He almost smiled. "We'll try. Tomorrow."
"Can it wait that long?"
"I have no other choice. I'm drained of power."
A gasp, brief but audible. "Then sleep. I'll stay here." No words had ever been so sweet.
"Thank you." The relief was instantaneous, almost strong enough to settle all his worries, if only for a moment. "I mean it, Nev. I can't lose you. I'd go insane."
"No you wouldn't. But you won't lose me. I promise."
A/N I'm a bit slow with updates these days. Writing doesn't come as easily, but it will pass, I'm sure.
Some questions:
Do you think Adeem or Nev might feel more than friendship toward each other?
Would you ship them?
More gorgeous artwork by Anonymous78912 <3 This is a tribute to Vincent who will be missed dearly!
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