Astarion's Arc

Chapter 5 of 5

Jareth left before dawn. He said nothing more, only cast one cold look at the bed and swept out into the trees. Astarion listened until the forest went quiet. Then he turned and found Finn awake, propped on the red pillows of the great canopy bed, watching him. "You fought him," Finn said. His voice was low and steady. "For me. Why?" "Because he's rude," Astarion said. He meant to smile. His lip caught on a fang and lifted too far. Finn saw it. His eyes went to Astarion's mouth, then held there. The blood drained from his face. He pushed himself back against the headboard, one hand gripping the black silk. "Those are real," Finn said. Not a question. His haunted eyes had seen the truth days ago, maybe, and now they knew it. "You're one of them. Like him." Astarion froze. For centuries he had smiled at this exact moment and watched the fear melt into nothing. The charm sat ready behind his teeth. One easy smile and Finn would forget. He had done it a thousand times. He didn't do it now. "Yes," Astarion said. The word cost him. "I'm a vampire. I fed you my own blood to pull you back from the dark. I've sat by this bed three nights. Every one of them, I could have drained you. I didn't." He spread his hands, empty. "I won't charm this away. You should know what I am and choose for yourself." Finn stared at him. The candle guttered. Outside, a raven landed on the sill, its black feathers streaked with a dull red sheen. It cocked its head at the window, a silent lookout, then settled. Astarion barely saw it. He waited for Finn to scream, to run, to grab the nearest blade. Finn's grip on the silk loosened. His breath slowed. "You stood between me and him," Finn said. "A man who could have thrown me out like meat." He wet his lips. "I've asked a hundred people to tell me the truth. You're the first who did." He let his shoulders drop. "I'm not afraid of you." Something turned over in Astarion's chest. It was not hunger. It was not the familiar pull toward a warm throat. It was deeper, older, locked to this one man like a hook set in bone. He had read of such bonds in his burned books. He had never believed them. He believed them now. "Oh," Astarion said softly. He sank onto the edge of the bed. His hand found Finn's and did not let go. "That's a problem." "Why?" "Because now I can't let you go." Astarion looked at the dark window, at the raven watching the trees. A beast was out there with Finn's scent and his own. Jareth was out there too, hunting. "And everything that wants you dead now has to go through me."