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“What?” Carver’s shoulders slumped forward.

“You are always welcome here,” Dante told him. “Always.”

Carver sniffed but didn’t say another word. He walked away from Dante. From everything that Dante offered. From home.

“Are you sure about this?” Yulian whispered.

Dante shook his head. “No.”

“Command him to come back,” Yulian said. “Order him. He’ll listen.”

“I won’t keep him prisoner. I won’t take his choices away. Someone already did that to him,” Dante said. No, he had to trust in the connection between the two of them. That the bond between the two of them was already forming.

“Dante.” Yulian’s voice was soft. He never used Dante’s name. Even though Dante had threatened Yulian multiple times. Yulian swore that Dante deserved the honorific. That he’d have been lost without Dante taking him in.

“Follow him, Yulian,” Dante said. “Make sure he is safe. Please.”

“No one will touch him,” Yulian promised. He darted off into the shadows.

A croak and shriek came from above and Dante held out his arm for Syn to land. She hopped up his shoulder to tuck her head against his neck.

“He’ll come back,” Dante told his familiar. Carver had to come back. Had to.

Syn rubbed her beak roughly against Dante’s cheek.

“Go,” Dante said. “Watch over our boy.”

Syn croaked before she took off into the night, headed in the same direction that Yulian and Carver had gone. Toward the ports where danger was around every corner.

“Come back when you’re ready, baby,” Dante murmured into the night. “Come back to Daddy.”

6

Carver

Staring at his own front door, Carver couldn’t force his feet to move. Indecision ate at him as Carver was stuck, chewing on his thumbnail.

Inside, he could hear his friends arguing. Owen wanted to go after Carver while Kenny was saying that they needed to wait. That Carver would be going along with the plan. They need to wait for Carver’s signal.

It made the guilt that Carver had been trying to push down roar to the surface. Kenny believed in him. Had no idea how Carver had started to doubt everything they’d done over the last five years. There would be no signal. Not from Carver.

Part of him wanted to turn around and go back. To return to Dante’s side. How weak was he that Carver already missed Dante? He missed everything about Dante, his scent, his soft hands, the power that radiated from him. Carver had panicked and ran. He had ruined everything.

You are always welcome here, Dante had told him. Always.

Carver closed his eyes.

You are always welcome here. Always.

Tears fell down his cheeks. He’d barely stopped crying and now he was starting all over again. This didn’t feel right. Not being home. Not being with his best friends. Not being without Dante. It was all wrong.

His fingers shook as he clutched his bag.

Carver hadn’t had a plan when he’d excused himself from Jesse and the gnomes to use the bathroom. Germin had told him to hurry as they were working on another play scene. He’d been smiling when he’d reentered the house. And that was when Carver realized that he liked being there. In that house. With Dante. That Carver couldn’t see himself hurting any of them. Not the clan members that looked at him with curiosity, not the sweet human that sewed cloaks for gnomes so they could pretend to be vampires, and not Dante who looked at Carver like he was the best thing ever.

Panic had flooded him and Carver hadn’t even been thinking. He’d grabbed his bag and rushed for the front gate.

When the guard refused to open the gate, Carver had almost been relieved. If Dante wouldn’t let him go, forced him to stay, then the decision would have been taken away from him. He’d still argued and thrown a fuss until Dante had arrived.