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Haven gritted his teeth, slamming his head against the bars. He trembled. “You don’t know anything.”
“I do. I see you. You don’t want me to. You don’t think anyone can. But I do. And if you die, there will be no hope left for this world.”
“What a silly, nonsensical thing to say.” Haven shook his head.
“You’re beautiful, Haven. Beautiful and caring and kind. You’ve hardened yourself because you’ve had to in order to survive. But I see the man you would have been. And he is exactly the kind of man we need on our side if we want to win this war.”
“Stop it,” Haven’s voice strained. “Stop.”
“It would be a mistake to lose someone like you, Haven. Hate me if you want. But please trust the instincts I know you have. The instincts that tell you what the vampyres are doing is wrong. What the Dominion is decreeing is evil. You were a human. And you witnessed the atrocities humans are capable of firsthand. But you also had a mother once. A woman who loved you, who fought to protect you. That love is what makes humans worthy of protecting.”
Haven looked up at him then, eyes swimming. “Tobin,” he croaked before he brought a hand to his own mouth to stifle another gasp.
“Tobin.” Finally. “Tell me about him.”
“He was...my friend.”
“A human. You loved him.”
Haven nodded, swallowing down a prominent lump in his throat. “He was good. Truly good. All he wanted was to help. Make this world a better place in his own small way. To be kind.”
“What happened to him?”
“He did what humans do. He died.”
“How?”
Tears sprang to those large red eyes, but Haven shook his head. “I can’t…” he gritted, looking away. “I can’t…face it. Please, Cypress. I don’t want to…”
Cy reached out, fully expecting Haven to swat him away, but instead, the vampyre leaned into him, as much as the bars between them would allow. Gingerly, Cy stroked Haven’s cheek, brushing away the wetness that began to fall. “You don’t have to, Haven. You don’t have to tell me. If it’s too painful…”
“It was my fault,” Haven whispered. “I did it. I…killed him.”
Cy blinked, unable to move, unable to speak.
“He was a pet. I first met him when I arrived in New Avalon. We became friends. Thorne allowed us to…play together. I was only a child. He wanted to…protect me. Make my life better. He said we’d escape together but I thought him a fool. I told him that being a vampyre would be a better life than any we could have as humans. And when Thorne turned me, I…I didn’t mean to…I couldn’t control it…”
“Haven…” Cy whispered. Haven’s anguish was written all over him, in the tension of his shoulders to the way his brows pulled together and his lips gasped for air. He dissolved into tears, attempting to withdraw completely, but Cy held on, stroking, comforting. Affirming. “It wasn’t your fault, Haven.”
“Wasn’t it?” Haven scoffed. “I was the cause of his death. When all he wanted was to help me. I delivered him to his grave.”
It all made sense now, some perfect, painful sense. Why Haven hated himself. Why he refrained from drinking from humans, why he wanted so badly to put up a wall between himself and Cy. He saw Haven now better than he ever had before. And more than anything, he wanted to hold him, to protect him, to tell him everything would be alright.
“He wouldn’t want you to punish yourself like this, Haven. He wouldn’t want this life of misery for you. He wouldn’t want you to die.”
“You didn’t know him!” Haven gasped.
“I never got that pleasure, no.” Cy persisted. “But if you loved him, then he must have been good. A good person, a good human, who wouldn’t have wanted you to suffer. And there are more like him, Haven. There are still good humans in this world. People who want to protect the ones they love.”
“People like you?” Haven glared at him, but not unkindly. His words didn’t mock; they hung in between them, pregnant with expectation.
“I try to be good,” Cy admitted hoarsely. “And I do have someone that I love. That I want to protect.”
“Tell me.” Haven’s voice was hoarse, his face expression tight and strained. Jealousy? Cy couldn’t be sure.
“His name is Jax. He escaped from captivity with me.”
“A part of the Veritas?”
