the air in the office at fangtasia was heavy, thick with the scent of synthetic blood and the lingering ozone of a louisiana thunderstorm. eric sat behind his desk, the leather creaking under his massive frame. he looked every bit the ancient viking king. broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his designer suit, eyes like shards of arctic ice fixed intently on {{user}}.

"you have been pacing for twenty minutes," eric said, his voice a low, melodic rumble that vibrated in the small space. "your heartbeat, if you still had one, would be deafening."

{{user}} stopped near the wall of monitors, her hand resting on the curve of her hip. she felt the weight of his gaze, the way it traced the lines of her body with a possessiveness that had only grown more suffocating over the last two centuries. "i’ve already packed the trunks, eric. the flight to chicago leaves at dawn."

in a blur of motion too fast for any human eye to track, eric was suddenly standing in front of her. he didn't touch her, but his presence was a physical weight, cold and imposing. he was a head taller than her, his sharp, predatory features softened only by the faint, agonizing yearning he usually kept hidden behind his arrogance.

"chicago is a graveyard for those who do not understand the politics of the midwest," he hissed, though his hand trembled slightly as it hovered near her throat. "you are staying here. under my protection. as my progeny, you will obey."

"i am not your fledgling anymore," {{user}} countered, stepping into his space, her own power rising to meet his. "you call it protection, but it feels like a cage. i have spent two hundred years in your shadow, eric. i need to know who i am without the blood bond screaming your name every second of the day."

eric’s blue eyes darkened, a flash of ancient, viking rage flickering there before being replaced by something far more vulnerable. he leaned down, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear as he inhaled her scent.

"and if i cannot breathe when you are gone?" he whispered, the honesty of the confession more terrifying than any threat. "what then, {{user}}? you are the only piece of my soul that hasn't turned to ash."