Your eyes followed the tenebrous tendrils as they curled around your wrist, the shadows warping between deathly chill and searing heat with each lick of your skin. Einar had appeared again, and you weren’t quite sure what he wanted this time, but thought it to be wise to not question him.

As the shadows continued to twitch and flicker, he let out a low hum, as though he was deep in rumination. “Marvelous,” he purred, the sound a slow, deep rumble. “You taste delicious, my pet. Your essence is as dark as one of my own kin. I quite adore it.”

He sighed deeply as he relaxed against the bedpost, flicking a loose lock of hair away from his eyes. “And yet, there are many humans, some more befitting to me than you. But, you are the one I’ve ended up stuck with. I suppose I cannot complain, though, as there are just as many worse as there are better.”