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Somewhere inside me, that pathetic boy was still searching for Mina Olind. No matter how many times I took her, no matter how many times I made her eyes roll back with pleasure, it wasn’t enough.

It would never be enough, not until death took us both. So I kept moving closer.

“In the recordings… the other Mina used a knife,” she murmured, her finger reaching for the blade, but I pulled my hand back.

“Blood alone isn’t enough. I want your flesh.”

“Raymond—”

“I want to be close to you.” As my metallic fingers traced her pulse, she tilted her head up slightly. Every move she made forced the catapults inside me, waiting in readiness, to shoot. I didn’t want to stop. I was afraid that if I stopped, she would disappear.

I flinched when she reached out and caressed my hand. I still hated touching her with these cold, metal fingers. But after everything, I knew I shouldn’t hesitate.

Mina loved me. The reason she never came looking for me all these years was because she was afraid. She didn’t have a dark, destructive secret like mine. There was no reason for us to be apart.

Yet I couldn’t quell the restlessness inside me.

My brows furrowed as I pulled my metal hand away, leaving hers hanging in midair. My gaze dropped to her fingers, and I finally found it.

I took her hand and began to stroke her ring finger. Mina drew a sharp breath, as if she understood what I was planning. I lifted my head to meet her eyes. The gleam in them was all I needed.

“Yield or resist. This is your last chance to escape.”

She shook her head, a tiny smile on her lips.

“Cut deeper. If it’s going to fill the void I left behind, cut deeper.”

Her voice softened with sorrow. We were finally together, so dizzy with happiness that we hardly knew what to do with ourselves, yet a quiet sadness lingered between us, and an awkwardness neither of us could shake.

But I knew time could heal us. Time was all we needed. We could overcome anything.

As long as we had each other.

“The void you left behind?” I murmured. “I’m afraid it’ll take a lifetime to fill, my love.”

I brought her hand to my lips and pressed a gentle kiss there, like a prince honoring his lady. My fingers wandered her skin, caressing every inch.

I pressed the knife to her ring finger and traced a thin circle, a wedding band drawn in red. Mina’s face twisted in pain, but she didn’t pull away. Blood beaded along the line, and watching it sent a thrill through me. It reminded me she was alive. Not a phantom in my head, but someone breathing, bleeding, real. My mouth watered. I wanted more. I wanted every drop.

When I finally drew the knife away, the cut ran deep. I lifted the sliver of flesh and slid it past my lips, tasting her, memorizing her…

Her breath caught, a sharp little gasp, but her eyes stayed locked on mine, burning with need.

My eyes fell shut as I savored her on my tongue for a long moment before I swallowed. Heat coiled low in my body. I was hard again.

I opened my eyes and found hers waiting. Without breaking that gaze, I drew her bleeding finger between my lips and sucked leisurely, her blood coating my tongue. Fuck, is this real? I didn’t stop until I’d licked her clean, until every last drop was mine. Nothing of her would go to waste.

Mina shifted, her thighs pressing together.

“Raymond…”

I was no different. Feeling that hot, salty liquid on my lips sent me reeling. When I pulled back with a shaky breath, her free hand was pressed to her heart. Watching her gasp for air, I couldn’t contain myself any longer.

This time I turned the knife toward my own human hand. But Mina caught my wrist and guided it herself. She circled my ring finger, then caught the falling sliver in her palm, staring at it for a moment. Then she placed it on her tongue.

She chewed once, grimaced, and swallowed it whole. Then she burst out laughing.

“Maybe we should’ve cooked it.”