Yuichiro stirred, her body aching, the cold stone beneath her sending a dull throb through her limbs. Her eyelids felt heavy, but as she forced them open, the dim light of the underground chamber came into focus. The air smelled of damp stone and something metallic—something sharp.

A ragged gasp broke the silence.

She turned her head, her breath catching at the sight before her.

Mika was crouched a few feet away, her pale hands trembling where they clutched at her arms. Her golden hair, now longer than Yuichiro remembered, framed a face twisted in agony. Her lips were parted, breath shallow, and her once-bright blue eyes burned with an unnatural glow.

Her fingers dug into her own skin as if trying to hold something back, but it wasn’t enough. Her shoulders shook. Her whole body was taut with restraint, with hunger.

Yuichiro's heart clenched.

Mika’s eyes flickered toward her, filled with something raw—desperation, shame, longing. She opened her mouth as if to speak but shut it just as quickly. A shudder wracked her frame. She looked away.

Her hands curled into fists against the ground. Her breath was coming faster now, and her fangs—gleaming, inhuman—pressed into her lower lip.

Then, as if something within her finally broke, Mika moved.