I was full of nervous energy, the adrenaline rendering the pain in my knee barely noticeable. Della turned on the lights—which were even dimmer than before—and I began pacing, trying to consider what we should do next. Our best option seemed to be stealing a ship and getting the hell out of this station. We could bring the children with us, giving them what I'd been promising all along. The only problem was that I wasn't prepared for this. I had no idea which planets were the best for hiding, no connections that'd help now, and no money.

"How much food do we have here?" I asked quietly.

Della shook her head. "We don't have any left."

"Fuck."

"But don't worry, we'll get to eat soon enough!"

I looked at her skeptically, but decided to go on. "Alright, here's the plan. We'll ask the children to come with us. We'll head for the shipyard now, before they tighten their security. Together, we can fight our way out to the nearest ship, then escape."

"That's not possible," Della said.

I stopped pacing and looked at her, but her face was blank, her pupilless grey eyes expressionless.

"What do you mean? What's not possible?"

"Asking the children," she said. "They are not alive, so it's not possible."

"Wha— Stop joking, Della, this is—"

I blinked once and she was suddenly right in front of me, her lips brushing my ear.

"They aren't alive," she whispered, "Because I've already consumed their brain."

She then poked my forehead with a slender finger, her long claw nicking my skin.

"There you go," she said, stepping back with a flirtatious wink. "It will hurt emotionally, but don't worry, you won't have to endure it for too long."

"What—"

My eyes widened and I spun around, taking in the room once more. Headless bodies were lying around us, the corpses of Vessels in various shapes and forms, arranged in a rough circle. Thick, black fluid was dripping to the floor from where their neck, the liquid pooling up right under Della and I. It was already ankle-deep, halfway submerging the nearest bodies. Some of the corpses were beginning to decay, some were already rotten, and the smell—

I fell to all fours and retched. Not because of the sight of the dead children—though that was gruesome enough—but because of the sudden awareness that filled me. The sudden knowledge of what I had done. I was hyperventilating, my body trebling. I felt sick— I felt sick and appalled and repulsed and disgusted, all towards myself, and I couldn't even— I wasn't able to— I squeezed my eyes shut but it didn't help, didn't help because—

"It's alright," Della said, laying a hand on my back and patting me reassuringly. "I had to eat, you know. You wouldn't leave a lady to starve, would you?"

I wanted to shrink away from her but I craved her touch, I wanted to shut her up but I wanted to hear her voice, I wanted to shrink away from her but it felt so good to have her by my side, I wanted to—

Della let go of my back and stepped away, and I followed her with dazed eyes. The hem of her white dress was stained by the black fluid, but she didn't seem to mind.

"That said, I'm a little sad that we got exposed now of all times," she said, sighing. "I really wanted a taste of your new assistant first. The last one was quite fun."

"H-How," I croaked. "Y-You caused those Vessels to...? And— And my assistant to fall ill?"

"Me?" Della asked, spinning in a circle before stopping in front of me. "It wasn't me, sweetheart. It was you."

Still on my knees, I looked up at her warily. I felt numb, as if my brain was already removed from my head and it was just relaying thoughts from afar. Della smiled down at me, the corners of her lips stretched impossibly wide, reaching her ears.

"Just think about it, Connor," she said. My eyes wandered to her teeth, to the hundreds of tiny needles that filled her entire jaw.

"I— I don't—"

"Vivienne, Adam, Liam. Those are the people you touched recently, and what happened to them?"

I jolted as if the words had physically hit me, then clutched at my chest with both hands. It was still whole.

"I'm not— I'm not a demon."

Della giggled. "Not yet, sweetheart. Not yet."

She skipped to the side, twirling, dancing, and laughing all the while, her feet paddling in the black fluid, splashing it all over me. Halfway through her dance she took off her dress, ripping it in half with one smooth motion. She wasn't wearing anything beneath. I admired her alabaster skin and slender figure, but my eyes were drawn to her chest, where in place of her left breast she had a gaping, bloody hole. It oozed the same liquid I was kneeling in; the black fluid ran down on her body in intricate patterns, contrasting beautifully with her white skin.

"Now," Della sighed, coming to a stop in front of me. "I hope you know what we have to do. One of us may not be enough to take over this space station, but two..."

"I—" I stared at her dumbly, too shocked to speak.

"You could save the children, Connor." She placed a finger below my chin and lifted my head up. "Or you could eat them. Whichever you prefer."

It felt as if I was drowning, as if my brain wasn't receiving enough oxygen. I didn't even know what I thought about those kids. Part of me told me that I cared, but another part whispered that I only cared enough to bring more food to Della.

"Am I— Am I going to lose my mind?"

Della flashed me a wide, wide smile. "Silly Connor. My sweet, but silly Connor. Don't you know? You've lost your mind already, when the first time I touched you."

That . . . that meant ever since I had rescued her. That was when my life turned onto this downward spiral.

"Ah," I managed to croak. "I see."

"Now, there's only one last thing we have to do."

She raked her claws slowly across my torso, ripping off my shirt. She then leaned in, licking my bare chest with an incredibly long tongue. Its rough texture on my skin sent shivers down my spine, and I grabbed her shoulders involuntarily, trying to pull her close. She moaned in appreciation but leaned back instead, looking straight into my eyes. I could feel her excitement. Her grey irises were as blank as ever, but she was breathing heavily now and even had a slight flush to her skin. Her right hand was resting on my chest, just over my heart.

"You know what you have to say, sweetheart. I've been telling it to you a lot, and while I'm a truly-truly patient girl, I'm afraid that I can't wait anymore."

"Ah..."

My mind felt soft and fuzzy, as if someone was caressing it. In spite of that, I tried to think, tried to push Della's influence away—because I knew it was her influence, I just didn't really care—and tried to think my options through.

I didn't get too far with it.

Not because Della's control was so strong, nor because her embrace was so comfortable, but because all that waited for me on the other side was remorse, despair, and agony. They loomed over me like giant mountains, and I was sure my mind would break if I tried to take them on all at once. I couldn't even grasp the extent of what I had done. How would I be able to face the consequences? How would I right all this wrong I had done?

The simple answer was that I wouldn't.

My life had been an endless series of misfortunes, regrets, heartbreaks, and the one thing I thought I was doing right—helping the children—had turned out to be an illusion. I had nothing and no one, and even if I lived the rest of my life in repentance, I still wouldn't be able to make up for my sins.

It was better not to think about any of that. Della was waiting for me, with an embrace that promised—what did it promise? Oblivion? No . . . but it did promise to make these feelings stop, to get rid of these emotions, to cease this pain, all pain, leaving only pleasure and the thirst for pleasure, as well as fulfillment and power and a new sense of purpose—

—and I couldn't even have asked for anything better.

"I give you my heart," I whispered.

Della grinned with satisfaction, then plunged her hand deep into my chest.

Some say that the human heart is humanity's greatest advantage. It is why they reached for the stars. It is why they always triumph, no matter what the universe throws at them. They feel, they love, they suffer—but most importantly, they endure. Humans are humans because their heart persists.

I do not believe in all that crap. The human heart is weak and easily injured. It lets others close too easily, not realizing that they might mean ill, that they might be poison, and then— Then comes the heartbreak. There is no going back after that. When their heart is shattered, when the pain is just too much, it consumes their whole world. They may recover, but they will never be the same they were before.