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Turning back towards the window, I stared out into the black waters of the Bay. My eyes traced the outer rim of the Seattle Great Wheel as the lights danced across the water, its blue and purple neon hues spilling into the bar.

It was only a matter of time before someone came, just as they always did. As soon as men saw me, the darkest of hearts were pulled toward me, the curse drawing them in like moths to a flame. On the surface, they presented safe, expensive, and usually quite attractive, but they were always rotten underneath it all.

That was the only gift this curse gave me, the confirmation of what they truly were. Every jagged edge and wound lay bare in front of me, and they, in turn, saw only what they desired most.

The heat from the fireplace warmed my cool skin, and the familiar tingle trickled across my body as someone approached, drawn into my orbit without even realizing it.

I smiled to myself, knowing my trap had been set, and just like always, they had taken the bait.

Let’s see what fool is on the menu toni⁠—

“H-Hi, I’m Ethan. Ethan Ward,” the man stammered, swallowing hard and smiling at me. “I, uh…I was over there, and I saw you, and—I know it sounds cliché, but⁠—”

I turned and fully faced him, my smile dropping momentarily, replaced by a look of confusion.

The man paused, laughing through an exhaled breath. “I just—I just wanted to say…hello.”

I studied his face as he muttered his way through an introduction that wasn't like any I’d encountered before or after the curse. But that wasn't the thing throwing me off.

My gaze pierced through him, using my magic to search into the depths of his heart. I expected the familiar sheen of darkness to be roiling off of him. A secret wound, a hidden malevolent appetite—the usual suspects.

Instead, I found nothing. No rot, no rage. Just a steady, gentle ache. Loneliness, yes, but pure, untainted by bitterness. This was the first time I had ever met anyone who had no darkness inside of them.

None. Zero.

What the fuck?

I recalled Layne’s words on the night the curse took hold of me. Everyone carries darkness inside them. He’d been so certain. There was something else he’d said. What did he call them? Hearts of true darkness, or something. But as far as I could tell, Ethan had neither of those things.

My grip tightened beneath the table till my knuckles went white. Of course, I could never actually rely on anything Layne said. There was always something he’d failed to mention or kept from me on purpose.

Finally, I composed myself and smiled softly at him. My voice snapped back to its usual alluring tone as my eyes blazed into his. No matter what I did, though, I couldn't sense anything coming from him.

What was going on here? Something was off. Maybe I was too hungry to sense it correctly? No, that wouldn't make sense.

Ah, I know, I thought.

The most guaranteed way I knew was to touch him, a little trick I’d picked up after the last few weeks.

Without thinking too deeply about it, I presented my hand, my eyes darting between it and Ethan’s gaze.

Come on. Show me what you’re hiding.

“Nice to meet you, Ethan Ward,” I purred.

Silence hung between us, and I could tell he was caught off guard by my gesture, but I anticipated the usual crassness to come. It always did.

To my surprise, he delicately took my hand, shaking it as if we were in some kind of business meeting.

I blinked, caught off guard by the formality.

No kiss? No sleazy lingering touch?

A genuine laugh escaped me for the first time since I died. As our hands remained clasped, the noise of the bar faded, and the darkness that usually pressed in from all sides was more distant now.

We were just two lonely people staring back at each other, both fighting something inside of us.

The strangest part of all was what I’d seen as our hands touched. I searched for the familiar sheen of darkness, but instead I found only a shimmering light.