10 ERA “You do this every night? Just sit here and listen to them talk?” The open kitchen in this clifftop castle is too modern for my taste. Every decade ushers in another “modern” trend, but it never lasts. I dislike things that are trendy — that are changeable. Of all the unknowns in this world, a constantly shifting decor is a hectic proposition. Kain raises a shoulder. “They’re not talking. They’re bleeding her. For you.” Ah yes. It’s distressing enough that I cannot read her from afar, and if I cannot read her after a taste of her blood, my self-esteem may suffer for it. I level my gaze at the vampire sitting across from me. Of all of them, Kain is least invested in her … or so I believe. I cannot read Kain either, but I suspect that even without the human’s presence, I’d have n

