That churning appetite, like scalding magma, slowly reared its head in Vanessa's awareness.
At the same time, a strange pain and itch spread through her severed fingers. Her flesh seemed to have a will of its own, clamoring in protest.
She pulled off the bandages on her hand and saw blood flowing from the wounds that had already healed. But it did not seem to be damage. On the contrary, they were becoming whole.
Hunger and thirst were the body's desires; wholeness was the desire of flesh.
"Are you... all right?" Dorothea keenly noticed something wrong with her and stepped forward to ask.
Vanessa slowly raised her head and looked at Miss Crow before her.
She wore a well-tailored brown woolen trench coat over a light-colored shirt, with a delicate wool ribbon tied into a playful bow at the collar. Above it, her collarbones cast an evocative patch of shadow in the dim basement.
Higher still was her neck, slender and pale, brimming with fresh vitality... like a plump, juicy fruit giving off a sweet fragrance, making Vanessa want to move closer and taste it.
Vanessa swallowed involuntarily, her eyes filled with undisguised desire as she looked at Dorothea.
A primal urge to devour her completely and possess her mingled together, like an out-of-control wildfire that instantly burned through the barriers of reason!
She suddenly stepped forward, reaching her still-bleeding hand toward Dorothea's cheek!
Dorothea froze completely. She had never been good at handling unexpected situations, and her mind went blank.
Just as the bloodied fingers were about to touch her-
Vanessa's body suddenly stiffened. The will controlling her cleaved through the desires drowning her like a cold, sharp sword, forcibly dragging her back from the brink of madness!
Only then did Dorothea react. She staggered back several steps as