“I sometimes wonder what will happen if humans become extinct,” Nikolai murmured.  “Of course, some vampires are trying to prevent that from happening by keeping humans on farms, breeding them like livestock.”  Nikolai shook his head.  He’d briefly worked on one of those farms as a glorified veterinarian.  But even with his frozen heart, the horrors of that place had quickly become too much for him.<br/><br/>Gazing at Lilith’s beautiful face, Nikolai tried to banish the dark memories.  Like a blind man reading braille, his fingers traced the shape of her lips, before he kissed them again.  “Lili?  I was going to wait for this.  But if we want to escape, you must grow stronger as quickly as possible.  So I am going to feed you some of my blood.”<br/><br/>Nikolai took Lilith’s hand, twining his fingers with hers.  “But first, I must drink a little from you, so that our blood mixes inside my body.”  Nikolai knew this would probably scare her, after the rough way she’d been bitten by her master.  Squeezing her hand, he tried to offer reassurances.  “I will do my best to be gentle.  And my fangs are very sharp.  It will not hurt like it did when your master fed from you.”<br/><br/>“If you are willing to let me do this, please show me where you would prefer me to bite.”