“Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to do anything to you. You can stop shaking now, Johanna.”
“I’m not afraid. I’m shaking because I’m cold, but it’ll pass. You’re like a heater, you know?”
I want to believe that the way he showed his teeth was meant to be a smile.
After a while, he yawned, showing me the true magnitude of his fangs and the rows of sharp teeth in his jaw, and his thick, rough, pink tongue.
When I recovered from the impression (it seemed unbelievable that I could still be surprised by things related to them — I practically knew everything about them by now), I said:
“…How long has it been since you slept, Alexander?”
“Hmm. About two days. Maybe a little more. I’ve taken some twenty-minute naps here and there.”
I hadn’t slept in almost two days either, and they had to gi
