Eldritch (The Eating Woods, #2)

by Keri Lake

He huffed and slowly nodded. “Imagine a storm on the sea. An unparalleled force, both powerful and…consuming. So utterly enthralling, it sweeps you out into the depths without your awareness. And at first, all is bliss. The waves, the exhilaration,” he drawled in a lazy cadence. “You’re so blindly smitten, you hardly notice the black abyss creeping toward your feet.”

“I think you’ve read the wrong fairytales.” “And how do your storybook maidens fare?” “Well, first of all, they’re not fools who swim in a storm. And secondly, they don’t fear the abyss, however vast it may be. That bliss you described is what matters, even if love itself is fleeting. Its worth isn’t diminished by impermanence. Sometimes it’s best not knowing what lies below.”

“I’ve walked this world for so long, searching for you.” His brow tightened. “Centuries have gnawed at me, hollowing me to the bone. I didn’t know how starved I was, or what I craved, until I found you.”