**ONC 2024 Shortlister** Heems is an energy vampire, a parasite. Working as a doctor on dwarf planet Eris, Heems feeds on xeir unknowing hosts -- Eris's sickly hospital patients -- by draining their energy with a single touch. Caused by a tragic glitch in xeir meatware, the brain implant given to Eris citizens at birth to enable them to endure the planetoid's high radiation levels, Heems's rare condition doesn't seem to have a cure. That is, until xe tries to make a host out of Shiro, a wily thief. Injured and radiation-sick, Shiro turns out to be the only Eris resident that Heems can touch without draining them. Smitten, Heems spirals into obsession and criminality that sets xem on a collision course with powerful organisations desperate to keep hidden Eris's biggest secret: that parasites can be hosts too. ☉ Energy vampirism ☉ LGBT+ romance ☉ Non-binary main character ☉ Cyberpunk ~~☉~~ Notes on gender in this Novella: Heems uses xe/xeir pronouns. This book is written in first person so don't worry if you're new to these pronouns since there aren't so many in the book. Content Warning: This book is rated mature. It contains potentially triggering topics such as extreme hunger, chronic debilitating illnesses, suicide ideation, drug misuse, sexual intercourse while under the influence of recreational and medicinal drugs.