He nodded, although he didn’t look convinced. “Come on. We should raise the alarm.”

My spine prickled. “You think there’s still danger?”

“The blood is fresh,” he repeated. “And Divina Lux have not been shy about attacking the manor.”

My stomach churned. I looked back to the dim lights of Faulkner Park. Suddenly the house seemed very far away, with a chasm of shadows between us and there.

“Shit,” I said.

“I’m here,” Adrian said.

“That’s not reassuring,” I snapped.

He laughed, low and bleak, and caught my hand, spinning me around to face him. We were so close, so achingly, unnervingly close, that I just froze. “Do you know why I bit you, Evanna?” he asked me.

I shook my head, not sure I wanted to know. Did it matter? He couldn’t undo it and he couldn’t justify it.

“Because I couldn’t help myself,” he said, so quietly I almost didn’t hear it. “Your blood’s perfume was plums and spice, and I’m weak, sweetheart. Very weak and very selfish. You were too good to resist.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked, trapped by his hands and his voice, trembling with fear.

“Because you need to know, when I do what I’m about to do, that it’s not your fault. It’s mine. Because I’m still very weak and you are still very delicious.”

And then he kissed me.

Fire coursed through me, born of outrage and something far more primal. I had a few endless seconds to feel shaken and electrified, to feel every tiny last detail of the moment. The rain sluicing down on us, heavier now. The fading scent of Hugo’s blood. The touch of Adrian’s lips on mine, the intensity with which he kissed me, as if he was stealing something, as if he knew he’d never get to do it again.

And then, before I had a chance to shove him away, he broke off the kiss and stepped back, leaving me reeling.

“What was that about?” I hissed.

“Not scared now, are you?” He gave me a crooked smile and took my hand. Before I could protest, he was dragging me back toward Faulkner Park.