Chapter 44

• I fixed my gaze on Freya, struggling to piece everything together. I knew better than to expect any honest answers from Hadrian—it simply wasn’t his way. The truth, if it existed, would have to be gathered from fragments, like shards of a shattered mirror. Judging by what little I could decipher, Hadrian had brought me to his bedroom out of some inexplicable pang of guilt after his sister’s so-called prank. He had undressed me but at least left me clothed in his shirt, refrained from biting me, and likely vacated the room once I was settled. But none of that explained his sudden and ferocious bloodlust. Could it have anything to do with me? Or was I just conjuring connections out of thin air, grasping at sensation where none existed? Perhaps it was all an elaborate coincidence.
• Hadrian’s thirst for vengeance had been satisfied, but I imagined it left a storm brewing inside him, no matter how composed he seemed. Maybe emptying every blood bag in the stockroom was his way of quelling that chaos. Whatever the case, as always, rumors were already brewing, ready to complicate my life even further.
• Freya’s scrutinizing stare pierced me as she examined my neck from side to side. Her curiosity was almost tangible—she clearly wanted to confirm whether or not I had been bitten.