Chapter 65

• I drove with utmost caution, my every move calculated. The last thing I needed was to draw the attention of the police. I wasn’t particularly worried about a ticket for driving without a license; that would only delay my journey to the Kessler estate. But time was slipping away for Hadrian, and the clock was ticking mercilessly. Thankfully, the road ahead was empty.
• I turned onto a private road that snaked up a hill, my eyes flicking toward Hadrian, who seemed to waver between moments of consciousness. His labored breathing filled the car as the poison gradually seeped through him, ravaging his heart. Panic gripped me. I had no idea what I was doing, no clear plan. All I could do was hope that getting him to Kessler’s estate would be the right decision.
• There were moments when doubt gnawed at me. Maybe I should have taken a different course—cut my own neck and let him feed, let his thirst take over. But I was too much of a coward for that. I couldn’t bear the thought of forcing him, and the fear of him hating me was too much to endure. I wanted to save him without crossing that line, without doing anything that might turn him against me. Using my own blood would be a last resort—a desperate measure.