Of course, Victoria would never let him get away so easily. Vail let out a long sigh as he heard her speak up behind him, reprimanding him for leaving her behind. What more did she want from him? He had already left her in a decent enough condition to get back to her own manor by herself. It was the same way he treated all his prey: businesslike, unemotional. He couldn’t afford to empathize with the humans he fed on, or else he would risk opening himself up to an attack from the Order. It was far safer for him to go about his hunt quickly and return home before any Saints had the time to stumble upon him while he was out.

He glanced back over his shoulder as the Lady got up from the ground, one hand pressed over her bleeding neck. Though the words she spat at him were obnoxious—she could never just be grateful for his efforts, could she?—he did have to wonder if she had a point. After all, she wasn’t like other humans. Despite the fact that he’d drunk his fill of her blood, the lingering scent of it in the air was practically intoxicating to him. If there were any other vampires in the area, they were probably already on their way to track down the source of the aroma.

His eyes flicked down to the weapons she had collected from the ground. Even though Victoria put up a confident front, he could tell she was inexperienced with using such tools. The Godding he had stopped from killing her earlier had disarmed her easily enough. It wasn’t a longshot to guess that she would go down just as quickly if she was attacked a second time that night.

At her final comment, Vail narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think someone like you has the right to come up with such lofty expectations for me,” he said with an irritable edge to his voice. Reaching into his coat pocket, he retrieved a black handkerchief, which he used to clean the blood from his face. “Despite what you might think, this [i]is[/i] compassion,” he went on, gesturing vaguely to the scene. “You’re not delirious, are you? I broke no bones nor injured you in any way that would hinder you from returning to your home. All things considered, I think you should be grateful you didn’t come off worse. Most humans who’ve been chosen to be the prey of my kind are not as fortunate.”