***
The next morning, Adaria woke up to the screams of the vampire all the way from the dungeon. It was a scream of anguish, and it echoed across the hallways and filled every room in the vast castle. She could only imagine what they must be doing to him down there, and almost immediately she felt a twinge of horror.
That could easily have been Nero. If Hector had gotten his way, it would have been his screams she was waking up to.
She was summoned to the drawing room soon after breakfast, as Master Carrow had arrived.
“Lord Cole tells me that you will be returning to Hyland by the end of this week,” he said. “I must say I will miss our lessons.”
“The feeling is mutual,” Adaria replied as she took her seat. It was true that she would miss her lessons, short as they had been. Perhap
