“It was more complicated than that,” he replies peevishly. “And the League isn’t a cult, okay? Viviane was a believer with a vision for the future, but it didn’t matter to her if I believed or not. She wasn’t collecting disciples—she was building a family. All the legends said that the Dark Star would grant eternal life to his followers, and that’s not a gift you want shared with the kind of vampires who would do anything to get it. Even if I was never convinced, she was okay with that, because she liked me.”

“Oh.” I stuff some more pasta into my face, suddenly not quite sure what to say.

“After my mortal family, and then all those years with the Syndicate, I didn’t even know what it was like to be wanted by more than one person until I became part of the League. Even if I had doubts about Azazel, I still believed in Viviane. She’s the one who taught me to believe in myself.”

“Aren’t you lucky.” There’s something ugly in my tone, but I don’t care. I’m sick of people explaining why they manipulated me, seeking my pity and forgiveness. I’m so sorry your life sucked, I guess it’s okay you decided to help ruin mine. “It must be nice to be surrounded by people who aren’t a bunch of fakes and liars, huh?”

Gunnar flinches. “Yeah. I don’t have a better excuse than what you expect. I came here because I would do anything for Viviane, and I thought the Dark Star was a myth, so what difference did it make? But I asked you out because I got selfish, and that wasn’t fair.”

After a long moment, I admit, “I only said yes because I thought I was dying and wanted to know what being on a date was like. At least you told me you were a vampire before you kissed me.”

“But I didn’t tell you why I was in Fulton Heights, and that was also wrong.” Our eyes meet, and something steals through me. The Corrupter’s powers are definitely getting stronger, because without even trying to, I glimpse Gunnar’s memory of that first kiss. It’s different than mine—just as intense, but less chaotic, his guilt feeding his arousal. The pressure in my groin is sudden and unexpected, and I turn back to the refrigerator while he continues, “I know this is a shitty situation, Auggie. You’ve got no reason to believe me when I tell you that Viviane isn’t an evil mastermind or whatever, but I swear to you she’s not. If you need to, you can … you can check my thoughts to see if I’m lying.”