Panic gushed through the crowd like a recently opened artery. The rogue vampire had flown across the room to drain the poor opera singer, and now the audience was in a flurry of terror. The hunter had been so consumed by his thirst that he didn’t realized his fatal mistake.

One really shouldn’t display vampiric abilities to a roomful of humans, especially in Florence, and definitely not in front of the Volturi.

Well, this rogue vampire had just broken all three rules.

He hadn’t really thought of the consequences. Truthfully, he hadn’t really thought at all. After catching the aroma of the now-dead woman, he’d been consumed by thirst. Venom had flooded his mouth, and he would not be sated until he had every last drop of this delicious elixir that sang to every particle of his existence.

His doom had been secured the moment he smelled the siren’s blood. She smelled fruity yet tangy, like a raspberry or lemon, he couldn’t decide, but that mattered little. Soon enough, she would be dead. He followed her scent’s trail all through Florence, and found the end in a palace theater. There, with lights shining on her as if she really could summon a man, was the source of the dizzying aroma. She was singing some piece of music to a room filled with humans and the Volturi. The hunter, however, hadn’t been bothered with these details because he’d finally reached his holy grail. Nothing else mattered. He could not tear his eyes from her.

There she was, the sweetest scent that he ever smelled. In less than a human heartbeat the vampire was on the stage, snapping the performer’s neck and drinking his siren’s blood. Much to his dismay, some strong pairs of hands tried to pry him from the corpse before he’d sucked her dry. Finally the hands gave up, and he thought he was left in peace. Moments later, though, he and his prize were hauled out of the theater before he, or the audience, could truly make sense out of what had occurred.

Once outside, the predator finished drinking from his prey while he continued to ignore all else. The last drop eventually was drained, and he then lifted his gaze to the seven pairs of black eyes glaring at him. Two male guards, who looked ready and able to dismember him, stood in front of three males and two females, who all wore black cloaks. One of the guards stepped forward and grabbed hold of his throat.