The one step away was all he would be getting. After that, Nicolas stood still.

"Then they're confused. Everyone's darkness should be their own, not yours. Either you fooled them or corrupted them, though seeing who you are, neither of those would be very surprising."

He wouldn't comment on what exactly he considered Kitty to be. Young, sure, but he had hoped her to be less naive. Perhaps that had been where she'd made her mistake in the first place, back at the resort, in trusting someone like this, in going off on her own, no back-up, no warning.