BLUE BLOOD

10 | he could have asked for a secret

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"I have a riddle," he whispered.

"Don't you always?" I smiled.

x

I wasn't sure how long we stayed on his roof or if I dozed off after that story but when the sun rose, Avery did too.

"Let's go," he said, simply, his fingers wrapping around mine to pull me up. Quickly, I pulled my hand away from his grasp, hating how his touch made me shiver, which earned me a slight smirk from him.

Avery headed back inside his house—really it was a penthouse—and I followed without protest, much to my chagrin. Telling that childhood memory to him had silenced Avery Dragomir, something I did not think was possible. That didn't mean he had any shortage of those infuriating smiles of his.

My eyes swept around his place, noting that the place looked like a bachelor's pad, all black and masculine with some hints of red. It startled me how much it fitted his personality.

I wasn't sure what we were doing here, but Avery did not falter in his walking pace. Instead, he made way out of the house towards his sleek car after grabbing a folder of documents. I slipped into the seat beside him, wondering how much of a bad idea it was to let a sleepless Avery drive.

Avery glanced over at me as we tore away from his driveway. "I have a riddle."

"Don't you always?" I couldn't help but retort, feeling the adrenaline building in my veins as he drove at a speed of three figures.

This was a bad idea. He was so reckless sometimes and it reflected in his driving.

"What's light as a feather, but becomes harder to keep the longer you hold it?"

I glanced over, studying him. Nothing in his expression indicated what he was thinking. I couldn't read him as well as I thought.

When I realized the answer two seconds later, I looked away stiffly and asked instead, "Where are we going?"

"You're better than that, Vesper," Avery drove impossibly faster, more reckless. "You know the answer."

"To your question or mine?" I questioned cleverly, buying time as we entered a familiar neighborhood of extravagance and glamor. The type so grand that it was designed to make you forget it was all an illusion.

Avery gave me that smile of his. A wicked, razor-sharp one that every girl at the academy swooned at. Avery knew what effect his smile had. He would do anything for the answer. "Both. Now answer the damn question."

His silver eyes locked to mine as I gave him it. "A secret."

"A secret," he nodded slowly, "We're full of them. And so are you."

I looked straight ahead, avoiding his gaze. "We're going to play those games you told me, aren't we? That's where we're going. To meet up with the blue bloodsfor a day of games."

Avery let me change the subject and responded with, "Why do you think every person knows the days we won't be there at school? The two days after a blue blood's birthday are the days we play games."

"Happy birthday to you," I grimaced. Where would they go this time?

In many ways, we celebrated birthdays similarly. Father and Silas always thought birthdays were meant for dangerous, thrilling intellectual games: No wonder Avery had wanted to drink. I would have wanted to be wasted too. These games. They screw you up sometimes.