BLUE BLOOD

48 | he could lie to me tonight

x

When Satin Queens said she needed to go get something, Gabriella Jontas smiled.

Ella was finally left alone in Satin's bedroom. Of course, snooping was bad, but Ella wasn't beyond looking around for some juicy secrets.

She flipped through Satin's makeup and stopped at the sight of a tube of lipstick. It was the exact same shade Satin was wearing two nights ago. It turns out that Satin lied so that Ella wouldn't be able to buy that exact shade of lipstick.

"Bitch," Ella muttered, "You told me it was another friend's lipstick."

Gabriella rolled her eyes (after snapping a picture of the lipstick tube of course) and moved on to other drawers, listening intently for any footsteps. She checked the nightstand, her closet, and desk but came up with nothing.

Sighing, Ella faced the single shelf of photo albums and grabbed a random one. As she flipped through, Gabriella snickered at the photos showing Satin pre-puberty: acne-ridden, glasses, and braces. Then, just as she flipped the page, a picture slipped out.

Ella gasped at the explicit image. An unsettled feeling filled her stomach as she processed the picture and quickly set the album book down on the desk. A girl she had never seen before.

"Ella?" Satin said, suspicion increasing as she entered the room.

Quickly, Ella stuffed the picture in her bra and turned around. Faking a brilliant smile, she laughed and asked, "My mom just called, Satin. Got to go!"

Satin pouted, walking to give her a hug. "Already? You were supposed to help me for my date."

"Date?" Ella could barely speak. "With who?"

"Avery, of course," she giggled. "We're getting secretly engaged."

"Wow," Ella replied, distracted. "That's great, Satin." She snapped out of it when she saw the suspicion rise in her eyes. She forced another smile. "Got to go!"

Just as she was about to leave, Satin said, "Wait."

Ella froze, fear clenching at her heart. "Yeah?" she said, meekly.

Satin held up the album book she had placed on the desk in a hurry. "Was this always here?"

"What?" Ella laughed nervously. "Oh. I have no idea. I was on the phone with my mom, remember?"

"Right," Satin replied, her sky eyes suddenly icy. "What was I thinking? You wouldn't go through my things, would you?"

"No." Ella lied. "I wouldn't."

"Good," Satin murmured. "It would be a shame if you found something that's meant to stay a secret, no?"

As she left, Ella realized that the dangerous photo may be more significant than she thought because the mysterious girl in the photo had silver eyes. Only one bloodline had silver eyes.

The Dragomirs.

x

"Get up," said Helen as she barged into my dorm. "You're going out with us."