BLUE BLOOD

57 | i won't tell if you don't

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"History is a set of lies agreed upon by the victors."

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I was setting the table out on the patio as Helen Lorani and Cole Asto entered through the front door and into our cadre's house. Evening had fallen and the two of them wore expressions of varying emotions. No one knew how to react.

Something felt wrong. There was a sort of invisible tension that made me alert.

Cole was the first to speak. "Is Satin gone?"

"No," I murmured, my eyes swinging to his emerald ones. They were so cold. I wondered if they were ever once warm for Ella. "She's staying in her father's quarters. Satin will leave by dawn tomorrow."

"Blake left, most likely to find Satin," Helen informed me, her emotions still unreadable. "Avery will be up in a moment."

I knew Helen well enough to know that, in some way, she was lying.

I carefully shifted my face to a neutral poker face so when Cole's gaze examined me, no thoughts of mine would be given away. I considered the situation. Helen, who had betrayed me for Avery without the intention of harming me, and Cole, who gave me no choice but to be tied up in that room. I felt the weight of his gold coin in my pocket.

I was surrounded by people who wanted me gone.

All of us knew to keep up this pretense, this peaceful façade. As if none of them were involved with the deaths of Grace Dragomir and Gabriella Jontas. As if they hadn't kidnapped me to an island in hopes of finding the only leverage I had over them. As if nothing happened.

Everything seemed normal except, I noted, our usual dynamic seemed to change. There was something else in their eyes.

Fear.

"I'll get the dishes," I offered, moving back towards the kitchen. To my surprise, it wasn't Helen who followed to help but Cole Asto.

"You're playing a dangerous gamble," Cole commented, taking up the platter of roasted potatoes and lobster-filled ravioli. "You're crossing the line."

I turned to him with a wry smile. "And you didn't, when you stayed silent after watching Grace die?"

"No," he shook his head, "You don't understand."

"You're the one who doesn't understand," I hissed, pulling away from him with a glance behind my back. "I'm not afraid of all of you anymore-"

"No," Cole repeated, his eyes serious and dark. "You don't know the full story."

His admission made me freeze. I didn't understand. "What?"

"Grace," he said, quietly, "The confession recordings left out the full story. Your sister isn't as innocent as you paint her to be, Vesper."

My pulse rose as I struggled to comprehend what he was saying. Cole gripped my wrist and as I was about to pull away, I realized that he was making sure I didn't drop the plate of oysters in my hand. He set it down for me. I felt Cole's gaze outside of the kitchen and I followed it, seeing Avery in the distance, catching a glimpse of Cole touching me.

Once again, I could not guess what Avery Dragomir was thinking.

Before I could speak, Cole cut off his line of sight by closing the door. I realized we were now alone but that thought trailed off as he spoke. "Her fall wasn't a clean one. There was a tree underneath."

I shook my head, clutching the counter to balance myself. "You're saying Grace fell into the tree before she fell onto the pavement?"

"Grace was lucky. She fell onto the tree with only a few scratches before tumbling down with a tree branch. Except that fall was nasty. She was badly injured against the pavement but-"