BLUE BLOOD

9 | for the lion?

Avery was silent for a long moment. "It took away the only person who mattered to me. It's taken many things from me."

His eyes traced the distant stars, remembering a past memory. A mixture of sadness and grief filled them but it startled me to see a stronger, unexpected emotion swirling. Fury. He was furious. And that anger nurtured hatred.

"Tell me about yourself," he said suddenly, and all the emotion drained away from his expression. He was also so guarded. "Anything."

Though I wanted to pry more about his past and his life, I told him a part of me. "I grew up like a Du Sang. I never understood what that meant but I did understand it meant isolation. Even from my brother."

The surprise in his eyes almost made me laugh. "You have a brother?"

"I had two," I was silent for a long moment. "Alexander was my older brother. We have the same mother. But I'm talking about my half brother, Silas. We were isolated individually most of the time during our childhood but the isolation ate away at Silas. It got to him."

"How long was your isolation?"

"Years," I said, quietly. Avery waited as I spoke. "I was lucky. Between the both of us, I could at least visit another estate, but he couldn't. Anyway, my father let the both of us spend a day together once a month with him." I smiled coldly. "Do you know what we did?"

"No," he admitted. He couldn't fathom it but I saw the intrigue in his eyes.

"Games." My eyes met his.

"What sorts of games?" Avery's voice was hoarse.

"The first time we played a game, we were fourteen. My father locked us in a room together. We weren't alone. He left a lion inside. Not a baby cub but a starving, full grown, lion loosely chained to the wall. He didn't tell us anything but that the door would open in twenty four hours."

My father believed in strength. He believed that fear for something chaotic and controllable like a lion would teach me strength. My family was messed up but the lack of surprise on Avery's face made me wonder how messed up his was too.

Avery leaned over with his hand to my face and I flinched backward, thinking he was about to show tenderness, maybe even kiss me. He paused, reading my eyes. Avery dropped his hand. He flashed me a rueful half smile.

"I didn't mean to startle you," he murmured.

"It's okay."

The smirk Avery made me swallow with difficulty, almost convincing me that he was just a boy and I was just a girl. I wasn't as immune to him as I thought.

He asked, "Is there more to the story?"

I looked away. "I was terrified but I didn't show it because that's how we were taught. My brother, though, he was so excited."

Avery was expressionless but I saw the wariness. "Your brother seems interesting."

"We grew hungry. All of us, including the lion. There was a long knife left in the room but I didn't want to touch that. My brother didn't care. He grabbed it as soon as he saw at it. He wanted to kill the lion." I paused, trying not to shudder at the memory. "I tried to stop him."

"For the lion?"

I coughed out a laugh. "I think you're starting to understand me enough to know the answer. I didn't care as much for the lion as I wish I did. I thought that if my scrawny brother tried killing that lion, the fragile chains on it would break and then I would be killed."

Avery nodded, accepting that with no judgement. That also surprised me. He didn't seem to mind that I wasn't a pure, good, innocent person.

"My brother didn't kill the lion because he thought it's claws could open the locked door. He didn't kill the lion because he was hungry," I shook my head.

"Why then?" His silver eyes glimmered.

"He killed the lion because he was curious to see how it's insides worked."

I waited for his response, but he struggled to give any.

"So you see," I nodded, speaking softly when he didn't saw anything. "People stay away from the Du Sang because in the end, they end up like the lion. Or my brother."

I've never told anyone this for the fear of seeing emotions I wouldn't be able to bear but Avery only seemed to understand me. "Did you get hurt?"

This question also surprised me. That never occurred to me or anyone, really.

Gently, I tugged down the dress I was wearing, almost forgetting we had just been at a party. Avery surprised me again by looking at my body respectfully, never lingering. This was what Avery had been reaching out to touch just moments ago.

A long scar carved down my collarbone.

"I got this scar from pushing away my brother," I explained, quietly.

Slowly this time, Avery reached out tentatively to the scar. I didn't flinch this time and let him run his fingers down the jagged surface. It had faded but it would never go away. I think Avery wanted to ask why I never got surgery to get rid of it like anyone else who could afford it but he seemed to understand the value in keeping scars.

Avery started to ask, "The lion gave you when you were saving or stopping your brother Silas?"

"Oh no," I laughed at his misunderstanding. "I tried saving my brother, not stopping him, but you've got it all wrong."

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused for the first time tonight.

My lips curved. "I didn't get this scar from the lion."

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