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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.
Or maybe, we were screwed up enough in the first place to play them.
Avery's gaze raked over my body and I couldn't help but stiffen under his scrutiny. "You need to change. You can't show up in heels and a dress."
"Why?" I let out a breath I didn't know I held when he looked away. "They wouldn't-"
"Mind?" He snorted. "They would know if a dress was last season's or ten season's ago. They'll ask too many questions. That would draw too much suspicion."
I lifted an eyebrow, hoping no one would see me in a car with him. He was right. "So what will I wear?"
"I would suggest asking one of the girls for something but that would be the equivalent of asking you to walk into a pit of vipers."
I thought of Gloria's sneer, Helen's cold eyes, and Kalina's words. My stomach dropped. "I would rather not owe any of them a favor."
"We're dating aren't we?" Avery's smile was hard. "I'm sure it would convince them that if you showed up in my clothes."
None of us were particularly happy about that.
Avery stopped the car in front of Gloria's mansion and got off to go grab some things from his trunk. He returned with an oversized hoodie, wide-legged jeans, and sneakers. Avery felt the need to reassure me from the look I gave him when I caught the clothes.
"That's my hoodie and it's fresh from the laundry. Besides," he shrugged, starting the engine again. "I don't let girls wear my hoodies. I never get them back and it creates too many rumors. Too many complications."
I held up the surprisingly fashionable shoes and jeans. "These are my size. A little bigger, but still," I looked at him dubiously, wondering how he knew my size when I've never told him. "I doubt you could ever in these."
Avery smirked. "I never said girls don't leave their clothes."
"That's disgusting," I wrinkled my nose after I realized what he meant.
He only laughed. It was a surprisingly warm laugh, eyes twinkling at me. "I'm kidding. They're my older sister's. I don't bring girls to my car-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes, finishing his sentence, "too many complications."
"Or anywhere," Avery finished, thoughtful.
I slipped into his large black hoodie over my dress since I was getting cold and felt too exposed. I hated that it had his faint scent. I couldn't place what it was but it was the type of scent that was hard to forget. "Let's just get this over with."
He entered Gloria's estate and I noted that there were only a couple cars left in contrast to the hundreds that were there last night. I ducked into the nearest bathroom to change after a maid let us in. She stared at me before quickly ducking away.
I stared at myself in the mirror after that. What was I doing? The girl in the mirror looked like a stranger.
Grabbing my purse, I left the dress hanging on a rack because I didn't want to throw it. It was worth a few thousand. Hopefully a maid would wash that and then donatr it to charity.
Avery waited outside. I caught him scanning the place and after he caught my piercing gaze, he only shrugged. "I like to know all my possible exits in case of an emergency."
Another thing I wish we didn't have in common.
"Do I have to play these games?" I told him, softly so that no one would overhear.
He led us through the foyer and down a tall hallway. "Do you want to be in this Cadre?" When I didn't say anything, he nodded at me. "Just play along my plan."
"You don't make fucking plans."
Avery smirked at me. "It's as if you know me, Vesper."
In other words, he would be making the plan on the spot and I would have to adapt to them.
This was a bad idea.
He was a bad idea.
"Vesper," Gloria greeted as we showed up, her eyes lingering on Avery's arm around me. They hardened, just as did her smile. I take it the both of you had a lovely night together. I almost thought you wouldn't show up, Avery."
Avery answered for me, drawing me closer as if he knew I was about to reply sarcastically. "How could we not, Gloria, with you leaving me twenty missed calls last night?" No doubt wanting to interrupt what she thought we were doing.
Gloria flushed red. Sometimes, I wondered if she even genuinely liked him. She didn't seem to know the first thing about Avery Dragomir and more importantly, Gloria Rosario didn't seem to care. Maybe her infactuation with him was due to the fact that he was better than her past boyfriends. Or, she liked him because of what he represented—the epitome of high society. Other times, her love for Avery seemed to actually be obsession and ownership. Both of which Avery hated because he valued his autonomy the most.
Helen saved Gloria from responding, lifting a perfect eyebrow at him. "You know what today is. She," Helen didn't even bother acknowledging me, "cannot come."
They were having breakfast. So far, only Gloria and Helen were in the large breakfast room, already having their plates filled from the buffet selection from the silver trays on the counters. I couldn't help but notice how little they were eating.
"She," a guy strolled in, with a bright smile, "is Avery's girl."
"And?" Helen's gaze whipped to the newcomer, who did that handshake with Avery before promptly grabbed a plate and started loading it.
He winked at me. "That makes her hot."
Helen snapped, "Are you ever serious?"
"No, but I'm serious when I say she's-" he caught another glare and gestured grandly, amending his statement, "Fine, fine, fine. Special. It makes her special."
I was amused. "Do you even know my name?"
It never occurred to him but to his credit, he tried very hard. "Of course I do, Violet."
"Of course, Matthew," I nodded, unsure if that was his name but decided that it didn't matter much.
Avery coughed to hide his laughter. "Mason, this is Vesper."
Ah. Mason Scott. Suddenly, his name clicked. Camilla's face flashed in my mind and I felt guilty when I realized I haven't yet checked my phone.
Mason gaped at me, still shocked that I had named him wrong. "How could you not know-"
Avery punched him in the gut and then handed me a plate without even giving me a glance. "You can shut the fuck up now, Mason."
He only wheezed with laughter. "So that she doesn't fall in love with me instead?"
Neither Helen nor Gloria missed that Avery handed me a plate without even thinking. I could practically hear their thoughts over such an unimportant gesture.
This was Avery Dragomir. He didn't care for girls but did he actually care about her? Was he was in love with her?
I wanted to laugh at the absurdity. They could be so predictable sometimes. It was a plate. A damn plate and they were falling for this act. This was obviously a planned action on Avery's part. A rather clever one too.
I glanced at Avery, who either hadn't noticed any of this or was acting as if he didn't. He didn't get enough credit for his mind. Or for being a damn good actor.
"Well," another voice filled the room, causing all of us to look back, "I was wondering why my bed was empty when I woke up."
Kalina Jeong.
She died.
Her words rung in my ears as she strolled towards us, assessing the room. Kalina's gaze lingered on me for a while before looking to Mason. Her eyes danced vengefully.
"Sorry," Mason shrugged, eyes as cold as his smile to her.
Kalina leaned in to him and Mason stiffened as her hand brushed his collarbone. "Don't be sorry. You always come back. Eventually."
With a light laugh, the pretty girl sauntered towards the buffet for a plate before joining us for breakfast. Blake clenched his jaw, not even bothering to hide his anger in front of Helen. Mason's knuckles were turning white but other than that, he looked pleasantly fine.
I already lost my appetite by now, given the dose of drama, so I settled with drinking black coffee, trying not to wish I never transferred here.
"Eat," Avery murmured by my ear so that no one would hear, "You won't be able to once the games start."
I leaned in to answer, just as quiet. "What the hell is wrong with you people?"
"We haven't even started playing," he smiled, and it was a hard one. "You don't even know the game."
Blake Everson and Cole Asto were the last to join all of us. Both of them noted my presence but decided not to speak much of it. I couldn't help but feel only hatred at the sight of them.
"So," Kalina pointed her breakfast knife at me once all of them had sat down, "You're coming?"
"Yes," I responded as if it were a fact. I wouldn't let any of them intimidate me and to be honest, I was too tired to feel afraid of them.
"No," Helen glared at me as if I were ruining her life. I couldn't understand why she was so against my presence. "You are not coming."
Avery shifted closer to me. "If she doesn't go, I don't go."
That silenced all of them for some reason.
Blake was the first to break that silence, flashing me a lewd smile that made my skin crawl. I was glad I was wearing Avery's clothes. They hid most of my body. "You cannot possibly be in love with her."
Gloria added, when Avery stayed impassive, "We understand she's your subject of interest so far but none of us are allowed to bring an outsider to our cadre-"
Mason shrugged, "Avery knows that. The fact that he's bringing her here means she's more than what she seems. All of you know that."
Helen said, tightly, "She is nothing. No one."
"You know that isn't true," Cole countered, appraising me with a slow smile. "When has Avery Dragomir ever been interested in anything but something special?"
I was thing to all of them. I was a threat to them. And I was having enough of this but Avery grabbed my hand under the table. Then I understood what this was and what it meant.
He promised me I would be in their cadre. Now, he would deliver it.
Avery finally spoke. "She's one of us. Part of Cadre One."
"Says who?" Gloria was outraged.
"You haven't officially told us nor have we officially voted for her," Helen reminded him, anger in all the lines of her face. I didn't understand where it came from—what was more confusing was the flash of fear in her expression. Fear of me? No, the closer I looked at her, it seemed more like fear... for me.
She was so confusing.
Kalina, on the other hand, seemed to have heard an underlying statement in Avery's words because after she looked from me to Avery and shook her head in disbelief, she said, "You wouldn't. There is no fucking way."
Mason leaned back, a grin on his face. "You bastard. You goddamned bastard."
Slowly, they picked up on something I hadn't.
I didn't exactly know my part in his plan but I had a feeling that Avery wanted me to respond or say something. "What are they talking about, Avery?"
The confusion, the amusement, the surprise in my voice must have been convincing because no one batted an eye.
"You can't," Helen sputtered suddenly, desperation creeping in her eyes. "Avery, stop joking."
"I'm not," he replied, smirking.
"You wouldn't waste your wish on a girl," Gloria looked as if she would cry. "Remember what you said to-"
Me. That was the word Gloria was about to say but she stopped, lips quivering.
Cole muttered, filling my veins with fury, "You might have been just a girl to him but she clearly isn't."
"It's permanent. Come on man," Blake chuckled uneasily. He hasn't formed his opinion on me yet. "You could ask for anything. Anything."
"He already has everything," Kalina snapped and I remembered faintly of Camilla mentioning something about their relationship. Close like siblings.
Blake looked to her, which Helen looked positively furious at the gesture. "He could have asked for a secret."
Kalina stared hard at him. "Most people aren't manipulative, cruel, scheming jackasses."
Blake only tilted his head at her clear resentment. "We aren't most people," he jabbed a thumb at Avery, "Especially him."
The irony of this situation.
Avery ignored all of them. Instead, he looked at me as if I were the only one who mattered before turning to the blue blood who looked absolutely helpless at Avery's next move.
Avery gave me his Avery Dragomir smile. "My birthday wish is for Vesper to be in Cadre One."
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