“Do you always do your assignments on your own?”
I jumped at the voice and spun around.
Blake was there, a slight curve lifting the corner of his lips.
I raised an eyebrow. “Yes. This one happens to be a solo project.”
“Mind if I tag along?” he asked, the low tenor of his voice flowing like a warm wine.
I watched him skeptically, trying to figure out what he was up to.
“Sure.”
He followed me down one of the main paths, and I kept my eye peeled for a small flower that looked like a purple lily. I’d been up and down every path in the entire conservatory, though. I didn’t have much hope.
As we moved, we passed other students who were casting side glances. They were trying to be inconspicuous about their nosiness but were failing miserably.
“I’m not going to make any more enemies by being seen with you, am I?”
Blake shot them a look, and they disappeared. “I hope not. Unless you attack me, then my fan club may frown upon that.”
Sheesh, he wasn’t kidding. I gave him a sideways glare. “People here seem to be obsessed with you Aurkai.”
His jaw tightened. “Power always attracts attention.”
Disdain wrapped his words as his eyes narrowed briefly.
“Is that what you have? Power? Because of your family name?” I pressed.
He lifted the branch of a fern from the path, allowing me to slip past.
“Power is defined differently depending on who you ask,” he said, admiring a mature bonsai tree.
“Then how do you define it?”
He paused, considering my question. “To not have to answer to someone else—that is power. It is because of my family name that I do not have the freedom of choice.”
I frowned. “Then you’re right—we define it differently. To me, power is knowledge, and those without are but driftwood in the waves. Here, at Nightfall, you have power.”
“I suppose it is perspective then,” he said.
“That I’ll agree on,” I murmured. “The other Initiates seem to know something is strange here, and revel in the secrecy. Why aren’t they more irritated about it like I am?”
“You are more curious than they are,” Blake said, his voice quieting, “and intuitive.”
Everything around was vibrant with color and sounds that put me at ease, but none of it came close to the sound of his voice. Whatever it was, it was indeed power that he had over me.
“There’s something different about all of you. None of you get along. And I’ve never heard of Raven Falls, so you must be referring to a small village, or?—”
Blake touched my shoulder.
“We are different in that we do not usually have a lot in common with Initiates. I have also known most of the others for some time now,” he said. “Our families have been acquainted for generations.”
“Is that how you met Melanie?” I asked before I could stop myself.
He tugged at my hand, turning us down a path that was overgrown with plants. I wouldn’t have noticed it if he hadn’t pulled me down it.
“We grew up together,” he said, “and it wasn’t meant to be. Come on, I want to show you something.”
