– You'd be honoured if you let me drive you. – Brandon smiled at me.

– Then don't be mad at me for talking all the way» I agreed, but I was embarrassed at being so blatantly sold out.

I said goodbye to my sister and her husband, but I was still uncomfortable with today's situation: the memory of Markus crushing the glass in his hand and the conversation I'd overheard about Cedric's fate kept me on edge.

Brandon and I got into his black Bentley with tinted windows and drove out of London. It seemed to me that, after his conversation with Markus, Grayson had become pensive and was frowning his handsome, high forehead.

We drove in silence: Brandon must have been so deep in thought, or Markus's story must have shocked him so much that he couldn't talk. I, too, was far from reality, thinking about Cedric's fate. Had he fallen in love with the wrong girl? But that's impossible! Why did she displease the Morgans so much that they even interfered in their son's private life? And how dare they? Cedric is not a green guy like me, but an adult, wise and very strong vampire! Why did they hide Viper? Where? Her vampire parents would be looking for her, and maybe they would cause a scandal for the whole vampire society: it's unheard of to hide someone else's daughter somewhere!

I wanted to find out what the Morgans didn't like about the vampire, and I hoped that Markus's friend would clarify the situation for me. After all, he knew Viper too.

«Wait. How am I going to ask about this? I'm pretending like I didn't hear her and Markus talking!» – I grudgingly remembered, but I mustered up the courage to take the risk.

– I think Markus is kind of weird today» I said casually.

– I didn't think so» Brandon said. – Did he scare you?

– A little. When I said that Cedric had told me to go to Oxford, he crushed his glass of blood with his fingers. – I shrugged, shaking off the memory. – And he had that face… Very sad, even scary.

– He's in a lot of trouble right now. My poor friend is lost, but I think things will change soon.

– Do you think he'll be cheerful again? Markus was always such a joker, and today I don't recognise him.

Brandon didn't say anything, but his cheekbones sharpened. It made me feel a little creepy, and I knew he wasn't in the mood for a long conversation, but I couldn't pass up such a great chance to learn about Cedric's girlfriend and himself.

– Mariszka said that Cedric had gone to Russia… I wonder if he's coming on holiday? I'd like to chat to him and brag about going to Oxford, as he advised. – I was hoping Brandon would crack and tell me the truth.

– As I remembered, Cedric had said when he left that he wouldn't leave for another ten years» Grayson said.

I was surprised to see that he'd lied to my face. And if I hadn't heard with my own ears that Cedric had disappeared, I would have believed that smooth lie.

– Yeah? It's a shame. Maybe he's in love with someone else and that's why he's doing this? – I asked innocently.

– Cedric? In love? – Brandon let out a mocking laugh. – He's not even three hundred: he's too young to be in love.

– Why young? Markus isn't three hundred either, but he's already been in love and married. What makes you think Cedric couldn't–

– Cedric didn't leave because he fell in love» Grayson interrupted me. He frowned slightly. – He'd been obsessed with Russia for the last five years, wanting to go there and see the Russians.

– But there are plenty of Russians in the Czech Republic and Poland» I argued, increasingly amazed at the extent of Brandon's lies.