Page 288 of A University of Betrayal

“Miles!” Larissa looked at him with what seemed to be a mix of shock and frustration, and he just shrugged his shoulders before looking back at me.

“If not, you can always join theclub of fatherless children.”He pointed forward at Bayla, who widened her eyes. “Oh, right, I almost forgot, youallonly have mothers.”

“At least something...” Larissa mumbled and Miles immediately looked at her.

We were silent for the next three traffic lights until Julian started talking at the fourth.

“Just to be clear: I’m only doing this for Bayla.” Immediately, her face turned red, and she pulled her legs in the front seat closer to her chest.Interesting.“So if any of you are planning to make me look stupid in front of anyone, please say so now, because I don’t want any stress with your power-hungry families afterward.”

“We’re all in the same boat. Anyone who jumps off now doesn’t have the best cards,” I said, wondering where this self-confidence came from.

It was easier to talk in front of these people than in front of those in the Circle. I didn’t have to be particularly careful not to say the wrong thing, even though their gestures and facial expressions were different to Grace’s, and I sometimes struggled to interpret them correctly.

“Why does that sound like I’ve joined a cult?” Miles asked.

Bayla laughed without turning to face him, her face still a little red. “If you want to meet arealcult, come to Moenia.”

She really hadn’t had any good experiences.

Moenia could be an educational and mysterious retreat. I had already found so many hiding places and secret doors on the first floor that I was beginning to wonder whether Amara herself knew them all and whether there were just as many hidden rooms on the temple floors and in the library. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to enter most of the lower floors.

“Is it true that you kill cats to sacrifice them to the gods?”

Everyone except Julian, who was concentrating on driving, looked at Miles.

“No,” I corrected him right away. “We don’t do blood sacrifices. It’s forbidden.”

It was part of dark magic.

No doubt there were many myths about us that the Ruisangors told their children. They feared elemental magic because it was unfamiliar to them.

“What was that stuff your aunt put on my head back then... at the ritual of passage?” Bayla asked, turning to me.

“Clay, mixed with herbs. Part of the Earth magic.”

She nodded, and her expression changed noticeably.

Bayla had told us that her mother made a secret of everything.

“When it comes to our families, I think we all don’t enjoy the best positions within the hierarchy,” Miles suddenly said, earning questioning looks. I understood him immediately.

“Sometimes it’s better that way,” I replied without emotion and Bay and Larissa eyed me with strange looks.

“Right, we can actually do whatever we want,” Miles laughed and ran his fingers through his loose hair, which framed his angular face in a heart shape.

He was like all the other Ruisangors. Pale, elegant and very attractive.

“Every one of you has at least one person in mind right now who would never sit here in the car because they are under constant surveillance by the clan... or in your case, the Circle or pack.” Larissa laughed with amusement, and I wondered who it was they were thinking of. “Or someone who is completely devoted to their family.”

Julian’s and Miles’ eyes met in the mirror and within a few split seconds they were both staring at each other before Julian’s gaze slid back to the roadway.

“That means you’re supporting us?” Larissa looked at Miles in surprise.

“I didn’t say that… I’m just interested to see how this turns out.” He glanced at the rearview mirror again. “I mean, I’m in a car with a Senseque, and we’re both still alive.”

“I don’t really intend changing that either,” Julian murmured darkly. “Keep me out of your clan affairs and away from the pack, and we won’t have any problems.”

“A lone wolf, huh?” The corners of Miles’ mouth turned upwards playfully.