Page 31 of A University of Betrayal

I shook my head in shame. But as long as he didn’t know about me, it was fine with me.

“If Larissa knew, you’d be a head shorter by now.”

“I know,” I replied, and we both had to grin before the increasing seriousness returned.

“But if it went well, you’ll meet up again, won’t you?”

I bit the tip of my tongue.

I had dreamed of him, of his body and how he had lain next to me, in my bed, his hands cupping my breasts, how he had lifted my legs and kissed me before he had slid into me agonizingly slowly without breaking eye contact.

How could I ever forget that? How could I ever forget him? It was as if a part of his soul had woven itself into mine forever.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” I said with honesty, taking a shaky breath. “He’s... maybe not my type,” I lied because if there was one thing he was, it was exactly that. I longed for him, for his personality, his body.

And yet it wasn’t meant to be. We led way too different lives. I would never be able to have a partner without hurting him, whether it was because of Quatura tradition, because of my personality, or because of who I truly was, of what rested there inside me. Icy and dangerous.

“Here we go.”

We looked at Margot, who was standing in the doorway, giving Bayla an encouraging, if modest, smile and then scrutinizing me. Hopefully, she hadn’t heard anything, otherwise I’d be finished. Not because Margot cared, I doubted that, but because she would tell everyone in the house.

I stood up and Bayla did the same. She looked tense. I would have loved to ease her tension, but I hadn’t even succeeded with Grace, my own cousin.

The King of Dreams

Secession Studios

The walk downstairs seemed like half an eternity. Enough time for my body to get back up to full speed. My breathing, pure chaos, far too fast, just like my heartbeat. My chest seemed to tremble, tearing apart from the inside. At the same time, I noticed that my hands were turning blue.

It was only just before the entrance doors to the temple hall that I realized I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms. I had become addicted to the stuff Gloria regularly gave me, and I knew that two days without Salma was enough to drive my body crazy.

How had Gloria forgotten to give it to me?

Margot opened the double doors, and we entered the huge temple hall; its dark glow illuminated by candles and glowing elemental wall runes.

The angular runes in the gray stone wall were made of a rare mineral filled with storage magic. The last Fire Quatura of Blairville, whose name no one ever spoke, had filled them with her magic.

But it wasn’t the festive lighting that captivated me this time, it was something else. The temple was full. The entire Circle, a good seventy people stood with their black robes in a circle around the altar, greenish and bluish, but also gray-white glowing eyes.

What was rare was the presence of the Councils. People in light gray robes with glowing gray-white eyes stood offset behind the members of the circle. An image that was graceful, powerful, and at the same time frightening. Their presence should be an honor. They rarely attended a rite of passage as a unit, in fact never...

Although I was not a member of the Councils, I was wearing their color today, because Gloria had demanded it.

Bayla’s nervousness seemed to rise, but mine did too when I spotted my mentor among all the hooded figures.

Gloria was wearing a white robe, decorated with striking silver square patterns that marked her as the head of the Councils.

I knew her eyes were on me before she, like everyone else in the temple, looked at Bayla as if she were an attraction at the circus.

Margot and I took our places and confusion overcame me as the only empty space for me was right next to Grace, diagonally behind her... Gloria Westcode.

I took a deep breath and walked around the other members to avoid destroying the prepared ritual circle, through which only Bayla herself and the Quatura leading the ritual were allowed to pass.

With every step I took closer, my fear grew, as did the desire to turn around and leave. I was not feeling ready, no, absolutely not.

I stepped past Gloria, even though I was just about to break under her presence. It was as if I was dying inside while suffering withdrawal symptoms. Not a good condition to be Grace’s assistant. Today, I had to pull myself together. My body had to stay under control because many eyes were on Grace and therefore close to me. There had to be a lot of pressure on her to take on this ceremony, especially now that the Councils were present. I trembled inside. If I were her, I wouldn’t have even shown up.

I looked up, where huge silver metal rings with elemental runes hung horizontally from the seemingly endless ceiling. A ceremonial tradition when the Councils attended. Pompous, real and yet somehow strange, just as this place had always been for me.A place where I had experienced too much.