Page 69 of A University of Betrayal

But luckily, he hung his vest over the back of his chair and... started unbuttoning his shirt.

I pressed my lips together and watched as he opened button after button with his hands adorned with elegant veins.

My cheeks warmed and the strange tingle shot through my stomach again as he slipped the shirt over his shoulders, revealing his toned torso.

My eyes wandered over his massive chest to his six-pack and his groin, which peeked out of his low-waisted chinos.

Images flashed through my mind, making my head spin.

Julie, what the hell are you doing here?

The professor pulled a golden key out of his trouser pocket and opened one of the drawers, from which he took out a vial filled with shiny black liquid and a needle.

Irritated, I tore my gaze completely away from his athletic body and watched as he attached the needle to a syringe and then inserted it into the head of the ampule. He filled the syringe halfway with the black liquid. Then...

I held my breath.

He placed the needle directly on the crook of his arm, on one of his massive veins and took a deep breath, his whole chest rising.

He wasn’t going to...

Shocked, I watched as he inserted the needle into his vein and very slowly emptied the syringe.

The professor groaned softly, which sent another tingle through my stomach, but the strange sensation disappeared abruptly as he put his head back on his neck and squeezed his eyes shut, while I watched in shock as the veins began to pop out all over his body, especially on his face, under his eyes, at his temples, on his cheek and neck.

He opened his eyelids.

I pressed my hand over my mouth as goosebumps crept up all over my body.

His eyes were...completely black.

Chapter 14

Bayla

All Of This

The Naked And Famous

Lost in thought, I walked down the corridor beside the Blair cousins.

When I’d heard from Julian on the way to the university this morning that Mady’s brother had been found dead, I’d sat in the passenger seat for ten minutes, shocked and speechless. Julian had told me it was an animal attack, and he had assured me that it had nothing to do with the Senseque, but the shock had stayed with me until now.

Full of hope, I had looked for Mady, but of course she hadn’t been on campus or in the English seminar.

Her brother was dead.And I had only found out after four days.

Mady was probably at home and I could only hope that she would answer her cell phone soon because I couldn’t visit her. Julian had withdrawn as usual, Larissa was still missing, and Grace wouldn’t drive me to see her. She had made that clear.

“I’m sorry for her, but it doesn’t change what she did to us.”

Grace’s words sounded heartless. And that bothered me more and more. Then, there was my missing best friend and the fact that the Quatura didn’t want to look for her.

I felt helpless and alone, consumed by worry.

And then there was Julie. Even though she had completely lost it in the temple yesterday, she was now back to being the same quiet person who didn’t say much. She hadn’t spoken a word today, neither to me nor to Grace. I would probably be as shocked as she was if I found out that I was the granddaughter of Gloria Westcode and had inherited a rare gift from my father, whom I had only just learned about.

Out of nowhere, Julie crashed into Grace and me.