Page 122 of The Blairville Legacies

“Yeah,” I said, cursing myself for that.

Bayla would stay away from us, and that was the most important thing.

“You’re lying,” she just replied, running her hand through her somewhat disheveled hair. She lookedreallybad.

“You don’t look like someone who does drugs,” she added, and only now did I realize that she actually hadn’t bought the lie.

“You must know a lot about that, huh?” was all I said before I headed for the door. I should hurry before I might miss any important messages from Father.

“Wait,” Bay said quickly.

Slightly annoyed, I stopped and turned to her.

“You don’tdealdrugs either.”

Okay, I was done. Before she could ask me any more weird questions, I opened the door to the hallway.

“I don’t think you’d be friends with a cop’s son if you did.”

Her words made me stop moving. Then I turned around and walked to her bed.

“Don’t pretend you know anything about us, okay? I really don’t feel like having anywitchessnooping around in my life!”

And again, I had responded too scratchily, because Bay looked at me with a confused expression.

“Witches?”

“Don’t act so innocent,” I sighed.

“I don’t understand...”

Was she really going to playthisgame with me?

“Is the word witch some kind of insult in these backwoods here? Because somehow everyone throws that at everyone here.”

And slowly, it started to sink in. What if sheactuallydidn’t know? Was that even possible?

“I can understand you having something against people spreading rumors about you. But please leave me out of it. I haven’t done anything to you,” she replied. Her look was insistent, and she actually seemed to mean it.

Either she didn’t know, or she really wasn’t one of them… The longer I thought about it, the less sense it made to me. Because she still smelled so different. And not at all like a witch.

But suddenly, something else stole my attention. Her eyes.

What on earth was happening to her eyes?

Turquoise, as well as blue, gave way to an intensely bright orange-yellow. It was damn beautiful, like a bright fire spreading inside her eye. Like the one that could trigger a transformation in us because it captivated us too deeply. Peaceful, calming...captivating. A warm feeling that reminded me of home gradually rose in my chest. Very slowly and...Wait....

I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t felt the signs of transformation on my own body. My eyes must have turned yellowish, and the veins were already sticking out wildly on my forearms.

I was still not sure about her species. It seemed that she really was one of them. But her eyes...and then I realized the resemblance to my own.No...it couldn’t be.

Bay herself was still leaning against the wall, staring at me as if she were absent-minded.

It was creepy as hell and I wanted to leave as quickly as possible when she suddenly started shaking, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Her whole body seemed to be fighting something. Onlywhat was it?

She sank back into the pillows, but the trembling did not stop. On the contrary, it became stronger.

Panic shot through my veins. Helplessness threatened to overwhelm me. Something inside me literally commanded meto help her, and more and more confusion, coupled with discomfort, spread through me. I was completely overwhelmed with the situation, with the indecision of what to do now. Finally, I jumped over to her bed and shook her vigorously.