Page 313 of The Blairville Legacies

“Her heart,” he said instead. “It's beating, barely noticeable.”

I had never understood how Ruisangors' senses worked. I couldn't believe what he had just said. I was sure that her heart had stopped beating.

Diana started to cry harder again when my father finally pulled her to him and held her tight.

“My little girl. Who would do such a cruel thing?!” Diana's voice broke.

“Diana, she'snotdead,” Bastien repeated.

I looked at Alarik, who hadn't said anything else so far and was just staring down at the girl.

“I have to take her with me,” Bastien finally said, which once again sent everyone present into an uproar.

“No...”Diana gasped in panic and looked up. “You can't take her...”

“Whatever happened, the girl stays here!” it came angrily from the street, where a black VW had parked behind Alarik's car.

“Alarik, Bastien... You should get out of here as quickly as possible before Gloria...” Then the mayor spotted me and Emely on the ground, Bayla between us.

“What have you done…” she burst out in shock and rushed over to us. “Which one of you touched one of our sisters?”

She also felt the pulse, and like everyone else except Bastien, who seemed to be playing a trick on us, she realized that there was nothing there except blood staining her fingers.

“Bastien...” The shock on her face grew, and she slowly turned her head toward the tall man.

“It wasn't him,” Diana continued to sob, burying her head in my father's shoulder.

Dad had told Mia and me that they had both been very good friends back then. I wondered if it had ever been more than that. I postponed the thought again because I was aware that it was forbidden. My father always followed the rules without exception.

“We have to get her to Moenia.Now!Maybe I'll be able to get her to...”

“Thelast placeshe belongs is in your damn temple,” Bastien interrupted the Domini in annoyance. “She's coming with me.”

He put his arms around her body and picked her up as if she were light as a feather.

“This girl is one of us. She's part of the Circle. And the last thing I'm going to do is leave her to one of you!”

The mayor sounded unusually strict and upset. I wouldn't have reacted any other way. And yet I was too shocked to understand any of this mess.

“This girlcan'tbe one of you,” Bastien said in a serious tone and took a step back.

The fact that he could just disappear with her at any moment, like Adrian did with Larissa, made me jump up. If he ran, so would I.

He held Bayla's lifeless body in his arms. “She's with us now.”

“What are you talking about, Bastien?” Alarik sounded confused, just as I felt.

“If she survives, and shewill, then she's one of us,” Bastien insisted impatiently.

“No... She'll die because she doesn't carry the conditions for such things,” Amara said, approaching Bastien slowly.

“I can hear her heartbeat, Amara. You know what that means. She will become one of us.”

Amara shook her head in haste. “No, Bastien! She's one of us. She's the daughter of one of our sisters. And the reason you can still hear her heartbeat is because she might be about todie.Ican help her!”

Bastien didn't seem to want to discuss it any further, but instead gave Diana a look that could have meantanything. But he said nothing. He looked at Bayla, who looked ashen despite the warm lantern light. She looked like a statue of a goddess, like the ones that adorned the houses of the Quatura a few streets away.

“You put her downright nowif you don't want this to have serious consequences,” Amara tried a different approach. “This could turn outpretty wellfor you if you behave properly.”