Page 103 of The Blairville Legacies

In Greek mythology, the Charites embodied harmony and were positive and friendly god beings who enriched the lives of others with their presence and filled the world around them with their joy.

Inwardly, I knew that if he really knew me, he would take that compliment back.

I had to swallow because that was the only catch to the whole thing. We knew each other because we texted almost every day, but Erik didn’t know who orwhatwas behind the pseudonymJ.

I knew his texts and messages. I knew he lived in Canada, and even his soft male voice I had heard from voice memos. But we had never really been interested in each other’s looks. I had decided without further ado to leave it at that and keep my appearance a secret. He did the same. It was better because we could not judge each other and stayed with the important things – the conversations.

I was sure he wasn’t some kind of perverted weirdo who went after young girls. He was probably only eighteen or nineteen years old himself.

He typed again.

We didn’t talk much about our personal lives, so I didn’t know much about him. On the other hand, he didn’t know about me either, aboutwhatI was, about what I was able to block out when we texted.

“What are you grinning at?” Grace asked with an amused expression.

In shock, I dropped my phone, which skidded along the floor and came to rest in front of the door.

To make matters worse, the door opened, kicking the phone halfway across the room. The scratching sound it made didn’t sound good at all.

Standing in the doorway was Bay, who must have just been in the campus bar with Larissa and Mady.

“Oh, shit,” she gasped as she looked at my cell phone, which had stopped in front of Larissa’s bed.

She rushed across the room, picked up my demolished phone, and looked at it before coming over and shoving it into my hand. I, meanwhile, was blushing.

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t see it and...”

“It’s okay,” I stammered sheepishly, looking at the black glass, which was covered in a few scratches. Grace would fix that with her half-life magic.

“You sure?” she asked again, a little unsure, and I just nodded.

I had liked Bay from the beginning, as she was not only friendly but also a bit calmer than Grace or Larissa. She also owned some very interesting books that I planned to check out. Someday, if I dared.

Now, she looked at me unsettled, and I couldn’t help but tell her again that everything was fine.

“It’s not your fault. I just...threw it there first...”

I hated it. Every time I wanted to say something, I held myself back.

Grace made a dismissive hand gesture. “Yeah, Bay, don’t worry about that. Things break on her all the time.”

A loud screech interrupted us. It came from downstairs.

All three of us looked at each other, startled, as at least two of us were expecting the worst. When another scream rang out, I instinctively jumped up and headed down the hall to the stairs. Bayla and Grace followed me. I ran quickly but had to be careful not to fall, as the varnished wooden staircase was so slippery that I had already been having trouble even getting up here with my luggage.

Gripping the damaged cell phone tightly, I almost slid down the stairs, because not only curiosity but also adrenaline had gripped me.

What was going on down there? Had the Ruisangors broken in to get an evening snack?

An icy chill ran down my spine.

The Senseque had made their rules clear, yet no one knew how intent the DeLoughreys were on sticking to them.

“Shut the fuck up! I’m not going to eat you,” rang out a feminine voice I recognized immediately.

Good. No Ruisangors.

Reaching the bottom, I stopped abruptly because my brain didn’t want to decide whether the image that presented itself to me should be frightening or more ridiculous.

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