Page 141 of The Blairville Legacies

My sun wasn’t shining like it used to. My sky had turned gray without people to share smiles with, without Nash, who had shown me a whole different side of life.

“Stay strong, Mady,”he had whispered in my ear the first time I had cried beside him. He had allowed me to not shine for a moment and pulled me into his arms.

“Stay strong,”he had whispered. “Even the sun doesn’t shine every day.”

I would stay strong. I had promised him.Old Nash.

Now I was alone. It was raining. The water traced blurry trails across my windshield, as if seeking a way into my car, as if trying to become one with my tears.

I still loved him. Because how could you hate someone who had saved your life?

Chapter 34

Julian

I could find neither Bayla nor Emely, although one of the two should have the speed of a sloth and the other, which I had followed directly, smelled for miles like a wolf.

Two unpredictable girls who surprised me again and again, although I had known one of them for only two weeks and the other since I was a child.

And since I hadn’t found either of them, I had returned to campus.

A strange fear blazed within me, the source of which I could not pinpoint.

I stood before the door of the man most likely to help me, as much as my inner self tried to deny it. I was about to knock, but an exhausted, “Come in, Julian, and save the pleasantries” reminded me of the once good relationship between us and the fact that, even if nothing was the same, certain things would never change.

I opened the heavy, dark wooden door, decorated with ornaments and snakes, which led me into a spacious room with several full-sized windows and one huge one. The view of the campus was breathtaking, and I was not surprised that Alarik had chosen this very room as his office.

The university director, quite young for his age, sat at his desk cluttered with paperwork and didn’t even look up.

“Where’s Emely?”

“I couldn’t find her.”

Now, he did raise his head. “And the girl?”

“She’s gone. But don’t worry, their tracks got lost in different directions.”

He sighed. “At least it’s good news...”

Then he ran his hand through his messy hair and put down the feather pen.

To be honest, Alarik looked pretty exhausted. I wasn’t a bit envious of him, because being part of the pack and then also in his position as university directorandprofessor, there were many responsibilities to carry. Another burden that probably pushed him to his limits on a daily basis.

After a while of silence and thinking, Alarik broke free from his stupor.

“You must find the girl. Because if you say you lost her trail, the Quatura won’t find her either.”

For whatever reason they wanted to find Bayla, it was too late. She had probably run home.

“She barely smells… if at all…”

“Don’t be silly, she’s human.”

“No, she’snot...”

Alarik stared at me intently.

“Are you telling me that this is how a Quatura reacts when she witnesses the transformation of a Senseque?”

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