Page 27 of A University of Betrayal

“Damn it!” I gasped and wheeled around in shock, stumbling back slightly but just managing to brace myself against the statue of Venus to my left, feeling it crumble beneath my fingers. I quickly withdrew my hand and hoped that these small cracks in the woman’s robe would be all that remained. Otherwise, I would get into trouble with the owner of this house, and that was the last thing I wanted.

“You seem to like vandalizing.”

It was Miles who looked at me out of his mischievous brown eyes, a broad grin on his lips. Only, unlike Adrian, there was still something friendly about him. And that surprised me, because Miles had been the man who had been so unpleasant when we first met.

“This strength...” I looked at my hands. “...takes some time getting used to.” Then I looked at him again. “And how can I help it if you all keep popping up right behind me out of nowhere? It’s fucking scary!”

He had to grin, which made me observe him more closely. He was no longer wearing his chinos and coat, nor was he wearing a black shirt like at university. For the first time, I saw him in black sweatpants and a very modern-looking tracksuit jacket. One could easily see his well-trained upper body through it. He had put his hair back into his typical man bun – two short strands hanging in his forehead – so you could see his undercut. It also made his jawline look more defined.

“Maybe you should learn first how to sense our proximity, which – to be fair – won’t be so easy for you, because we’re all trained so that other Ruis can’t hear us.”

Great,that could only take years. And I didn’t want to spend them here. I was prepared to do whatever was asked of me to get out of here. Even if that included this ridiculous training, which seemed to be the top priority here, if Adrian was right.

“First of all, it would be nice to know what you guys did to me.”

“Was my explanation last night not enough?” He grinned again.

“Sufficient to upset me? Telling me to drink human blood?” I returned, raising my eyebrows.

“No one died for that, right?” I asked, shocked. I just couldn’t get my head around what had happened yesterday.

Miles scowled at me. “Others die so that we can live.”

I looked at him with even more disbelief. How could I have been so gullible and blocked it all out? And even worse... did I have to drink from human beings from now on?No,I wouldn’t…

His following grin threw me into complete confusion. Then I realized he had only been joking and relief filled my stomach, mixed with indignation, so I raised an eyebrow.

“You should have seen your face,” he laughed. “What do you think? That we’re going around killing people?”

I nodded slowly, because honestly, what else would I think?

He tossed up a knife, which spun far too quickly, and caught it with his other hand before leaning against another statue without destroying it.

“This clan feeds mostly on blood donations and animal blood if need be.”

“Animal blood,”I said in disgust, which made him grin again.

“You’re making fun of me.”

“No, no.” He raised his hands defensively. “It’s just interesting to have a newcomer among us who knows so little.”

“And who you can just joke around with,” I finished the sentence for him in frustration. “Or who can be told that she’ll never be good enough. A feeling you’ve been given your whole life.”

Miles’ grin slowly disappeared, and he looked at me in silence.

Astonished at my openness and honesty toward a complete stranger, I grabbed my arm and tried to change the subject before Miles could feel anything like pity. If the members of this family were even capable of such a thing... After all, they had kidnapped me and turned me into this, made my life more complicated. And their crazy contract said something about emotionlessness.Damn,how could I have signed that thing so hastily?

“Camille said you were one of my people to talk to?”

He nodded slowly.

“Good, then please explain to me who this Nicolaj is and how I can get home as quickly as possible.”

He laughed. What the hell did everyone find so fucking funny here?

“Nicolaj is the head of the clan.”

“And you’re all related to him, or is he like a sugar daddy among vampires?” The thought seemed bizarre to me, and Miles couldn’t help but grin. “I mean, you all have the same last name. DeLoughrey.”

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