Page 50 of A University of Betrayal

Miles turned to me with a crooked grin, strands of his brown hair falling into his face, making him look even more attractive. “Trust me, little one, you don’t want to mess things up with Bastien.”

I looked at him, at a loss for words. Bastien had actually seemed calm and collected. Like a man with many secrets, a dark side. But wasn’t this whole cursed place just like that? Dark and mysterious? A treasure trove for my adrenaline-hungry brain?

“Should I be scared now?”

Miles was still grinning. “The only thing you need to have is respect. And if you’re training withhim,my condolences. By the way, you’d better ask Adrian for advice.”

“No, thanks.” I snorted and turned to the glass elevator door, which was now opening.

In front of us was a corridor that looked ultra-modern, like I was on some kind of spaceship.

“What the hell is this place?”

“It’s the DeLoughreys’ underground training and research facility,” Miles said dryly, leading the way. I followed him, not without letting my curious gaze slide through the lab doors, but most of them had privacy glass.

“You havelabsunder your castle?” The door I had stopped in front of opened and I jumped back.

Miles laughed. “Surprised?”

I eyed the blinking sensor on the side of the door suspiciously.

“I was thinking more of something like a dungeon or a wine cellar.”

Butno,the DeLoughreys naturally came up with even more expensive alternatives.

“What’s next? A movie theater?” I looked at Miles, who had stopped to watch me in amused amazement.

“Far too shabby for Nicolaj,” he remarked with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“An opera?”

“You won’t find that with Nicolaj,” he began, both hands in the pockets of his suit trousers. “We work in politics, law, in business and within units of the Secret Service. You’ll find fun elsewhere.”

“Oh, dear,” I sighed with amusement and continued to stare through the lab windows we passed. “More proof that I don’t belong here.”

Miles stopped. His laughter gave way to seriousness. “Even if you don’t want to be here, believe me, you’ll learn important things. Things essential for survival.”

“How to kill people?” I asked pointedly. “How to bring motherless children into the world?”

Miles looked tense now. He moved closer and I took a step back.

“You think I’m someone like that?” he pressed out. “Don’t you think I’ve lost a mother, too?”

I stared at him, swallowing.

Crap.He was right. I had gone too far. I’d also forgotten how skilled he must be if he’d been living here for ages, wielding knives like they were toys. Miles was twenty, like me, but he’d grown up here and was unquestionably superior to me.

He turned away from me and walked on. I kept silent, walking inconspicuously behind him, trying not to move too fast, until we entered the room at the end of the corridor.

It wasn’t a room. It was a hall full of silver and black steel exercise equipment. Things I’d seen in the gym before, but some of them were new to me. There was a huge parkour section to my right that stretched across several levels of the hall, a climbing wall that ran through the entire hall, and a few ropes hanging from the high ceiling. And then I saw that there were platforms dangling from the ceiling above us, connected... or not.

I followed Miles, and we passed huge tires lying on the floor, mats with racks for swords next to them, and there was even a shooting range.

“What the...” I blurted, but I stopped abruptly when Miles did.

I glanced at him. His face still looked tense. He stared straight ahead with a hardened expression. Curious and a little alarmed, I followed his gaze.

There was a guy standing there. It wasn’t just any guy, but the one who had been following me and Bay. The man who had been with our attacker.

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