Page 8 of A University of Betrayal

Erik

It had been silly of me to bring up those old memories. It was as if Gloria’s drug had completely lost its effect.

I hastily slammed the book shut and shoved it back into the gap before any more ice crystals could wander across the cover.

I went to my bed and sat down next to my sleeping golden retriever puppy.

He had visibly grown over the last two weeks, and I had taken him more and more into my heart.

In situations where I thought the destructive magic coursing through my veins would burst out of me at any moment, it helped to run my fingers through his pleasantly soft fur. Sometimes I even started talking to the dog, but only when we were alone.

Buddy made me feel less lonely, and it had always been the case that I seemed to get on better with animals than with people.

Bang.

I startled and looked at the window pane, where something black was sliding down.

“What the...” I whispered and stroked Buddy’s fur reassuringly, as he was also startled.

I stood up and walked to the window, glancing out over the Victorian tower roofs of Moenia.

My breath caught when I spotted the many ravens circling above the mansion and darting dangerously close to my window.

There had always been many ravens here, as if the Blair family crest attracted them, but today there were especially many, mainly outside my window.

Buddy jumped off the bed, but quickly discovered something to distract him from the moment of shock. The package on the floor.

My heart leapt uncomfortably.

I had to send it before I changed my mind.

Chapter 3

Larissa

Pas De Deux

Michael Abels

The first thing I felt when I opened my eyes was one of the most intense feelings I had ever experienced in my entire life. It was as if I was on some kind of drug that didn’t fog me up, but instead heightened all my senses.

Blinking, I let my eyes wander around the room I was in and got goosebumps when I realized how clearly I suddenly recognized everything. It was dark, and yet I could make out what was written on the old leather books on the black bookshelf more than ten meters away, the textures of the bindings and even the wafer-thin layer of dust on the wood…

When I realized that I didn’t even know where I was, I looked around frantically. Black, very elegant furniture, massive burgundy curtains, and a mirror in one corner. A very large room with a high ceiling. And I found myself in an elegant king-size bed.

It overwhelmed me that I could see everything so damn well, but I didn’t have a headache like when my last ex-boyfriend’s errand boy had invited me on that drug trip.

Holy shit.

I looked around again.

Thishadto be a dream.

My hands ran over the soft velvet fabric of the burgundy bedspread I was sitting on. The intensity, the sensation of really being able to feel every fabric fiber, made me shiver. My body felt so different.Changed.

The pain I could still vaguely remember was gone, and all I could feel was... hunger.

But then the memories came flooding back, and I scrambled up, only to be at the window within a split second, tugging the curtains away, which resulted in me ripping the entire curtain off the rail. The sound of the fabric falling to the floor was unexpectedly loud.

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