Page 164 of A University of Betrayal

I’d never seen anyone blush like Julie did at that moment.

“We talked...”

Larissa looked at me with a grin.

“What? We really talked...” Julie assured us, looking at her screen again. Even the tip of her nose started to change color.

Now I had to grin too.

“Are you going to meet up again?” Larissa asked.

“He’s human.” Julie sighed. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“As long as you don’t feel the need to suck out his blood, it’s all right.”

“No,” Julie replied quickly. “It’s different with us.” Julie took a deep breath. “Quatura remain among themselves for a reason.”

Something in me wanted to ask, wanted to disagree and encourage Julie to ignore this law and prioritize her friendship, or whatever it was that she had with this Erik. But another part of me knew that wasn’t the reality. Julie wouldn’t listen to me. She’d been part of the Quatura community for what seemed like forever. Their rules were probably part of her DNA by now.

I decided it was too private to investigate further and got up because it was time to tidy up a bit. My bed was a mess, and there were suitcases in front of the bed, piles of books and even the box of uniforms... I paused.The diary.

All the curiosity that dwelled inside me came together, and I reached for the box to search for the book.

I rummaged and rummaged until my fingers felt the pages hanging together, and I held the book – or what was left of it – in my hands.

“Is Bayla here?”

I saw Larissa jump up, and her eyes began to glow red.

“You’re a Senseque.”

I knew immediately who had asked for me and came out of the corner.

“Hey Julian, what are you doing here?”

I was more than surprised.

“Actually, I wanted to bring you something from your mother. She said you left early this morning without saying goodbye.” Julian looked at me scrutinizingly before glancing at Larissa. “That’s all I wanted here, actually.”

I looked at Larissa. “It’s all right. He’s not going to tear you into pieces.”

“And I didn't want that to happen. My body reacted to it on its own.”

“You guys can’t do that,” Julian laughed. “You Ruisangors just hate us for no particular reason.”

“I don’t hate you,” Larissa snorted.

Julian shrugged his broad shoulders. “Sooner or later, you’ll be like the others.”

I looked at him in disbelief, as if he hadn’t just put my best friend in a massive box.

He turned to me and skillfully ignored it. “Anyway, here.”

He held out his arm and handed me a stack of laundered uniforms. The last thing I needed right then.

“Oh God,what am I going to do with these?”

“Wear it, Blueberry.”

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