Page 189 of A University of Betrayal

And I was right. Although it was a mystery to me how she could have hated her son so much that she never spoke about him and yet now wanted to use me for her purposes.

“Well...” Professor Harlow began promisingly, coming toward me with the box, sitting down on the edge of the desk, and crossing her legs. “You must know, my influence within the Councils is very considerable.”

That didn’t change the fact that Gloria was above her.

So I tried a different approach.

“Who can guarantee that I’ll learn anything from you?”

The corners of her mouth turned upwards.

“This.”

My breath caught as she opened the box and held it out to me, filled with at least 50 bottles of Salma. Elegant-looking glass vials, all filled with the shiny grayish liquid and secured with silver caps.

But something else caught my eye. An ornateR,decorated with thorny tendrils, which stood out in silver from the vials. The symbol of the Councils.

How on earth...

Rebecca Harlow gestured promisingly at the contents of the box. “That’s assuming, of course, that this remains our little secret.”

Camera Obscura

Angus MacRae

She hadn’t given me the box, just ten bottles, as agenerous advance payment.

Very generous.

My skin prickled with nervousness. It definitely felt wrong to keep this secret and not run straight to Grace. It felt like a betrayal.

But what was worse? Betrayal or my powers bursting out of me without me meaning to and accidentally hurting Grace at some point?

There was only one way to get my magic under control.

I pulled the clear crystal from my pocket that I had taken from Bay’s bedside table. It was my only chance. She wouldn’t miss it. In fact, it was worthless as long as it wasn’t linked to its bearer and their element. A slightly too pointed crystal, white and empty. That was all it was.

I hurried through the corridors, past countless students, and when I spotted Bay and Larissa, I quickened my pace.

They would talk to me. And I liked them. I wasn’t supposed to like anyone, and vice versa. If there was a way to strip away all this vulnerable humanity, I would do it.

My humanity made me make mistakes, and so I had told them about the problem with my molecular biology professor.

I had skipped the last seminar simply because the problem that was in my gut had thrown me off track too much.

I looked around again and exhaled with relief as they walked past without noticing me and hurried to the massive gates of the library.

“Julie,” I heard from my right, and a damn strong person pulled me into one of the many small side passageways.

I looked into dark brown eyes. Emely’s eyes.

My posture stiffened automatically.

It wasn’t often I was this close to a Senseque and Julian was definitely an exception. But Emely? She hated us, actually... On top of that, I had already been this close to her once. In the bathroom, a few days ago.

“I’m sorry,” she said, to my surprise, as if she had done something very bad that forced her to apologize to me, a Quatura. “You must be insanely confused and upset and...”

Then it clicked.

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