Page 224 of A University of Betrayal

He narrowed his eyes, apparently wondering if he should tell me more. I wouldn’t force him.

“It’s calledbloodlust,and if you’re not careful and give in to it too often, it leads to a blood addiction.” I turned to him attentively. “It happens when we drink emotionally.” It felt like he was really revealing things to me in private right now. “I made the stupid mistake of letting emotions get to me, like you did when you drank from Mady. Only I knew it full well.”

Shit,he’d opened up, and I didn’t know what to say.

The next sentence came unexpectedly and made me sit up and take notice.

“Not everyone can be as perfect as Adrian DeLoughrey.”

Miles’ words sounded pained.

Was he jealous of Adrian? And Adrian?Perfect?It was time someone proved him wrong.

“That’s why it’s so important that you learn to control yourself first. An uncontrolled Ruisangor is weak. And there is no room for weakness in our world.”

My mouth opened slightly.

What had he just said? And why did it sound like he was reciting a rehearsed advertising slogan to me?

“Those aren’t my words, sis. I just don’t want you to get lost in our system.”

Miles’ gaze became more insistent.

We hadn’t known each other for long, and yet he was trying his best with me.

Miles looked down at the lake again, and it was clear to see that he was thinking heavy thoughts.

I would like to take them away from him. There was only one thing I could actually do. Open up as much as he had. At least a little.

“I never felt at home… in Sacramento.” The thought was hard but honest. As hard as I had tried, Sacramento had made it hard for me. “The only person who had been able to distract me from that was Bay.”

I wasn’t mad at her anymore, even though I made her feel that way. I was starting to realize that you couldn’t just talk about the shit that happened here, especially with people you thought were human. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Bay, and if she’d said anything to me, I doubt it would have dampened my curiosity.It had just hurt to be lied to.That was it.

“The witch girl,” Miles said with his gaze turned to me.

I laughed in disbelief at this fact. “The witch girl.”

“You know you’re supposed to stay away from her? Quatura mean trouble.”

Again, it didn’t sound like those werehiswords, but they reminded me of Grace’s... or the fact that the Quatura really seemed to make a serious business out of who they spent time with, ruining the lives of others. And then there were the Copelands...

“Believe me, it’s for a reason. We don’t get along. There have always been wars between the species.”

I could well imagine it. If every Quatura acted like Bay’s mum...

“That’s total nonsense,” I replied, because I was sick of this topic.

“Actually, I agree,” Miles laughed softly.

Surprise welled up inside me, and I toyed with the idea of telling him about the witch’s diary.

“But Senseque and Ruisangor...” He looked down, laughing. “That’s absolutely not possible. Our family histories keep us apart.”

I decided to keep the secret with the book to myself. The others in the group wouldn’t like it if I just told him, even if he was now my brother. I had to be careful. After all, those rich people had kidnapped me. I couldn’t just forget about that.

“What do you mean?” I asked with interest.

“Back then, our families wiped each other out. At least they tried...”

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