Page 247 of A University of Betrayal

It took a full minute for my vision to clear and for me to be able to continue showering as if none of this had just happened.

Just the thought of that woman drove me crazy, and ever since I had slept with her, these images haunted me, sometimes even forcing me to touch myself three times a day, throwing my structured daily routine off kilter.

Reality caught up with me. The pain in my chest returned, throbbing unpleasantly.

J wasn’t here.I would never be able to hold her in my arms again, never be able to show her all the feelings I had for her.

Every damn day I wondered if it was really so easy for her to forget me, if she had ever felt even a hint of what thundered like a storm in my heart for her.

If I hadn’t met her, everything would be fine. I would continue to text with her every evening, share my ideas and theories with her, and not run around like a horny dog.

What if she felt pressured? What if she regretted the sex? What if she felt uncomfortable with me?

Fuck. How could I have messed things up so badly with the only person who would forever hold my heart? Whatever would come...

Talk

Hozier

The hot water had already lost its relaxing effect, so I got out of the shower and wrapped myself in one of the white towels.

I noticed the shimmer on my skin: the transparent and – barely visible – warm yellow-green shimmering scales on the sides and on the back of my hands.

My jaw tensed, and I walked to the mirror, only to realize that the shimmer had also spread across my chest and that more soft green transparent fish scales with a slight yellow tinge were subtly visible on my neck.

Deep down, I wanted to rip them out, but I waited with growing impatience for them to disappear on their own.

It was the damned water that reminded me of what I really was.That I was one of them.

I knew that not all of them were to blame for the system having become so corrupt, but none of them were better. Blind followers trapped in a circle of lies, treachery, and oppression.

I hastily reached for my father’s ring, adorned with the snake and the raven, and put it on my left ring finger.

Satisfied, I watched my body return to normal until I could no longer feel my own magic and could be sure that no others could either.

Then I reached for the refilled injection syringe with the elixir I was currently experimenting with.

It gave me the strength I needed to use Umbra without having to take off the ring that dampened my Quatura element.

As soon as the elixir shot through the needle into my vein, cold spread through my body, followed by a warm, intoxicating tugging and the following convulsive pressure that settled on my body.

The pain this stuff caused me was worth it. Even without the ring, I wouldn’t have had the strength to use Umbra without ramming a damn dagger into my hand every time.

I watched my eyes turn completely black in the mirror while my veins bulged unnaturally.

A self-satisfied smile crossed my lips.

If only the Councils knew what kind of enemy they had made for themselves...

I reached for the second ring that reminded me of J, carefully slipped it onto the still-free ring finger of my right hand, and as always, I felt as if I were carrying a part of her with me.

I had it made four months ago. I had a goldsmith engrave the J on the inside of my parents’ merged wedding rings.

A glance at the vintage clock told me that I had already wasted far too much time in the bathroom, so I quickly changed into fresh clothes and rushed through the open ground floor to gather my things.

The professors’ houses were renovated Tudor-style houses in apartment size with loft-style open living areas. The windows were large, tapering from the ground floor to the first floor, allowing light from outside to flood the entire indoor area. However, the professors’ accommodations were located directly in the dense forest to the east of Vanderwood, so there were trees and bushes right outside the windows, as if they wanted to hide the modernized old houses.

I had spent a lot of money on the furnishings for this house, because one had to pay for their own interior decoration here.

---