Page 289 of A University of Betrayal

He seemed to like provoking people.

“Miles, please,” Larissa warned him and leaned back, rolling her eyes.

Her brother raised both hands.

“It’s okay. I’ll shut up.”

Taken by the Night

Petri Alanko

We crossed the Blair neighborhood, one of the first to be established in this town. The one where the wealthier ones and the few Council members lived. The rest of the Council members, who thought they were even classier, lived in the neighboringCouncil District,which had been built in the late seventies.

I didn’t like being there. Everything seemed noble and well-kept, but statues of the wind goddess or theRof the Councils on the ornate street lanterns everywhere reminded me of the elitism that the Councils wanted to represent.

However, here in the Blair district, I felt at least a little bit at home.

Old, noble Victorian mansions were located on a higher area of the town center, surrounded by woods and with enough space between each house that no one knew what the other was doing in their garden. The further we drove, the fewer and more expensive-looking cars we encountered and the more mysterious the houses looked.

Finally, we drove past Moenia and I noticed Miles and Larissa staring out of the window at the tall Victorian tower of Moenia, which was just visible through the hedges of the gateway.

“So,thisis the lions’ den?” Miles asked.

“Something like that,” I replied tonelessly.

We drove on, and the houses became a little smaller again, but they were still built in the same style and were more magnificent than those downtown.

Here, some were uninhabited and from the clean main avenue, small roads led further into the forest to more secluded streets and houses where Quatura and humans had settled in their ancient family legacies.

“Somehow this place looks familiar…” Bayla said.

She surveyed the street, then the houses, but said nothing more.

Julian immediately paid attention to her. “Maybe you’ve been here before with your mother?”

Bayla seemed to memorize every detail. “On the street, maybe, but it had been dark then... mh…” She shook her head. “I don’t remember.”

We drove further along the main road and approached the cemetery, which was surrounded by bare trees and high walls, protected from inclement weather.

Julian parked the car in the parking lot, and we all got out.

Wind Blowing Sounds for Sleeping

ASMR Tinnitus Relief

“Considering it’s December, I’m really surprised it hasn’t snowed yet.” Larissa looked up at the gray sky, from which not a single snowflake had yet fallen.

It was chilly, and Bayla and I seemed to be the most warmly dressed.

“Aren’t you guys cold?” Bayla asked, looking at the other three, and Larissa and Miles grinned at each other.

“Cold doesn’t bother us,” Miles said and Bayla snorted enviously, her eyes on Julian, who was still wearing a T-shirt.

“The body temperature of a Senseque is higher, which is why it takes a long time for the cold to bother us.”

“Come here, Julie, they really are freaks,” Bay laughed softly and hugged me, which was unusual at first, but then somehow felt good.

Bayla and Larissa treated me as if we had known each other for years, which took some getting used to.

---