Page 304 of A University of Betrayal

I jerked my head up and stared at Mr. Suspicious, who must have just entered the room.

He was standing at his table as usual.

How had I not noticed that he had come? Did I really drift off so often?

The man, whose office I had already broken into twice and about whom I knew enough to risk my life if I acted on it, glanced at me briefly before focusing on David.

It was torture having to sit here, because it was obvious he was just pretending none of this had happened, which made him all the more unpredictable to me.

“David DeLoughrey, congratulations.”

Hadn’t I predicted it? David was intelligent and interested. But that wasn’t the reason. He was a DeLoughrey. And he... “And Julie Blair.”

I looked at Professor Tiberius and our eyes intertwined. There was a strange glint in his.

Until now, I had thought David had thrown me off track, but what this crazy maniac had just done was beyond anything.

“What?!” I heard Amber exclaim, and a collection of disappointed groans went through the rows of girls.

I didn’t blink, just stared as if I was born for it.

And it wasn’t until the professor was about to turn away that I managed to open my mouth.

“There must be a mistake.” It was more of a stammer, and that was because I had thrown up the Salma this morning. Unexpectedly and twice. “I didn’t even apply.”

Mr. Suspicious paused in his spin, turned back and... smiled?

“Don’t be ridiculous, Miss Blair,” he laughed softly, looking at the floor for a moment, as if he really had to force himself to keep up this facade. “You’re the best in this course.”

“She’s been absent all the last few times!” Amber, who also seemed shocked by his choice, let out.

No oneseemed to have expected it.

“And, remarkably, still managed to get full marks in the midterm exams,” the professor said without looking at Amber.

His eyes were on me, inspecting me.

And in that moment, I regretted putting so much effort into studying over the last four weeks, trying to block out all the other problems in my life. Apparently, even something so simple was getting me into trouble, as if the gods were out to torment me.

Amber stared at Professor Tiberius as if he had slapped her. Then she looked at me and her gaze was... devastating.

I forced myself to look ahead, at him.

An unpleasant premonition arose in me:He was up to something.He wanted to make me disappear from the picture. What if he wanted to frighten me? Was this his last warning before he would erase me?

Panic spread through me, because as well as I had escaped every tense situation with this man so far, I also knew that luck would never be on my side forever.

“I’m sorry, Professor,” I blurted out and jumped up, the unopened backpack in my hand. “But I won’t be able to take this internship spot.”

He stared at me, a blank stare, but I didn’t wait any longer, I stormed out of the seminar room through the rows of benches, ready to make my way to the registrar’s office to sign myself out of this course.For good.

“Julie,” I heard a familiar voice and spun around, startled, as if it had been Erik’s voice.

But it wasn’t Erik. Of course it wasn’t...It was the professor standing in the middle of the corridor. He started to move and everything in me wanted to flee, but I forced myself to fight it and not show any weakness.

I didn’t want him to think I was scared. I didn’t even know if I was.

He stopped two meters in front of me, his jaw tense, as was my core, and for the first time in a long time I caught a closer look at the peridot-colored irises.

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