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His gaze wandered to me.

I flinched slightly, feeling irritated, and could have slapped myself for letting him catch me staring at him, so I quickly looked away.

“It's not that important,” he finally said, and I looked back at him, alarmed.

It was important. But he didn't want to talk about it because I was here, and something about it made me suspicious.

At first, I had thought he had manipulated my feelings with his gift – which undoubtedly had something to do with emotional manipulation – to upset me, because that was his way. But something about it didn't make sense. Because even when I was at home, far away from him, I felt this tingling in my stomach. It haunted me, just like all the thoughts and memories of him. And it just wouldn't go away…

“Interesting...” Julie murmured, her gaze still fixed on the book.

Larissa turned to her.

I somehow managed to tear my gaze away from Miles.

It would take a while, but soon I would be able to do it much more easily. At least, I hoped so. Especially if I had to search for answers to my questions with these people here in the long run.

Miles, on the other hand, seemed to have forgotten everything. His behavior toward me, the words he had uttered the other day, the dance...

My heart contracted.

That damn dance.

“This book... Alice wrote it.”

Everyone looked at Larissa.

There was uncertainty in Julie's eyes. “Are you sure?” She turned the book over, opened it, searching for answers to far too many questions.

“Very sure.”

“Me too.” Bayla leaned back against the table. “Alarik lent it to me a few months ago and said there were only seven copies and that it was written by a good friend of his and my mother's.”

Julie narrowed her eyes and looked up from the book for the first time.

“Even if... What good is a novel to us?” Miles asked.

“Information,” I said, feeling Miles's gaze on me, but skillfully ignored it.

“It's a work of fiction. About a group of young people starting college.”

Bayla pointed to the book.

Miles laughed sarcastically. “Why do I suddenly feel so addressed?”

“I'll read the story and let you know as soon as I find something that could help us,” Bayla continued. “But the book isn't the main reason I brought you here. So late.”

Now came the part where I would have preferred to say goodbye.

Larissa's eyes began to glow bright red again. “You have something planned.”

“Oh, come on. Not another mission where we get caught again and end up finding nothing anyway.”

Miles' attitude was already getting on my nerves again.

“You're welcome to leave if you're not interested in what Bayla found.”

Challengingly, I raised an eyebrow and forced myself to look at nothing more than his eyes.