Page 333

I trusted Erik.

In an emergency, there was always Erik. Even if Quentin were to betray me, I knew that I only had to say one word and everything would change. I was in control. And that made it so incredibly overwhelming.

“Imagine, Julie. With this gift, you are miles ahead of the Head of the Councils.”

I forced myself back to the present, forced myself to think about the woman I wouldn't trust even if she were the last person on earth.

She was my grandmother. Just the thought of it...

I paused, looking at Quentin in confusion.

“Why isn't Gloria affected by the same curse that affected my father and now affects me?”

Gloria was an Air Quatura. However, I had never seen her create ice. It was almost as if she was afraid of these powers.

“Gloria Westcode?”

Quentin seemed confused. And only now did it occur to me that he knew nothing.

“…is my grandmother,” I added hesitantly.

He stared. Or was he frozen?

It took a few seconds, then his expression darkened and he turned completely toward me.

“And you're telling me this now?” he gritted out through clenched teeth.

I swallowed all my nervousness.

“Does it make a difference?”

He narrowed his eyes, his right eyebrow twitching, and his razor-sharp gaze cut deep into my self-confidence.

“It makes you even less trustworthy.”

What was he thinking? That I could be working with Gloria?

An uncomfortable knot tightened in my stomach.

I didn't even want to think about that woman.

“I'm not a Westcode,” I hissed, tilting my chin up at him. “I'm a Blair. And that woman hates me. To her, I'm as little a part of her family as she is of mine.”

I wanted him to understand me, to believe me, to trust me. But how could I demand such a thing from someone I was withholding the truth from?

Damn it, he had a right to know who I was, that I was carrying his child. But I was a coward, didn't want to make things even more complicated than they already were. I didn't want to ruin the image Erik had of J, because that was undoubtedly what would happen.

Quentin didn't like me.

And suddenly I felt lonely.

Grace and Vivienna had turned away from me, the Circle treated me as if I were still the weak Air Quatura, the Councils as if I were an uncontrollable monster, a burdensome necessity to fulfill the prophecy, and the other founding families in town, if I could believe Miles and Emely, saw me as a threat simply because I was pregnant.

The only ones who made me forget all this pain were Bayla, Larissa, and Emely. It was a strange thought, because these were the people Vivienna, Amber, Grace, even Rebecca, and more and more Quatura were trying to keep me away from.

I had allied myself with my families' enemies, working with a man who wanted to destroy the Councils, for whatever reason...

“Let's hope so,” Quentin grumbled, turning away from me.