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But the thought that Emely was to be married to a man from a different culture and follow him to his home country haunted me.

It was a strange feeling that immediately filled me with terror, accompanied by an inner unease, as if I could put myself in Emely’s shoes perfectly. Too perfectly. And something about it paralyzed me.

Would Julian allow that?

It was even more complicated with Tania. How had she ended up bringing Julian to Graham nineteen years ago? Why him of all people? Was he perhaps his biological father after all, and had Graham only told him half the truth? But why should he? And how had she even found Blairville? Did Graham cheat on his wife?

Shortly before his death, he had clearly stated that Tania had brought Julian to them, which meant that he had already been living with someone...

The ringing of my cell phone snapped me out of my spiral of thoughts. Hurriedly, I pulled it out of my pocket and read the name on the display.

Mum.

The air caught in my throat.

My heart pounding, I hesitated for a moment, my finger over the red button, before I answered.

“Mum, I was worried. Are you okay?”

“How touching of you, Miss Adams.” I froze when I recognized the voice of Rebecca Harlow. “But your mother will no longer be answering this number.”

An icy chill ran down my spine, paralyzing me.

“What have you done...”

“What was necessary,” laughed the woman who had always struck me as a psychopath. “What traitors deserve.”

I jumped up.

“What. Have. You. Done. Goddammit?!” I blurted out, my knees shaking and despair growing in my chest.

I didn't know what I was feeling. All I could sense was my racing heart, a bone-chilling shiver, and the beads of sweat on my forehead.

“You already sound like one of those wicked dogs. We should have known.” Now she sounded like I knew her, just before her tone slipped from conspiratorial to threatening. “And before I forget. You better stay away from our kind from now on, especially from the Blairs.”

Julie...

“I will make your life on campus a living hell, Miss Adams, until you crawl out of this institution.”

A beep sounded.

She had hung up.

Chapter 6

Larissa

Trouble

Valerie Broussard

I kept hitting the punching bag without tearing it apart.

The DeLoughreys' modern underground training hall had become my favorite place because when I wasn't out somewhere with Bayla chasing a dead witch through this cursed town, I was down here trying to follow Miles' advice.

This training exhausted me when I had excess energy, but it wasn't particularly satisfying. It was as if something was missing.

There was only one thing that could truly satisfy me, but as always, I found it difficult to use Tristan's gift for fun and not just for getting to university.