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Olivia started to grin.

If she knew what my life was like right now, she would either laugh at me or pity me, and neither was a tolerable option.

“Let's put it this way. You're coming at just the right time,” I joked instead, and she gave me a beautiful Olivia smile.

Nevertheless, my thoughts drifted to someone else’s lips, and I cursed myself inwardly, taking another sip before continuing.

“What are you studying?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

She shouldn't get the chance to ask me about my life first. She usually didn't, which I was very grateful for.

“Law.”

I raised my eyebrows enthusiastically. “Still so ambitious?”

Olivia smiled cautiously before taking another sip. “You do what you have to do to work your way up within the DUIO.”

“And smart too.”

Now she blushed. A reaction I wasn't used to seeing from her.

She reached for the black moonstone that dangled from a gold chain around her neck.

Usually, our moonstone jewelry was designed to fit tightly against our skin or even become part of our bloodstream.

My black moonstone necklace – gold-set with the golden DeLoughrey rose in the middle – had two sharp, hook-like spikes, also made of moonstone, which I pressed into my skin every morning to maintain skin contact, where the skin immediately closed around them in an attempt to heal itself.

However, I was a Legacy and didn’t need it as much as Olivia, who had pulled it out of her skin the moment she had entered my darkened apartment.

“What are you studying?” she asked, raising a brow.

She didn't like to talk about herself. It had been the same back then.

“Law and economics,” I replied curtly, wondering not for the first time why I was doing this to myself. It was easier than I had expected, but it didn’t feel like what I really wanted to do. At least not the economics part, which Adrian had sold to me as useful and practical.

I laughed inwardly at the thought that he shouldn't have chosen economics either. Sure, he was good, if not the best when it came to collecting degrees. But deep down, my blood brother was drawn in a completely different direction, as everyone in this house knew, except for his old man.

“Oh God, what a coincidence. At least I'm not alone at this godless Senseque University.”

Someone must have told her. No doubt they had all been prepared for it.

It must be stressful to change your place of study just for the DUIO. Especially if you had previously studied at an elite university.

I wasn't blind, nor was I entirely stupid. Of course, I had wondered why Nicolaj had brought them all here now. The answers to that question made me feel uneasy, and I had decided, as usual, to stay out of these matters and sit back.

Let them blow up the Copelands' fancy little place...

“What's on your mind?”

I felt caught out.

She sipped her drink, her gaze focused. On me.

“The DUIO, Nicolaj...” Her gaze became inscrutable, which made me curious. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

For a moment, she hesitated, and I thought she was going to change the subject, but then she finally began. “The DUIO saved my life. Just half a year ago.”

Heroes Are Immortal