Chapter 58

Bayla

When I opened my eyes again, the memories flooded into my head. And not just any memories, no . All of them.

I tossed and turned under the pounding headache I now had, even after waking up. And just for the record: My hair loss was still a disaster.

I groped for the alarm clock that must have woken me up, but there was nothing there, just a black notebook. The one Alarik had given us.

I had spent hours trying to note down everything I knew about Blairville so far in order to get a halfway overview.

I would have preferred to read, but my professor's book was gone, and I was annoyed that I hadn't been able to assess Mum better. She had stolen it. I was sure of that. And I had to get it back, because what was I supposed to tell Alarik?

Sorry, but your former university friend took your book away from me. Why? I have no idea.

I didn't understand. What was so wrong with this book?

"Of course, you always wake up when I'm with you," Emely said, annoyed.

I jumped up with a jerk.

She had been the last person I had seen before I collapsed...

"What day is it?" I asked, hoping I hadn't missed too much.

"I don't want to worry you, but it's Wednesday."

Emely played with her very beautiful natural nails before closing the law book. I wish mine were naturally like that, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.

Then I realized what she had just said.

Wednesday . Monday, I had broken down...

"And whatever's going on with you, I want you out of my head."

" Ems , we had an agreement."

Julian stepped into the room and I immediately looked down at myself. Luckily, I was wearing clothes.

How could I have been without consciousness for so long? What had happened anyway? What did Emely mean by getting out of her head ? And anyway, what was Julian Bardot doing in our girls' accommodation?

"I think I'm getting dizzy right now," I groaned, but straightened up anyway. I couldn't possibly spend my entire first semester here in bed, even if everything in my body was screaming for the soft mattress beneath me. This was not how I had imagined my university life.

"It's scary, Julian. You've seen what it does to us."

I looked back up at Emely, who was visibly unhappy, slamming the rest of the law books on her desk shut.

My brain was so foggy that I needed some time to process her words.

Emely turned off her Bluetooth headphones and looked at me, annoyed. "And you snore ."

Julian laughed and crossed his arms in front of his chest so that his biceps were clearly visible. I tried not to look. Instead, I straightened up further.

"Could someone explain to me what's actually going on here?"

"You fell over after your nose started bleeding," Julian sighed, as if he had been there.

Automatically, I grabbed my nose as if there was still blood there, but someone must have wiped it away.

" By the way , I still think we should have gone to get your father."

Emely looked at Julian as if he'd made a bad joke.

"For a Quatura ?"

"I'm not a..." I wanted to protest, but Emely interrupted me.

"How about you finally get it. You're a bloody witch! " She looked upset, and her eyes began to glow slightly yellow. "And if you won't believe me, at least believe him." She pointed at Julian, who once again looked at me with pity, as if Emely was right. "You've bewitched us with your strange powers. And you're in my head 24/7, and it's really annoying!"

I didn't understand anything anymore. How could I have bewitched her?

"Excuse me, Julian, but I'm about to..." Emely said, before rushing headlong out through the door.

"Where's she going?"

Julian was still looking at me with concern, reminding me of my mother, which made a negative feeling rise up in me, because right now I couldn't help but be angry with her.

"She's going for a run, turning."

My eyes widened.

"Into a wolf? "

God Bay, into what else?

Julian grinned. "Have you fallen on your head?"

"Very funny," I snorted and tried to stand up, but I could barely keep my balance, so I had to lean against the wall to prevent myself from landing at Julian's feet.

"Are you okay?" Julian asked again in that slightly worried undertone I remembered from the weekend.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I heaved myself over to my little closet to at least get out a new knitted sweater, because I was cold, and I must stink, especially for a wolf who smelled everything for miles.

"You should lie back down, you're far too pale."

He came to me as I detached myself from the wall to walk hands-free, and carefully put his arm around my shoulders.

I remembered the last time he had been this close to me: The night he had carried me up to my room.

My cheeks glowed a little. I hoped I wasn't blushing.

"I want to get out of here, Julian. This room doesn't feel right at the moment."

I looked at him pleadingly.

In all honesty, it bothered me that I was so small and fragile. I got the feeling that I was inferior to him, which of course was complete nonsense. To the point where you considered that he could turn into an oversized wolf. I could have been his lunch. Although, as much as I had lost weight without meaning to in the last two weeks, I was probably just a snack .

Julian's jawline relaxed.

"Get changed." I opened my mouth slightly to say something, but Julian raised his hand. "And no , you don't stink."

I looked at him, startled.

Had he read my mind?

"And when you're done, you'll come out."

I looked at him questioningly. He just smiled, a twinkle in his eye.

"It's time you get to know the beautiful side of Blairville."

The fact that I'd let myself be talked into that had been a miracle. Julian was either convincing or manipulative , maybe a bit of both.

It had taken me an indescribable fifteen minutes to get dressed , as my body seemed to have significantly reduced its ability to function, slowing everything down. To cut a long story short: I felt like shit .

And now I was sitting in the passenger seat of Julian's rusty red pickup truck, hoping he had a little more common sense than Larissa and wouldn't take me toward my death again.

We were currently driving through a part of downtown that brought us closer to the harbor, but instead of going straight to the harbor, Julian turned onto a surrounding road that led uphill into the golden deciduous forest of the city, where the Victorian mansions were beginning to look classier and more historic.

" Where exactly do you want to go with me?" I asked impatiently.

"Has your curiosity led you to go with Larissa to the DeLoughreys' area?" came his counter-question.

I couldn't help but punch him in the shoulder, but all I got in response was the typical Julian grin. Could he do anything else?

"She's a good friend, and sometimes she just has very... headstrong ideas. And thanks to her , I now know that maybe one shouldn't go into this area after all," I defended her.

Of course, I wouldn't even dream of going back there.

"The Copelands' territory, their forest... Is it safe there?"

" Theoretically, you're safe there," Julian said as he tried to concentrate on the road.

"Theoretically?" I dug deeper, guessing that his answer was based on the recent events at the Fogs Forest border. The news hadn't stopped warning against entering the woods, as someone had disappeared again. This time it was a student from Blairville High.

I wondered if I should tell Julian about my suspicion that these two strange vampire men might be behind it. But I was still trying to process the fact that vampires actually existed.

More and more trees rushed past next to us, occasionally a few villas.

I remembered this road. Mum had brought me here to Moenia. But just before I could look for the witch's house, Julian turned into a side road, which was more of a rough forest path.

"Actually, the contract ensured the peaceful coexistence of the families. This also means that you are forbidden from attacking, injuring or killing people from the other families. Including regular human citizens."

For whatever reason, I had to think of Alarik Copeland's book, which was also about securing the coexistence of hostile families . The book had reminded me a lot of this city, and I had wondered whether the author had belonged to one of the species.

"So, there's a treaty between the Copelands and the Blairs?" I asked with interest.

"Yes, something like that. But it's more than that. If you take it literally, it's a treaty between the Quatura, the Senseque and the Ruisangors, separating them territorially to keep the peace."

I remembered the car ride with Julian to the university a few days ago, where he had explained to me what exactly these Ruisangors were.

All I knew so far was that there were two different kinds of them : Legacy Ruisangors and so-called Changed . The Legacies stopped aging at some point and had dangerous powers, the Changed did not age from the point of their transformation. The sun had an effect on their skin or their gifts, and they were extremely fast, stronger than humans, though not as strong as werewolves.

Everything about them sounded like what vampires were like in those countless horror stories. But what concerned me much more, and what scared the hell out of me, was the fact that they fed on human blood. Julian had assured me that the DeLoughreys lived from donated blood, but something inside me didn't want to believe that, especially after the attack in the forest.

"They all have their territory where they can do what they want, on the condition that no humans or members of the other species are harmed, of course."

I remembered that Julian didn't live in the Copelands' territory.

"You live in the Quatura's territory..."

Julian focused on the road.

"When my father left the pack back then, there was a special clause he negotiated with Amara. Unfortunately, not every Quatura is pleased by her decision, especially not the Councils."

I nodded thoughtfully and looked out the window at the yellow, orange, and brown fall leaves decorating the trees and the forest path.

"You seem to know which territory is which," Julian said, and I simply replied, "Larissa."

"I don't want to worry you, but your adventurous friend should stay out of it."

Julian sounded serious.

I nodded, even though I didn't know how to appeal to Larissa's sense. She wouldn't leave Blairville and I understood. She didn't know that there were a thousand reasons for it. And if I told her, Grace and Julie would probably find out and mess with her memory. I was already scared of this crap myself , but what did I have to lose?

"I'll talk to her, but I can't promise anything. She can be very stubborn."

"Just like you," Julian laughed and parked the car at the side of the road.

I looked at him in surprise. He seemed to study me closely now. His green eyes shone softly, but didn't turn yellow like Emely's did so often.

I couldn't avoid his gaze, and this time I felt the urge to touch the small scar on his temple. I wondered if it was as uneven as the one under my breast, or if you could feel it at all. I wonder where he got it from?

That was the moment when I realized that I didn't seem to be mentally clear and turned away from him.

How hard had I hit my head on the floor on Monday?

"Let's get out of the car. It's right up ahead."

Whatever was supposed to be right up ahead , I got out and followed him across the dirt road.

The leaves rustled under my feet and were whirled into the air by the wind, flying around me as if they wanted to play with me.

I smiled and realized how even that was draining my energy.

When I spotted the black raven hopping around in one of the piles of leaves, I paused for a second.

It's just a raven, Bay. Relax.

I ignored the animal and hurried after Julian.

As we came around the corner of the forest, my breath caught, and I had to stop to take in the view.

Julian and I had to be on a gigantic cliff somewhere. A cliff with a huge white lighthouse, decorated with features of Victorian architecture. But even if you weren't up there at the top, the view of the city, the harbor, and the roaring sea deep below us was breathtaking.

Julian whirled around to face me and threw his outstretched arms in the air. "May I introduce the Cloud Castle of Blairville ."

Speechless, I watched Julian walk over to a noble Victorian iron railing and lean over it, sticking his head in the air and closing his eyes. The wind greeted his curly hair, tossing it around. And there was something aesthetic about it, as if the wind was the artist and this man there was his work of art. For the first time, I noticed his prominent Adam's apple.

Julian opened his eyes and wheeled around to face me.

"You should see yourself standing there, Adams girl." His dimples were now particularly obvious. "Like a scarecrow."

" Shut up , Julian!" I laughed, snapping out of my stupor.

"Just look how beautiful this town can be when you look at it from above."

Of course, Blairville wasn't ugly, quite the opposite. The architecture alone seemed to want to tell its own history, probably hiding some mysteries.

What Julian meant was what was hidden within the city, behind walls and in deep forests. But I had the feeling that I would never be able to see it the way he or Julie did, because I hadn't grown up here, hadn't been born into this life.

Along with Julian, I let my gaze wander over the historic panorama of the city with its Victorian rooftops, the church steeple, the two science towers, and – in the distance – the gothic tower of Vanderwood University. Surrounded by the colorful autumn forest. Parchment brown, streaked with orange.

Further in the distance, I tried to keep an eye out for the dark coniferous forest, but the autumn forest lifted up a little, as if it wanted to show that it wasn't alone, that there wasn't just the historic center in all its glory.

Only very far in the distance could you see the three mountains of the island.

I spotted something big sticking out of the forest, something I'd already seen from the Vanderwood library window.

"Is that a roller coaster there?"

I pointed into the distance, past the largest bell tower at Vanderwood, toward the wooden frame. Next to it was a clearly recognizable Ferris wheel.

"The old funfair."

"Why is it closed?"

"I don't know. It's been a long time... Something happened in the 80s."

I nodded in silence and turned my gaze away from the mysterious image of the abandoned amusement park peeking out of the treetops, as if to remind us that it still existed.

Instead, I looked out to the sea, over which dark towers of blue and purple clouds were gathering. They seemed to be heading toward the town, ready to swallow us up as soon as the sun disappeared into the sea.

"A storm is coming... More violent than what has been raging here in the last few days," Julian remarked.

Only now did I realize that he had been watching me. And once again, I couldn't help but look directly at him, even though there were so many things up here that captivated me.

Julian's cheekbones stood out slightly and made him look incredibly masculine. And yet there was something boyish about him. The soft dimples seemed to be hidden, but instead I looked at the slightly full lips with their sweeping lines for the first time.

I took a deep breath and looked into his eyes again, which didn't seem to lose their shine. But my eyes couldn't help but slide back to his lips.

And in that moment, just that one brief glimpse, I had the urge to kiss him. I wanted to know what it was like to feel Julian Bardot's lips on mine . Were they rough or rather soft? Warm?

I shuddered at the thought and wanted to look down, but only made it as far as his chin.

What was wrong with me?

Dizziness hit me and I held on to the railing.

"Bay? Are you all right?" Julian asked, looking worried and trying to steady me, but I backed away.

"Everything's fine. I'm fine," I said quickly. "I'm not a little kid."

I laughed sheepishly and pulled the notebook out of my jacket pocket to distract myself.

What had gotten into me?

"Just to get this straight once and for all..." Julian sighed. "I'm only doing this because a voice inside me says I should."

I looked up, startled.

What did he mean by that?

"You're in my head whenever you're feeling bad," he continued, and I blushed.

How could he say that so openly? And how could my body react to it like that?

A slight tingling sensation flitted through my stomach. I tried to suppress it.

"You've somehow cast a spell on me and Emely."

His words made the tingling disappear as fast as it had come. More warmth shot into my cheeks.

How could I have just thought that he had meant his words any other way?

Then I realized the meaning of his statement.

"Maybe you still remember our encounter in the forest, where you spilled all your pills." Unfortunately, I remembered it very well . "You had been touching me, and we had looked into each other's eyes."

I swallowed because the memories were just as intense as the experience. I had felt so possessed.

"It felt to me like you were in control, like I could do anything for you," he continued, turning back to the railing, and I began to remember better. "Emely told me she had a similar experience with you. There in the room, next to you on the bed."

Memories of another touch – this time with Emely – appeared in my mind. Her eyes glowing yellowish. This feeling of power flowing through me. But there had been another feeling too. Devotion .

"Ever since that had happened, we've had constant images in our heads of when you are unwell. We see where you are and what's happening, sometimes we even feel what you feel."

I was shocked.

If that was true, then...

No. It couldn't be true.

"Emely fainted on Monday. I only had a headache, but all that when you had passed out."

Julian looked back up at me, concern in his gaze again.

"That doesn't make any sense. Mum explained everything to me. Quatura control the elements, but nothing else." I could feel panic rising inside me. "That could have come from you two, couldn't it? I wouldn't do something like that on purpose. I don't even know how to do it and…"

Julian grabbed my shoulders. His hands were so warm they gave me goose bumps.

"Hey, calm down. All we know is what we saw and felt."

I couldn't help but stare at him, only this time my gaze was searching for help, less scrutinizing.

I wanted an explanation for all of this .

"I think you should ask your mum, just in case."

I would, someday, when I wasn't mad at her anymore and my curiosity outweighed my frustration with her.

I leaned on the railing, stunned.

All this madness seemed to have just become reality and now the fear that I would never get out of here was back.

I would stay in Blairville. Forever.

There was only one way to get out of here.

"They have a potion that makes you forget all sorts of things."

Julian sped around to me.

"Which I hope you'll keep your hands off."

I looked away again.

"Bay, you should probably stay away from all that Quatura stuff."

"I don't know what to do at all ," I pressed out in a weakening voice.

I pulled the pen out of my jacket pocket and started scribbling on the soft paper.

Talking to Mum about other powers.

"Apparently you use the notebook just for yourself too ," Julian remarked in a calm voice.

"That's how it turned out. He's hardly going to control what we do with it," I said, but immediately regretted my words. Alarik had been so passionate about it.

"Hey...," I said, addressing Julian. "Do you have a book partner?"

He looked at me slightly puzzled as I pressed my notebook to his chest.

He pushed it back, which hurt me slightly.

"I don't want your notebook, strange neighbor," he laughed as if it were a joke.

I was about to turn away from him to hide my disappointment when he pulled something out of his jacket pocket.

"Let's take mine. I haven't used it yet."

He handed it to me and I took it, speechless.

Julian had a talent for surprising me.

"Wow..." I said with a dry expression. "You've just really screwed me over, you know that?"

His grin widened.

Playfully annoyed, I snatched his notebook.

"Don't break it," he joked, as if that was how I handled books .

A few cold raindrops hit my nose and I looked at my cell phone clock.

"I've got literature history coming up, could you give me a ride back?" I asked Julian, who looked up to where the intertwining towers of clouds were making ominous thunderous noises.

"We should get back anyway, before the storm takes us out of traffic."

Once we were back on the road, I remembered one more thing I'd been meaning to ask him all along.

"Do you think I should apologize to Emely?"

Julian continued to look at the road.

Light rain was pattering on the windshield and the sound of the windscreen wipers calmed me down a little. Eyes on Fire by Blue Foundation played softly on the radio.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to her."

"She doesn't like me, does she?"

Julian laughed. "She doesn't like Quatura in general. It's even worse with Ruisangors. But it's in her blood."

"In her blood ?"

"According to the legend of the indigenous Senseque of Blairville, the Esadowas, the goddess of the moon created them to free humanity from the plague of Ruisangors. And it really seems like these two species were created to hate each other to the death." I looked thoughtfully at the radio, which was switching to another soft indie song from a local band. "But with you, it's just mistrust, believe me."

"That's not the only reason..." I said, barely audible, thinking about how she always watched me when I talked to Julian.

"What do you mean?" he asked with interest. He seemed to have absolutely no idea. Maybe I was just imagining it, but I usually had a feel for this sort of thing.

"I think Emely is a bit jealous," I said.

Julian laughed, "Emely? Jealous? No way!"

"What makes you so sure?" I asked, seriously interested.

"I just know Emely. All she cares about is the pack."

That sounded harsh, and I was sure that if Emely had been here now, it would have hit her.

"You better not say that to her face," I said and looked back out onto the street. We were back in the town center.

Julian seemed thoughtful because he was silent.

"Fuck..." he said suddenly. "Do you really think she could be into me?"

I raised my eyebrows and tilted my head slightly. "She totally is ."

Julian hesitated, flabbergasted.

"It wouldn't make sense to me, you know? She's a lot more dismissive than she was back then."

"She's with you all the time," I countered, "...even though she already has a group of guys ."

"The only reason she's always with me is because she wants me in the pack or because of the thing with you..."

There we had it.

"She wants you in the pack. I see. Why do you think that is?" I helped him along.

Julian didn't answer, just stared at the road in thought and dodged a branch in the lane.

"Would she have any reason to worry?"

I wheeled around to face him, startled and already feeling the blush rising again.

" No , what do you think?" I punched his shoulders again. Julian dodged, grinning.

"Don't tell me you don't think I'm hot?"

And there he was again. Julian Bardot, my annoying neighbor.

We were standing at a traffic light, so he turned and stretched his head toward me, only to ask with a wry puppy dog look, "Not even a little bit?"

"Julian!" I laughed and pushed him back into his seat. "Concentrate on the road!"

He was such a chaotic person.

"Don't worry about it. I've got everything in sight."

He cleared his throat and drove on as the light turned green.

"How long have you two known each other?" I asked what had been burning on my tongue for weeks.

Julian sighed. "We practically grew up together. My father was still living with them in the neighborhood in one of the wood cabins in the Copeland Woods. We were inseparable, played outside with her brothers and another friend, and we got up to a lot of shit. Things that kids do..."

"That sounds like a very nice childhood."

I tried to imagine what Julian, Emely, and Nash must have looked like as small children.

"Yes, but you grow up quickly. A lot of things change, you know?"

I nodded, and my own childhood came to mind, which seemed so carefree in retrospect. The times when I had played with Larissa at home, on the playground or in the schoolyard. I had never thought it would become as difficult as it was now.

"Would you like me to take you to the doctor?"

Julian snapped me out of my daydreams and reminded me of the painful present I was stuck in until now.

"Do I look that bad?" I asked sarcastically, earning another grin.

"If it'll cheer you up, I can just drive you to the seminar and pretend you haven't just been unconscious for two days. And that not for the second time."

I hated it. Why did this kind of crap always happen to me?

"You should at least eat something," he said, pointing to the back seat. "There should be two packs of Sweet Chili Chips and a Coke."

"You live a healthy life," I laughed, and Julian couldn't stop his lips from forming a smile.

"Just eat and don't criticize me all the time."