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.