Page 123 of House of Pain
Ignoring the sting, Blaze went over to the bed. Jolene lifted Alecto, letting him slide under her with his back to the leather headboard.
Alecto’s head lolled on his chest, and Blaze ignored the weird feelings rising to the surface as he wrapped his arms around her to keep her in place for when another wave of pain came in.
“Don’t you have something to make this easier?” Blaze asked, looking at Jolene sitting at the end of the bed.
She shook her head.
Alecto’s muscles trembled, her whole body burning. When Blaze felt her start shaking, he tightened his grip, holding her head to his chest with his palm.
Her teeth were chattering, breathing uneven, but she didn’t scream.
No, Alecto held it all inside, her eyes shut closed as she rode one wave of agony after another.
Andro came back into the room with a carafe of water and a glass. He placed it on the nightstand, filled the glass, and held it to Alecto’s mouth.
She shook her head. “No.”
“You need to drink,” Jolene said, patting her leg. “It’s going to help remove the venom faster.”
“Not yet.”
Jolene nodded to Andro, and he returned the glass to the nightstand.
“We need to talk about what happened tonight,” Val said, finally stopping at the end of the bed.
“Someone fucking got to us,” Alecto croaked.
Blaze hadn’t had the time to process events from tonight.
What the attack of the Hellbates meant.
Someone had managed to come for their Book. And they hadn’t even seen it coming.
Worse, someone broke through their elaborate protection spells.
“We had the highest tier protection wards from Gill’s,” Andro said, settling on the desk in the corner. “There is no way a simple student, even a fourth year, could break through those.”
“Are you suggesting they had help from a powerful witch or a warlock?” Jolene asked.
Andro spread his arms.
“We have help this year,” Val said, waving a hand at Rogue. “If we thought of that, it means that the others could too.”
“You forget,” Alecto chimed in. She stopped, swallowing hard before continuing. “Not many Houses are as reckless as we are. And not many have Blaze Leveau and his stash of blackmail material to get them out of trouble.”
They chuckled, even Blaze, which eased the tension.
But not for long.
“Or it could be an inside job,” Val suggested.
“Fuck,” Jolene breathed out the words. “Who? Almost everyone here is legacy.”
“And even legacy could betray. If the price is high enough, every witch is on their own. It’s in our blood, don’t forget that.”
“Is the Book safe?” Alecto asked. Her trembling seemed to have lessened, at least for the moment.
“You almost died and that’s what you’re worried about? We created a little monster.”
