Page 127 of House of Pain
Alecto ground her teeth so hard her jaw ached. “How the fuck do you know this?”
“Now, as you know already, there was no happy ending for Galliermo and dear Demitria. Because Galliermo’s best friend, Alatar Black, swooped in and stole his bride. I mean, Demitria went willingly, of course, because, unlike Galliermo, Black was a man of status already.”
This couldn’t be true. Val had to be lying. No way in Hel was Alecto’s mother in a relationship with Galliermo when she attended Venefica. She was sweet and soft. Nice. Mortal. She’d never leave one man to be with another just because ofmoney.
“Some people believe that Galliermo was the one who actually killed your mother,” Val added. She seemed to be enjoying herself. “If you ask me—”
Val didn’t get to finish the sentence, because the door to the basement opened and the rest of the Inner Circle climbed down the stairs, talking over each other.
Alecto was grateful for the interruption. She quickly closed the Book, stuffed the Polaroid into her boot, and hopped off the pool table.
“Well, are we ready?” Andro asked.
Val eyed Alecto for another moment, her smile growing.
“Yeah,” she said. “Let’s go win the Game.”
The sickly sweet stench of old fire hung heavy in the air when the Snakes got to the Tigers’ House. At night, the blackened skeleton of what once was one of the most beautiful architectural pieces in Darly stood abandoned.
Goose bumps rose all over Alecto’s body, and not from the chilly air. She wrapped her coat tighter around herself, painfully aware of the others behind her.
“Lovely,” Jolene observed. “You really did a number on their House. No wonder the Tigers have been skulking around.”
“Who knew all it took for them to lose their wits was taking away the comforts?” Val’s words were dripping with arrogant satisfaction. When Alecto glanced her way, she winked.
Alecto immediately looked away, willing herself to focus on the House. She hated Val. She knew more than she was letting on, all this time.
“That’s one of the first things you do when torturing people,” Rogue mused. The silence stretched between them until Rogue huffed a laugh. “Forgot I’m not native to Inathis?”
Alecto frowned, turning away. She didn’t think it would be possible to ever forget Rogue was a demon. But strangely, Alecto had become used to him. To the intense gaze of those amber eyes.
We’re going to get back at whoever did this to you.
Rogue had been kind when some others were anything but.
Alecto stole a sideways glance at Blaze standing a bit further away from her. A cigarette was resting between his lips as he tilted his head back. His eyes were half-closed to avoid the streaming smoke.
Things had been weird. Alecto couldn’t forget the way he cared for her after Hellbates attack. Blaze was the one who held her all night and stood by her side while she sweated and retched the venom out of her system.
They hadn’t spoken since then. She wasn’t sure what was there to say. Her pride didn’t let her saythank you.
As if sensing her eyes on him, Blaze glanced sideways, and their eyes locked. Alecto averted her gaze. She didn’t know how to feel about the recent revelation about their parents.
Did Blaze know? Was that why he hated her so much?
“There are no wards around the perimeter,” Andro said, appearing from around the corner.
“Yeah.” Jolene came around the other side of the fence. “Even the House itself isn’t warded.”
Val nodded. “Their Book should be in the basement.”
She opened the gate and led them to the back of the House, where a wooden door was cemented into the foundation. Most of the townhouses in Darly had entrances to the basements from the outside.
The Snakes had cemented theirs off to avoid having to guard another entrance point to their brownstone. When Val wrenched the double door open with one spell only and a flight of stone stairs appeared, it was obvious that the Tigers didn’t share the same worries.
“Are they really that stupid?” Blaze asked.
“Apparently,” Andro mused.
