Page 131 of House of Pain
When their eyes locked, the feeling seemed to be mutual.
Even without the official announcement, most of the students knew the Snakes were behind the fire at the Tigers’ House.
Well, fuck me.
She’d have to play nice because she needed to be the star of the show. She was going to prove that even a half breed could play Carmen.
Madame Raquel clapped her hands, indicating that they should pair up, but Alecto didn’t rise from her seat.
Norse was the one who came over and sat on the chair next to her, his cold gaze sliding down her body, stopping on her legs, right where the skirt ended.
“Are you going to cause me trouble, Black?”
“I would never.” A small smirk pulled her lips despite her efforts to stay neutral. Norse arched a brow.
“You know, you really should come with a warning sign,” he mused, tracing a long finger over his sharp jaw. “You walk around like the love goddess, luring poor warlocks to your embrace. But Gods save the souls of those who dare to lay their hands on you.”
Alecto scoffed, crossing her legs.
As if it were her fault that Gabe and Matias got what they deserved?
The rules were simple at Venefica. Kill or be killed.
“Sotragicallypoetic,” she said, her words clipped. “Sofuckingdramatic.” Norse’s lips pulled up, just slightly.
“Believe it or not, Alecto, I’m your friend,” he said. That was the last thing she expected to hear. “All I’m saying is that I wish I had you in my House.”
With a wink, he turned away, shuffling through the pages they were supposed to memorize and practice.
Alecto sighed, shoving his weird words to the very back of her head, and opened her own script.
First, she needed to learn the lines.
Then, she would need to perfect the performance.
And once that was done, she’d need to figure out how to turn herself into Carmen and not a starving Victorian orphan version of one of the greatest women in their history.
Alecto was jolted from her thoughts as the door to the auditorium opened and the Dean’s secretary walked in, the same pleasant smile plastered on her face. She adjusted her glasses, scanning the crowd, and Alecto didn’t even need to hear her say it.
She already knew who she was going to call.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Alecto murmured. Norse chuckled.
“Madame Raquel, I’ll need to ask you to excuse Miss Black from the rest of the lecture,” Miss Bellthrove said, chipper as fucking always. Madame nodded, waving her hand. “Miss Black, please come with me.”
Alecto gathered her stuff, shoved it into her bag, and rose to her feet. They weren’t even in the middle of the first trimester.
It’s going to be a long year…
As Alecto passed Norse, he murmured the words that were meant only for her: “No Queen rules forever. Don’t forget that, Black.”
Well, at least this time, the Snakes weren’t the only ones getting called into the Dean’s office.
Every fucking House was crowded together in the reception, members throwing mean glances at each other. Alecto barely held herself back from laughing. It would be pathetic if it weren’t so funny.
She plopped on the empty seat between Andro and Val. “Where’s Blaze and Jolene?”
“They’re calling us in in pairs,” Val said, looking bored as ever. “Unlikely pairs to interrogate. You know, so that the Dean’s sure we haven’t had the time to practice the story.”
