Page 113 of House of Ruin
The black notebook lay on the hardwood floor in front of Alecto, the card with the spell she’d gotten from Gill’s next to it. It had been over an hour since Alecto sat down to perform the spell to break the protection barrier, only to be met with doubt.
She hoped the notebook held her mother’s secrets, answers to questions Alecto needed answered. Maybe there would also be something that would explain the weird behavior of their parents. Who might want to eliminate their House completely.
But she also wasn’t sure she wanted to find answers to those questions. Whatever she found in that notebook could change things forever. Could change the way Alecto remembered her mom—loving, sweet and perfect, always kind and always aiming to be good to people around her. Alecto didn’t want that image to be tainted. But neither could she live pretending her mother didn’t have a questionable past.
So Alecto closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to calm her shaky nerves and racing thoughts. But it wasn’t happening easily.
She couldn’t figure out how her mother could have been with Alatar, the man that he was. So wrapping her head around the whole Galliermo thing was even harder.
Had her mother had a death wish? Falling for the cruelest men she could find in her path?
And then a realization slowly dawned on Alecto.
Was she following in her mother’s footsteps by allowing herself to play these games with Blaze? She had let herself fall for a Leveau man. Blaze might have been better than his father, but his character was still questionable.
Oh dear.Would Alecto end up just like her mother? Meeting death by her own hand because she had gotten herself caught in the web of twisted, cruel men without an escape?
Some believe Galliermo was the one who killed her…Val’s words surged to the surface, and Alecto’s chest heaved.
No.That couldn’t be the case. If Galliermo would have killed her mother, Alatar wouldn’t have continued working with him, being close friends… Right?
Unless Alatar didn’t know. But if Alecto’s father didn’t know, then how would Val have known?
No. Bullshit.Val was just trying to mess with Alecto’s mind, rile her up so Alecto would be emboldened to be the worst version of herself. Or, like Val liked to say, her best version.
Val’s favorite version.
Alecto snapped her eyes open, anger bubbling inside her chest. She needed to get her shit together, or this notebook would forever be locked, unknown secrets hiding inside.
With a trembling hand, Alecto reached for the card and read the spell translation. The more Alecto read, the lower her heart sunk in her chest.
“Fuck,” she cursed. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
The spell called for a group ritual. To be performed under the influence of malaka, the drug that was supposed to thin the veil between three realms to allow the magic to flow through the witches more easily.
And if that wasn’t enough, it required a blood sacrifice to be completed.
Alecto tossed the card and crossed her arms. She wanted to scream. Fucking old magic and their stupid old rituals.
There were two choices. She could have given up, stuffed the notebook at the back of one of the drawers in her desk, and forgotten all about it. To Hel with her mother’s past, to Hel with her bad decisions and secrets.
Or Alecto could get help and go through with the spell. Blood sacrifice was not an option. But there was another type of magic that was just as potent as blood magic.
And Alecto belonged to the House that specialized in it.
Maybe Alecto would regret her decision in the morning. But right now, she was confident it was the right thing to do.
“Are you serious?” Blaze arched an eyebrow, leaning on her doorjamb. “You want to take malaka and then perform a sex ritual?You?A sex ritual?”
Alecto glowered at him, still sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. “Does it look like I’m fucking joking?”
Blaze was speechless. Not a very common occurrence.
“But it says it needs a group ritual,” he said after another moment. Alecto nodded. “You know that means having group sex to fuel the circle?”
“Do I also look fucking dumb?”
Blaze lifted his palms in front of him in defense. “Okay, alright. Have you thought about who’s gonna be the third party?”
