Page 126 of House of Ruin
He looked at Alecto, his mind empty, trying to make sense of the words that had just come out of that pretty mouth that drove him crazy.
Alecto slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide.
Bea, clearly satisfied with herself, laughed. “This is priceless,” she said. “Oh, I see the Inner Circle wasn’t exempt from the truth serum.”
I intended to make him fall for me and then crush him entirely.
The pain bloomed in Blaze’s chest as the words finally sunk in. It was hard to breathe, and his head was swimming.
Blaze dragged a hand through his hair, biting his tongue so hard, the taste of copper filled his mouth.
This girl.
He had pondered her for weeks, completely crazy about the idea of her touch, of her as a whole.
And yet all the things that made his heart beat faster were just parts of her clever plan of making him fall for her so she could… She could do what? Break his heart and humiliate him?
“Blaze,” Alecto said, shaking her head. “Blaze—”
“Don’t bother,” Blaze cut her off.
He turned away from Alecto, unable to look at her. To be with her in the same room.
Val snapped her fingers. “Gael, Andro, Jolene, and Alecto. Return to the party upstairs and make sure you’re doing everything in your power to stop people from sniffing around. Alecto, you know what to do with Norse. Be careful with the truth serum. It should wear off in three minutes or less.”
Blaze waited for them to leave before he turned back to where Val stood.
“Flareus.” Val jerked her chin towards Bea and Cadre.
Horror shone in Cadre’s face as he recognized the spell. A moment later, vines broke through the concrete, weaving around them both. Tightly.
“Wait! I didn’t know about it,” Cadre said. His forehead was slick with sweat as he tried to pry the vines away from himself. His white shirt was slowly soaking with blood as thorns tore into his skin, drawing blood.
“Stop moving, or you’re going to die,” Val said, her voice flat. “You don’t expect me to simply let you go. Once I am sure you had nothing to do with it, then I’ll consider it.”
Cadre kept pushing at the vines, murmuring something Blaze didn’t care to understand.
Val rolled her eyes. “You fucking idiot.Deleresco ignatios.”
Cadre, together with Bea, dropped to the floor, unconscious.
Then Val turned to Blaze.
“I need you to help me take them to a safe place while we figure out this mess.”
“Where’s that?”
A corner of Val’s mouth quirked up. “Someplace you’re familiar with already.”
When their carriage pulled up at the back entrance to the black market, Blaze wasn’t even surprised.
Knowing Val’s connection to the Imp Queen, the black market was be the most convenient place to hold secrets she didn’t want others to know about.
Blaze got a hold of Cadre’s arms, letting his feet drag on the gravel as they made their way inside. Val led Blaze down a long corridor and then into the basement.
The air was damp and smelled of old water and burned flesh.
It made Blaze’s stomach churn.
