Page 135 of House of Ruin
With a quick chant, Val removed the sleep spell Blaze had cast earlier.
And then they waited.
Blaze refused to look at Alecto, even though his skin was electrified at being this close to her again.
She stood silently, leaning against the wall as far from Blaze as it was possible in a cramped cell.
Finally, Bea and Cadre started rousing from their slumber.
Val fished out a vial from her pocket and walked over to where they lay on the floor. Not so gently, she gripped Bea’s face and poured half the contents of the vial into her mouth, which made her choke.
Disregarding her, Val did the same with Cadre before retreating to stand next to the rest of their group.
“More truth serum?” Jolene asked, frowning.
“The situation calls for it.”
“They might not survive another dose.”
Val looked at Jolene. “How unfortunate that would be.”
“Itwouldbe unfortunate for us, Val,” Andro said. “We only have twelve members because our personal demon turned out to be a traitor. And if we lose two more members, we won’t be too far behind the House of Tigers.”
Val smiled, seemingly unbothered by the warning. “We’ll see about that.”
Bea was the first to open her eyes. She seemed groggy, blinking while trying to adjust to the dim lighting of the cell.
The horror was obvious in her face once she took in the stone walls and the Inner Circle standing in front of her.
“Finally,” Val said. “Let’s talk.”
Immediately, Bea’s eyes started watering.
“Oh, please.” Val rolled her eyes. “Do you think tears will make this easier? You made your bed, little Snake. And now you’ll have to sleep in it.”
“Please, I didn’t—” Bea’s voice cracked. “I was scared. I didn’t know what to do—”
Val lifted a palm to shush her, and Bea recoiled, her eyes filled with fear. Her reaction only amused Val.
“You stated your reasons for betrayal,” Val said. “The Snakes treated you poorly, oh, so poorly. Nobody fucking cares. What I do care about, however, is why Fox is murdering people on campus.”
Bea blinked, her eyes wide. “Norseisthe campus killer?”
For a long moment, they were all silent. Val glanced at Blaze, then at Andro. Jolene grimaced, biting her lower lip.
“She doesn’t know shit,” Alecto said, her voice flat. Bea looked at her, and immediately, Alecto’s eyes filled with silent rage. “Why are you looking at me as if I killed your puppy?”
“You should understand the reasons why I did what I did better than anyone else,” Bea hissed. “They treated you worse than anyone. All of them did, not only the Snakes. And you continue to let them bully you into being a nasty—”
Alecto let out a tsk. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes cruel. “You see, this is where you’re wrong. Instead of crying about how tragic it is that people at Venefica, at your own House, where you are supposed to belong, treat you like fucking trash, you should get smart about it. You have to show them why they shouldn’t bully you.”
Bea sobbed. “That’s what I tried to do—”
“No, no. Sneaking behind your House’s back and trying to betray them to a rival House is not what I mean. It only further shows your fucking weakness and that you don’t belong at the House of Snakes. Or Venefica, for that matter.”
It wasn’t news to Blaze how cruel and cold Alecto could be when she wanted to. He even found it attractive, beautiful, arousing most of the time.
But that had been when he thought he was exempt from her cruelty. Now it only made his heart bleed more.
