Page 142 of House of Ruin
I can already see myself getting comfortable here, with the Snakes. And did I tell you yet how cute Galliermo is?
Alecto snapped the journal shut, her hands trembling.
As she read the lines, she could hear her mother’s sweet voice in her mind. Tears burned Alecto’s eyes, and she covered her mouth with her hand.
This little book in her hands had the story of her mother’s past she had been missing all these years. Maybe she could finally make sense of things.
Alecto wanted to savor each moment she spent reading her mom’s journal. She didn’t want to rush and skip details because she was distracted.
She pushed the journal aside, ready to go and find something else to do while she waited for Norse’s message. But then she remembered Val’s words.
Page one seventy-nine if you’re curious.
What was there that made Val suggest reading it? Alecto stared at the journal for a long moment, fighting her curiosity.
She needed to know. She couldn’t wait.
Quickly, she flipped through old pages to page 179. There was only a very short entry from June 9, 1952:
Dear Diary,
One thing I learned whilst being a Snake is that silly hopes and dreams of living in shiny mansions you’ve never seen before are just that—hopes and dreams.
And one day, you have to stop dreaming and hoping and take what you want. Secure your place in a world that wants nothing to do with you.
And for this very reason, my dear diary, I just drained my last bottle of contraceptive brew down the sink.
For that exact reason, I’ll be wearing that pink dress with flowers that I know Alatar Black loves from the way he always stares at me when I wear it.
And for that very reason, I’ll let him slide his hand up my skirt when nobody is watching and hope the rumors of him never bothering to use protection during sex are true.
Because that’s how I secure a future for myself.
Alecto regretted her decision the moment she finished reading the entry. Her stomach turned, and she felt sick.
That sounded nothing like her mother. The voice in her mind didn’t match the words she’d just read.
But there wasn’t time to process anything because out of thin air, a paper note appeared and landed in front of her.
Black,
It will be my pleasure to meet you for rehearsal today. How about 3 p.m. at my place? I’m pretty sure we’ll need privacy for practicing that particular scene you suggested.
XXX,
Fox
“Great,” Alecto murmured, throwing the note on her bed, next to the journal.
It was time for action.
She pushed the journal farther away, grabbing the gold coin. There wasn’t much time to think, so Alecto lifted her turtleneck all the way up to her neck and placed the coin above her right breast.
Closing her eyes, she grabbed her bones and murmured a chant, bracing for the pain.
It stung like Hel as the golden coin melted with her skin, and Alecto barely held herself back from crying out loud.
Once the spell was finished, only a symbol of a coiled snake was left on her skin. She pulled her turtleneck down and got on her feet.
