Page 149 of House of Ruin
He turned away, as if that could help him not be compelled to spill the truth.
“We always have a choice. Why did you do it?” Alecto pressed.
When Norse turned back to face her, his eyes were cruel.
“I did all that for the sake of one thing. I thought you’d be smart enough to understand without me needing to spell it out for you.”
Alecto blinked, confused for a moment.
“Revenge?” Alecto breathed out the moment it clicked. “All this, all the murders, for some sort of revenge?”
Norse smiled, for the very first time since Alecto had known him. Her surprise must have shown in her face because Norse barked a laugh.
Before Alecto could react, Norse grabbed her and turned her around once more. Her back hit something hard, not so gently.
Norse lifted her hands, securing them with a leather strap. Then he bent down and did the same with her legs.
Alecto was chained against that X-shaped device, unable to move. She tugged and pulled against the restraints, but they were not giving.
“Smart little half-witch, aren’t you?” Norse hissed. “Indeed. Everything is about revenge here, isn’t it? Someone’s always trying to get at someone for something they did or didn’t do even if they could or couldn’t. Witches’ need for vengeance is as prominent as their desire for power.”
Alecto blinked rapidly, panic rising inside her. “What did the Snakes do to you? What did the other victims do?”
Norse tilted his head to the side, considering something. “Before I tell you who it is about, I have to make sure you understand why.” Norse’s gaze was wild as he stood in front of Alecto, unfocused. “Thewhyis the most important part. The why is everything that matters because without it, nothing makes sense.”
Nothing he was saying made sense.
“What did you do with the power you took when you killed them?” Alecto asked. “You used it for something? Or are you accumulating it?”
This wasn’t going the way she hoped. The Snakes might not be able to rush in here and save her ass before Norse did something to her.
Norse shook his head. “I don’t have it. I never did.”
Alecto frowned.
“You remember Genevieve?” Norse asked before Alecto could say anything else. She nodded. “My dear, lovely Genevieve.”
Alecto’s heart dropped. One only spoke about someone in this way if they were truly dear to one’s heart.
“What about her?” Alecto asked.
“She wasmine,” Norse said, his eyes cold. “She was mine. And Blaze Leveau, together with all of you, took her away from me.”
Alecto shook her head. “We didn’t kill her. We did no such thing.”
Norse gripped Alecto’s face, his fingers digging into her cheeks painfully. “No. But you did push her to the point where she had no other choice but end her life.”
There was so much pain in Norse’s eyes; Alecto could see it now.
He had every reason to hate the Snakes for what they’d done to Genevieve.
“She was the sweetest witch,” Norse said. “She was going to be the best dancer Inathis had ever seen. Why did you have to break her like that?”
Alecto shook her head. “I—”
She didn’t know what to say. There was no explanation for their actions, as to why Leveau had seduced her just to humiliate her in front of the whole school.
The only explanation was always the same—they had to destroy others before they destroyed them.
