Page 48 of House of Ruin
“But I’m gonna pick the place this time.”
Before Norse could reply, she whirled on her heel and strode up the stairs to the last row, where she’d left her stuff.
She was breathless by the time she got to the last row, which was embarrassing, but there was nothing she could do. Quickly, she slid back into her jacket and grabbed her bag. A small piece of paper fell on the floor.
With a frown, Alecto bent down to pick it up. The corners of it were smoldering, just like the last note she’d received. And in the middle, in the same handwriting, lay another scramble of words:
In the night’s sky void of stars
all I ever see
is you.
—Yours
Alecto’s head snapped up, and she looked around the auditorium. There were no students around, the acting crew occupying the first two rows only. Norse wasn’t around anymore either.
With a pounding heart, Alecto stuffed the note into her pocket and hurried out.
19
What better way to forget the deadly warning left in a fellow student’s corpse than spending a day in the city with your best friend? Definitely nothing. So that was why Alecto was back to Avalon Hills for the second time in the same month.
And from the way Jolene had been chirping, all excited and flushed on their way to Alecto’s hair-removal appointment, the day was promising.
Alecto was also grateful that they could get out of the House and go somewhere where they could talk in private without prying ears all around them.
“So.” Alecto cleared her throat. “Have your aunties ever mentioned my mom to you when speaking about the Snakes?”
Jolene frowned. “Not really. Not as far as I can remember. She’s only ever referred to as Alatar’s mortal bride. Why do you ask?”
“I spoke with Madame Raquel, and she told me that my mom was a member of our House.”
“That’s—”
“Impossible, I know. She’s not on the House records. There are no mortal students at Venefica.”
“There have been few far in between,” Jolene said. “But none at our House. It makes sense, though. She was with Galliermo in that memory orb from the Beltane Ball.”
“Yeah, but why isn’t she in the Book? Doesn’t it seem suspicious that there’s no mention of her anywhere?”
Jolene eyed Alecto for a moment. “There are lots of suspicious things, especially when it comes to the alumni.”
Alecto nodded. It was just one more secret in an overfilled chest of things their families kept from them.
“So, first stop for the hair-removal procedure, and then we head over for lunch at that pizza place… Ah, what the fuck is the name of it again?” Jolene frowned, turning to Alecto.
For today, Jolene had exchanged her skirts and dresses for classic pants, polished loafers, and a crisp white shirt that looked sophisticated as Hel when combined with her long black coat. So unlike Jolene.
“It’s Hel’s Kitchen,” Alecto replied, noticing a godsdamnedbroochresting over Jolene’s left breast. “Excuse me, did I miss something? Since when do you dress like your aunt Reverie?”
“Yes, Hel’s Kitchen, that’s right! We’re going to head over there, since I made reservations, and then I want to go shopping at the mall on Fifth,” Jolene continued completely ignoring Alecto’s question. Then she seemed to realize what Alecto had said because she added with a shrug, “I wanted to look my best for today. You know, girls’ day in the city and all…”
Jolene blushed, her eyes darting to the concrete sidewalk they walked on. When she started biting her bottom lip, Alecto came to a stop.
“What the fuck is going on?” Alecto demanded. “Jolene, spill it, for fuck’s sake.”
Jolene shoved her hands in her pockets, looking around nervously. The wind picked up one loose strand of her blue highlight and blew it across her face.
