Page 52 of House of Ruin
The cooling salve worked like a charm. It had been an hour since Alecto’s torture had ended, and she didn’t feel a damned thing down there as the three of them sat at a table in Hel’s Kitchen.
Jolene had booked a table in the mezzanine area of the restaurant, which was a spot with a view both to Avalon Hills and its sky-high buildings stretching as far the eye could see and to the restaurant downstairs, where the majority of the customers were dining.
As they passed the bar on their way to their seats, a graceful fire sprite leading the way, Jolene stopped to exchange a few words with the bartender and supposed owner of Hel’s Kitchen, Wren.
Yet Jolene didn’t introduce them.
“They source their pizza flour from Everburn State because it’s supposed to be the best quality ever,” Jolene said once they sat down.
Alecto inspected the menu with utmost precision. There couldn’t be any onions, garlic, fatty meats, bell peppers, or so many other things on her pizza.
“Oh yeah, that’s right.” Leigh chuckled. She turned to Jolene. “I keep forgetting Everburn is not only famous for its college, but the best pizza flour also.”
“Yeah.” Jolene smirked, her attention fully on her own menu. “Everburn is famous for quite a few things.”
“Didn’t you say you were supposed to go there before changing your mind and choosing Venefica?” Alecto asked.
She would go with the five-cheese pizza. It was always the safest choice. And who needed to be adventurous with their food, anyway?
“That was my first choice. Most healers and naturalists go there because it offers the best programs.” Jolene nodded, biting her lower lip. “But legacy is legacy.”
Jolene didn’t seem particularly upset by it. But neither was she particularly happy. All of them shared the same burden, after all.
“Doesn’t that suck, though?” Leigh frowned. “Who gives a shit about whether you belong to a House or not?”
Everyone who wants to be someone does.But Alecto didn’t voice her opinion.
“It’s been a big deal in my family because my parents didn’t attend Venefica, missing one generation. So, when I was six or seven, my grandmother had me make her a promise,” Jolene explained. “She never asked me anything else throughout the years. I couldn’t deny her that one thing. And besides, it’s not like Venefica’s bad or anything. And I’ve found my circle, so it worked out in the end.”
“Sure, it’s really not bad if you ignore the part about the Game that gets twenty percent of attending witches killed,” Leigh chirped. “Oh, and let’s not forget the serial killer roaming the campus.”
Alecto and Jolene exchanged glances.
“We don’t know whether it’s a serial killer or not,” Jolene pointed out. “The current theory is that it’s a Fanhy Coven witch, right?”
“You’re familiar with the numbers of the Game?” Alecto asked, trying to turn the conversation away from the murders. “I don’t even think we have them advertised on campus.”
Leigh didn’t take the bait. “Yes, that’s what the police thought initially,” she said. “However, when I had a conversation with Detective Vin, he assured me that no Fanhy Coven witches are involved, and the case will be classified as serial killer case if one more victim appears.”
“You had a conversation with Vin?” Jolene narrowed her eyes at Leigh.
Her golden cheeks flushed, and she lowered her eyes for a moment.
“Well, I—” she said but then stopped herself. She cleared her throat and tried again. “My editor assigned me this story because she knows I’m dating someone who attends Venefica. I have not explicitly said it’s a Frone I’m dating, believe me.”
The silence that fell around them was deafening. Alecto didn’t think it was a good thing that the press was turning their attention to the murders.
“I was gonna tell you today that I’ll be temporarily moving to Darly while I work on this investigation,” Leigh added. “I thought it would be easier in person than via a magical note.”
“Isn’t it a conflict of interest?” Jolene asked, unfolding a white napkin and placing it in her lap. “To be the leading reporter on an investigative story when yourgirlfriendattends that university?”
“Not unless said girlfriend is being investigated, it is not,” Leigh said with a gentle smile. She reached for Jolene’s hand, taking it hers.
Oh, dear Gods…
Alecto and Jolene exchanged glances. Things were not looking great.
But maybe not everything had to be bad. Maybe they could use the fact Leigh was the leading investigative reporter on this case to their advantage…
