Page 74 of House of Ruin
“What, lost the ability to speak, Fox?”
Alecto came to a stop in front of him. She had to tilt her head up to look him in the face, and the way Norse was looking at her down his nose screamed…trouble.
The urge to fidget was hard to resist. But Alecto managed.
When Norse didn’t answer, she hopped on the stage next to him and took out her script from her bag.
“You picked the most boring place to rehearse the lines.”
Alecto shrugged, not looking at Norse. “I picked the best place to rehearse. If you weren’t aware, this is where the performance usually takes place. It would be good for us to get used to it.”
“And here I thought you picked the academy because you’re afraid of being with me alone somewhere else.” Norse licked his lips, eyeing her. “Somewhere more private.”
Alecto ignored Norse’s words, the hidden meaning behind them. Whatever he was implying, she wasn’t interested.
Last time she gave in to the attention of boys from a rival House, Alecto found herself tied to a boat in Blood Lake. She wasn’t going to repeat the same mistake.
Norse was the one to shatter the uncomfortable silence. “So, did you pick a scene you think we should rehearse today?”
Alecto nodded, landing on the page she was looking for right at that moment.
“I think we should work on the scene at the end where Carmen decides to pay back Seville for keeping her locked in a golden cage.”
“Interesting choice.”
It was a scene Alecto found particularly attractive to her right at this moment in time. She had been looking for ways to connect with Carmen in some way to help her fill her role better. And finally, Alecto had found it.
“Let’s start from the part where he finds her after she ran away,” Alecto said.
Norse only nodded and read his lines. “My dear lover, why would you choose to break my heart in such a cruel and merciless way? What have I done to deserve such—?”
“Enough, Seville,” Alecto read out loud. “There is nothing you can say to make me feel sorry for what I have done. You kept me locked up like a prize, and you dare to call me your dearest lover? I was no such thing to you if you don’t see your wrongs.”
“Carmen, my dearest Carmen.” Norse shook his head, tossing his script aside. “I don’t like this scene, honestly. I don’t get why we have to act out this bullshit.”
Alecto scoffed. “Bullshit? What about this scene is bullshit to you, Fox?”
Norse looked at Alecto, a slight scowl settled on his features. “Well, for one, I don’t understand why there are such dramatics about Seville giving Carmen everything she ever wanted. You’d think she’d be grateful rather than try and escape. And then seek revenge for it.”
Of course, Norse wouldn’t understand. Alecto rolled her eyes.
“You think that keeping your lover locked in a castle and controlling her every move is something she should be grateful for? Even if Seville gave Carmen everything her heart desired, his love and all the riches of the world, she was still missing something very fucking vital—her freedom.”
As Alecto said those words out loud, she remembered what Madame Raquel had revealed her about her mother. Demitria had found freedom with Galliermo, at least from what the madame had told Alecto. Why would Demitria trade that to be with Alecto’s father?
Nothing made sense to Alecto. She couldn’t figure out the new picture of her mother that everyone was painting for her, so different from the one she had ingrained in her mind from her brief childhood with Demitria.
“But isn’t there a certain type of freedom in belonging to someone unconditionally?”
Alecto blinked, snapped out of her thoughts by Norse’s words. It took her a moment to find an answer to his question.
“I don’t fucking think so. Let’s not waste time here. If you don’t like this scene, let’s skip to the part where Carmen sets Seville’s castle on fire.”
The scene that inspired Alecto to suggest burning the Tigers’ home. Alecto’s favorite.
“Okay then.” Norse flicked through his pages to the scene. He cleared his throat and read his lines out loud. “You would rather see me burn than have my love, dearest Carmen? Your lips speak words of kindness while your actions speak of something so much different. So much worse.”
“Love makes witches crazy, wasn’t that what you told me the night you dragged me back here and locked me in that tower again?” Alecto said, locking eyes with Norse. “It makes us act on our most savage, lushest desires. And it also speaks to the darkness we didn’t know we had within us. I’ve burned your home to set myself free, Seville. And I intend on staying free.”
