Page 81 of House of Ruin
“What the fuck,” Alecto murmured.
She reached towards the clothing, hesitating for a moment. But then she trailed a hand through the array of materials. They didn’t disappear into thin air as she had expected. The silks and cashmere were soft at the tips of her fingers.
Tears sprung to her eyes so suddenly, Alecto almost lost it. But she blinked hard, trying to will them away, sniffling to make the itching in her nose go away.
Why’d Alatar keep all that? It was weird enough that he kept the interior of the House intact, just the way her mother had left it. But this… All this was insanity. It was as if he enjoyed sleeping in the memories of her being gone.
Alecto glanced up to find an outline of the small door still in the ceiling, the metal chain hanging from it. She tugged on the chain, and the door opened, a metal ladder unfolding neatly in front of Alecto.
Right as Alecto climbed the first stair, something rustled behind her. She whirled, almost losing her balance as her heart leaped in her chest. But it was only Blaze.
He actually looked guilty enough when she snapped, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
A shrug. “Sorry.” He actually saidsorry? Blaze Leveau had this particular word in his vocabulary? “I didn’t mean to pry or startle you.”
Alecto sighed heavily, leaning against the ladder. “You scared me shitless.”
“What’s upstairs?”
She glanced up into the darkness of the attic. It hadn’t been her intention to tell Blaze anything about why she was here this weekend. But she supposed he was involved, since Galliermo was his father. Maybe he’d like to know.
“An attic,” Alecto said, meeting Blaze’s glare. “I think there might be something there that would explain the dating situation our parents had going back when they attended Venefica.”
Blaze didn’t look surprised to hear it.
“Is that why you organized this weekend getaway?” Alecto nodded, and Blaze smiled. “I knew there must have been a reason. You never once went home on the weekend since you started college.”
Alecto didn’t say anything, turning her back to him and climbing the stairs into the attic. “You are free to join me on the search, but don’t get your hopes up.”
The air in the attic was heavy with dust and mold. Alecto pinched the tip of her nose as it started tickling, the urge to sneeze hard to fight off. She touched the first light orb hanging along the slated ceiling, soft light illuminating the space around them.
“This place needs some maintenance,” Blaze said, looking around.
He was right. The light oak panels lining the slated ceilings and walls had seen better days, mold settled in the corners. Alecto cringed at the thick layer of dust on the floor as she moved deeper inside the attic.
No furniture was in sight, just a bunch of old wooden boxes stacked together in random corners of the place. Alecto barely held a scream in as she almost walked into a massive web with a huge blue spider resting in it. Its dozen eyes opened at once, blinking as the creature inspected Alecto.
“Disgusting,” Alecto murmured, ducking to pass the web without disturbing it. Alecto turned to Blaze trailing behind her. “What do you know about Galliermo dating my mother?”
Blaze shook his head. “Nothing. When you told me it was your mom next to Galliermo in that memory orb, it was the first time I heard about it.”
At the very back of the attic, they found a stack of wooden boxes of different sizes stacked together. Alecto let her fingertips trail the blurred markings on the sides. They were supposed to indicate what was in each box, but with time, they had disappeared.
“That’s weird, knowing that the person who told me about their relationship first was Val.”
“What did she tell you?”
Every hair at the back of Alecto’s neck rose at his presence next to her. The air was stuffy for a very different reason now. But Alecto managed to calm her heart enough to focus.
“Val said my mom dated Galliermo and they were the couple of the fucking century back in their time,” Alecto said, meeting Blaze’s dark gaze. “And then she said my mom left him for Alatar because of money.”
Alecto was waiting for a spiteful comment or a sneer from Blaze. Something that would indicate his distaste for mortals or half-breeds. But Blaze only frowned, considering her words. After a moment, he nodded.
“Makes sense.” Alecto was about to ask what made sense, but Blaze asked, “What else?”
“Val didn’t say anything else. But Madame Raquel told me Galliermo and my mother were the happiest couple, dreaming of living in Holly Hills together after college.”
“Doesn’t sound like my father at all.”
