Page 86 of House of Ruin
Leigh nodded. She looked around, her shoulders relaxed. But when she spoke, her voice was low. “Yes. But we can’t talk in the middle of the ballroom. Too many ears.”
Blaze nodded. He had found himself a glass of bubbly wine as well, and he sipped on it while his eyes scanned the room. “After the performance we can talk.”
The Dragons took the dais, Norse walking to the middle. His tailored suit, the color of frosted leaves, hung perfectly on his tall frame. When his silver eyes found Alecto’s in the crowd, an electric current zipped down her spine, her mouth suddenly dry.
“Have you been getting close to Fox?” Blaze’s breath tickled Alecto’s neck as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.
Satisfaction flooded Alecto, and she fought a smile. Blaze sounded jealous. Possessive. And the fire burning in his eyes as he glared down at Alecto confirmed it.
“Maybe,” Alecto said. A muscle in Blaze’s jaw ticked. “Is there a problem, Leveau?”
“I suppose yourappetiteis insatiable.”
Alecto turned back to the stage where all twelve members lined up behind Norse. “If you’re looking for someone to blame, look in the mirror. It’s not as if you’ve been making sure I’m satisfied.”
The last time Alecto had challenged Blaze’s ability to satisfy a woman, he’d pushed her against the wall, dropped on his knees, and made her see stars with that wicked mouth of his alone. Alecto was curious to see where it would take them this time.
From the corner of her eye, she noted the way Blaze ground his jaw, rubbing it with his long fingers. Then his face was so close to her cheek, his breath tickled her skin.
“Do you want me to make you beg formercy, baby?”
Alecto lifted her chin, still not looking at him.
His lips brushed her cheek, just briefly. “Is that what you desire?”
Finally, Alecto turned her head to the side, their faces so close, they shared a breath. She stared up at him through her lowered lashes. When his throat bobbed, Alecto smiled. “I doubt you can make me beg.”
When Blaze arched a brow, Alecto knew she had him. Hooked.
The crowd around them cheered, and Alecto looked towards the dais. The Dragons had started their performance, murmuring chants while Norse stood with his eyes closed, his palms up towards the ceiling.
Above their heads, from the darkness stretching without limits, a massive dragon made of white fire appeared. The creature opened its burning mouth and roared, sending shivers down Alecto’s back.
Witches laughed and clapped, turning their heads as they followed the dragon roaming above, spitting white fire. When it flew close to the crowd, so close that all it would take for Alecto to touch it was lift her hand, the warm flames caressed her skin.
“That’s an improvement,” Andro muttered on Alecto’s side, his eyes focused on the magical dragon. “Fucking show-off.”
Norse’s eyes were open now, and they focused on Alecto when he brought his palms together. A thundering clap went around the ballroom, and the dragon screeched one last time before it exploded into thousands of white snowflakes.
“We’re up,” Jolene said, pulling Alecto after her towards the dais.
Alecto didn’t complain as she followed her friend up the stairs. She stood between Jolene and Blaze, the five of them making a small circle surrounded by the bigger one made of the rest of the members of the Snakes, those who didn’t belong to the Inner Circle.
“Repaaro Coriato,” Val started the chant, the rest of them joining her one by one.
Soon, Alecto’s magic awakened, roaming under her skin. Jolene took her hand, and Alecto took Blaze’s. With her heart hammering in her chest, she let her head fall back and her eyes fall closed.
Gentle chants enveloped them in a soft blanket, and Alecto could have spent the rest of her days lost within it. But the gasps and cheers from the crowd in the ballroom brought her back to the present, and she opened her eyes to see why everyone was gasping.
The thick darkness above them had come alive, shadows dancing above the dais, moving in unison with their chanting. One after another, big smoky snakes weaved out of the shadows, their tongues poking out to taste the air.
As they continued to channel their magic, the shadow snakes roamed the air, their bodies weaving together and around, moving closer to the crowd before retreating into the darkness once more.
Val lifted her arms away from her body, her palms facing forward. The snakes slithered through the air towards the middle of the dais and then started moving up, their bodies weaving into a tangle of black smoke.
It formed a column of slithering shadow snakes, and when the very top of it melted with the dark ceiling, Val snapped her fingers. The smoky snakes exploded into thousands of black snowflakes, falling over the cheering crowd.
“Good job,” Val said after they left the dais and found a spot at one of the floating bars. “That was some impressive witchcraft from everyone.”
