Page 26 of House of Malice
I do feel a bit better now that I journaled about it. I needed to get this out of my head, to clear my mind. To talk to someone about it. I do need that sometimes. I think that is why I started this, to have a friend to talk to, someone who won’t judge and who will always hear me out, no matter what I have to say.
You might think that’s pathetic. I should have friends like that in real life. And while I do, I do have Galliermo and Alatar and Raquel… they could never understand me, because they’re simply not mortal.
And that’s something I’ll have to make peace with. Because in Inathis, I’m alone.
“Oh my Gods,” Alecto said. “This is fucking disturbing as fuck. What the Hel?”
“So the murders were part of the Game,” Blaze said. He closed the journal. “That’s something.”
“We’re just like them,” Alecto said. “We’re no better than them.”
She spoke Blaze’s worst fear out loud. He grabbed her chin and turned her head so she faced him now.
He shook his head. “No. Absolutely not. We’renothinglike them.”
“I killed Mathias and Gabe.”
“Wekilled them,” Blaze said. “And technically, we watched them die. We didn’t do it ourselves. And we only did it to protect ourselves.”
Alecto lifted the journal. “Yeah, that’s exactly my point, Blaze. Just like they were trying to protecttheirHouse. What the fuck is even the point of this Game? Has anyone ever questioned it?”
Blaze frowned when he realized that he’d never asked himself this question. “I don’t think so. Not as far as I’m aware. Nobody’s ever had to. It’s a tradition. It’s our legacy.”
Alecto shook her head. “I don’t want to read any more of this right now.”
Blaze tossed the journal aside and scootched closer to her. She settled in the crook of his arm, leaning her head on his chest.
“We don’t have to,” Blaze said into her hair. The smell of her made him dizzy. “We can simply enjoy the view.”
11
Afew days later, Val called an Inner Circle meeting. Alecto woke up early so she could go down into the basement and read a bit more of her mother’s journal in silence before it started.
Despite her dread, she was curious to learn more, to see the story unfold, and to understand the events of the past that had influenced the present.
Sadly, it didn’t seem as if she would get a moment to be alone this morning.
When she descended the stairs into the basement with a cup of black coffee in hand, she found Blaze lounging on the leather sofa. A cigarette hung from his lips, unlit. He seemed to be lost in thought, with a line wedged between his eyebrows, his eyes distant.
Alecto cleared her throat and got his attention. Blaze blinked, surprised to see her.
“I can’t seem to find a quiet corner in this place,” Alecto said, arching an eyebrow.
A familiar smirk curled his lips, and Alecto was thrilled to see it.
“I’m so sorry to hear that, baby,” he said. He took out the cigarette and rolled it between his long fingers. “Is there anything I can do to make it better?”
Alecto stalked over to the couch and straddled Blaze’s hips. She tossed the journal aside and put her cup of coffee on the side table.
Blaze’s hands immediately found her thighs, caressing them softly. He played with the hem of her pleated black skirt, his clever fingers hiking up higher and higher.
“Are you wearing panties today?” Blaze asked, tilting his head to the side. His eyes were focused on her crotch, and what hid beneath the material of her skirt.
“There is only one way to find out.”
Blaze groaned and dug his fingers into her thighs. “You’re driving me out of my mind.”
Alecto leaned in and planted a kiss on his neck. She nipped on his earlobe and whispered, “Isn’t that fun?”
