Page 68 of Eternal Ruin
She hated him. At once, the room became engulfed in a heat wave, boiling her blood. So reactive Kidan could hardly breathe.
No, she wanted him to come back. The room thickened with desire and mist, switching from roaring flames to sweetened air.
No, even if he did, she would always be left behind. The room melted, entrapping her like wet cement, cold and endless.
Her fingers dragged into her braids. Her mind hurt, a pressure building right behind her eyes. She couldn’t stand the noise of this house, the buzzing of all her emotions.
Quiet. I need quiet!Please.
As always, the house continued to scratch and claw at her mind, a relentless monster, until there was only one option, one way to find peace—in the folds of Aseracti philosophy.
26.
KIDAN
Later that night, Adane House creaking and groaning around her, Kidan felt flickers of guilt and anger as she read pages ofAseracti.
Etete had found her in the broom closet, rocking back and forth, and without a word helped her out. Prepared a plate of warm siga firfir, dried pieces of injera soaked in spiced meat stew, and put her to bed. Only Kidan couldn’t sleep.
THE RITES OF BLOOD DRINKING AND HOUSE LOCKING
To master a house, you must be in control of all your emotions. The body holds emotions in different parts of itself.
In blood drinking, a bite to the neck releases desire. A bite to the chest releases violence. A bite to the wrist releases childhood. Similarly, each room of a house echoes desire, violence, childhood.
However, if you lock your body, you will seize control of all rooms, all emotions.
To lock your body, draw eight different symbols on your body with your own blood. Then draw the corresponding symbols around the house. Hide them well. Then your emotions will be tempered, and you will be in control.
This process is called House Locking.
Kidan shuddered on her bed. What would she be without her emotions?
A shadow passed by the thin slit of light around her door. The rustle of skirts.
June.
Her sister always made sure to travel around the house when Kidan was in her room. But today there was a light knock. It was past one in the morning.
June’s eyes were an awful shade of red, her cheeks swollen with tears. A million thoughts tore through Kidan. June had killed someone. She’d seen something horrible. This was Uxlay, after all.
Without thinking, Kidan got out of bed, rushing to her.
“What’s wrong?”
June swallowed roughly, blinking the haze from her honeyed eyes. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have come. I had a nightmare. Wanted to see if you were…”
And she came to me.
Painful relief coursed through Kidan.
Deep down, Kidan had been waiting for this. She’d spied on June in the hallways, wondering when the house would make her feel unbearable emotion, but her sister would only press a hand to the wall, her lips curving into a smile before moving on. The observatory didn’t twist her up like it did Kidan and Susenyos. In fact, June liked to read in the observatory, the sun beating down on her, flipping pages ofIntroduction to Dranactipeacefully.Introduction to Dranactiwas written in Aarac, a language June should never know. At other times, June would sneak into the artifact room and stand at the end of the long shelves, her ribbon a red streak among the glinting metals, and simply stare at the Sage’s portrait before returning upstairs.
These days, June didn’t as much travel through Adane House as float gracefully.
Maybe the house didn’t need to inflict any more pain because June was used to suffering long before she set foot in Uxlay. Or maybe the house had decided June should inherit it.
“You said your nightmares stopped,” Kidan said. “That you felt safe with Samson and the Nefrasi.”
