Page 40 of Eternal Ruin

And if Lusidio discovers the blade artifact before you, what then?

Those were the words that made Susenyos stop her from killing Samson. Kidan set her cup down.

Yusef shuddered. “So the horror camp stories are all true?”

The dean nodded grimly. “Only graduates like yourselves know the true extent of what waits outside. We do our best to protect actis from such a life. Lusidio has made a universal law using the thirty-one houses, along with his vampires, to forcibly feed and torture actis.”

“That’s sick.” Slen’s lip curled.

Finally, Kidan thought. Slen found this horrifying too.

“Upon your request, Uxlay has recently allowed Samson Sagad, Arin Tawendyo, and Warde Wesfin into its gates as your companions.”

They froze, waiting to see where this was going. Did the dean know why they’d struck a deal with the Nefrasi?

Kidan could almost hear Slen in her mind.

Calm down.

“I wonder,” the dean continued. “Did you all know the Nefrasi were once under Lusidio’s command?”

A light of surprise parted Slen’s granite eyes. Kidan, on the other hand, had gone utterly still.

In Susenyos’s memories she’d glimpsed a darkness, long black fingers of shadows eliciting horrible screams and endless torture. She had wondered what it was.

“Many vampires suffer greatly under Lusidio’s torture. But only a select few have escaped from his hold and been granted refuge in Uxlay. Two of your companions, Kidan, once served under the animal that ordered the execution of my children. If I avenge them as you say, what do you think I should do to Susenyos and Samson Sagad?”

Kidan’s mouth parted slightly and shut. “I—I don’t know.”

The dean held her gaze for a long time. “Be very careful of leading with your rage.”

Slen spoke slowly. “Why were rogues allowed into Uxlay at all?”

“Good question. Kidan’s grandmother, the previous dean, was insistent on giving refuge to those who suffered. Eight rogues were allowed in along with Susenyos, Taj, and Iniko. Some of whom are invaluable to us now. Naturally, after the attack on my family, I wanted to remove them.” The dean paused, her eyes briefly sliding to a portrait hung on the back wall. It was an oil painting of three young students, looking serious. Omar Umil had painted it. “Those that proved themselves wereallowed to remain. And these new Nefrasi will have to prove themselves before Uxlay can truly accept them. My companion is already spending a lot of time with the three. However, if you tell me they’re here to harm Uxlay, I’ll have my Sicions cut them down tonight.”

Yusef fiddled with the edge of his mustard-colored sweater. He’d make an awful poker player. Kidan wasn’t that much better, though. She was unnerved by what she’d learned about Susenyos’s past. Still, she tried to keep her chin steady.

They had to think of GK.

And admitting they had knowingly brought in dangerous rogues could land them in the Mot Zebeya Courts. Still, Kidan felt the inexplicable urge to tell the truth. Something inside her chest was being pulled out against her will.

Slen, luckily, spoke. “The rogues told us they were here to join Uxlay, not harm it.”

After a long while, Dean Faris sipped her bitter tea. “Very well. Let’s return to my first question, then. Why do I spend most of my time here?”

Slen sent a browsing look over the ivory curtains, the heights of Uxlay and Arat Towers waiting past them. She paused for a moment. “Did it happen in this room?”

The dean set her cup down, satisfied. “Yes, this is where my pain resides. It carries my worst memories. The rogue vampire sat me here, just as you and I are, and killed each of my children. He relayed Lusidio’s message to me. How Uxlay would fall. How it was a desecration that I lead it, and vampires would be free of the binds once more.”

The image that came to Kidan’s mind was a wicked face, monstrous fangs, skin drenched in children’s blood. She shut her eyes, grieving for the leader of Uxlay.

When she opened them, Kidan saw Dean Faris in a new, terrifying light. Unbreakable as iron.

“Yet you always have tea in this room,” Kidan said.

“Exactly. This is the level of control required of your mind to command a house. To imprint your will and to inherit your ancestors’ culture. As you begin your studies, I want you to remember this. The sacrifices expected of you as members of Uxlay.”

All of them looked like they’d swallowed acid. But the dean appeared to have wanted this reaction. She wanted them cautious, alert.