Page 80 of Eternal Ruin

His eyes narrowed slightly before he nearly smiled. “You’re right. So what are we going to do about your friend?”

Slen.

That must be why he was here.

His face was severe, merciless when he wanted it to be. Susenyos had warned her about Slen and he had been right.

How easy it would be to tell him to kill Slen. And he would do it.

Yet Kidan stroked the edge of the dark book, thinking. Clarity was important.

“Killing her will only make the Border Houses more angry.”

He cocked his head, intelligent eyes trying to read her. But there was nothing to read. The house cloaked her well. It served her.

“You speak so casually about killing her,” he said slowly. “It’s refreshing, don’t get me wrong, but why now?”

Kidan stared into his eyes. They were different in the house, more of a dark brown than inky black.

“Do you know what Resurption is?” she asked, her voice as cold as the room.

Caution filled his stiff posture. “Resurption is prohibited in Uxlay.”

That didn’t surprise her. “What do you know about it?”

“Houses would kill their own masters, gather their bones, and delve into their memories. It became a horrifying trend.” His eyes tracked her with curiosity. “How did you learn about Resurption?”

Kidan wasn’t interested in answering his questions.

“My mother’s bones should be in the cemetery, right?”

Kidan hadn’t been up to the task before, but at least at the end of all of this, there was a chance to see her mother’s memories, finally answer the last two questions about her political views and values and compare them to hers.

Susenyos’s demeanor was solemn.

“Daric the Cruel cremated their bodies. There is nothing.”

A pang sounded in her chest but the house caught the sound and swallowed it whole.

“He removed their hearts,” she said in almost a trance. “Then destroyed their bones.”

Susenyos walked to her and rested a hand on her shoulder, sending streaks of warmth like shocking waves. Threatening to shatter the armor the house loaned her. Kidan quickly stood and stepped away. He frowned at her reaction but didn’t approach her again.

“Resurption is a study that’s common with rogue houses,” he said carefully. “Where did you learn it?”

It surprised her he was concerned about this.

“If their bones were in the cemetery, you would have used it, wouldn’t you?”

His eyes darkened instantly. “No.”

It didn’t matter if he was telling the truth or not. She knew he would have. To get the mask artifact. There was nothing he would not do.

Know a vampire’s pillar, and stand before it, they will bow to you in either servitude or worship.

“I’m going to attend the Arcane Tower courting,” she told him casually, as if she were merely going to the grocery store. “Omar Umil said a house would vote my way if I marry into their order.”

Susenyos clearly hadn’t expected this, because he actually moved back in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”