the seven devils [completed]

chapter forty-four

Varya threw her hands up in frustration— he could be such a child sometimes. A malicious, destructive one, but a child nonetheless. If he would go around butchering everyone that thought he was not the most powerful sorcerer to walk the Earth, then perhaps immortality was not a terrible idea since he would have to spend his time killing half of the population.

They fell into tense reticence, where he set her skin on fire with an irritated look, and she avoided his stare by counting the scratches on the small table by the window. Then, she heard him get down from his bed and walk out into the corridor, slamming the door behind him.

She took this moment of peacefulness to change into better clothes, then trailed a brush through her hair. Varya could not wait for them to reach Albania, as sharing such a tight space with Riddle was extremely suffocating, and she preferred having her privacy.

A knock sounded at the door, and she told the person to come in, expecting it to be Tom after he had calmed down. Nevertheless, it was someone else entirely.

"Ivy?" Varya puffed, and the blonde walked inside the compartment before crossing her arms. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Trouche declared, then her eyes flew to the male coat than hung on one of the bunk beds, "I saw you in the station, with Riddle, at that, and I could not believe it! He has brainwashed you as well, and it is ridiculous. Listen, grab your bags quickly, and I am sure we can get off at the next stop, and then I will keep you away from him— what does he have over you, anyway?"

Varya blinked at the girl, and found that words were hard to enunciate in a state of absolute shock, "Ivy, I am so sorry."

Of course, how could she forget that the girl resented the boy so much? Although she had quieted down in the new semester, Ivy had been vehement on destroying Riddle after he had tried recruiting Alphard Black, and probably blamed him for their break-up as well.

Ivy glared at her, then shook her head repeatedly, "No— do not tell me that you fell for his mind games as well, do not tell me that you were stupid enough to become attached. Please, Varya, tell me I am completely wrong and that what I see right now in your eyes is not affection for that vicious serpent."

"I could not help it," Varya tried to defend herself as she stopped her roommate from leaving the wagon in a fury by standing in front of the door, "He just— it happened, all right? I cannot choose whom I fall for, and as Rosier said—"

"Rosier?" Ivy threw her head back in a caustic laugh, then clapped ironically, "Unbelievable, truly. Not only did you manage to fall for the one boy I hate most in that school more than Selwyn, but you have also been hanging out with his mindless followers. Rosier, really? That drunken fool has no intellectual bone in his body, have you not seen the way they all look at him? Even Riddle knows that everything that boy says is absurd!"

Varya felt herself growing angry at her friend's judgment, and she did not like the way Trouche had let all of the compliments and admiration of their fellow peers affect her— she had been put on a pedestal, and now there was some arrogance to her that had not been there previously.

"I quite disagree. He is extremely thoughtful, and just because Ren enjoys drinking, it does not mean he is not valuable. Tom considers him an essential part of the group. Stop talking as if you know everything about everyone!"

"Oh, yeah, but you sure do, right?" Ivy bit ironically. "I am sure Riddle told you all about that, did he not? Merlin, Varya! You were supposed to be the good one!"

And that is all it took for the Petrov witch to rage.

"For Hell's sake! When will you and everyone else understand that I never wanted to be good? I am not some kind of heroine that you can all look up to; I am not here to help anyone except myself— stop attributing your values to me and treating me like some sort of puppet that you can string along," her voice had gone belligerent, and Ivy flinched back at her tone, "Varya do this! Varya, do that! I do not want to be part of your scheme against Tom, or Elladora, or anyone else. I have no interest in stealing Riddle's journal and—"