Page 105 of House of Lilith

And there it is, yet another ‘idiot’ at the tip of my tongue that makes me have to suppress a smile tugging at my lips. I shake it off. “Interesting meaningweird,” I say. Then I walk around him and keep going for the door.

“You know,” I hear him say, with yet another laugh, just as I reach for the doorknob, “for someone as smart as yourself, Romanov, you sure can be stupid sometimes.”

I turn to throw him a smirk. “From now on,Howe, there’s only one thing you’re allowed to use that mouth for.”

He just looks at me for a second. Then his eyebrows shoot up and he laughs, the sound low but clear, rough but joyful. It makes a flutter appear in my stomach. But I shrug it off, I open the door, and he lets me push him out and shut it behind him.

I keep standing there, my palms pressed to the prickly wooden surface, listening to him leave. He’ll think I’m only waiting for the coast to clear before I leave myself, and that suits me just fine. Because there’s no way to explain what I’m about to do and still be seen as sane.

*

I enter the portrait room, the silence becoming deafening when I close the door and turn around. And there it is, my Lady X hanging off the damp stone wall in near darkness.

The same as always.

And more importantly,identicalto the painting I found recorded in the Art Book.

For a second, I just keep standing there, right where I found myself. There’s this reluctance in me to give the feeling serious consideration.

On the other hand, I think as I stare at Lady X, I’m already feeling the same rush of excitement I got when I went looking for Vasilisa and foundher.

Somehow, Iknowthis means something.

So I take a step forward and I let my eyes sweep over the painting. The cracked paint, the delicate brushstrokes, the pure black used for the little lady’s eyes.

Softly, I come as close as I can and I take a whiff of the canvas.

No smell of magic whatsoever.

Then, I give the painting three light taps, just what I do to get inside this room.

Nothing happens.

For a second, I keep waiting. Finally, I conclude it’s safe, my lips curling into a smile.

I get the painting off the wall and I take my time inspecting it, looking for an inscription at the back or anything that could tell me if my hunch is right.

But there’s nothing there.

Fighting a rush of desperation, I let out a frustrated breath and I put the painting back on the wall.

I take a step back and, as usual, I let my body slide down the door and all the way to the floor. “You know,” I start, talking to silent Lady X who right now seems to be smirking, “last time I saw you, I called you a stupid fucking bitch.”

I blow a joyless little laugh through my nose. “But you must think I’m even craziernow, actually entertaining the thought you’d somehow be the imaginary Vasilisa Romanov.”

My entire body instantly on alert, they make me jump to my feet, the gush of cold air and something being sucked out of the painting and into the darkness to my left.

For a second, I stay frozen in place, my breathing becoming heavier as I keep my eyes fixed on the painting before me.

It’s a different painting now. Blood curdles in my veins when I finally manage to process it.

It’s just a painting of a garden now. No Lady X in sight.

But thereissomething or someonein the room with me, lurking from the shadows to my left and making me have to fight not to look its way.

Then a strange, echoing female voice sounds from that direction. “How do you know my name?”

Slowly, I force myself to look to my left. I have to fight not to suck in a sharp breath when I spot a pair of narrowed eyes staring at me from the shadows.

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