Page 202 of House of Lilith

I roll my eyes at her, but then I move to give her a hug. And she almost flinches, throwing me a little frown, but then she smiles and we hug, tightly.

It’s at that moment that this memory flashes through my mind, of one of the O’Malley brothers barging into my room with her when they brought me there after what happened with Ricky.

I pull away, squinting at her. “Hilde,” I ask, “are you and O’Malley…” I break off, realizing I don’t know which one.

She lets out a giggle. “Senior,” she tells me with a slightly shy smile. “And yes, we are.”

“I’m so happy for you,” I say with a grin.

She nods and we both turn serious again, remembering.

And I let her go to Nikolay, watching as she climbs down the stairs.

I only snap out of it when I feel a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist. “You okay, love?” he murmurs in my ear.

I turn to face him, putting my hands on his chest. “He’ll be fine,” I say pensively. Then I make myself snap out of it. “You know, I actually think this is good for him.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s as if he’s already a different person, you know? A more mature one.”

“You’ll go visit him all the time, and you’ll come to have a great relationship, I’m sure of it.”

“Thank you, Dahrian. I really do hope so. Now, I only have one more thing to do before we can finally get the fuck out of here.”

“Yes, please.”

*

I walk into the portrait room, closing the door behind me. And I’m already opening my mouth to call her name, but then my eyes land on the painting and my mind goes blank.

There’s no Lady X anymore. Now it’s a portrait of Vasilisa asIknow her. She’s on horseback, looking as if she’s about to spur the horse into a gallop while throwing me this look that’s keeping me pinned in place. Ruthlessly determined and filled with this burning hunger.

Frowning, I take a step closer, my eyes dragging from the skull crown on her head, down the ancient-looking riding uniform, and then back up to her eyes. All the while, Dame Gothel’s words echo in my head. Everything will stay the same here, she said, except for one painting.

I guess I just didn’t want to think about it, the possibility of it meaning I’ll be losing Vasilisa.

Still, there’s hope in my voice when I call out to her. She doesn’t respond.

I do it again and again, with no success whatsoever.

My heart sinking low, I finally let out a sigh and walk out of her room, finding Dahrian waiting outside.

“She’s not there anymore,” I tell him with a frown.

“I was afraid of that,” he says as he comes to wrap his arm around me. “What do you want to do?”

For a second, I stay silent. Then I decide. “I’ll have the painting brought to the Winter Palace,” I say, this sadness overflowing me as I pull away, take his hand and nudge him in the direction of the stairs. “That way, I’ll be able to say goodbye to her at least. But right now…” I don’t stop going down the stairs, but I throw him a smile. “All I want is to start my summer with you.”

“You know what that is?” he leans to ask.

“What?”

“Music to my ears,” he says with a smile, making me laugh.

And we walk out of Lilith Tower and head straight for the Pull Chamber, me already having arranged for our luggage to wait for us at Dahrian’s.

“Is thathimagain?” he asks when my phone pings.

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