Page 60 of House of Lilith

My eyebrows shoot up. I nudge her to go on.

“That day, in your House’s Common Room,” she starts, her eyebrows pulling down, “I told you about the missing journal. They gave me photos of all the items they found in his office and asked me if I thought there was anything missing. And the journal was the first and only thing that popped into mind.”

“But?”

She drops her voice to a near whisper. “But itwasn’tthe only thing missing from the list. I just couldn’t think straight at the time.”

Holding my breath, I ask, “What was it?”

She waves her hand, a smile tugging at her lips again. “For the life of me, I still can’t remember the name. I mean, he’d talk about it from time to time, but he was an endlessly curious man who was constantly doing research on multiple magical items.”

I have to fight the urge to just shake all the information out of her. Instead, I choose to start by asking, “Do you know what it looks like?”

“Yes,” she replies with a vigorous shake of her head. “Like a little coffin, the size of a finger. I mean, he used to make fun of me for thinking that, but that’s what it looked like to me. Especially when you think about what it does.”

Now, that makes my heart skip a beat. “Whatdoes it do?”

“Traps a being’s life force, at least in theory.”

“Interesting.”

“Yes,” she replies, but her mind is already elsewhere. “So you think I should keep pushing, dear? If they can’t find his…” She doesn’t say it, but we both know she means ‘killer’. “At least they can give me his stuff back.”

It makes me feel so sorry for her. “Let me see what I can do,” I say as I whip my phone out.

“Oh no, dear, no,” she says, waving her hands in protest.

“No stopping menow,” I reply as a name pops into my head. The perfect one. A Romanov Dynasty loyalist who also happens to be a very powerful man.

“In the name of Ydril, girl,” I hear Mrs Onas protest, the way she calls me ‘girl’ only making me like her even more, “you’ll think I came to greet you just to get a favor out of you.”

I raise a finger to ask her to wait as I type.

“Good day, General Alaric. I have a small favor to ask. I’d like the possessions of the murdered Grimm Academy’s professor returned to the deceased’s widow as soon as possible. Would you be able to help with that?”

Once I’m done and the text is sent, I turn my attention back onto the kind widow. She’s looking at me apprehensively. “It wasmewho came to talk toyou, Mrs Onas, isn’t that right?”

“I guess it is,” she concedes with a slight, but growing smile.

My phone pings and both our eyes dart to it.

“Good day, Your Ladyship,” the reply reads. “It would be my utmost pleasure to fight the battle against bureaucracy for you. Send me the address and I will have the items delivered within two hours tops. My regards to your future husband.”

My lips tug into a smile. “Done,” I say as I look up at Mrs Onas, who’s staring at me with incredulousness in her eyes.

“Lady Romanov,” she whispers.

But there are wheels turning in my head. Two hours, he said. I may as well have the stuff delivered tomyroom first. That way, if luck serves me, I’ll be able to give her the satisfaction of the killer being caught as well.

So I make a snap decision, turning my attention back onto the widow. “Really no need to be so formal, Mrs Onas,” I tell her. “The possessions will all be delivered to you first thing in the morning.”

She just looks at me for a second. “You have my eternal gratitude, dear. I mean it.”

I try to force myself to say something, but it makes me uncomfortable, being in the spotlight like this. So I just nod and give her an awkward smile.

Have to learn to be better at this, I think as I turn on my heel and start walking away. For when I’m Princess.

*

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