26

Avrora
“Do you need anything else, dear?” Ehlga asks, closing the wardrobe doors.
She has that heartfelt expression again, a sign she still feels bad about today.
Not just for the horrid encounter with Gytha, but also for the barbaric experience at the clinic.
“No, I’m just going to turn in for the night.” It’s a lie. There’s no way I’m going to sleep. My head is a damn mess.
“Okay. I’m going to do the same. It’s been a long day.”
She forgot to say it was fucked up too, but I don’t think Ehlga uses words like fuck.
“Any news on when Anatoli will be back?” It’s just after ten. If he’s coming back tonight, I want to be prepared.
“No. But I’m sure he’ll be here in the morning if you need to speak to him.”
“Alright.” I do need to speak to him, but maybe it’s best I don’t tonight. I’m too worked up and I’ll only get myself in trouble.
“See you in the morning.”
“Good night.”
As soon as she leaves, I sulk down onto the bed, resting my head in my hands. I allow all the tension to drain from me and take deep breaths to calm my mind.
I’ve never been more humiliated in my life. The doctor Anatoli sent me to works for the Knights, which means his methods for sexual health checks are as archaic as in the Middle Ages. Whatever the hell tests that asshole conducted on me were barely a step away from a purity test. In fact, he actually asked Ehlga if he should do one because he had a few minutes to spare. Thank God she said no, but that asshole doctor just made me feel worse than I already do.
Now that I’m alone, the weight of everything sits on my shoulders like a fifty-ton trailer. And I haven’t stopped thinking about the crest.
I know I’m adding to my stress, and Lorelai would tell me off if she was here. But I don’t think I can help feeling like I should be trying to find out more information.
Regardless of what that is, it’s pieces of a life I was told I’d never remember.
Anatoli’s arrival has unearthed that reality.
Lifting my head, I stare at the wardrobe and something occurs to me.
Ehlga said Anatoli had stored some of the Butyrskayas’ things.
What if I found the room and looked through their stuff?
Okay, that would definitely be asking for trouble, but in for a penny, in for a pound. Finding something like a photo album with a picture of the crest from my dreams might at least help me with a location.
And I have an idea where I could start looking. When Ehlga showed me around, there was a section of the house she said was out of use, so she didn’t take me there.
My guess is the room is on that side. And since Anatoli isn’t here, tonight might be the best time to look around. Who knows what could happen tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after? This might be my only chance, providing, of course, the guards don’t stop me.
If I get caught, I could say I got lost, but that might not go down so well.
Fear, however, isn’t enough to stop me from trying.
With that reasoning, I wait for fifteen minutes to make sure Ehlga has gone to her quarters and I won’t run into her. Then I make my move, slipping out of the room and walking down the corridor as if I’m just taking a leisurely walk-I need to look legit for whoever is on surveillance. Not like I’m up to no good.
I head over to the stairs that lead to the older section of the house, which is on a separate wing. As it makes sense to store things in a room on the ground floor, I head downstairs, carefully creeping along the passage once I get there. I’m wearing ballet flats, but they can make a squishy sound against the marble floors when I put my weight on my feet.
The lights down here are dim, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone around.
I also noticed there aren’t as many security cameras as on the other side, so maybe no one can see me.
That would be good.
I relax a little when I don’t see any more cameras, but I still maintain my awareness just in case I miss one.
When I arrive at the end of the corridor and turn toward the next, a weird feeling comes over me that I can’t quite describe.
There’s a presence. As if someone’s here, or waiting for me.
The more I advance down the passage, the more intense the feeling becomes. It’s so strong I glance over my shoulder, searching for the source of the energy. Or the person.
But there’s no one there. It’s just me and the chill crawling over my skin.
I didn’t believe in ghosts until Mom died. After she passed, it was like I could feel her spirit either with me or in the room where she killed herself. I know Dad felt it too, because we moved a few months after.
All thoughts of ghosts dissipate when I take the corner and am greeted with a full-size version of the crest on the wall ahead of me, which splits the path like a fork in a road. A light shines down on it like a halo, meaning I can see it more clearly than the engraving on the side of the cliff.
Eager to get closer, I quicken my pace, no longer worrying about the sound of my footsteps.
When I reach the crest, I search over the grooves in the carving, confirming that it really is what I see in my nightmares.
It’s it. It’s definitely it.
Being this close makes my nerves scatter and my heartbeat quicken. My curiosity ignites and I’m even more keen to find out what my link to this thing is.
I stare for a few more moments then I take the passage to my left, continuing my mission.
Down here the lights are a little brighter and I can see doors along the wall.
Maybe the room I’m looking for is one of these.
I open the first door and find an empty room. The next few rooms are bedrooms, but the last door is locked.
From the size it could lead into a hall or a bigger room, so it could be what I’m looking for.
Lorelai showed me how to pick a lock once. Her brother taught her. We broke into her aunt’s office one summer night when I was staying over.
Little did we know her aunt had locked the door because she was having sex with her gardener. Needless to say, when we walked in and caught them, we got in so much trouble, but that was overshadowed by our discovery, which led to her aunt and uncle’s divorce.
I hope a similar fate doesn’t await me. I wouldn’t want to catch Anatoli and Gytha together.
I pull a hairpin from my bun and stick it in the lock. Then I push it up into the mechanism until I feel the clip, and wiggle it around.
Just as I hear the clicking sound of the pin forcing the clip down, a heavy hand rests on the space above my head and warm fingers flutter over my waist.
Despite the warmth turning into fire, ice trickles down my body and I shudder.
A low guttural laugh fills my ears and I dare not move because I know the sound belongs to the monster who stole my life.
Anatoli presses his lips to the nape of my neck, but I keep my feet rooted to the ground.
“Well, well, my little Valkyrie.” His breath caresses my skin like a lover’s touch. One I don’t want from him. “You must really have some balls if you think you can break into my office.”
Jesus Christ. His office?
Oh, hell no.
What did I get myself into?
I whirl around out of his grasp, but he locks me back in, pushing me up against the wall. He gives me a salacious grin, his teeth looking whiter in this light.
The overly confident look on his face is the same one he wore when he waltzed into my life and stopped my wedding.
As his eyes roam over me, I think of what to say to get myself out of this but nothing comes. I doubt he’d buy a lame-ass excuse like I was looking for the bathroom when I was obviously breaking in. The hairpin is still in the lock.
“I didn’t know it was your office,” I babble, as if that will help me.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to enjoy punishing you.” He reaches forward and yanks my hairpin out of the lock, then opens the door-with his key. “Now then, why don’t you step into my office, Avrora?”