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The Devil She Knows 80
CamilleAlessio takes my hand and leads me to the hallway near his office. The one with the ghosts and the crest.I'm surprised when we reach the crest and stop in front of it."What are we doing here, Alessio?""You'll see. This is the purpose of the crest."He touches the crest, pressing his hand to the wolf's nose, and I gasp when the whole face sinks in and the wall slides open, revealing a passageway."Oh my God.""It's a doorway." He turns and holds my gaze. "So is the crest on the cliff.""Secret passageways?"I think back to what Lorelai said about Pavel Butyrskaya being a member of the secret squad, and this makes sense."Yes. This was a safe house. The crest was used both to identify the Butyrskaya's safe houses and link to secret passages."A chill races over me. "So, I was at another safe house in the past?"When he nods, I realize why he was so secretive about it before, and why he said the crest was special.And... why I shouldn't have been there."What was I doing there
The Devil She Knows 81
AlessioI walk into the sunroom with a glass of water and take note of how Camille looks sitting on the chair.She's slumped against the side and looks like she's had the life drained out of her.We've been in here for about an hour now with the doors open. We both need the fresh air. She still looks ghostly pale, and my head is still spinning.We've been trying to figure things out and decipher where she was in her dream. She's told me her dream multiple times. Each time she's recounted it, I've tried to pick up on everything she's saying.All I can think when I see her is that she's been here in this house before, and somehow, her past is entwined with the first people I considered family.I can't wrap my head around it. Nothing makes sense to me, and I thought it was best not to tell her what I learned from Xiou because I don't want to freak her out any more than she is.Right now, I have Leif on his way over, Zakh going through the Butyrskayas' records to see where Camille could h
The Devil She Knows 82
CamilleThe cool night air wraps around my body, soothing my mind like ice against fire.It's the only thing that can balance me and calm the myriad of thoughts clashing in my head like the rough waves against jagged rock in a tempestuous storm.And yet, my chest still hurts, my lungs still feel tight, and my heart is still fragile, like it might shatter if I think too much.I've been here for hours, sitting on the balcony outside the bedroom. It was just after midnight when last I checked. Usually when I get like this, the pool would have seen me by now.But the cacophony of emotions tearing me apart feels different to anything else I've ever experienced. I'm scared that if I move, I'll fade away and become nothing, not even a memory. Like Mischa Butyrskaya.Is that really who I am?If that's me, what happened? How did I get to be here, living the life of Camille Galitze?And what happened to the real Camille?Mischa Butyrskaya.I've tried on the name several times in my mind and on
The Devil She Knows 83
CamilleLeif drives down the country road at a medium pace, keeping his gaze ahead but still looking around the woodland area.Alessio and I are in the back seat of the car. He's holding my hand in his lap the way he has been since we left Boston yesterday afternoon.We stayed at a beautiful hotel in L.A. last night I would have loved to enjoy. But the ominous feeling in my heart forbade me.We're on Highway 74. The route that will lead us to the lake house. One of the holiday homes owned by the Butyrskayas, and the first on Leif's list to visit. We drove onto this road about half an hour ago, and I think we're close to our destination. We're meeting Lucca Dyshekov there. He owns the property now, and Leif says he still uses the grounds to train his falcons.My stomach is in knots of anxiety and fear. Alessio's touch is the only thing anchoring me to this world, keeping me sane."We're nearly there." Leif looks back at us and returns his gaze to the road. "We're probably about five mi
The Devil She Knows 84
Camille.The house is beautifully decorated with a look of an old world meeting the modern, but nothing is coming to me. We head upstairs and look around the rooms before then we go back downstairs doing the same thing.Other than feeling like I should kick my shoes off, light up the fireplace, and relax in front of it with a steaming mug of something hot, I feel nothing more than that sensation of familiarity.Alessio opens the back door, and we go outside, heading toward the lake.When I look toward the wood, something catches my attention and I stop. It's two twisted-looking oak trees standing opposite each other. Thick vines wrap around the branches, which grow high and wide like they're reaching for the sky.I turn, and so does Alessio."What is it?" he asks."There." I point. "There's something about those trees."I'm walking toward them before he answers. He follows, falling in step with me.The closer I get, the stranger I feel. No longer feeling that sense of familiarity, but
The Devil She Knows 85
AlessioI make my way upstairs to my bedroom with a heavy heart.Camille's sobs filled me the moment I turned the corner to get up the stairs.We've been back for the last two days, and her tears haven't ceased. I don't expect them to. What Camille has been through is beyond anything I could have imagined. Or expected.I've been with her all day, but I had a quick errand to run that took about an hour. It was already nightfall when I left, and she was asleep. I'd hoped she would continue to sleep because she hasn't in days.I keep asking myself what I actually expected from that trip but come up with a blank every time.Truthfully, in my heart, if I'd known that trip to L.A. was going to destroy my wife the way it has, I would never have gone.I would have sailed her across the globe and hidden her away from the certain pain, devastation, and despair.Regardless to the answers we received, and the mystery solved regarding the Butyrskayas, I never would have traded that for her demise
The Devil She Knows 86
AlessioIt seems like I only closed my eyes for a moment before my phone rings and I wake up to bright sunlight beaming through the window.Camille is still out cold on my chest. When I slide her off me and onto the pillow, she doesn't stir.I grab my phone, answering straightaway when I see it's Leif calling.I pray he tells me they found Uther."Hey," I greet him."Morning, are you up?""I am now. What's going on?"He pauses for a moment and then sighs. "It's your father. He's just woken up and is asking for you."-------------------When I walk through the hospital doors, I don't know if I should walk fast or slow. Or just turn back and go home.I don't even know how the fuck my father knows I'm here.Or alive.To him, I should be dead and no longer a concern of his. How did he suddenly wake up from a five-month coma we were told he wouldn't make it back from?And ask for me? Me, of all the people.What about fucking Richard? His fucking beloved. Or my other brothers. Surely, he wa
The Devil She Knows 87
CamilleI gaze at Alessio sitting on the beach in the distance, smoking.He doesn't smoke often, and not like this.This broken version of him where he looks like the lost boy again.The last few days have been terrible for the both of us. First for me. Then for him.He returned from the hospital a few hours ago and told me what happened with his father.I didn't know what broke him more—finding out the truth and not being able to do anything about it, or watching his father die and knowing it's the end.Both were too much. Like everything else.To say I'm still a mess is putting it lightly, but I know I need to be there for him now. The way he has been for me.The last few days have been like none other. I previously thought the day my mother killed herself was the worst day of my life. Seeing the bones of the family I forgot in that grave was beyond that. I don't think I'd ever be able to explain to anyone how I felt then. And how I feel now.The memory I relived is still slicing th
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