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“Your bag, Rose. the one you wore at the diner. The one you never removed. You’re not wearing it anymore.”
She looked down as if just realizing she had a body. “Oh.”
“Have you been drawing much lately?”
“Not for a few days now. I’ve been—” She paled. “Matéo, I’ve sketched this.”
I hunched toward the wheel as I pulled in front of the main entrance. I popped the truck into park and shut off the engine, the roar of the ocean invading the cab now that the truck was off.
All I could manage to say was, “I know.”
At least the entrance seemed stable. I stepped out of the truck, joining Rose near the bed of the truck where we waited for the others to gather around us. Adam and Charlotte stood tentatively near a pile of stones as Lucius and two wolves remained in their forms, scouting the place with loud sniffs.
Lucius sniffed around the entrance and then barked. The coast was clear.
For now.
The rusted rings of the doors squealed when I pulled on them. It took the combined strength of me, Rose, and Adam to get either of them to budge. And even then, they only opened enough to allow one person entry at a time. Lucius barreled ahead and dove into the foyer while the other two wolves circled the building.
When I stepped inside, leaves and dust fell from the high ceiling. A few openings here and there revealed the gray-speckled sky. Paintings hung from every wall, larger than my truck outside. Ancient furniture sat in pieces or withered away in corners. Rugs marked the stone ground.
“So, this is mine,” I whispered, my voice feeling much smaller in the grand space. “What a fucking dump.”
Adam laughed while touching a vase. “I’ll say.”
Charlotte whacked his arm. “Manners.”
“What? He said it first. I was just agreeing with—” Heoofedwhen she swatted him again. “Sorry, baby. Sorry, Matéo.”
I shrugged. “I don’t care.”
“Wow, these tapestries are…” Rose paused in front of one that hung near the staircase. “I’m surprised the fabric survived. These look soold.”
“And the portraits are—” Charlotte tapped the frame of a huge painting. “Matéo, you might want to look at this.”
I frowned. “What?”
“This guy looks alotlike you.”
I pushed past Adam and marched into the hallway where Charlotte stood. The ceiling was much lower than the foyer, but still tall by anyone’s standards, allowing a chilly breeze to circulate from above. Charlotte gaped at the painting on the wall. Rose joined her side, sharing her reaction, the two of them looking biologically related for a split second.
And then, I looked up.
A man wearing a tall black hat and rich blue robes posed casually in front of a fireplace. His elbow was perched on the edge of the mantel with his free hand holding a cane under his arm. Arctic blue eyes looked elsewhere, not acknowledging the viewer in the least.
Other than the white wig he wore, he looked just like me. His facial structure, his stance, his bronzed skin.
Rose dug her nails into my arm. I didn’t realize she had grabbed me. I was far too entranced by the fact that this man and I looked like brothers. Almosttwins.
“Matty,” she croaked. “Look what he’s wearing.”
My eyes fell to the man’s chest. “You’re fucking kidding me.”
“That’s the medallion,” she blurted. “That’s your necklace.”
I shook my head. “This is weird.”
“The deed is in your name, so this must be your distant relative or something.”
