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The rest of us took a while, and Larissa gave me another conspiratorial look before we finally turned our attention back to the shelves.

Hysteresis

Angus MacRae

“How are we supposed to find anything here? The man doesn't keep things organized at all,” Miles eventually said, wandering around between all the shelves with a visibly overwhelmed look on his face.

“Just keep looking,” Julie murmured in a serious tone.

Squatted down in front of the bottom drawer of the dresser, she rummaged through its contents as if she intended to meticulously search every part of this room. As if she were either looking for something very specific or not fully present.

Miles laughed. “For what exactly? A snake?”

He was right. Everywhere you looked in this room, there were snake symbols. Engraved on the door, carved into the columns, and on the stone floor tiles in each corner of the double-room office.

I broke away from the bookshelf, crossed the room with the desk, walked down the two stone steps into the lower part of the office with the sofas, armchairs and fireplace, and approached one of the pillars.

The stone snakes wound around it, finely decorated with symbols I couldn't decipher. They looked like strange runes. Runes that reminded me of what was growing between my...

My eyes widened, but I fought against the realization that threatened to take hold in my mind.

Carefully, I ran my finger over the cold, rough texture.

Suddenly, something flickered in the runes.

A slight tugging sensation traveled across the skin between my breasts.

I paused, staring at the runes, which now... glowed purple.

Overwhelmed, I stepped back and bumped into someone. I turned around. Larissa.

“Do that again.”

Unsure, I looked from her to the pillar and noticed that Miles had turned toward us.

I hesitated, but finally placed my fingers on the snake's stone scales. And indeed...

The runes glowed.

“What the...” I looked at Miles, who stared at me. “Your eyes.”

“They're...” I hesitated, growing more nervous as I tried to get the words out. “...purple, right?”

This wasn't really happening...

By now, the others had turned to me and were looking either at the snake or at me.

“What in God's name are you?”

Emely sounded so frightened that I turned to look straight at her.

Meanwhile, my hand, which was still resting on the stone snake, began to tingle. I quickly pulled it back. The tingling sensation disappeared.

I still held Emely's bewildered gaze.

“I don't know.” I turned back to the snake, and only the light of the candles now danced on its back. “I really don't...”

No one said anything until Miles eventually stepped forward and touched the snake himself.