My heart started beating faster, pumping adrenaline in my veins. I was freaking out, my anxiety rising, the dread I’d felt earlier taking over until that was all I could feel, all I could focus on.
“What do I do?” I whispered. “Oh my God, what do I do?”
I couldn’t summon Corri, so what other chance of getting out of here did I have? Mila. My cousin must have known where I was, so maybe all I had to do was wait. Just sit tight and wait, because my Grim Reaper cousin would never leave me like this, locked and confused, not even knowing how I got here in the first place, who’s call it had been to abandon me in a white, cold room with only a barred window for sunlight and air.
I stayed like that, in the middle of my scattered clothes and bedsheets for what felt like forever. If I moved, I was afraid I would lose my mind and do something I’d regret later. All kinds of thoughts went through my head. I wanted to break down the door, I wanted to scream profanities at whoever was beyond it, I wanted to smash the furniture and make a weapon out of a chair leg, just in case I might need it later. I had no idea what I was dealing with here, and I had to remain calm. So, I didn’t move.
If I didn’t have my pixie, if I couldn’t teleport, if I didn’t have my scythe, and I couldn’t dream jump either, then who was I? What was left of me? Could I even say I was still Yolanda Aleksiev, student at Grim Reaper Academy, belonging to the Merciful Death Cabal?
I was starting to feel sick to my stomach.
I eyed the bathroom. Was there anything in there that I could use to get out of here? No. I didn’t even have a mirror. Maybe I should have gone through the things in the room one more time. In my frenzy, I might’ve missed something.
All these things were going through my head, and yet I didn’t move. My knees shook and my hands trembled as I kept them folded over my heart. Was I having a mental breakdown? Couldn’t anyone just get in here and tell me what was going on? Was I going insane? Maybe that was why they’d locked me in here. Because I was already insane. As I analyzed each and every thought that popped up, I had to admit that I wasn’t making much sense.
Footsteps down the corridor. They got closer and closer, and the next thing I knew, a key turned in the lock. My first thought was: Mila. Mila had come to save me. She’d come to shed light on everything and get me out of here. The door opened, and my smile fell when I realized it wasn’t Mila. A middle-aged woman dressed in blue scrubs walked in, followed by a man. He had fiery red hair, striking green eyes, and a splatter of freckles on his pale cheeks. He was tall and handsome, with wide shoulders and strong, defined muscles subtly showing through the black shirt he was wearing. He was dressed in what looked like a school uniform. Pinned on the chest of his uniform jacket was a badge that said “VDC”.
At first, he was taken aback by the state he found me in. The woman, who was clearly a nurse, tsked and started picking up my clothes off the floor.
“This is the third time you’re making a mess this week,” she mumbled.
“Could you please leave us alone?” the man asked.
I recognized his voice. I’d heard him before, seen him before. I knew his name, I just had to… dig it out of my brain.
“I’m sorry,” the nurse shook her head.
“I’ll make it worth your while.” His hand disappeared in one of his pockets, and he pulled out some cash.
The woman eyed the money, biting the inside of her cheek. Eventually, she gave in.
“Alright, but she has to take her medication first.”
The man sighed. “No, please. No medication. Not yet. Just let me have a normal conversation with her for once.” He pulled out more cash.
The nurse placed the clothes she’d just folded on a shelf in the wardrobe, took the money, and left. Before she closed the door behind her, she threw over her shoulder:
“Be careful, Mr. Krause. She’s dangerous.”
The door clicked shut.
Mr. Krause.
My eyes met his deep green eyes. He gave me a warm smile, and that was when it all came back to me. He was Davien Krause. The incubus, student in the Violent Death Cabal. My crush, my nemesis.
CHAPTER TWO
“Yolanda?”
His voice was so smooth, so warm. He took a step toward me, and I watched him with wide, suspicious eyes. If I remembered well, Davien had tried to take advantage of me a few times. He’d used his incubus powers on me, charmed me, made me lose my head so I’d give in to him. I was attracted to him, yes, and I knew there’d been a time when I’d wanted him just as much as he wanted me, but if I were to be honest with myself… I wasn’t sure. Incubi had intoxicating powers. They could project lustful desires onto a victim and make the victim believe they were her own. So, when it came to Davien, I had to remember it would always be hard to tell what emotions truly belonged to me, and what emotions he’d planted in my head.
“Yoli, it’s me. It’s okay.”
He had his hands raised in front of him. He took another step. I considered my options. I was mad at Davien. Vaguely, I remembered that he’d done something bad. Something awful. I couldn’t place my finger on what it was, but I knew he’d made me feel less than. He’d betrayed my trust. On the other hand, he was here, and he was my only chance at finding out what was going on. I swallowed hard. It was smarter to set my ego aside and see if I could get him to help me.
“Davien.”
He let out a breath of relief. “Good. You remember who I am.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Of course I do.”
He nodded. “Yes, yes… Of course.”
I tried to act normal. He was looking at me like I was a ticking bomb, and I didn’t like it. I needed him on my side, so I had to convince him that I was fine, that I was exactly the girl he used to know. I walked to the bed and sat down on the edge. I breathed in and out slowly, soundlessly, and relaxed my shoulders. Davien hesitated for a few seconds, then pulled up the only chair in the room and sat down before me.
“How are you?” he asked. And he sounded genuinely concerned.
“Davien, you must tell me everything.” He was taken slightly aback. “Where am I? What is this place? What happened?”
He blinked in confusion. “Yoli, you don’t… know?”
I furrowed my brows. “I think I do.” I touched my temple but that didn’t help bring any more memories back. “It’s all hazy… I know that I’m not well, because I can’t dream jump and I can’t teleport. The nurse said that I needed to take my medication. Is that what the medication does? It renders me useless?”
He sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s for your own good, but it appears to have side effects.”
“Side effects? Davien, I’m locked up! I think it’s safe to say they’ve been pumping me full of drugs intentionally, so I can’t escape!”
“Calm down,” he reached over and placed his hand on mine. “It’s okay. Don’t get worked up.”
He kept speaking in that soft, soothing voice, and I found it drove me mad. Davien never spoke like that! I grabbed his hand between mine, my fingers inching toward his wrist. I pressed my sharp fingernails into his skin to get his attention, to make him understand that this was serious. I didn’t need his concern, and I didn’t need his theatrics. What I needed was the truth.