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.
“I am calm, Davien,” I said through gritted teeth. “Now please, will you tell me what’s going on? I’ve been trying to remember all morning, but I only get flashes.”
“Alright. Alright.” He took his time to look into my eyes and study me thoroughly before he started talking. He wanted to be sure that I was ready to hear what he was going to reveal to me. “You’re at the Karmic Asylum in Salem. You’ve been here for the past five months.” I must have gone pale, because he quickly added: “But it’s okay, it’s okay. You’re doing better, I can see it. This is the first time in five months when you’re so clear and focused. We’re finally having a… somewhat normal chat.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
He shook his head. “You had… a breakdown. Back in May. You don’t remember?”
I shrugged.
“Yoli, you… You tried to kill yourself.”
I let go of his hand and jumped to my feet. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for me to settle