Page 73 of Venom and Velvet

Won’t you be my lucky date tonight?

I stopped in the foyer, something tickling at the back of my mind.

Love me wrong, love me right,

You belong to the night.

Oh, beautiful moon,

So bright and white.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, fear gripping my heart like a vice. I stumbled over to the wall, trying to hold myself up. An image flashed in my mind of Ryzen, his words burned into my brain.

“You bitch!” he screams and leaps towards me. The knight. Push the knight over, Nova. He’s chasing me—oh, God, he’s so close. Valik. The knife, use the knife, Nova. It’s against his throat; blood is dripping. He’s coming. Hurry, drive away. Don’t let him catch you. Get the flash drive to Cian. Hurry!

My vision blurred as I tried to go up the stairs, my heart pounding in my ears.

He’s right behind you. The tree, watch out for the tree!

I screamed out at the top of my lungs, and then all I saw was darkness.

*****

It came flying back to me in an instant. Not everything, just bits and pieces. I’d been at a party with Ryzen. He’d been hiding something. A flash drive. I’d found it, and he’d found me. But I couldn’t remember why I’d needed it. What was so important about that flash drive that I’d fled and he’d chased me down like a dog? The crash, someone resuscitating me. Little chunks of memory came rushing back. And Valik. I’d had a knife to his throat. I was the one who’d cut him. Why hadn’t he told me? Oh, God, the fear—the fear was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. I couldn’t stop screaming. He’d gotten me, and now I was going to die.

“Nova!” Valik was shaking my shoulders, my head whipping back and forth. There was a sharp sting and I gasped as he lowered his hand. He’d smacked me. He’d fucking smacked me. “Nova, stop screaming!” His chest heaved up and down, his eyes wild. “Calm down, it’s OK.”

“You hit me?” Tears welled up in my eyes and I covered my cheek with my hand.

“I had to; you wouldn’t stop.” He wiped his forehead and glanced at Glenda. Her face was pale, and she looked at me with wide eyes. “Glenda, it’s fine. She’s OK. Have Lindell take you back to the ferry.” She stood there for a second longer, her eyes darting from me to him. “Go.” He nodded at her.

Valik picked me up in his arms and carried me upstairs to my room. When we got there, he slammed the door and tugged on the collar of his shirt. “Are you OK? You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

I blinked rapidly at him, my heart still beating in an unsafe manner. Images of the two of us driving in a car, laughing and singing, popped into my head. We were friends. He had already said that. And when I had asked him about the cut on his neck, he had said it was a misunderstanding. I certainly hoped it was, because I was about to take a giant leap of faith at that moment, and if I failed, I could end up dead.

I stood at the end of the bed and gripped the post. “Valik,” I whispered.

He stopped pacing and looked at me, his face turning serious.

“Valik, why didn’t you tell me I was the one who cut your neck?”

His eyes widened; surprise flashed across his face. He took a step closer to me, and my nostrils flared. I held my hand out and shook my head. “Don’t.”

He sighed and sat down in the chair, clasping his hands together. “Is that what that just was? You remembered?”

“Some things, yeah.” I nodded, and he muttered something under his breath.

“Fuck, Nova. I thought I was doing the right thing by not telling you. The doctor said…” He twisted his lips, shaking his head. “He said that if you remembered too quickly, it could be too much for you. That it would cause more harm than good.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “That doesn’t make any sense though.”

He huffed and leaned back in the chair. “Do I look like a fucking doctor?” I stepped back at his aggressive tone, and he held up his hands. “I didn’t mean to yell at you. It’s just that’s what he told Ryzen, and what Ryzen told us. I don’t know shit about amnesia, Nova.”

“But why did I have a knife to your neck?” My voice rose with each word. “Why would I do that to you if we were friends?”

His eyes searched mine, and he opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself.

“Tell me, Valik.” I took another step forward until I was standing in front of him.

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