Page 80 of Under a Wicked Moon
He or one of his brothers would be forced by the bloody curse to kill her.
He couldn’t tell her the truth, but he couldn’t lie to her. She was a temptation he couldn’t have and could barely resist. “Your past is gone, and we need to keep it that way.”I’m gone.Although a small, annoying part of him reminded him not every bit of him was gone from her head. “This place is getting to me. Likely the fairies are playing jokes on us or something.”
Her forehead furrowed. In a mocking tone, she said, “This place is getting to you? You realize you chose to come out here with me, and you knew what it’s like out here, right?”
“You know nothing about me.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked like she’d been slapped. “Clearly.”
She yanked the small backpack off the ground and balanced it on one shoulder. “You’re right, Ky. Iremembernothing about you, but we did know each other.”
“Why are you upset?” he asked, knowing it was a stupid question, but not wanting her to walk away this angry at him.
“Why am I mad?” She faced him. “I brought you with me. For some inexplicable reason, I trust you. Something happened in the past, maybe not something intimate but something that required you to make sure I was safe. Something awful happened, andyouwere my only hope. I hate missing that part of my memory. But I’m not going to push to remember. Experience taught me that doing so brings on a headache. Whatever the rest of that memory, it’s gone. You’re the only one who can give it back, but you won’t.”
With that, she moved away and stomped back toward the castle.
How had that escalated so fast?
He dropped his head. One minute he’d been stroking her hand and being almost honest, even vulnerable, and now she was leaving. Giving up on him.
Because he’d been an asshole, not giving her back what she needed to fill in holes in her memory. He understood too well the need to remember. His mind was full of gaps from his time in the prison, and he despised it.
The cold of the outdoors seeped into him.
This might’ve been his only chance with her. A chance he couldn’t take, no matter how much he wanted it.
Chapter Thirty
“What’s your deal?” Flynn demanded as he settled next to Ky where they’d perched on an empty apartment balcony to monitor the confrontation with Simon. They had a view of a restaurant where somehow Colin knew Simon took breakfast every morning when in Glasgow. How Colin managed to get the information no one questioned, even though it felt almost precognitive or post-cognitive—was that even a word? At least some ability far more than a mere recordkeeper should have. “You’re jumpy. Please don’t shoot me by accident.”
“I had tea instead of coffee for breakfast.” He rubbed the back of his neck. He knew damned well Flynn referred to the bitter huff Vivi had been in this morning. Maybe it was the fact she refused to look his way during the few moments they’d shared the same breathing space at the hotel. Or maybe it was when she muttered “coward” that clued everyone else in.
“Ky…” Flynn rolled the lollipop in his mouth from one side to the other. “You went into the woods with her and both of you came back a hot mess.”
“We established there’s nothing between us. For sure. The magic in there messed with our heads.”Bullshit. I established the rabid feelings I have for her are not only still alive but also reciprocated.He unholstered his gun, made sure a round was chambered, and caressed the familiar handle.
“Uh-huh.” Flynn compressed his lips and then laughed. “There’s most definitely something there. But you decided thereneeded to be nothing between you two. She doesn’t seem to be on board with that plan.” He sighed and glanced upward as if in private consultation with the deity. “This is going to end up like Roman. If you turn green from some botched black-market spell bought to help you forget her, I’m taking pictures and posting them online. Fair warning.”
“Got it. No forget spells. No turning green.” Staring at the restaurant, he detected no lycans. But he wasn’t watching for a male lycan. He scanned for a hint of Vivi. Despite everything, especially knowing he should stay away from her, he still wanted to talk to her. If only for a moment, purely platonic, right? He was kidding himself if he thought that. He wanted to hear her voice and look into her beautiful green eyes.
“Even if she can’t remember anything, she’s your type. She makes sense with you. You get that, don’t you?” Flynn asked.
“Nothing about it makes sense. I don’t make sense even to myself. My head’s so fucked up from everything…”
Flynn rolled his eyes. “She’s oddly magical in a way I don’t get, but you go with it. You’re usually so uptight about anything to do with a woman looking your way, but with her you like it, even encourage it. Ever since your girlfriend died, you act like all women are toxic. Because you’re scared to feel anything. Or maybe because you’re afraid you’ll get another girlfriend killed, since you’re terrible at the once-and-done scenario. I’ve seen you duck into disgusting bathrooms no one in their right mind would set foot into, in order to escape out the window simply to avoid talking to a woman. Not with her.”
“Leave it. She’s better off without me. She’ll find someone else.”
Flynn pulled out the lollipop and pointed the red candy tip at him. “Will she? Who would she be better with? Not a lycan. That’s for sure. A normal lycan would freak over her talking about fairies in the woods. He’d turn her in to the Council. Thenwe’d be on a whole new mission to save her. Do you want her to end up with some warlock who wants her power? Or maybe a mage? Maybe Dom when he loses interest in Mom?”
“You think it’ll be Dom who breaks up when their whatever it is gets stale?”
Flynn compressed his lips. “Probably not. When she dumps him, then what? Age means little to someone like Dom even though Vivi is one percent of his age.”
“Knock it off. I get your game. If Vivi is into Dom, then at least he can keep her safe and teach her how to use her magic.”
“That’s big of you,” he said sarcastically.
