Chapter seventeen

ELENA’S POV

The silence was deafening. I think I shocked her into being dumb. Anika just sat there looking at me, her mouth opening and closing but no sounds coming out. Maybe I should have been more tactful, I thought but once my mind was made up I had to do it before I lost my nerves. I felt very jittery since I woke up from that dream...or should I say memory.

"Anika?" I prod, checking if she's still there..you know, mentally.

She jolts seeming to be shaken out of her reverie and sits up straighter.

"Madam, i-i c-can't help you." she stumbles out, wringing her hands nervously. She looks up at me with wide scared eyes.

I walk away from her, pacing around the room. I didn't know another way to contact Valerian. It wasn't like he gave me his phone number to call him. I whirled around suddenly facing her, struck by an idea.

"He has an office here right? I ask her.

"Yes madam," she says.

"Call me Elena," I say to her but she just looks away. I've tried to get her to call me Elena on sev