Page 28 of Veiled Yearning

“Fine,” I whisper. “I’m nervous.”

“Ah, Chiara.” His expression softens. “It’s going to be okay. There’s nothing to be scared of. I promise.”

I’m not sure what it is—Gavril’s intense gaze, his quiet confidence, the way his rumbly voice resonates through my body—but the worst of my nerves start to settle.

I almost believe him. I want to. But I can’t afford to let my guard down. Not now. Not around Larkin, who’s watching me appraisingly. Not around the Sentinels, who’ve spent centuries pursuing Nicolas and the Custodians. Even if their motives are good—and they are, I’ve no doubt of it—my wishes will always come second to their mission.

It’s not that I blame them. If I’d been chasing an enemy for that long, and I was presented with the possibility of a new weapon, I’d want to take advantage of it. But it’s not as simple as that, and that’s the part I’m afraid they won’t understand.

Frederick will. And maybe Gavril. I wouldn’t have thought it before, but after our time at my cabin, then in the car coming here, and last night…

Last night the four men met privately, leaving Cait and I to talk about books and drink wine like she suggested. Only after I’d spent another few hours imbuing more items—minor healing tokens, a few of those light-blasting totems, and more vampire-detecting stones—did I allow myself to take a break. And it took Gavril gently prodding me, saying, “When I asked you to help us, Chiara, I didn’t expect you to work non-stop. Go relax with Cait.”

So that was actually nice. I really like Cait, and if I led a normal life, living in civilization and actually seeing people, I’d want to spend more time with her. With both Cait and Frederick, and I’d visit them at their house on Lake George instead of always making excuses for why I can’t go.

If I led a normal life, I’d want to see Gavril more, too. In such a short time, he’s shown himself to be so much more than I thought he was. And each day, I like him even more.

It’s not just that he makes me feel safe, though he does. During the hours I spent talking with Cait, there was an underlying frisson of tension I couldn’t shake. I kept wondering about the house—did I miss a spot when I was shielding it? Did I imbue enough of the stones? What if there’s another way the Custodians can get to me?

But when Gavril joined us in the living room, settling onto the couch next to me, my worries faded. They weren’t gone entirely, but Gavril’s presence dulled them; made them easier to ignore. And when he walked me to my bedroom, holding my hand to lead me…

He didn’t have to do that. I knew where my room was. But it felt so nice to feel Gavril’s fingers around mine again, I just went along with it.

I may have even said, “Your house is so big, I’m not sure I’ll ever find my way around it.”

To which he reassured me, “It’s okay. I’ll make sure you don’t get lost.”

It’s only holding hands, which in the big picture means almost nothing. Except it doesn’t feel like nothing. Holding hands with Gavril feels more intimate than anything I’ve done in years. Decades, really.

“So. Chiara. We want to discuss your role with the Sentinels, going forward.” Larkin’s voice jolts me back to the present, all the warm feelings doused by a cold splash of reality. The Sentinels. My ability. How I can help them beat Nicolas.

I grit my teeth and remind him, “I’m not one of the Sentinels. I’m helping you. But that’s all.”

“You’re working with us,” he retorts. “It’s nearly the same thing.”

“It’s not.” Irritation bubbles up, which is a welcome change from the cold dread I’ve been feeling. “I make my own decisions.”

“Of course you do,” Frederick soothes, pacifying. He shoots a quelling look at Larkin. “Everyone in the Sentinels does. If we ask Knight, for example, to do something and he doesn’t want to, that’s it. We may discuss it to understand his reasons, but ultimately, he decides.”

“Larkin didn’t mean it that way,” Gavril adds, his tone soft and conciliatory. “Everything you do is your choice.”

Now I feel like I may have overreacted a bit. “Fine,” I grumble, ducking my head to stare fixedly at the wood grain of the table.

Larkin gives a quick nod. “Now that we’ve cleared that up. What we’d really like to know is exactly what energies—that’s what you call them, right?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. So what energies can you imbue? And how strong are the items you create?”

“Well.” I glance at Gavril, and he gives me an encouraging smile. “You know I can make the shielding items. One can hide a full-grown vampire. If I want to shield something larger, I need more.”

Larkin asks, “So, how many to shield Gavril’s house?”

“It’s a little different, because I’m not creating a separate item. I imbue the energy into parts of the house. So I did the exterior walls of each room, all the exterior doors, the roof, the outside paths and driveway…”

We spend the next fifteen minutes talking about all the different items I can imbue. Larkin looks particularly pleased when I explain about the blades that burn as they cut, and the little blinding totems, enthusing, “We could use those for all our members. Any of our allies, really.”

But overall, the conversation isn’t too unpleasant. At least, it isn’t until it veers into new and unwelcome territory.

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