Page 29 of Veiled Yearning

“Gavril told us all about the incident out on the road.” Larkin leans forward, pinning me with his gaze. “How you used the Custodian’s abilities against them.”

Betrayal slams into me, a kick to the chest. I’m not exactly sure why; I should have expected Gavril to tell them, but it still stings.

“Chiara.” Gavril reaches under the table and touches my hand, just a quick brush of contact. Quietly, he says, “You know I had to tell them what happened.” Guilt seeps through his words. “How I almost got you killed.”

I jerk my head up in surprise. “You didn’t almost get me killed. If anything, it was my fault. I should have remembered to shield the car.”

“No. I’m the one who does this all the time, not you. The blame lies on me.”

Everyone else in the room disappears as I meet his pained gaze. Beneath the table, I cover his hand with mine. “No. If I’m not to blame, neither are you. It goes both ways.”

After a moment, his eyes shift from a stormy to soft. “Okay.”

Frederick coughs, and when I glance at him, he looks like he’s on the verge of laughing. But he quickly sobers and says, “I know it’s unpleasant to talk about, Chiara. But we have to ask. So we have all the information.”

“Exactly,” Larkin agrees, jumping right back on track. “So you were able to draw the energy—the ability—from the Custodian, similar to what you do when you’re imbuing things?”

My stomach clenches just thinking about it. “Yes. It’s the same. But… it’s harder. The energy I use for imbuing, it’s just out there, waiting to be used. With the Custodians, I had to… take it. And then…”

“Could you imbue it into something?” Larkin’s eyes light with interest. “Do you think you could imbue an item with someone’s ability? Like Alex’s gravity flux? Or Ethan’s teleportation?” He glances at Frederick, then Gavril. “Imagine if we could all teleport? What an incredible advantage that would be.”

“I don’t…” The sick feeling is back in full-force, a heavy knot rolling around in my gut. “I’m not sure if I—”

“Larkin.” Gavril’s voice dips in warning. “You’re pushing.”

Knight interrupts. “Do you take the ability for good? Or just… borrow it?”

“I don’t know.” Voice small, I add, “I only did it once before. And he… I never had the chance to find out. Then, on the road… they died. So I don’t know.”

Larkin nods thoughtfully. “Either way, this could make a tremendous difference for us. If Chiara can borrow abilities, we can make extremely powerful weapons. And if she takes it—”

“No!” The refusal comes out in a near-shout.

Small tremors are working their way through my body; icy poison seeping into my veins. “No,” I repeat. “I’m not taking”—my voice catches—“anyone’s ability. I won’t. It’s wrong.”

All of it, so wrong. When I do it, my body suffers as punishment, and it’s still not enough.

“Maybe we’re moving too quickly.” Frederick casts a worried glance at me, his dark brows pulling into a deep V. “There’s no need—”

“There is a need,” Larkin retorts, his tone sharpening. “Do you think the situation will get better? And now we have a new weapon—”

“Chiara is not a weapon,” Gavril snaps. He glares at Larkin, his features going stony. “And you’re upsetting her.”

The thought of it, the memory of pulling away their energy, taking it inside me, feeling so dirty… It’s too much. Panic surges, frantic wings beating in my chest.

Words spill out, tumbling over each other. “No. NO. It’s not right. It’s what… it’s what Nicolas does. He steals and he doesn’t care who he hurts. I can’t—”

Gray dots are dancing across my vision. Air whistles through a narrowing throat.

“Chiara…” It’s Frederick. Soothing. “We’re not going to—”

“Chiara. It’s okay.” Gavril now. His hand is back on mine, but it’s not working this time.

I can’t breathe. Words keep ricocheting in my head, each one painful and sickening. Wrong. Thief. Evil. Killer.

“I can’t.” I leap up from my chair, knocking it over.

Larkin, this time more gently, “Chiara, stay. Just calm down.”

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