Page 64 of Veiled Yearning

Linus gulps, his face going pale. “No, no. You’re not wrong. I’ll get her. Soon.”

“Not soon,” snaps Nicolas. “Right away. Find the Sentinels and kill them. Painfully. Once they’re gone, there will be nothing to stop me from taking Chiara. And I need her. For the plan to work, I need her.”

“Is it still going according to plan? The Veil?”

There’s a moment of silence, and then Nicolas leans back in his seat. An oily smile spreads across his face. “Yes. The Veil is expanding exponentially faster. I anticipate it covering the entire Northeast within a couple of weeks. And once it does…”

Linus jumps in, eagerly. “We can take out all the Sentinels. And their allies. Make an example of what will happen to the rest of the vampires around the country if they don’t fall in line. And then the Veil will continue—”

“Correct. By the end of the year, the Veil should cover the continent. If everything goes as I want. But Chiara is the key.”

“We’ll get her.”

Nicolas pins Linus with his gaze. “Do it quickly. In two weeks, I plan to make my final move against the Sentinels. And I want her beside me when I do it.”

As Linus leaves the study, I yank myself out of the vision.

Two weeks.

Not much time to formulate a plan and act on it. But better than not knowing at all.

And Chiara. The way Nicolas talks about her, like she’s his to take. His to use. His to possess.

Never. I would die a thousand times before I let Nicolas take Chiara again.

“Gav?” Chiara touches my face, her fingers soft and cool against my skin. “Are you okay?”

Blinking back to awareness, I force a reassuring smile. “I’m fine.”

From the chair across from us, Frederick looks at me with concern. “That was a long one, Gavril. Can I assume that means you heard something of value?”

“Yes.” My jaw clenches. “I did.”

“What is it?” Chiara’s eyes go wide. “Was it bad?” A beat, and then she sighs. “Of course it’s bad. You wouldn’t have that look on your face if it wasn’t.”

“It’s… good and bad.” I don’t want to tell Chiara all of it. Not the part about Nicolas single-mindedly coming after her, or the part about her being the key to everything. If I tell her that, she’ll be even more scared than she already is. Or worse yet, she’ll insist on leaving in an attempt to protect us.

Frederick meets my gaze, then lifts his chin in understanding. “It might be easier if you share the vision with me, once you’ve taken a few minutes to recover.”

As Chiara glances between us, tiny lines etch into her forehead. “It was about me. Wasn’t it?”

On a sigh, I admit part of it. “Some of it was. There’s still… interest in you.”

She flinches. In a small voice, she says, “I figured as much.”

I clasp her now-trembling hand between mine. “No one will touch you, Chiara. I won’t allow it. Ever.”

20

You Are Not Broken

CHIARA

If I thought I was anxious before, it’s nothing compared to now.

Now that there’s a deadline looming, time seems to be moving too quickly.

Hours fly by while I work in the solarium, imbuing dozens more weapons and tokens and talismans. When Gavril comes by in the evening, gently insisting that I stop, it feels like I’ve only just started.

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