Page 36 of Veiled Yearning

My pulse is thrumming, loud and insistent.

His hand rests on my leg, the heat searing through my jeans and into my skin.

Time seems to freeze.

We’re balanced on a precipice. Leap forward into the unknown, or fall back to safety?

I want to close the distance, but I’m scared. My mind whirls with reasons; for and against it.

But if Gavril makes the first move… I’ll jump over the edge along with him.

For a second, I think he will. His eyes search my face, hungry and desperate. His weight shifts forward.

Oh—

And then.

He pulls back.

His gaze skitters away, to the fire, the ceiling, anywhere other than me.

Disappointment sweeps through me, and I drop my gaze to the floor, not wanting Gavril to see the evidence in my eyes.

A moment later, a finger touches my chin, lifting it.

Gavril looks more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen. Eyes filled with worry, he asks, “Do you want to try the taffy? And then have some wine? We can talk about what kind of dog you want to get?”

Maybe he’s as scared as me? Big, intimidating, confident Gavril; afraid?

But then, I thought I knew him before, and I didn’t.

So I force my disappointment back and smile at him. “Okay. As long as you can find me a peanut butter piece. I remember that being the best.”

A small smile chases away some of the worry. “Okay. I can do that.”

13

A New Loyalty

GAVRIL

My last vision wasn’t violent, but equally chilling.

I’m still not used to them, even after hundreds of years, but I never let on how much they affect me. I’ve mastered control of my expressions; carefully controlling what people can see.

So they think I’m emotionless. Jaded by countless horrible images. Unflappable in the face of violence.

It’s all a carefully constructed lie.

How could I not feel? To be forced to watch innocents, allies, my friends being hurt? Killed? Knowing if the vision comes true, it’s because I failed.

But the Sentinels need a leader, not someone haunted by images that never truly go away. They need Gavril, the Seer—the man who sees bad things and does his best to change them. So I lock my emotions away. It’s the only way to be what the Sentinels need.

Except sometimes I see something that truly shakes me. Like Jules being abducted. Titus held in that barn. Cait tortured by Nicolas. And most recently, Nicolas talking to his trusted allies about finding Chiara.

That vision came to me in the shower this morning—Nicolas, sitting in a nondescript room, surrounded by three of his closest allies. Leave no stone unturned, he told them. You must locate Chiara. I need her. Do whatever it takes to bring her to me.

One of the Custodians—Elias, who can turn things to ice—asked, What if she fights us? How would you like us to control her?

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