Page 53 of Veiled Yearning

I’m trying to calm her, touching her hair, speaking to her in low, soothing tones, but it’s not working.

“Frederick!” Her voice pitches up, high and strained. “Where are the tokens? I can’t heal him all alone. It’s not enough.”

It wouldn’t be enough. Not her small healing ability on its own. I can feel little flutters of her energy working at me, but it’s not nearly enough to counteract the poison.

“Chiara, it’s okay. Stop.” I try to catch her hand, but she jerks away from me.

“Gav, I’m trying. But it’s not—” A sob bursts out, but she shuts it down.

Lucas comes running back into the room, a small vial clutched in his hand. “Got it. We’ll need to ask Titus to give us more the next time we see him. We’re doing okay, but with everything—”

Frederick takes the vial and gives Lucas a silencing glance. In a low tone, he says, “Not now.” Then he approaches me, eyeing the still-bleeding slice across my abdomen. “Sit, Gavril. Let’s do this.”

“Chiara.” This time I firm my voice, demanding her attention. I grab her hands and hold them still. Shock ripples across her face, followed by confusion. “Stop,” I tell her gently. “There’s another way.”

I tug her down to the floor, setting her beside me, still holding onto her hands. It’s a relief to be off my feet; I’d never admit it, but the injury and blood loss are draining my strength.

Chiara flashes me a confused look. “What? Another way? I don’t understand.”

Frederick gestures for me to lie back so he can apply Titus’s blood to the wound on my stomach. Leaning over me, he drips the powerful liquid along the edges of the cut, and I brace myself for the inevitable burning I know I’ll feel soon.

“The poison,” I explain, “can be counteracted by Titus’s blood. We discovered it when Cait was injured during Titus’s rescue. He isn’t just a vampire, as you know. He’s our ancestor, and his blood is much more powerful than ours. So it can heal, even when ours can’t.”

“What?” She stares at me, tears welling up, still unbelieving.

“It’s okay, gorgeous. I’m fine. It’ll hurt a little when—” Titus’s blood kicks in, searing, a thousand needles jabbing into me, and I can’t hold back the hiss of pain.

Chiara tears her gaze from me to flash an angry glare at Frederick, and snaps, “You’re hurting him.”

“I’m not,” Frederick replies calmly. “It’s just the blood. And it’ll be over soon.”

Already, the pain is fading, and I can feel my skin knitting together again. “Chiara. Look. It’s almost gone already.”

She glances at my stomach and her eyes go wide. Her shoulders sag a little. A tiny relieved, “Oh,” slips out.

Pushing myself back to a seated position, I take one of her hands in mine. “I’m sorry it scared you, but—”

“Scared me?” Her shoulders set, and her eyes flash fire at me. “What if you didn’t have the blood? What if it didn’t work this time? What if it was a different poison?” As she continues, her voice rises. “You didn’t have to attack her. You could have… you could—”

“Chiara,” Frederick starts. “It’s our job.”

“No!” She jumps up. “That woman was here for me. No one should get hurt because of me.” She looks back at me. “And you! I won’t let you die because of me. How could you… I won’t… Don’t you dare put yourself at risk for me.”

Chest heaving, cheeks flushed, she stares at me for a second before turning and rushing out of the room.

What just happened?

A second later, Lucas comes into the room holding a large glass of crimson liquid. “Um. Chiara looked really upset. Angry, really. What did you do to her?”

I’m not sure?

He hands the glass to me, and I take a healthy swig before replying. “I don’t know. I was trying to tell her I was okay.”

As the blood seeps into my body, replenishing me, Knight adds unhelpfully, “She seemed mad at you, Gavril.”

“Really,” I say dryly. “I hadn’t noticed.”

Larkin looks up from the chair Chiara imbued; he’s been poking at it for the last minute or so, no doubt trying to figure out how he can use it. “Maybe she’s mad that you let a Custodian into the house.”

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