Page 74 of Veiled Yearning

On a wheeze, I ask, “What are you thinking?”

He touches my face, stroking his thumb down my cheek. “That I want to… do whatever it takes. To make this work.”

Oh. My breath explodes out of me. “Me too.”

“I know you like your privacy. And I don’t want to take that away from you. But—”

But he still has his visions. Even if the Custodians are beaten, there will always be people in need of saving. And there are all of his friends. How can I expect him to give all that up?

Heart fluttering with nerves, I say, “I know. You have the Sentinels. Your visions. Living in northern Maine doesn’t work for that.”

Can I leave my sanctuary for Gavril?

How can I not?

Gavril opens his mouth to speak, but I beat him to it. In a rush, I say, “I want to be wherever you are. I’ll move anywhere you need to be.”

He blinks. “Chiara.”

“I mean it.” Putting my hand over his heart, I tell him the absolute truth. “I love the quiet and privacy, but I love you more. If I have to live in the middle of New York City to be with you, I will. You’re my home, now. Not Maine. Not a cabin. You.”

He swallows hard. “Ah, gorgeous. I would never ask you to live someplace where you didn’t feel comfortable. But to hear you say that. It means more to me than—” Gavril closes his eyes and swallows hard. “Making you happy is the most important thing to me. If you want to be in Maine, we’ll make it work.”

“It won’t, though. Not with the Sentinels, and—”

“I have an idea.” Hugging me to him, Gavril kisses my forehead before continuing. “What if we find a little cabin in the Adirondacks? On a mountain, or an island? It would still be isolated, but I’d be closer to the others—Frederick and Alex in Lake George, David in western New York, and Larkin has another house south of Albany. Do you think that would work?”

Happiness swells in my chest, warm and bright and fizzy. “I think that would work. A little place for us? In the mountains? I’d really like that.”

Relief smooths out all the rough edges of Gavril’s face, and I get a glimpse of what he must have looked like as a child, still young and innocent. “You would?”

“Yes.” I brush my lips across his. “I think it sounds perfect.”

After a relieved sigh, he says with a smile, “Me too.”

I’m just snuggling into his arms when he stiffens. “There’s something else.”

“Something else?”

“Nothing bad. At least, I don’t think it is.” Leaning over me, Gavril reaches into the nightstand. “Just something… I wanted to give to you.”

A moment later, he’s laying beside me again, this time with something clasped in his hand. There’s a new expression on his face, mostly hope, but tinged with fear and worry. “I never thought I’d give this to anyone,” he says. “But with you… it feels right.”

What is he giving me? In some of the books I’ve read, the guy reaches into the nightstand and presents the woman with a ring. But I can’t imagine… not yet…

Although. If he asked. I don’t think I’d say no.

I whisper, “What is it?”

After a brief hesitation, Gavril unfurls his fingers, revealing something shiny and sparkling on his palm.

Not a ring. A necklace. A delicate gold chain with a perfect emerald pendant, surrounded by ornate golden filigree and tiny little diamonds. It’s beautiful. Elegant. And from the way his hand is shaking, it’s something very important.

“It was my mother’s,” he explains. “My father gave it to her, and she loved it very much. Whenever there was a special event, she’d wear it, and my father would tell her how it didn’t come close to matching her beauty.”

“Oh. Gav.”

“I went back to the house, after… they were gone. I snuck in, and I just… I wanted something to remember her by. So I took the necklace. I didn’t think she would mind.”

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