Page 9 of Veiled Yearning

Sighing, I tell him, “No. She took off into the woods.”

“The woods?” He sobers. “Why? What happened?”

“She didn’t understand when I tried to explain it to her. So I showed her, instead.”

A sharp inhale, and then, sharply, “You showed her? As in, you shared one of your visions?”

A niggling worry works its way into my gut. From Frederick’s reaction, I may have screwed up. “Yes. The one with Nylah and Sam. So she’d understand how serious the situation with the Custodians has gotten.”

Sternly, he says, “Gavril. What part of gentle did you not understand? Don’t you remember what happened when you showed Cait the vision of her?”

“Yes, of course.” I’m defensive. “But Chiara wasn’t in this vision. And she’s a vampire; she knows this happens.”

“Showing Chiara people being tortured is not gentle. Especially considering what happened to her.”

Restless, I get up and walk to the window, looking out at a steady snow falling beyond. “I know the Custodians hurt her. All the more reason why Chiara would want to help us defeat them.”

Frederick sighs. “You may have seen her for a brief period of captivity, but I watched her. I checked on her dozens of times until we were able to free her from that warehouse. They tortured her, Gavril. Hurt her over and over, taking turns so she never had a break. It was brutal. She never had a chance to draw on her power; the pain was so bad.”

Dammit.

In my silence, he continues, “I know you had good intentions. You always do. But there’s a reason Chiara has isolated herself in the woods like she has. She’s not doing well. And this…”

Little details start slotting together. The fear in Chiara’s eyes. The way her leg kept jumping. How she carefully arranged those little decorations on the mantle. Her stubborn refusal to consider leaving her cabin.

Her cabin where she probably feels safest. The one she fled after I showed her something that likely brought back all her traumatic memories. My fist thuds on the windowsill, making the entire pane shake. “Damn.”

“You need to fix this.”

“I know.” The snow is falling even faster now, and the thought of Chiara outside in it… she’s a vampire, she won’t freeze, but still. It won’t be comfortable. “Should I go looking for her?”

“No. Just wait. She’ll come back.” Frederick sounds certain. “And when she does, apologize. No explanations. Trust me from experience, she won’t want to hear why you did it. Just apologize. And if she says she wants to stay in Maine, leave it alone.”

Crap. I’ve managed to make this entire situation worse than before I came.

“I’ll wait here.” Glancing around the room, my gaze falls on the fireplace. “Maybe I should start a fire? Will that make her more relaxed?”

“Maybe. It can’t hurt.”

Or if nothing else, Chiara will see the smoke from the chimney and want to come back to make sure I’m not burning her house down.

A soft, feminine voice rises and falls on Frederick’s end of the line. A moment later, he says, “Cait said you should compliment Chiara on something. The cabin. Her books.”

In the background, I hear Cait call, “But don’t tell her she looks nice. That would be weird right now.”

Yes. It would be weird to tell Chiara she looks beautiful after I just barged into her home and effectively chased her out of it.

But she is beautiful. Golden skin and long hair that changes color from walnut to hickory, with strands of bronze and copper running through it. Dark, expressive eyes framed by a thick brush of lashes, flecked with bits of gold and green. And lush curves, impossible to miss even through the loose sweater and baggy jeans she’s wearing.

Not that it matters. I’m not here to pay attention to how Chiara looks. It’s just an objective observation, like anything else I would take notice of.

“I’ll look at her books,” I tell Frederick, as I head over to one of the well-stocked bookshelves flanking the fireplace. “I’ll compliment her on those.”

4

A Decision

CHIARA

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