Page 85 of Veiled Yearning

Ethan pins Frederick with a narrowed gaze. His arm comes around Ivy protectively. “I think Ivy has done enough.”

“No.” She pats Ethan’s arm. “It’s okay. If I can make them tell me how to dismantle the Veil, I’m happy to do it.”

There’s a silent exchange between them, and after a moment, Frederick lifts his chin at her. “Thank you, Ivy.” A pause, and then, “You see. After all this time. I was telling you the truth.”

“You could have just come right out with it, instead of being cryptic,” Ethan grumbles.

“Frederick loves being cryptic,” Cait adds, and jabs him with her elbow. “It’s one of his favorite things.”

Chiara laughs softly, and some of my lingering fear falls away. “He does,” she agrees, and flashes a tiny smile at Cait.

Frederick huffs at Cait, but his lips twitch. “Well. I guess we’ve moved on to the give Frederick a hard time part of the battle now.”

Larkin chuckles, and I almost keel over from shock. “It’s the best part of the battle, old friend.”

It’s almost surreal. After such terror and violence, here we are laughing. All my friends are alive. Chiara is safe in my embrace.

And Nicolas is dead. In fact—I cast a quick glance over my shoulder—his body is dissolving into the air as we speak.

Chiara wraps an arm around my neck, and she pulls herself up to whisper into my ear. “Can we go home now?”

My heart squeezes. “Yes, gorgeous. We can go home.” Pitching my voice louder, I say to everyone, “Let’s get this taken care of. I’m sure we’re all eager to leave.”

Larkin catches my eye. “Go ahead. We can finish up here.”

Frederick nods. “Go home. Get some rest.” His gaze slides to Chiara. “You were amazing, Chiara. I know it was hard. But thank you.”

A chorus of thank yous follow, and Chiara’s cheeks go pink.

“Come on.” I kiss her forehead again, and the love I feel for her is so intense, I’m breathless from it. “Let’s go home.”

26

A New Beginning

CHIARA

I never thought I could be this happy.

Waking up snuggled into Gavril’s arms, my cheek pillowed against his broad chest, the reassuring thud of his heart soothing me.

The vivid colors of the sunrise fill the room, casting everything in a golden glow.

Through the open window, a slight breeze carries the sounds of birds calling to each other, announcing the start of spring.

A slight chill makes me shiver—I know it’s too cold to sleep with the window open, but I can’t seem to resist—and Gavril hugs me closer to him. His breath feathers across my hair, and he presses a soft kiss to the top of my head.

I nuzzle his neck, not to feed, but to feel the warmth of his skin beneath my lips.

One hand strokes down my hair, fingers gently combing through it, sending little tingles of pleasure all through my body.

It’s more than I ever thought possible. Falling in love. Finding my perfect match. Living with him. Waking up to see the sunrise every morning with him—not in the kitchen, anymore, but from the comfort of our bed.

Emotion swells up, fast and intense, and I have to take several slow breaths to keep it from overflowing. I don’t want to worry Gavril by crying all over him. Again.

But he senses it anyway, shifting me in his arms so he can gaze down at me. Forehead creasing with worry, he asks, “Are you alright, gorgeous? Did you have a nightmare again? What can I do?”

“I’m okay.” I smooth my hand across his rough cheek. “Just thinking about how happy I am.”

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