When The Grave Calls (The Veil Diaries #9) - B.L. Brunnemer Page 0,20

and nothing I said seemed to work. Maybe it was time to stop being subtle?

The director returned and we wrapped up business quickly.

I came out of the building to find Miles sitting in the driver’s seat of his car. I slid in and closed the door. “Miles …”

“Put your seatbelt on.” He started the car. “I’ve got to get back to work in the conservatory.”

“Miles. Stop.” I turned to him. “Could you please just … talk to me?”

He gripped the wheel and licked his lips. “About what?”

“About your dad.” I shifted so I could face him. “You’re leaving everything to me, and I don’t know what I’m doing.”

He turned, his gaze focusing on me. “I’m sorry, Lexie. I know I should be handling this but every time I try …” He looked out the windshield and shook his head. “Something just stops me. I get short of breath, a tightness in my chest. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“That’s anxiety, sweetie,” I said in a gentle voice.

He looked down at the steering wheel. “I need to be the calm one. I’m always the calm one.”

I reached over and touched his shoulder. “No, Nemo. You don’t. Not all the time.”

He took several deep breaths before turning to me. “Then I don’t know what to be.”

I gave him a soft smile. “Be Miles. The man I love, however you are, however you feel.”

He took my hand from his shoulder and kissed the back of it. “I’m yours. You know that, right?”

Warmth filled me at the uncertainty in his voice. “Yes, I know that. I’m just worried about you and why you’re leaving the funeral to me. But I think I get it now.” He was struggling to deal with it, and that I could understand.

His thumb moved over my knuckles. “I still think he’s alive somewhere.”

I sighed. Two steps forward, one step back. “He’s not, sweetie.”

He shook his head as he stared out the windshield looking very much lost. “It can’t be true, Lexie. It just … can’t.”

Deciding I’d pushed far enough today, I let it go. At least he hadn’t shut me out.

Miles shifted the car into drive, then took possession of my hand again as he pulled out of the parking lot and drove us home in silence.

Chapter 5

Isaac

“Why are we doing this here again?” I asked Uma as we sat down outside a coffee shop on Main Street.

“Because it’ll give you more of a chance to see different auras.” Uma crossed her legs and gestured with her paper to-go cup of coffee at the crowd. “What do you see?”

I settled back in the patio bistro chair and surveyed the Saturday crowd. Even though things in town had gotten strange, people still walked by, going in and out of shops, talking, having a good time. And here I was trying to read their auras. “Nothing. I got nothing.”

“Because you’re fighting it.” She turned to me with an understanding smile. “Relax your shoulders, clear your mind.”

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I did as I was told. Immediately a woman across the street caught my eye. A light glow surrounded her. Shades of brown blended with silver around the woman, particularly around her heart.

“Her,” I said in a low voice. “I see silver with a dingy brown overlay.”

Uma eyed the woman through her sunglasses. “Brown overlay usually means insecurity, negative energy. And silver could mean health problems or an accumulation of fear.” She turned to me. “What can you surmise from that?”

“Well, the silver is around her heart,” I said. “So, she’s scared of something.”

“Possibly a boyfriend or girlfriend. Or even the idea of opening up can do that,” Uma surmised. “Do you see how she’s walking?”

I watched the woman walk through the crowd, her head down, avoiding even the possibility of contact with anyone. “Yeah. She’s kinda in the crowd, but not. She’s avoiding people.”

“Do you see any other colors?” She took a sip of her coffee.

Now that she mentioned it, there was a soft edge of pastel pink mingled in with the browns and silvers. “Pastel pink.”

“What does that mean?” Uma raised an eyebrow.

I racked my brain, trying to remember the books that Uma gave me. “She needs serenity. She’s sensitive.”

Uma nodded. “Good. What else do you see?”

I took the time to really look at the woman as she stopped at a window of a store. It was cool out, but not so cool that you needed the sweater and jacket she was wearing. Her shoulders were