Veil Of Ashes

a gilded masterpiece that appeared to gleam in the city's neon haze.

ith candles generating shadows that seemed to move on their own. Guests sipped

ort grew when she observed framed portraits on the walls depicting earl

oman whose back was turned to her. As Lila neared, Elias raised his eye

d, his smile predator

hoice," she said, attempti

ing the woman he had been

d unsettlingly familiar, reminiscent of a photograph Lila had seen i

g through the room's murmur like a knife. "Allow

stood she wasn't just arranging a wedding. She was caught in the midst of something far more dangerou

ful aroma filling the air as she gazed at the card hidden between the stalks.

te was

othing short of perfection. I apol

lf, yet there was something disarming about hi

y and deliberately. "I realize no

to decipher the truth in his tone. "You think staging

vating. "Not in the least. That's why I want to make amends

tter judgment,

as effortless, and his anecdotes enthralling. However, beneath his

was fantastic. My mother would tell me stories about the spirits that lived there,

despite hersel

ng. "Sometimes, I think it lov

but before she could question him, Elia

to finalize guest lists developed into hushed chats that lasted well into the nig

She had just finished studying a reception layout when the power went off. She was fum

g a thermos of coffee on the table.

and more intimate. They sat on the stage, the flicker

lained, his voice softer than she'd ever heard it. "It

he heaviness was from the pla

" she repli

r w

ting me sit

air away from her face, and for a minute, the air between them felt electrifi

er," he said soft

alk away, a knot f

e coffee without leaving a note, but she knew who sent it. Then arrived a book on French archit

d constructed around herself. She found herself waiting for his phone calls, expecting the sound

de closer was follo

sted on being "strictly professional," he le

" he answered quietly. "B

to question him, to demand an explanation for the way he seemed to push and pull her in equal

. Elias Duvall was a jigsaw she couldn't stop solving,

ite all the warning flags, did sh