Veiled Passions
Chapter One
Venice, 1777
There are those who grow cold over the course of time,
a slow, subtle erosion that takes place over many years
until they are no longer the person they once knew.
But not so for Kieran Mullen. She could pinpoint the
precise event that had changed her, and she guarded the
secret of that night the way a wolf guards its kill.
However, released by the costumes and festivals of Carnivale,
she found a tiny reprieve from her self-imposed
prison.
Kieran accepted a man's proffered hand and let him
sweep her back onto the floor and into his arms.
She did not know who he was; he wore a white, beaked
plague mask, a cloak, and a tricorn. His identity was concealed,
as was her own. He could be a butcher or a king;
Kieran did not know, and she did not care.
The dance ended, and as Kieran went looking for her
sister-in-law, Emeline, a man in a leopard mask with a spotted
cape bowed before her, and outstretched his hand.
With abandon, Kieran accepted his invitation and whirled
back onto the floor. He smelled of wine and sweat, tanned
fur and raw ... read full excerpt from: Veiled Passions ebook
