Gavriel had been shocked when Aliana swatted his hand away back at the dinner table. He had only been trying to soothe her fraying emotions after noticing her distress when the wine spilled.
The fact that she rejected his touch as if it burned her had shaken him profoundly, leaving him unable to move for a few seconds while she fled the room as if someone were chasing her.
But just as his eyes tracked the last glimpse of her before she disappeared, he saw the dark tendrils leaking out of her and understood what was happening.
Her mother and Jade were ready to go after her, but he stood up before they could even move.
He could not risk anyone being close to her right now. It was not because he feared she might harm them with her powers, but because he demanded to be the one to get through to her.
He wanted her alone so he could finally make her talk to him, something she had refused to do until now.
