Page 18 of Blossoms and Bloodlines
Late, but are you up for some drama and brooding?
Ann’s reply came almost instantly.
Always. Come over.
“HE’S UBER HOT,” Ann declared, dead serious, after Beth finished telling her everything from Letha on. “Like, I’m gonna look at him, then take a spoon to carve out my eyes because what would be the point of seeinganythingafter that?”
Curled on her friend’s couch, sipping tea, Beth rolled her eyes. “That’s not even a little over the top.”
“Heisover the top.” Ana grabbed a handful of mixed nuts and stuffed it in her mouth, crunching loudly. “Theyallare. I mean, Aryon—whew.” She fanned herself. “he’s like an angel with pointy ears. Gael, though? He’s earthy. Like, he could get down and dirty.”
Beth blinked. “Earthy?”
She hadn’t expected that word. Gael, in her mind, had always been cold and sharp, made of moonlight and disapproval. Earthy didn’t fit. And yet her mind betrayed her. She saw him again in her garden, shirt slightly rumpled, hands steady and sure, calm in the chaos of sun and sweat and dirt.
“‘Earthy’ doesn’t mean dirty boots and flannel, Beth,” Ann said with the easy preaching of a friend. “It means grounded. Real. Someone who shows up, gets messy, peels your pears, and then offers to hike a mountain with you. That’s Earthy with a capital E.” She grinned. “He would totally roll in the dirt, naked.”
“First of all—oh myGod.Second, I don’t see how that’s relevant.”
“It’s not. Usually.” Ann tilted her head, studying her. “It might be in this specific case.”
“Why? Why is this even a specific case now?”
“Because you don’t like or trust people who are hot, powerful, or brooding.”
“Excuse me,” Beth said, indignant. “I’ve been close with Aryon and Elara for years. I love them like family and they’re two of the most powerful magiks out there on top of being very hot.”
“Exactly. Like family. You love them like a brother and a sister.” Ann raised a finger. “Gael? Not brother vibes. Gael is giving you filthy vibes and now you’re horny and confused.”
“Stop it!” Beth felt the rush of blood in her cheeks and blamed it on anger. “He’s a legit ass. Remember Litha? The way he talked? He didn’t even address that today.”
“True.” Ann nodded. “Also true? I don’t mind repeating myself—he’s hot. And broody. And powerful.”
“So?”
Her friend shrugged. “So, you don’t trust power, you have zero patience for brooding, and hotness bores you–when taken one at a time. But Gael is all three,and I think it’s driving you nuts that he still makes you want to climb him like a tree.”
Beth stared at her like she’d grown a second head. “You’re serious.”
Ann popped a peanut into her mouth. “Yep.”
“For real.”
“Look, I’m not saying he’s a prize or anything. He was a dick to you at Litha and if he’s interested, he owes you an explanation for that.” Ann shrugged. “But what do you really know about him? Not the assumptions, not what Bryn told you. Just him?”
Beth sighed, grabbed a fistful of mixed nuts, and stuffed them in her mouth to crunch her feelings away. “You’re crazy,” she mumbled through cashew and regret.
“Am I?” Ann arched a brow. “Or am I just outside the emotional blast zone and better equipped to see through your dramatic elf problems?”
“No, no. You’re definitely crazy.”
“For the record,” Ann added, sobering slightly, “I don’t like Bryn.”
Beth blinked. “Really? I didn’t know you even knew him.”
“Talked to him a couple of times, nothing major. He gives me a weird vibe. Like there’s something slimy just under the surface. Doesn’t matter, you’re not into him. But since I’m already butting into your life, that’s my take.”
Beth fell quiet, chewing on almonds and Ann’s words. They’d come from different heartbreaks but landed in similar places made of independence, safety, and control. But Ann had this gut instinct about people. It wasn’t magic, just hard-won intuition. And the worst part?
