Page 160 of Halfblood Deceived

Zeydan had the feeling she would be blushing if she were in her fey form.

“Aww!” Kerian crooned.

“You two are disgustingly cute,” Mari said, voice still shaky.

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Marigold,” Andreas said, voice hoarse.

Mari narrowed her eyes at him, but there were tear tracks on her cheeks, her nose was red, and her gaze still carried brokenhearted despair, so it was hardly intimidating. Evan let out a halting chuckle, his whole body shaking with shivers. The worst wounds on his chest were mostly closed, but he was still smeared with blood and hauntingly pale. Mari hugged him close and rubbed his shoulders.

A strange clicking sound made them all turn toward the ship anchored to the church’s port, almost fifty yards away.

And then came an explosion.

Zeydan and Diana scrambled to cast a shield, but it wouldn’t be enough.

They were going to die…

A dark, tall, lean form materialized in front of all of them, blasting an impressive flare of shadowy magic.

Darkness boomed all around them, encompassing the explosion, devouring it like a black hole eats a star. The sheer might of the dark power protecting them all was not from this world and seemed to have no end. The orange flames of the explosion coming were barely visible through the devouring shadow.

The black, rippling magic consumed the entire explosion—poisonous silver included—and shrank, shrank, shrank into a tightening spiral until it vanished from existence, as if it had never occurred in the first place. The remnants of heat in the air were the only evidence. And then the shadows cleared, revealing a pale male dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, and boots.

“Aroth?” Kerian asked, voice shaky with disbelief.

Yep, that’s him, Zeydan thought, divided between nervous amusement and awe at the massive demonstration of power.

The demon turned and stalked toward them, ink-dark hair ruffled by the icy wind, piercings glinting under the faint moonlight. He examined each of them with cool, analytical eyes. His gaze lingered on a shaky, wide-eyed, naked Evan. Aroth snapped his fingers and, with a flash of smoky magic, cast an ensemble of black clothes directly on Evan’s shivering form—black jeans, a sweater, and socks.

Mari jolted and released Evan at once.

Evan gawked at Aroth, as stunned as Zeydan by the demonstration of kindness.

Aroth’s pale lips twisted in a knowing smile. “You all look terrible.”

“What are you doing here?” Kerian asked. “I mean, I am very glad you are, don’t get me wrong, but how did you know where to find us?”

Aroth reached their side, his black eyes now solely on Kerian. “We were supposed to meet fifteen minutes ago, remember? You have always called me if you can’t make it, so I figured something was wrong, and tracked you.”

Sebastian let out a shaky chuckle, clutching at his wounded side. “Thank the goddess for your excellent boyfriend manners, Kerian.”

“Thank me for kicking some fucking manners into him,” Kamilla quipped, but her voice was weak with relief.

“Thank you for kicking some fucking manners into Kerian, Kamilla,” Sebastian and Zeydan chorused.

Kerian rolled his eyes at them, but he was smiling. His eyes met Aroth’s. He seemed to hesitate for a second, but then leaned in and kissed the demon on the lips. Aroth returned the kiss without hesitation, completely unconcerned, despite Kerian still being in his shifted form. The demon actually deepened the light kiss, not caring a bit about Kerian’s long double canines, which could cut through even a gargoyle’s skin.

They certainly make a weird, but good-looking pair, Zeydan thought. Even though the affection laced with lust that he could feel coming from both was not precisely love, it was strong enough to make Aroth want to protect Kerian. Something odd in demons, as far as Zeydan knew, at least.

Aroth pulled gently back, giving Kerian a look loaded with heated promise. “Shall I help you burn the remains into cinders? I can sense your magic is depleted.”

“We’d be most grateful, Aroth,” Kamilla said, dipping her chin.

Aroth half smiled at her. “And I’d be delighted, Princess. I love the smell of roasted gargoyle at—” he checked his watch “—4 AM.”

Zeydan mentally cursed. He’d missed a very important appointment, just like Kerian had.

Lex and Aylana let out matching growls.

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