Page 125 of Halfblood Deceived

“You are not making it sound less impressive, you know?” Rebecca commented, her eyes on Aella instead of her book.

Trinity tilted her head. “Interesting. It’s the same for me. Admittedly, it takes me longer than you to get the answer, but I process basic math the same way. Most vampires do. Which is why some are very good at getting filthy rich.”

Tim wrinkled his nose. “Not all of us, however.”

Rebecca pushed her glasses up her nose. “I can read a two-hundred-page book in one hour, but mathematics is… Not difficult, per se, but I have to put in an effort.”

“I’m dumb both ways,” Tim said.

“I’ll have to agree to that,” Alec sassed.

Tim shoved his shoulder.

Aella bit her lip. Whenever she had demonstrated such a skill in front of Micah, he had gotten angry. Eli had said it was one more piece of evidence that Aella was secretly a witch. Her new co-workers merely seemed intrigued.

“I’m not a vampire, though,” Aella reminded them.

She received a few hums.

“You are a genius,” Diana insisted.

Aella really missed her hoodie.

“Have you considered studying accounting?” Mac asked.

Aella shook her head. “I’m not fond of being in an office all day. And I’d have to get formal education first, anyway.”

Jessa examined Aella’s face as if it were a puzzle. “Wait. How old are you?”

Aella gulped. “Twenty-four.”

“And you didn’t even go to elementary school?” Jessa asked.

Heat crawled up Aella’s neck. “Nope.”

“Is that normal for gargoyles?” Lupita asked Diana.

Diana gave her a tight nod. “For females, yes.”

Rebecca’s brow furrowed. “That’s horrible.”

Aella flinched. “Yeah. It is.”

“You do realize you are interrogating her all at once, right?” Reese asked, their brow arched.

Trinity, Lupita, and Jessa gave Aella apologetic, sheepish gestures.

“Sorry,” Trinity said.

Alec shook his head with mock disapproval. “I knew you would break the no-weirdness rule in two minutes flat.”

“What’s wrong with you guys?” Tim asked, eyes theatrically wide.

Lupita huffed. “You helped.”

Diana cleared her throat. “It’s almost time. We better get going.” She turned to Mac. “Be close to her in her first rounds, yes?”

She nodded. “You got it.”

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