Page 148 of Halfblood Deceived

Thump, thump, it went against her palm.

Aella followed Zeydan’s breathing pattern, feeling his hot breath brush her forehead.

Twenty exhalations later, she could see and hear properly.

She swallowed, not daring to meet his gaze. “I’m sorry.”

Zeydan applied feather-like pressure under her chin with two fingers, urging her to look up.

Aella did, finding green eyes full of understanding, a trace of worry and fierceness too. “You don’t have to apologize, Aella. You never have to apologize to me for being in pain, alright?”

She nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed but also strangely warmed and content.

Zeydan lowered the hand cupping her face, gently grasping her left hand, his eyes questioning.

Aella answered by gripping his large, warm hand like a lifeline.

They resumed their walk.

Aella realized she had miraculously not dropped her cocoa, and that Zeydan was now carrying both his and her bag of books.

They both finished their drinks before they got cold and dropped the empty containers into the nearest bin.

“To answer your original question, Gabby is my oldest friend,” Zeydan said. Aella turned toward him, curious. He continued. “She was roaming the territory near Ju-long’s—my father’s—court. The sentries caught her and intended on turning her into a concubine. But Gabby killed one of them right in front of Ju-long, ripped the sentry’s heart out of his chest with her bare hands, actually.”

Aella gasped.

Zeydan gave her a contrite look. “Sorry. I’ll try to keep the gory details to a minimum.”

Aella hurried to shake her head. “No. I mean, if there are any private things, you don’t have to tell me, as you probably already know. But I don’t want people to shelter me all the time. I know I have issues, but I’ll let you know if I can’t handle it, yes?”

“Alright,” Zeydan conceded. He traced a thumb over Aella’s knuckles. “I convinced Ju-long to make her a warrior instead. That was almost a century ago when we were both less than two decades old.” He took a deep breath. “Gabby endured a terrible decade with me and my mother in Ju-long’s court. He is… brutal. His warriors and sentries were no better. Gabby and I tried to keep them in line, to protect innocent humans from the court and Ju-long, but it was an almost impossible task. We were punished for it repeatedly. The last time…” Zeydan trailed off.

Aella gave his hand a squeeze, not wanting to discourage him but worried.

Zeydan returned the squeeze. “The last time Ju-long punished us all, I would have died if not because Kam and Kerian arrived. Their mission for two long centuries was to make sure all vampire courts followed our more recent code of conduct. Having human slaves has been technically outlawed for centuries, but many disobeyed. With the Vampire King’s blessing, Kam and Kerian forced the courts to obey.” Zeydan let out a rueful laugh, shaking his head. “I had never seen Ju-long afraid before, much less of a female. But the look on his face when Kamilla faced him in battle and he lost… I wish I had been the one to put that much fear into him.”

Aella suppressed a shiver. “I thought older vampires were more powerful.”

Zeydan nodded. “That is usually the case, but Kam and Kerian are the exceptions to the rule. They are both almost as powerful as their father, which puts them above nearly any old pureblood, with very few exceptions.”

“Wow.” Aella could absolutely imagine Kamilla turning all that fierce gentleness into a warrior’s fury without trying. She’d seen Kam break off fights in Hecate without lifting a finger, after all.

“Kerian healed me,” Zeydan continued. “And then he and Kam helped my mother, Gabby and me leave what little remained of Ju-long’s court behind.” His expression relaxed, an amused tilt to his lips. “Gabby and I lived with my mother’s clan for a while, but we didn’t quite belong there, and then Mother met her soulmates, so we left. We’ve mostly been nomadic, both because we wanted to see many places, and because we feared Ju-long would come after us again. Gabby became homesick often, so we spent a lot of years in England. Mari joined us about four decades ago. She’s a fey princess, as you know, and her parents wanted to force her into a political marriage.” Zeydan scoffed. “No one forces Mari to do anything she doesn’t want. She left her court behind and has never looked back.”

Aella smiled. She couldn’t imagine anyone capable of controlling Mari, who put vampires twice her size in their place with a scowl and a raised finger.

“Two decades after that, we all met Evan and Lex,” Zeydan said. “They had run away from their pack.” He met Aella’s gaze, his love for his family was obvious in his jeweled eyes. “You’ve met them, they’re easygoing and kind, which didn’t fit well at all with their pack’s cultist levels of craziness. Not to mention, they wanted to force Evan to change his so-called unnatural ways and purify him of his ‘abnormal attraction’ to males.” Zeydan shook his head. “Most werewolves aren’t that close-minded, but some clans cling to antiquated, perverse laws.”

Zeydan’s indignation echoed in Aella.

She had learned during her studies how incredibly dangerous it had been for humans to be gay half a century before. It was still something that could get people condemned to death in some parts of the world. The church taught homosexuality was sinful, and granted a ticket straight to Hell, and Aella had believed the same for a long time.

Which is why Diana had even been wary to let Aella know she was a lesbian.

Diana was by far not someone who deserved eternal damnation, Aella had thought when her sister had confessed the truth about her sexuality. Neither did Lupita nor Rod—who was pansexual. And after reading all she could get her hands on about queer history, Aella had reached the logical conclusion that the church was full of crap. There is nothing sinful about loving whoever you want.

Zeydan and Aella reached a bend in the path that led out of the park.

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