Page 178 of Halfblood Deceived

She had told no one about it.

Diana knew something was driving Aella crazy, but she was not pushy.

Aylana had said nothing about Aella’s lackluster performance during defense classes. Nor had she mentioned Zeydan. But she had given Aella a new book almost every day, and they were all about consent and relationships.

She was sure Zeydan had told no one either, but Aylana simply knew somehow. If Aella didn’t know better, she’d have believed the fey-werewolf female could read minds.

Zeydan had texted Aella later that fateful night, asking if she was alright. Aella had been buried under her duvet, wearing his coat and numbing her thoughts via loud rock music coming from her headphones. So no, she was definitely not alright, but she’d lied. And even though she had the feeling Zeydan knew she was lying, he hadn’t pushed.

Since then, he’d made a habit of texting her every day at breakfast time. The conversations usually started with a picture. The first photo he’d sent had been one of Luce commandeering two laptops simultaneously as Evan looked on with pride. A day after that, Zeydan sent a photo of the quote from The Black Witch—attached to Gabby’s pin board—and a short video of Luce fencing with Lex. Aella had watched the video about a hundred times. Luce’s skills were insane for a child. Even for an adult, really.

She had responded to all his messages, sending some book quotes back, and photos of her own. Two days after she had sent Zeydan a photo of her favorite unicorns and rainbows socks, she had received a package with the gaudiest, most insanely colored knee-high toe stockings she had ever seen in her life. Courtesy of Evan.

Zeydan hadn’t seen her in person yet, however. He’d asked once, inviting Aella to a book fair. She had lied and said she was busy that day, and Zeydan had let it go.

The reasonable part of Aella’s mind knew he was giving her space. That he was considerate, decent, and didn’t want to be overbearing. But the rest of her—her insecure side that she didn’t know if she could ever get rid of—screamed that Zeydan wanted nothing to do with her and was simply being polite. Even if the evidence pointed to the contrary.

To summarize, her head was a complete mess.

Aella’s thoughts were so tangled that she hadn’t been able to talk to the wolf during their walks. He didn’t try to get her to talk, either, but was always there to give her a literal shoulder to lean on, and a hot body to lie on as well. Although she hadn’t done that lately. At least not on purpose. She’d woken up this morning to find herself laying half on top of his chest, using him as a pillow. He’d been fully awake and staring at her with mournful, warm intensity.

Knowing she couldn’t continue on like this, Aella asked Kam if she could see her earlier than usual in her office. And that’s where she was now, sitting across from Kam on the leather sofa, legs crossed and restless.

Fifteen minutes had passed and Aella had done nothing more than look at everything but Kam, and talk about the weather.

She wanted to kick herself. Kamilla was a busy female. She had a city and several businesses to attend to, and here Aella was, wasting the princess’ time.

Kamilla placed a hand on Aella’s knee. “Hey, stop worrying. I am here because I want to be. Because a friend needs me. Take a deep breath.”

Aella obeyed, meeting her warm topaz eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Kam shook her head. “You have nothing to apologize for, dear.”

“I don’t know where to start,” Aella said, scratching her neck. “Can I stand?”

“You can do anything you want,” Kamilla assured her.

Aella stood and paced in front of the wall of windows overlooking the dance floor. The cleaning staff were mopping the floors and cleaning the furniture.

“Zeydan kissed me,” Aella blurted, then shook her head. “No, we kissed. He asked for my permission and we kissed.” She kept pacing. “And I liked it.” She groaned. “No, I loved it beyond words, but then I got scared.”

“Why were you afraid?” Kamilla asked after a minute of silence. “Did he do something inappropriate?”

Aella huffed ruefully and shook her head. “No. He didn’t. I honestly think he would never do something I didn’t like.”

Kamilla nodded, shoulders relaxing. “I’m glad. I’ve come to know Zeydan better in these last two months, and I truly believe he is a good male. But you must know that if he ever gets pushy, you have every right to knee him in the balls.”

Aella stopped pacing, blinking at Kamilla. “How can you say that if he’s your cousin?”

“You are my friend and protégé,” Kamilla answered with a blithe shrug.

Aella bit her lip. “I think your priorities might be a bit askew. I don’t mind though.”

Kamilla leaned her elbow on the sofa’s backrest, half smiling. “I think my priorities are perfectly aligned,” she countered. “We females must protect each other from harm no matter if it means going against our partners, brothers, cousins, or even parents. I would tell you the same thing if you were somehow involved with Kerian, whom I know better than anyone and love with my whole heart.”

Aella felt some warmth leak into her achy, tight chest. “I don’t think I’d ever see Kerian like that. No offense, he’s great, but…”

“Too fucking much to handle?” Kamilla finished, huffing. “Oh, I know.”

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