Page 187 of Halfblood Deceived

Zeydan couldn’t keep his laughter hidden anymore. “You deserve it for mothering me.”

“Oh, I am not done telling you off,” Gabby threatened.

“I suspected it,” he reluctantly admitted.

“Good,” Gabby quipped. “Then I’m sure you suspect what we’ll discuss next.”

“I haven’t the faintest clue,” he lied.

She huffed. “You are avoiding Aella, and we both know why.”

“I am not avoiding her,” Zeydan argued. “She wants space, and I am giving her space.”

Gabby let go of a long, weary breath. “That’s only half the truth. You are letting her stay away because you are afraid of the consequences a relationship with her could bring.”

Zeydan swallowed hard. Gabby had the uncanny ability to read him like a book. It was unnerving.

“I can’t blame you,” she said, voice kind. “There are plenty of arseholes out there who would make your relationship their business and verbally assault you both.”

“The insults aren’t what worries me,” Zeydan said. “What if the council tries to intervene? What if Ju-long crawls out from the hole Kam, Kerian, and the King cornered him into and hurts Aella?” He shook his head, his stomach turning. “I would kill him if he hurts any of you, Gabby. I should have gone after him and ripped him to pieces for what he did to my mother.”

Gabby squeezed his shoulder. “Your mother begged you not to do that, remember? We’ve had this conversation plenty of times before, Zeydan. Ju-long is not worth your life. The council would execute you if you kill him without just cause.”

“I know,” Zeydan said. And goddess, he did. But the bloodlust that burned in his veins when he thought about what that bastard had put his mother and Gabby through was as raw as ever. “But if he comes after any of you or Aella…”

“Darkwood belongs to Kamilla and Kerian,” Gabby reminded him. “If Ju-long shows his nose here, and he breaks any law, the twins will kick his arse. Again.”

“I won’t hide behind my cousins,” Zeydan protested.

“I’m not suggesting you do,” Gabby said. “What I am trying to do is point out you are overthinking this.”

“Am I?” He shook his head. “You’ve always been a romantic, Gabby, and I love you for it. But I can’t pretend there isn’t a real danger for both Aella and me if we cross the friendship line. Hells, even just being friends is risky enough. If the gargoyles find out she’s still alive and involved with me, they’ll come for her. And she’s been assaulted simply for being who she is by one of Darkwood’s residents. She’s in danger already.” He rubbed his forehead, the throb turning into a full-blown migraine. “And I know I started this by kissing her.”

Gabby pursed her lips, brow crinkling in thought. “Alright. Your worries are all valid. But you are forgetting some things.”

“Such as?”

Gabby lifted one of her pinkies. “One, the gargoyles would come for Aella whether or not she’s involved with you. Fuck. The psychopathic, domineering bastards could be looking for her as we speak.”

Zeydan growled low in acknowledgment. That was true. The gargoyles were like a dog with a bone when one of their own defected. And if they suspected Aella was alive…

Gabby nodded and continued counting with her fingers. “Two, despite the recent attempt at invasion, Darkwood is still one of the few places in the globe that can offer protection from the gargoyles. Aella is as safe as she can be. Three, no one can get away with assaulting someone because of their species here. Not for long, at least. And lastly, but most importantly, it isn’t just your choice, Zeydan. It’s Aella’s choice too.”

Zeydan took a long breath. “I don’t know if she wants more than friendship from me.” The look of panic and abject fear in Aella’s gray eyes, when he’d gone too fast during their first kiss, had become the screensaver of Zeydan’s brain. He never wanted her to look at him like that again. Never.

He startled slightly as Mari hopped to sit on the railing at his other side. She was wearing leggings and a T-shirt instead of her scrubs. “And you won’t know what Aella wants unless you ask her, you moron,” Mari said.

“Eavesdropping is rude, Mari,” Zeydan pointed out, as he had about a thousand times before.

“Mari is the embodiment of rude,” Gabby said, rolling her eyes fondly at the fey. “A tiny embodiment.”

Mari lifted her chin imperiously. “The best things come in small packages. I’m living proof of it.”

Zeydan felt his mouth curl up. “So modest.”

“Modesty is just another control tool of the patriarchy,” Mari said. “I know my worth.”

“Agreed,” Gabby said.

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