Page 221 of Halfblood Deceived

The crowd had thinned to Kamilla, Diana, Mari, and Zeydan. For a while.

Kamilla and Mari had kicked Zeydan out of the room to examine Aella. And Aella had persuaded Diana to go eat something that wasn’t the dreadful hospital food. It’d taken some cajoling, but her sister had agreed.

Mari had examined Aella thoroughly and blessedly declared her recuperated enough to get rid of the catheter. Kamilla washed Aella’s hair even though there was a seat and bars attached to the wall of the shower, which made the job much easier. The vampire princess also helped Aella get dry and dress in leggings and an oversized jumper with buttons on the front. Then she carried Aella back to the freshly made hospital bed.

Aella sighed with relief. The minor effort had made her feel exhausted.

Mari flicked a glance at Aella as she hooked her up to the IV and monitors again. “Pain?”

“Not that much—” Aella chuckled at the near-identical stern expressions on Kam and Mari’s faces. “Alright, yes. I’m in pain, but I don’t like how morphine makes me feel. Can we try something different?”

Mari nodded, injecting something into Aella’s IV. “We’ll try a non-narcotic pain medication for now, but if the pain gets stronger, you will let me know.”

Aella nodded. “I will, I promise.”

“I’ll be back in a while.” Mari aimed a finger at Aella. “Behave.”

Aella saluted her.

Mari flipped her the bird before leaving the room.

Kam smiled, casting a soft spell that dried her uncharacteristically rumpled blue blouse and slacks. “She is very bossy.”

“Just like you,” Aella teased, earning herself an arched brow. She bit her lip. “I know you aren’t fond of being thanked, but I am so grateful for your constant help. I don’t have words.”

The vampire princess leaned to place a kiss on Aella’s forehead. “You are very welcome.”

Aella squeezed Kam’s warm hand. “Now please go home. You are tired and I’ll be fine. Diana and Zeydan will be back soon.”

Kamilla sighed, fighting against a yawn and losing. “Fine. I’ll take a break.” She went to get her purse, extracting a brand new cellphone from it. “Yours broke when you were shot. Evan managed to recover all your data.”

Aella accepted it. “That was kind of him.”

“He likes you very much.” Kam’s amused topaz eyes slid to the wacky socks she’d helped Aella put on.

She chuckled. “We have things in common.”

“That you do,” Kamilla agreed, heading for the door. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Get some proper rest!” Aella scolded, but she knew it was useless when Kamilla gave her an indulgent smile as she exited, leaving the door open for someone else.

Reese.

They look exhausted despite their clean black clothes and shower-damp hair. Their dark blue eyes were bloodshot and haunted, and their mouth was set on a tense line.

“Hello. How are you doing?” Aella asked.

Reese shook their head, letting out a rueful huff. “I can’t believe you are worried about me after what happened.”

“Of course I’m worried about you,” Aella argued. “You look anguished and exhausted—”

“It should have been me,” Reese said, voice tight.

Aella frowned. “He was trying to kill me, Reese.”

They cursed, approaching Aella’s bedside. “I know that. But it still should have been me. I should have protected you.”

Aella’s throat tightened. “You would have died. It wouldn’t have been worth it. And I’m fine.”

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