Page 282 of Halfblood Deceived

Aylana’s arms loosened around him. “You can open your eyes now.”

Zeydan obeyed, blinking and looking at himself just to check he wasn’t a pile of ash. He wasn’t. His clothes were fireproof—all their tactical gear was because gargoyles loved to light them up—but he wasn’t even slightly burned. And neither was Aylana.

Smoke and verdant flames rose from the debris. The pieces of metal beams were still red. Aylana’s fire had consumed the foul scents, leaving behind the incongruous but pleasant smell of burning pine.

And the snake…

The snake was gone. A naked, pale female body with burn marks remained.

“Holy shit,” Zeydan murmured, aware that it was far from eloquent, but he was too stunned for eloquence. He pulled back carefully from Aylana. She smiled, eyes bright with magic, but her knees faltered. “Are you alright?” he asked, securing his arm around her waist.

Aylana nodded. “I’m alright. I think that psycho gave me a concussion, and using that much fire takes a lot out of me. I’ve only ever done it once before to protect my moms from Fane, my asshole of a fey father. Whom I inherited my fire from.” She wrinkled her nose. “I was honestly not sure if I’d be able to shield you completely from it.”

Zeydan’s lips quirked. “Well, I’d much rather die roasted by your fire than eaten by a demonic witch-snake. So no worries.”

Goddess, they could have both died. And if they had, then he would have never properly apologized to Aella.

Aylana huffed a laugh, looking at the inert body a few yards away from them. “She’s not breathing, but…”

Zeydan knew how she felt. “We should cut her head off just to make sure.”

“I have a better alternative,” said a cool, deep male voice behind them.

Zeydan turned toward the voice, instinctively placing Aylana behind him to find—

“Aroth,” Aylana said.

The tall, lean demon smiled, piercings glinting green with the few small fires around them. As usual, he was dressed all in black. His hair was artfully messy around his pale face. “Duchess Aylana.” There was a certain curl to his voice whenever he said Aylana’s name.

No wonder Sebastian growls at the bastard; Zeydan mused. He is attracted to Aylana.

“You have an uncanny skill to show up right after something out of the ordinary happens,” Zeydan commented.

“Agreed,” Aylana said.

The demon chuckled, coming closer, passing by them on his way toward the witch. “I can sense your fire a mile away, Aylana.” He crouched next to the witch. “I also sensed demonic power.”

“How odd that you didn’t sense it before,” Zeydan asked, tilting his chin toward the witch. “She has quite the altar in the basement.”

Aroth’s black eyes fixed on Zeydan with preternatural speed. “What are you implying, Your Grace?”

“I’m not implying anything,” Zeydan said calmly. “I’m just wondering.”

Aroth smiled, looking more unnerving if that was possible. “Is that why you’re shielding Aylana from me? Because you’re not implying anything?”

“You tell me,” Zeydan said.

Aylana sighed and moved to stand beside Zeydan, hands on her hips. “What is it with males and their fucking habit of turning everything into a challenge?” She didn’t wait for an answer, aiming a finger at Aroth. “This is a bad time to amuse yourself by needling him. We were almost eaten, and the goddess knows what else.”

Aroth looked at her with even more fascination. Zeydan had the feeling people didn’t scold the demon unless they wanted to say bye-bye to their sanity.

Aylana jabbed a finger at Zeydan. “Just because he’s a demon, it doesn’t mean that he is somehow involved with every lunatic using dark magic in Darkwood. And the arcane symbols on the walls kept the demonic magic cloaked. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been so cavalier about getting inside that fucking room.” She exhaled, looking from one male to the other. “Are we going to behave like adults now?” She said it in the tone a school teacher would use to scold two misbehaving children.

Zeydan felt a bit like one. “We are.”

Aroth clearly didn’t feel even slightly sheepish. He looked at Aylana with an intensity that would have made anyone squirm.

Aylana merely arched a brow at him.

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