Page 314 of Halfblood Deceived

Aella found herself off her feet, trapped in one of her sister’s trademarked bear hugs. She breathed in Diana’s familiar scent. “Hello.”

Diana placed Aella back on the ground again and cupped her face in her clawed hands. “You are… I…”

“Abominations,” rasped a voice behind them.

They turned to see Israel near the bushes where Isaiah’s blast had thrown him. He tried to get on his feet without much success. His legs couldn’t hold him, and his head was bleeding.

“You!” Diana growled, stepping away from Aella and marching to him. “You rotten fucking bastard!”

Israel crawled back away from Diana. “Abomination! Traitor! Vampire-loving—” A flash of Diana’s sword later, his head rolled on the stone.

“Who was that?” Evan asked. He had one of Isaiah’s arms around his shoulders. Isaiah hadn’t shifted back into his humanoid form yet.

“My father,” Diana said, turning to find them all looking at her with curiosity, but no judgment.

Aella searched her sister’s eyes. “Are you alright?”

Diana let out a rough breath. “I am.”

Zeydan’s brow tightened as he examined Diana too. There was deep comprehension and kinship in his eyes.

Aiko took Andreas’s hand in hers. “Hello.”

Andreas squeezed Aiko’s hand, and half nodded at Kamilla.

Kamilla removed her wrist from Andreas’s mouth and licked the punctures closed, smiling at Aella.

Aella went to kneel beside Kamilla, and the vampire princess hugged her tightly. “I’m glad you’re still with us, Aella.”

“So am I,” Aella said. She released Kamila with a wobbly smile and looked down at Andreas, who was tired and pale, but the wound on his shoulder was mercifully closed. “You were right, Andreas.”

“About what?” he rasped.

“C4 can be very necessary,” Aella said.

Andreas half smiled.

Zeydan knelt next to Aella and wrapped an arm around her waist. She leaned against him, breathing him in, rubbing her nose against the edge of his jaw. His pulse against her lips was paradise. Her mouth watered. Zeydan’s hand tightened around her waist. He pressed her even closer to him. And at that moment, nothing else existed for Aella. There was nothing but Zeydan mouth-watering scent in her lungs.

So close. She was so close to never seeing him again. Part of her wondered if she was dreaming, but he felt real. His heat and his blood rushing under her lips were so real…

Someone cleared their throat.

Aella blinked and pulled away from Zeydan to find Andreas wrinkling his nose at them. He faked a gag. Mari’s eyes filled with tears again.

Zeydan narrowed his eyes at Andreas, but he was smiling. “Shut up, you bitter arse.”

Aylana blinked at Aella. “You look… different.”

Mari wiped at her face again before focusing on Aella. She tilted her head, brow furrowing.

Kerian and Sebastian—who managed to look magazine-ready even with blood splashes on their faces—also stared at Aella as if trying to solve a puzzle. Diana and Evan were no better.

Aella wrinkled her nose. She had no idea how she looked, but she didn’t believe it warranted so much staring. She flicked a glance at Zeydan. He smiled at her and placed a lock of wet hair behind her pointy ear. “Pay them no mind. You look beautiful as always, Amazon.”

Aella felt her cheeks heat.

“She’s like me,” Aiko said, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “I tried to tell her, but she made me escape before I could.”

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