Page 36 of Halfblood Deceived

Aella examined her surroundings. There truly seemed to be nothing but thick white mist and tall trees as far as she could see. Maybe the vampire had lied to protect Zeydan. But something instinctive told Aella that she was in the right place. And yet, if she was wrong, she was as good as dead. And so were Zeydan and his family.

“I’m going to have a look,” Aella said to Gustavo. “If I find nothing, I’ll come back. Could you please wait for me?”

Aella ignored his protests, blindly walking deeper into the mist.

A rumble of thunder echoed in the night, bathing her in a white flash. Still, Aella saw nothing more than the imposing silhouettes of the trees and thick white fog everywhere. The icy wind whipped her damp, copper hair. The freezing rain pelted her with fat drops that made her chills worse.

She limped further into the fog, driven by a basic instinct she’d never used before. A tingle in her skin and a pull in her gut that seemed to say, ‘You’re close, right there.'

Maybe it was insane, but Aella didn’t care.

She felt as if she were boiling from the inside out despite the rain and dropped the coat to the ground.

A hand pressed to the wound in a futile attempt to staunch the blood flow, she kept going, feeling weaker with each step… And all but walked headlong into solid stone.

Heart racing, Aella placed her palms against the hard surface and sucked in a breath. The mist cleared enough to reveal massive Greek-style columns entwined with climbing plants holding an equally large gate.

There was an intercom attached to the column she had bumped into.

Fingers shaking, Aella pressed the button and opened her mouth to speak, but only a sigh of pain came out. A violent shiver—part fever, part apprehension—shook her whole body. She remembered with painful clarity all the horrible things she’d spat at Zeydan a few nights before. She could smell his flesh burning as she stabbed him with her silver dagger and hear the half-cry that had escaped him.

He was a vampire. Her sworn enemy. A powerful member of the species that had killed her parents.

But he hadn’t hurt her even after she attacked him.

He had inadvertently shown her the first piece of the horrible truth gargoyles had kept hidden from her all her life.

Vampires were living creatures.

Not all of them were evil.

Some had families.

Some were little girls who liked to play Scrabble.

And gargoyles had no qualms about killing them.

Aella sighed, leaning her head on the cold pillar, wondering when had gargoyles lost their way. When had they become just as ruthless, if not worse, than vampires, the demons?

Alleged demons, she corrected herself bitterly.

Truth is, she’d never seen anything more demonic than the sheer satisfaction on Micah’s face as he was about to kill a defenseless vampire child with his gleaming silver sword. Whatever had remained of her devotion to her husband had turned into rancid loathing after that, and there would be no turning back. And considering Micah had no qualms about almost impaling her with his sword for trying to stop him, Aella was certain that the feeling was very mutual.

But what if she was wrong and Zeydan was evil? What if he finished what Micah started?

What other option do I have?

She couldn’t let Micah, and the others destroy Zeydan and his family.

She wouldn’t.

Her sight blurred, and she held onto the pillar, pressing the intercom button again.

“Zeydan,” Aella murmured, her voice distorted by the swelling in her jaw and cheek. “Zeydan. It’s Aella. I need to talk to you.” She swallowed, tasting blood, trying to clear her dry throat and speak as clearly as possible. “Zeydan. Please.”

A gust of chilly wind hit her, accompanied by a familiar warm, tingly sensation running down her spine. And then Zeydan was standing right beside her. Towering half a foot above her despite her 5-foot-10 height, and dressed all in black—just like she remembered. His ink-dark hair fell to his neck in silk-soft waves, and his bewildered green eyes managed to look bright even in the gloom.

“Aella, how did you find me?” he asked, gently accented voice transmitting surprise. “What are you doing here?”

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