Page 65 of Halfblood Deceived

Aella opened her mouth and closed it. “Um—”

“What Mari is trying to say is ‘thank you,’” Zeydan said with a wry smile. Aella met his eyes, finding amusement along with empathy there. “Her displays of gratitude get a bit lost among the curses.”

“Fuck off, Zeydan,” Mari grumbled.

Zeydan huffed, giving Aella a conspiratorial smile. “See?”

Against all odds, Aella felt the corners of her mouth turn up a little.

Lex, sitting next to Gabby, dipped his chin at Aella. “Thank you.”

Aella bit her lip and nodded, uncomfortable.

“See how it’s done, Marigold?” Evan asked Mari.

Mari narrowed her eyes and aimed a finger at him. “Don’t call me that, you dick.”

“Auntie Mari doesn’t like her full name,” Luce explained to Aella in her breezy, gentle voice. “She says it’s fucking awful. We all disagree, but Auntie Mari usually turns us green if we push the subject.”

“Auntie Mari has some anger management issues,” Andreas said, his intense brown eyes examining Aella.

“Pot, Kettle, Andreas,” Gabby said to the vampire.

He shrugged.

The other occupants of the kitchen seemed highly amused by the exchange.

“You are all being very impolite,” Luce pointed out. Meeting Aella’s gaze, she waved a hand toward the stunning female with pointy ears, light brown skin, and long black hair in a ponytail sitting next to Mari. “This is Aylana.”

Aylana smiled warmly at Aella. Her posture, lean but lightly muscled arms, and the bracelets buzzing with defensive magic around her wrists let Aella know she was a warrior. “It’s nice to see you awake, Aella.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I heard you helped save me.”

Aylana nodded. “I couldn’t have done it without Sebastian and Zeydan’s help, however.”

Luce tilted her head toward one of the vampire males who was piling steaks on a dish. “That’s Sebastian.”

The stunning vampire grinned at Aella, the gesture friendly and kind. He was about an inch taller than Zeydan, with shoulder-length, thick, impossibly soft-looking golden hair and platinum eyes. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Aella.”

“And you,” Aella found herself saying, amazed at her own calm when meeting who she was certain was yet another vampire royal.

Her eyes met the topaz, calm, amused gaze of Kerian Davashkov. He was as outrageously beautiful as his sister, and seemed as unthreatening at the moment, slicing bread and smiling at Aella. “My sister says you know who we are.”

Aella nodded. “I saw pictures of you both once.”

Kerian flipped his blond hair. “Did the pictures do my beauty justice?”

“Er…” Aella muttered, thrown by the odd question.

Aylana, Kamilla, and Sebastian rolled their eyes.

“Pay him no mind and give him no compliments, Aella,” Kamilla suggested. “He’s vain enough as he is.”

Kerian huffed with mock indignation as he approached the table, setting two trays full of bread in the middle, one near Aella. “I have plenty of reasons to be.”

Sebastian came next, bringing the tray with the steaks. “I wouldn’t say plenty.”

Kerian sat at the foot of the table next to Zeydan. “Envy doesn’t suit you, cousin.”

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