What? I laughed in disbelief.
Smiling at my expression, he nudged me with his hip. They do. Theyre unpredictable creatures. You dont know if theyre going to hug you or stab you. Theyre ruled by emotions.
And were not?
Aiden appeared to consider that. No. TheyI mean, were taught to control our emotions. To not let them be what guides our decisions. Everything in our worldboth
of our worldsis about logic and continuing our races. You know that.
I glanced over at him, noticing the way the proud lines of his face were relaxed. In these moments, he did look younger and carefree. I liked him this waywith his eyes full of light and laughter, his expressive mouth curved upward. Seeing him now, it was almost hard to believe he was far more deadly than any animal in the park.
But you seem to be at ease around all of them. He nodded at a group at the other end of the pen. A mother and a father stood with two young kids. The little girl handed her brother a half-eaten ice cream cone. You have more experience dealing with them than I do.
I nodded, turning back to the cage. Another hairy beast made its way to the one on the rock. Maybe something interesting would happen. I blended in, but I never fit in. They can sense something off about us. Thats why no one will get too close to us.
I cannot possibly imagine you blending in.
Why? I think I did a damn good job of going unnoticed for three years.
I just cant. No one is like you, Alex.
I grinned. Ill take that as a compliment.
It is. He nudged me again, and my grin grew into another ludicrous smilethe kind Caleb gave Olivia when they werent tearing each others heads off. Youre incredibly intelligent, Alex. Funny and
Pretty? I supplied, only half-serious.
No, not pretty.
Cute?
No.
I frowned. Well, then.
Aidens laugh sent shivers through me. I was going to say stunning. Youre stunningly beautiful.
I sucked in air sharply, cheeks flushing. I tipped my head back and our gazes locked. Somehow I hadnt known we stood so close. And Aiden was close. Close enough that I could feel his warm breath against my cheek, speeding up my pulse.
Oh, I whispered. Not the most eloquent of responses, but it was the best I had.
Anyway, what is it with you and zoos? Aiden stretched his arms above his head.
A shaky sigh escaped me, my gaze drifting over the family, settling on the little girl. She had the cutest pigtails ever, and she was smiling at me. I smiled back.
I like animals, I said finally.
Aiden glanced down at me, eyes full of well, full of yearning. Thats why you practically choked yourself in the car?
I cringed. You noticed that, huh? My mom loved animals, too. She said once that we were a lot like the ones in the cages. Well fed and taken care of, but caged nonetheless. I never agreed with that.
You dont?
Nope. Here the animals are safe. Out in the wild, theyd be killing one another or being poached. I know theyve lost their freedom, but sometimes things have to be sacrificed.
Thats a strange perspective for you to have.
You mean its a strange perspective for a half-blood to have. I know. But we all have to sacrifice something to gain something else.
Aiden reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of the path of a woman on a mission of pushing a stroller. Id been so caught up in watching him I hadnt seen the womanor heard her screaming baby. I glanced down between us. His hand was still wrapped around mine. The simple, unexpected gesture sent a crazy amount of heat through me.
Aiden guided me through the ever-increasing throng of visitors. He parted the crowd like the Red Sea. People just got out of the way for him as we left the Kitera Forest and entered the Forest Edge.
Can I ask you a question? I asked.
Sure.
If you werent a pure, what would you be doing right now? Like, what would you want to do with your life?
Aiden glanced down at our hands and then his gaze flicked to mine. Right this instant? Id be doing a hell of a lot more than what Im allowed to do.
Heat infused my entire body, swirling my thoughts into a heady mess. I almost convinced myself I totally made up that response and that lack of sleep had finally driven me crazy. Auditory hallucinations were a bitch.
His fingers tightened around mine. But Im sure you were wondering more than that. What would I be doing if I was just a mortal? I dont really know. Its not something Ive really thought about.
I had to mentally kick myself to find my voice again. Youve never thought about it? For real?
Aiden sidestepped a couple taking pictures, shrugging. I never had to. When I was younger, I knew I would follow in my parents footsteps. The Covenant groomed me to do so. I took all the right classes: politics, customs, and negotiations. Basically, the most boring classes you could imagine. Then after the daimon attack, everything changed. I went from wanting to follow my parents to wanting to do something to ensure another family
didnt go through what Deacon had to.
And what you had to, I added quietly.