old-fashioned at best. Especially for a playboy demon who can’t seem to be bothered by much.
“Ah.” He smirks. “I guess K-demon forgot to mention I can hear shit practically into Santa Monica.”
I do my best to mask a stunned choke. Kara can pick up on every feeling in the room, and Kell can smell all of it. It should come as no surprise that Jaden has his own sensory specialties.
I clear my throat. “She definitely left out that part.”
He spreads out his arms, looking like Malibu Jesus even with a full cocktail tumbler in his grip. “Don’t worry, it’s easy enough to tune out when I decide to. There are some sounds a guy can’t unhear, you know?”
I actually don’t know, but I offer a confirming nod all the same.
“None of us had a choice about our birthrights,” he goes on, dipping his head with a wistful air. “Okay, nobody really does. I get that too.” He takes a long swig of whatever concoction is in his glass and raises his head. A hock of hair keeps obeying gravity, a thick triangle hanging between his eyes. Doesn’t matter. His dark-gold stare bores right into me. “Can I ask you something?”
I nod again, maintaining neutrality. “Sure.”
“If you had the chance to not be Zeus’s bastard kid, would you take it?”
Damn. That’s definitely not where I predicted this going.
I recover swiftly. “Irrelevant question. It’s not a possibility, so why waste time dwelling on it? I’ve got to move on in spite of the circumstances.”
He chuckles. “Wow. So you and my sister really were made for each other.”
I’m taken aback by the affection in his voice. The Valaris are possessive, cunning, and protective. Of all my interactions with them, though, I’ve never witnessed anything close to warmth. I suspect Jaden’s impaired state might be to blame for the sudden camaraderie. Maybe I shouldn’t be taking advantage of that, but if Jaden is really ready to open an extra window into the woman I love, no way am I the idiot to turn that down.
“So you’re not in your mother’s and sister’s camp, then?”
A puzzled V forms between his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“I figured everyone was Team Arden until circumstances made that path impossible.”
He pulls in a long breath. “I’ve never even met the guy. Not that I’d need to. Full-blooded demons are—” He stops short, cutting a sharp glance to the side where Rerek is chatting quietly with Kara out on the balcony. “Let’s just say they’re not to be screwed around with. I’ve always worried how Kara would manage it. She’s not like Kell and me. She doesn’t play the game.” He lowers his arms, again spreading them across the island. “Okay, she doesn’t play it well. Let’s put it that way. I’m afraid belonging to Arden for any length of time would have changed her forever, and probably not in a good way.”
I swallow hard, hating any vision that includes Kara bound to the scheming incubus. I thank everything holy he never had the chance to call her his own.
“Now with you,” Jaden continues, “I mean, ask anyone. It’s an overused cliché, but she’s practically glowing.”
“Literally or figuratively?”
He chuffs out a laugh. “I’m guessing both, depending on the situation. Seriously, though. I can’t remember any other time, even when we were kids, that she looked truly, totally happy. We don’t run in the same circles, but to be honest, part of my mojo on inviting her tonight was to see if this was all real with you. She’s always donning the party hat and putting on a great show for everyone when it’s necessary, but Kell and I saw through her charade a long time ago. There’s always been something missing about her performance.”
I set aside my drink and lean against the counter. “Something like…real emotion?”
“Bingo. But you already know that.”
Of course I do. Kara’s my most vital treasure, and I’m no stranger to the themes here.
“I do,” I divulge. “I grew up having to shove down most of my real feelings too. Honestly, I simply thought I was fucked up. A freak who’d never be normal.”
I hesitate more on that last part. Now that I’ve been on a couple of field trips with Z and have been educated about the resolve—and ruthlessness—of my real family, I see my mother’s story and all the agonizing decisions she had to make about it through a different lens. In a much brighter light.
“Well, you’re not normal.” Jaden eases the whack of that