Jennifer Armentrout - Half-Blood

Luke, a half I used to hang out with, had come out of the closet last year—not that being gay or bisexual was even remotely a big deal around here. Being the children of a bunch of horny gods who sure didn’t discriminate when choosing their sexual partners left little to be shocked about when it came to sex-related activities.

It appeared I was the only virgin around here. I sighed.

“Was your training that bad?”

“I think I broke my back today,” I deadpanned.

He looked like he wanted to laugh. “You didn’t break your back. You’re just… out of practice. In a couple of days, you’l be kicking Aiden’s butt.”

“Doubtful.”

“So what did he want yesterday? Man, I’l be honest. I’m waiting for him to pop in here and beat the crap out of me for being in your room.”

“Then you shouldn’t be in here if you’re scared.”

Caleb ignored that. “What did Aiden want yesterday?”

“I think Lea ratted my ass out. Aiden knew about the thing in the rec room. He real y didn’t bitch me out, but I could’ve done without the lecture.”

“Damn, she is such a bitch sometimes.” He sat back in the chair, running a hand through his hair. “Maybe we could burn off her eyebrows or something. I’m sure Zarak would be down with that.”

I laughed. “I’m sure that won’t help my cause.”

“You know, I hooked up—”

“What?” I shrieked, nearly coming off the couch. Wrong move. It hurt. “Please tel me you didn’t hook up with Lea?”

He shrugged. “I was bored. She was available. Not bad at al —”

Disgusted, I tossed a pil ow at his head and cut him off. “I don’t want to know the details. I’m just going to pretend you never admitted to that.”

A grin appeared on his lips. “Wel , it seems like Lea’s determined to get you in trouble if she ratted you out.”

I lay back down, thinking about the others in the room. “I don’t know. What about the pure who was in the room?”

“Who? Thea?” He shook his head. “There’s no way she would’ve told anyone.”

“What’s Thea doing here, anyways?”

It was odd to see any pure at the Covenant during the summer. They stayed during the school year, but when summer came, they went off with their parents—probably traveling the world and doing other ridiculously expensive things. Fun, total y cool things. Of course, they had Guards who accompanied them on their adventures, just in case a daimon got any ideas.

“Her parents are on the Council and they don’t have any time for her. She’s real y nice, but super-quiet. I think she’s got the hots for Deacon.”

“Deacon, as in Aiden’s brother?”

“Yup.”

I could tel there was something behind the fact Thea liked him. “What’s the big deal? They’re both pures.”

Caleb arched a brow at me, but then seemed to remember I hadn’t been here for three years. “Deacon has a reputation.”

“Okay.” I tried to work out a sudden kink in my back.

“So does Thea. And let’s just say Thea wins the purity award.”

Good to know I wasn’t the only virgin. “And?”

“Deacon’s reputation is… more of the—hmm, how do I stay this nicely?” He paused, looking thoughtful. “Deacon takes after Zeus—that kind of reputation.”

“Wel … opposites attract, I guess.”

“Not that opposite.”

I shrugged, and then winced.

“I almost forgot. You won’t believe what I heard today in town. One of the shop owners was busy running her mouth while I was checking out, total y uncaring about who could hear her, but—oh yeah, by the way, that shop owner probably thinks I’m a cross-dresser now.”

I giggled.

His eyes narrowed at my apathy. “Anyways, do you remember Kelia Lothos?”

My lips pursed. Kelia Lothos—the name did sound familiar. “Wasn’t she a Guard here?”

“Yeah, she’s about ten years older than us. She got herself a boyfriend.”

“Good for her.”

“Wait for it, Alex. You must wait for it. His name is Hector

—not sure what his last name is. Anyways, he’s a pure from one of the other communities.” He stopped for dramatic effect.

I ran a hand over my ponytail, not sure where he was going with any of this.

“He’s a freaking pure-blood.” He raised his hands.

“Remember? Not al owed.”

My eyes popped wide. “Oh no, not good.”

He shook his head and strands of blond hair fel over his eyes. “I can’t believe they were stupid enough to even consider something like that.”

The fact that we weren’t al owed to have any type of romantic relationship with a pure was a rule ingrained in us since birth. Most half-bloods didn’t even question it, but then again, most halfs didn’t question much. We were trained into obedience from the get-go.

I tried to find a comfortable position. “What do you think wil happen to Kelia?”

Caleb snorted. “She’l probably be stripped of her Guard duties and sent to work in one of the houses.”

That fil ed me with annoyance and resentment. “And Hector wil get a smack on the hand. How fair is that?”

He looked at me strangely. “It’s not, but that’s what happens.”

“It’s stupid.” I felt something tighten in my jaw. “Who cares if a half and a pure get together? Is it real y a big enough deal that Kelia has to lose everything?”

Caleb eyes widened. “It’s the way it is, Alex. You know that.”

I folded my arms, wondering why I felt so strongly about it myself. It was the way things had been for eons, but it seemed so unfair. “It’s wrong, Caleb. Kelia’s basical y going to end up a slave al because she hooked up with a pure.”

He was quiet for a moment and then his eyes zeroed in on me. “Does your reaction have anything to do with the fact your new personal trainer happens to be the pure al the chicks drool over?”

I made a face. “Absolutely not—are you insane? He’s going to end up kil ing me.” I paused, sinking down in the cushion. “I think he plans on it.”

“Whatever.”

Stretching out my legs, I pinned him with a glare. “You forget I spent three years out there in the normal world—a world where pures and halfs don’t even exist. No one checks someone’s godly pedigree before going out with them.”

He stared off in the distance a few moments. “What was it like?”

“What was what like?”

Caleb fidgeted on the edge of the chair. “Being out there, away from al of… this?”

“Oh.” I propped myself onto my elbow. Most halfs had no idea what it was like. Sure, they mingled in the outside world—mingled being the key word—but they were never a part of it, not for any amount of time. Neither were the pures. To our kind, the mortal life seemed like a violent one, where daimons weren’t the only evil things people had to worry about.

Yeah, we had our crazies, too. The guys who didn’t have the word “no” in their vocabulary, the back-stabbing girls, and people who’d do anything to get what they wanted. But it was nothing like the mortal world, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

“Wel , it’s different. There are so many people who are different. I kinda blended in to a point.”

Caleb listened with far too much excitement for his own good as I tried explaining what it was like out there.

Whenever we moved around, Mom had used compulsions to get me into the local school system without transcripts.

Caleb showed way too much interest in the mortal school system, but it was different than the Covenant. Here, we spent most of our days fighting in class. Out in the mortal world, I’d spent most of my classes staring at the chalkboard.

Being curious about the outside world wasn’t necessarily a good thing. It usual y led someone to make a run for it.