Page 16 of Ella's Masquerade
Regardless, she clearly wasn’t comfortable, and while I didn’t mind pushing her buttons, this seemed to go beyond mere teasing and into dangerous emotional territory. “Okay,” I told her, standing up. “We’ll go somewhere else.”
I closed her door and waved my hand to release the spell on the valet. He blinked several times in confusion, the dark web slowly disentangling itself from his mind.
“Dinner was great,” I said, handing him a tip in exchange for my keys. “Thanks, man.”
He sputtered something unintelligible at my back that I ignored as I resettled into the driver’s seat with a very quiet Isabella beside me.
She remained mute, leaving me to come up with the backup plan on my own. Darlington was full of expensive restaurants, the kind you paid a fortune for only to be hungry an hour later.
We needed something comfortable. Something low-key with decent food and an easy atmosphere.
Benji’s, I thought, smiling.Yes, that’ll work.
It was a local place one town over with the most amazing chicken wings. The perfect place for a casual date.
“Where are we going?” Isabella asked when we were nearing the outskirts of Darlington.
“To a local wing bar in Asherington,” I said, my hand settling on the shifter between us as we neared a stoplight. I risked a glance at her and noted that her cheeks had returned to their usual pale color.
Her blue eyes drifted my way, blinking. “You’re not going to ask me why?”
“Why what?” I hit the clutch to roll back into the right gear as the light color changed to green.
“Why I don’t want to eat atLa Scala.”
I lifted a shoulder. “Your discomfort was all I needed to know, Isabella. If there’s more you want to say, I’m listening. But I don’t require an explanation.”
She fell silent again, her attention on the autumn scenery outside. It wasn’t until we were a few minutes from our destination that she picked up the conversation once more.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
I didn’t know if her gratitude was in reference to switching our location or for not asking questions. Perhaps both. Regardless, I nodded and replied, “You’re welcome.” Her comfort would always come first, a decision I’d made years ago.
I’d meant to bite her that fateful night, to sate the blood thirst my darker side required. But her essence had captivated me—part Midnight Fae, part human. A rare combination, marking her as a Halfling.
And she had no idea.
That would change very soon. I just needed to garner some trust first. It would help ease the acceptance of her birthright.
Well, that was the plan, anyway.
But something told me Isabella Cinder would never make it that easy.
I parked in the run-down lot outside Benji’s and killed the engine. “Ready for the best chicken wings ever?” I asked.
She frowned at me. “You say that like you’ve eaten here many times before.”
“Because I have,” I admitted, jumping out of the car and wandering around to open her door.
She didn’t freeze this time or stay seated, but her brows were drawn down as her feet met the concrete. “But you just moved here, right?”
I smiled. “Did I?”
“Uh, yeah. You just started at the academy this week.”
After closing her door, I locked up the car. We could mess with our interview notes later.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Isabella,” I said, leading her toward the entrance. “Such as my obsession with Benji’s wings.”
