He was starting to be himself. Before he came out, he never would have acknowleged the jittery feeling in his chest when Adam was watching him. He wouldn't have let himself try to be friends with someone. Letting himself be interested in someone other than the attraction he'd felt for Jace would have been impossible.

And then Adam had to say something that reminded him of what Maryse would have told him if he'd voiced that wish to her. "I know there's a contradiction." His voice taking on the same level tone he used during her lectures. "That's why I'm not allowed to have what I want. I've only made one selfish choice and I'll be paying for it for years." He didn't regret it, but he knew the cost. Again, he thought of Izzy and her usual description of his life, seeming to fit the situation since they'd talked about kings before. "Heavy is the head who wears the crown," he said under his breath.

Best to change the subject to one that was easier to deal with. "The Codex will give you the basics on the different types of Downworlders and about Nephilim culture."