Lenobia drew a deep breath and said, “I would ask that Darius remain here. He is our Swordmaster, and with our Neferet free, even if she is only here for a short time, we need his strength and wisdom to protect our fledglings and priestesses.”
“That makes sense to me,” I said.
My gaze went to Aphrodite. She was frowning, but I saw her eyes cut to Kevin and then return to me. She sighed. “He’s going to be pissed, but I’ll talk to him.”
“Okay, this meeting is over. If you need me, I’ll be in the media center writing a spell,” I said.
Lenobia and Damien filed out quickly, followed by Stevie Rae and Rephaim. Stevie Rae touched my shoulder on her way past me and said, “You need some help with the spell, Z?”
“Absolutely,” I said.
“Want me to bring brown pop or blood to the media room?”
“Both,” I said. “And Doritos.”
“Um, should I get Damien, too?” she asked.
“No, let him be with Jack. This is going to be hard on them.”
“’Kay. See you soon.”
James and Kacie were still sitting beside each other. Their heads were tilted together, and they seemed to be talking easily. James and Ice Cream Shoes …? And this time I didn’t feel even a twinge of inappropriate jealousy.
“Hey, James,” Stark said.
When James kept talking to Kacie and didn’t seem to hear him, Aphrodite loudly cleared her throat. Kacie and James looked at her, and she pointed at Stark.
“James, I thought you might like to come with us to meet with Marx and check out the Sons of Erebus—since you’re a general in your world and all.”
“Oh, yeah. I would,” James said. He stood and then paused and turned back to Kacie. “Would you like to meet me in the Professors’ Dining Hall afterward for a drink?”
Kacie didn’t exactly smile, but her pretty face lit up with pleasure. “Yes, I definitely would.”
“Great. See ya.”
Stark and I shared a look. I winked, and he smiled. Then the two vampyres, identical except for the color of their Marks and the weight of their souls, left the room together.
Aphrodite fluttered her fingers at Kacie to get her attention. “Hey, Ice Cream Shoes, you know he’s stuck on Z, right?”
Kacie lowered her voice dramatically and cut her eyes at Kevin. “Hey, Aphrodite, you know he’s stuck on you, right?” Then she stood, saluted me, and left the room.
“That kid is kinda a pain in the ass,” Aphrodite said. “I like her.”
“Me too,” I said.
“She definitely has spunk,” said Grandma. “Zoeybird, I shall go. I believe I would like to make protective charms to carry with you.”
“That would be really great, G-ma,” said Kevin.
“Oh, u-we-tsi, it is always such a joy to see you.” Grandma kissed Kevin on the forehead before she smiled at me and left the room.
Then I realized it was just Aphrodite, Kevin, and me, and I stood so quickly that I almost knocked over my chair.
“I better get to the media center and start on that spell,” I said. I studied Aphrodite. “And you need to sleep. We’ll be leaving soon, and you’re definitely not a hundred percent.”
“I’ll sleep, but first, I need to talk with your brother. So don’t forget to close the door on your way out.”
My gaze found Kevin, who was watching Aphrodite with a mixture of fear and fascination.
I couldn’t help them. I knew that from my own struggle with James. They would have to find their own way to acceptance, but as I left I sent a silent prayer to Nyx.
Please, Nyx, help Kevin’s heart to heal and let Aphrodite be wise and kind.
And then I closed the door behind me on the way out.
23
Other Kevin
Kevin almost had to stop himself from shouting at his sister, No, don’t go! It was stupid. He knew that, but being alone with Aphrodite made his palms sweat and his stomach hurt.
Clearly reading his terrified expression, Aphrodite raised one perfect blond brow at him. “Oh, for shit’s sake, I’m not going to bite you.”
His nerves made him go for levity instead of a wiser choice. “Unless I want you to?”
“No, Kev. Not even if you want me to. I’m not into pain.” She paused and then added, “Well, not anymore anyway.” Aphrodite patted the chair beside her. “Would you mind coming over here? My eyes hurt and my vision is still wonky and when I have a vision, I’m—”
“Tired and just generally feel like crap.” He finished for her as he got up and walked around the round conference table to take a seat beside her.
“You helped your Aphrodite through visions, too?”
“Yeah,” he said.
“That’s nice of you.”
He raised his hands and then let them fall in a whatever gesture. “It was just part of being in love with a Prophetess of Nyx. And I didn’t mind. At all.” Kev tried to smile at her, but it came out more like a grimace. “Plus, it made me feel useful. She was gorgeous and talented and really special—and I’m just me.”
Aphrodite took off her dark glasses and studied him with her bloodshot but somehow still unsettlingly beautiful eyes. “By just me do you mean just the youngest red vampyre in your world and the only vamp of either color who has an affinity for all five elements?”
“Um, yeah.”
“Always remember that a talented Prophetess of Nyx chose you as the love of her life. Don’t underestimate yourself. That denigrates her choice.”
He nodded but couldn’t find the right words to respond.
“Goddess, you’re young,” she said softly. “And that’s not a bad thing. Don’t think I’m patronizing you or calling you a child or some stupid shit like that. I just hate that this happened to you before you were even eighteen. You should be getting in trouble for flirting with fledglings, not trying to heal a broken heart.”
“War tends to make you grow up … Even if I hadn’t loved Aphrodite, I still wouldn’t be all carefree.”
“If you hadn’t
