Refers only to thee, thee, thee!”
Then she dove into the loch and disappeared with the others.
Shock and dread shot through Lynette. “Oh, god! That means that you—”
“Not here, dearest. Inside.” Neferet took her hand and helped Lynette to her feet and they made their way quickly back to Balmacara Mains.
Once inside, Neferet said nothing until they were once more before the fireplace with two full goblets of red wine. Then she lifted hers to Lynette and said, “We have no choice. We must return to our Tulsa House of Night.”
“But, my lady! They’ll arrest you for the murder of Loren Blake and for what they’ve been calling war crimes against vampyres as well as humans.”
Neferet smiled. “No, they will not. Wee Denise has given us a great gift, and now we have something very powerful with which to bargain our freedom. Dearest, they need my help even more desperately than we need theirs. If they do not know it now, they will—very, very soon.” She paused, sipping the rich red wine. “Remember, Zoey’s brother is a red vampyre in our world, but he has been to her world—the world where the Monstress waged her own, very personal war against everyone. He will be well aware of how dangerous she is. And not only that, I will readily agree to leave the country after she is defeated. I will give my oath not to trouble any House of Night again. Perhaps, dearest, we will establish a new type of House of Night—one that is not shackled to a spineless, archaic High Council. Our island will be a haven for wondrous things. It would not be surprising if the best and brightest vampyres were drawn to it.”
“I believe that too, my lady, but I’m frightened that they will be so blinded by the past that they will not be able to see that you have returned only to help them destroy the Monstress, and they will try to harm you.”
“Do not be frightened, dearest. You know I am not without power. I will protect us. Always. Now, pour some more wine and contact a discrete private jet service. We need to get to Tulsa as soon as possible. And call a feeder. Suddenly, I am ravenous.”
26
Zoey
I had just finished the notes for the spell that I 90 percent believed would open the portal to the Other World, and Stevie Rae and I were still in the media room relaxing and sharing a big bag of heavily buttered popcorn.
“So, when are we gonna circle and go to the Other World? I know it’ll be crazy dangerous and all, but I am lookin’ forward to seeing Anastasia and Dragon again. Plus, it is nice that Rephaim gets to be a boy all the time over there.”
“Well, I know I said we need to get there fast, but I also know that for the spell to work we need a superstrong circle, and while I like Ice Cream Shoes, she’s a lot less experienced than Shaunee and Shaylin. So, I want to give it a day and wait for them. I messaged them. Let’s hope Shaylin’s incel problem is settled and the stupid weather breaks and the airport opens—or I won’t have a choice. We’ll have to go without them.”
“I do think Ice Cream Shoes would do fine if we can’t wait. She’s inexperienced, but powerful. Plus, she has that whole weird prophetess vibe going on.”
“And she fulfills part of that prophetic poem about other Kalona, so she’ll have to go with us either way,” I said.
“Hey, speaking of Ice Cream Shoes, do ya really think there may be a thing startin’ between them?” Stevie Rae asked around a giant mouthful of buttery goodness.
“Them meaning her and James?”
Stevie Rae nodded, and her short curls bounced around her face. “Yeah, James.”
“Well, he did ask her to have a drink with him. You know Kacie better than I do, but she doesn’t come off as a girl who’d accept a date with a guy she wasn’t at least potentially interested in.”
“Oh, Z, I can tell you this for sure—Ice Cream Shoes doesn’t believe in wastin’ her time. She woulda told him no quicker than a skunk will spray you if he’s pissed.”
“And that’s quick?”
“Yup.”
“Good. I’m glad. I mean, I don’t know if there’s any future for them since they’re from different worlds and all, but I want James to be happy, which he cannot be if he thinks he’s in love with a ghost.”
“Or you,” Stevie Rae added.
“Definitely.”
“And you’re not even a little jelly? I mean, Z, it’d be totally normal if you were. He is Stark.”
“Oh, I felt some twinges of jealousy, but I got them under control fast. I can be selfish, but being all pee-pantsy about another version of my lover and Oathbound Warrior finding happiness without me is next-level selfish jelly. Not to mention super immature. The truth is that I see enough of Stark within James to honestly want him to be happy.”
“It’s gotta be weird, though.”
“Epically weird,” I agreed.
“Um, excuse me, High Priestess.”
Stevie Rae and I looked up to see a fledgling, hand fisted over her heart, bowing respectfully to me. She was wearing the golden wings of Erebus embroidered on her school sweater, which signified that she’s a fourth former. When she looked up, I recognized her immediately because of the name she’d chosen when she’d been Marked.
“Oh, hi, Snow.” Snow—as in Jon Snow, not Snow White—was her hero. “What is it?”
“There’s a Skype call for you in your office. It’s from Queen Sgiach.”
“Thank you.” I was on my feet in an instant and Stevie Rae and I headed quickly for the door. Since Sgiach’s Guardian and longtime lover had been killed the year before, my friend had been in deep mourning, and I knew if she was calling, it was super important.
“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Stevie Rae said as we hurried to my office.
“Batshit’s free.
