Marked

CHAPTER 18

'Are you okay?'

'Yeah, I'm okay. Totally. Fine.' I lied.

'You don't look fine,' Erik said. 'Mind if I sit down?'

'No, go ahead,' I said listlessly. I knew my nose was bright red. I'd definitely been snotting on myself when he walked up, and I had the sneaking suspicion he'd witnessed at least part of the nightmare between Heath and me. The night was just getting worse and worse. I glanced at him and decided, What the hell, I might as well continue the trend. 'In case you didn't realize it, it was me who saw that little scene between you and Aphrodite in the hall yesterday.'

He didn't even hesitate. 'I know, and I wish you hadn't. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me.'

'And what idea would that be?'

'That there's more going on between Aphrodite and me than there really is.'

'Not my business,' I said.

He shrugged. 'I just want you to know that she and I are not going out anymore.'

I almost said that it sure looked like Aphrodite wasn't aware of that, but then I thought about what had just happened between Heath and me, and with a sense of surprise I realized that maybe I shouldn't judge Erik too harshly.

'Okay. You guys aren't going out,' I said.

He sat quietly beside me for a little while, and when he spoke again I thought he sounded almost angry. 'Aphrodite didn't tell you about the blood in the wine.'

He hadn't said it like a question, but I answered anyway. 'Nope.'

He shook his head and I saw his jaw tighten. 'She told me she was going to. She said she'd let you know while you were changing your clothes so that if you weren't okay with it you could skip drinking from the goblet.'

'She lied.'

'Not a big surprise,' he said.

'Ya think?' I could feel my own anger building inside me. 'This whole thing has just been wrong. I get pressured into going to the Dark Daughters' ritual where I'm tricked into drinking blood. Then I meet up with my almost-ex-boyfriend who just happens to be one hundred percent human, and no-damn-body bothered to explain to me that the tiniest speck of his blood would turn me into…into…a monster.' I bit my lip and held on to my anger so I wouldn't start crying again. I also decided I wouldn't say anything about thinking I saw Elizabeth's ghost—that was too much weird to admit for one night.

'No one explained it to you because it's something that shouldn't have started to effect you until you were a sixth former,' he said quietly.

'Huh?' I was back to being dazzlingly articulate.

'Bloodlust doesn't usually begin until you're a sixth former and you're almost completely Changed. Once in a while you'll hear about a fifth former who has to deal with it early, but that doesn't happen very often.'

'Wait—what are you saying?' My mind felt like bees were buzzing around in it.

'You start having classes about bloodlust and other things mature vamps have to deal with during your fifth form, and then, in your final year, that's mostly what school focuses on—that and whatever you've decided to major in.'

'But I'm a third former—barely I mean, I've only been Marked a few days.'

'Your Mark is different; you're different,' he said.

'I don't want to be different!' I realized I was shouting and got my voice under control. 'I just want to figure out how to get through this like everybody else.'

'Too late, Z,' he said.

'So what now?'

'I think you'd better talk to your mentor. It's Neferet, isn't it?'

'Yeah,' I said miserably.

'Hey, cheer up. Neferet's great. She hardly ever takes on fledglings to mentor anymore, so she must really believe in you.'

'I know, I know. It's just that this makes me feel…' How did I feel about talking to Neferet about what had happened tonight? Embarrassed. Like I was twelve years old again and I had to tell our male gym teacher that I'd started my period and had to go to the locker room to change my shorts. I peeked sideways at Erik. There he sat, gorgeous and attentive and perfect. Hell. I couldn't tell him that. So instead I blurted, 'Stupid. It makes me feel stupid.' Which wasn't actually a lie, but mostly what it made me feel, besides embarrassed and stupid, was scared. I didn't want this thing that made it impossible for me to fit in.

'Don't feel stupid. You're actually way ahead of the rest of us.'

'So…,' I hesitated, then took a deep breath and barreled on, 'did you like the way the blood in the goblet tasted tonight?'

'Well, here's the deal with that: My first Full Moon Ritual with the Dark Daughters was at the end of my third former year. Except for the 'refrigerator' that night, I was the only third former there—just like you tonight.' He gave a small, humorless laugh. 'They only invited me because I'd finaled in the Shakespeare soliloquy contest and was being flown to London for the competition the next day.' He glanced at me and looked a little embarrassed. 'No one from this House of Night had ever made it to London. It was a big deal.' He shook his head self-mockingly. 'Actually, I thought I was a big deal. So the Dark Daughters invited me to join them, and I did. I knew about the blood. I was given the opportunity to turn it down. I didn't.'

'But did you like it?'

This time his laugh was real. 'I gagged and puked my guts up. It was the most disgusting thing I'd ever tasted.'

I groaned. My head dropped forward and I put my face in my hands. 'You're not helping me.'

'Because you thought it was good?'

'Better than good,' I said, my face still in my hands. 'You say it was the most disgusting thing you'd ever tasted? I thought it was the most delicious. Well, the most delicious until I—' I stopped, realizing what I had been about to say.

'Until you tasted fresh blood?' he asked gently.

I nodded my head, afraid to speak.

He tugged at my hands, making me unbury my face. Then he put his finger under my chin and forced me to look straight at him. 'Don't be embarrassed or ashamed. It's normal.'

'Loving the taste of blood is not normal. Not for me.'

'Yes, it is. All vampyres have to deal with their lust for blood,' he said.

'I am not a vampyre!'

'Maybe you're not—yet. But you're also definitely not the average fledgling, and there's nothing wrong with that. You're special, Zoey, and special can be amazing.'

Slowly, he took his finger from my chin and, as he had earlier that night, he traced the shape of a pentagram softly over my darkened Mark. I liked the way his finger felt against my skin-warm and a little rough. I also liked that being near him didn't set off all the weird reactions I'd had to being close to Heath. I mean, I couldn't hear Erik's blood beating or see the pulse in his neck jumping. Not that I'd mind if he kissed me.…

Hell! Was I becoming a vampyre slut? What was next? Would no male of any species (which might even include Damien) be safe around me? Maybe I should avoid all guys until I figured out what was going on with me and knew I could control myself.

Then I remembered that I had been trying to avoid everyone, which is why I was out here in the first place.

'What are you doing out here, Erik?'

'I followed you,' he said simply.

“ Why? '

'I figured I knew what Aphrodite had pulled in there and I thought you might need a friend. You're rooming