“My father wishes to discover a way to sever the bonds that tie him to Neferet. To do so, he’ll need her to be distracted. Her obsession with Zoey is an excellent distraction, as is her desire to use the rogue red fledglings in her war with humans.”
Stevie Rae’s brows went up. “There isn’t any war going on between vampyres and humans.”
“If Neferet’s will is done, there will be.”
“Okay, well, we’ll have to be sure that doesn’t happen. Looks like Z really does need to get home.”
“They want to use you, too,” Rephaim blurted.
“Huh? Who’s they? Me? For what?”
Rephaim looked away from her and spoke very quickly. “Neferet and Father. They don’t believe you’ve firmly chosen the way of the Goddess. They think you could be persuaded to move to the side of Darkness.”
“Rephaim, there is not even one tiny small chance of that. I’m not perfect. I have my issues. But I chose Nyx and Light when I regained my humanity. I’m never gonna change that choice.”
“I have never doubted that, Stevie Rae, but they do not know you as I do.”
“And Neferet and Kalona can never find out about us, either, can they?”
“It would be very bad if they did.”
“Very bad for you or for me?”
“For both of us.”
Stevie Rae sighed. “Okay, so I’ll be careful.” She touched his arm. “You be careful, too.”
He nodded. “You should start back. Call Zoey as you drive. Dawn is too close.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she said, but neither of them moved.
“And I must get back,” he said, as if trying to convince himself.
“Wait, you aren’t staying here anymore?”
“No. The ice storm has passed and there are too many humans about the grounds now.”
“Well, where are you?”
“Stevie Rae, I cannot tell you that!”
“Because you’re with your daddy, right?” When he didn’t speak she continued. “Hey, it’s not like I didn’t already know it was totally b.s. when Neferet announced the whole hundred-lashes-and-banish-Kalona-for-a-century punishment.”
“She did have him lashed. The threads of Darkness cut him one hundred times.”
Stevie Rae shivered, remembered how awful just the touch of one of those threads had been. “Well, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.” She met Rephaim’s eyes. “But the part about him being banished from Neferet’s side for a century is b.s., right?”
Rephaim gave a quick, almost imperceptible nod.
“And you won’t tell me where you’re stayin’ because that’s where your Kalona’s stayin’, too?”
He gave another slight nod.
She sighed again. “So if I need to see you I gotta go lurk around some scary old building somewhere or somethin’?”
“No! You stay safe and in public places. Stevie Rae, if you need me come here and call me as you did tonight. Promise me that you won’t go out trying to find me,” he said, giving her arm a little shake.
“Okay, okay. I promise. But this worried-about-you thing goes both ways. Rephaim, I know he’s your daddy, but he’s also into some bad stuff. I just don’t want him to take you down with him. So be careful, ’kay?”
“I will be careful,” he said. “Stevie Rae, tonight I saw the rogue red fledglings. They are making their nest at Will Rogers High School. Dallas has joined them.”
“Rephaim, please don’t tell Kalona and Neferet.”
“Why, so you can show them kindness and humanity and they can have another opportunity to kill you?” he shouted at her.
“No! Just ’cause I try to be nice doesn’t mean I’m stupid
“It is too late. It was Neferet who put me on their trail tonight. Stevie Rae, I’m asking you to stay away from the rogue reds. They mean nothing but doom for you.”
“I’ll be careful. I already told you I would. But I’m a High Priestess and the red fledglings are my responsibility.”
“The ones who have chosen Darkness are not your responsibility. And Dallas is no longer a fledgling. He is not your responsibility.”
Stevie Rae’s smile was crooked. “Are you jealous of Dallas?”
“Do not be ridiculous. I simply don’t want to see you hurt again. Stop changing the subject.”
“Hey, Dallas isn’t my boyfriend anymore,” she said.
“I know that.”
“Are ya sure?”
“Yes. Of course.” He shook himself and his wings unfurled. Stevie Rae’s breath caught as she watched him. “Call your Zoey as you drive back to the safety of the school. I will see you again soon.”
“Stay safe, ’kay?”
He turned to her and cupped her face in his hand. Stevie Rae closed her eyes and stood there, taking comfort and strength from his touch. Too soon it was gone. Too soon he was gone. She opened her eyes to watch his majestic wings beat against the night air and lift him higher, higher, until he disappeared into the barely discernable lightening of the eastern sky.
Rephaim had been right. It was too close to dawn for comfort. Stevie Rae hit redial as she hurried through the deserted mansion and back to the Bug.
“Hey, Z. It’s me. I got some hard stuff to tell you, so brace yourself…”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Z? Are you still there? Are you okay? Say somethin’.”
The worry in Stevie Rae’s voice made me wipe the snot and tears from my face with the sleeve of my shirt and kinda sorta pull myself together. “I’m here. N-not okay, though,” I said with a little hiccup.
“I know, I know. It’s terrible.”
“And there’s no chance of a mistake? Jack’s really dead?” I knew in my heart it was ridiculous to cross my fingers and close my eyes when I asked, but I had to give it one silly little-girl try.
“He’s really dead,” Stevie Rae said through her own tears. “There’s no mistake, Z.”
“It’s so hard to believe, and it’s just not fair!” It felt good to get mad, better than breaking down in completely useless snot and tears. “Jack was the sweetest guy in the world. He didn’t deserve what happened to him.”
“No,” Stevie Rae said in a shaky voice. “He didn’t deserve it. I-I wanna believe Nyx has him and is takin’ care of him real good. You’ve been there—to the Otherworld, I mean. Is it true that it’s wonderful there?”
Her question tugged at my heart. “I know we’ve never talked about it, but didn’t you go there,
“No!” she said as if she wanted to cut off my words. “I don’t remember much from that time, but I do know I wasn’t anywhere nice. And I didn’t see Nyx.”
The words came to me as I began to speak and I knew in my soul that Nyx was talking through me. “Stevie Rae, when you died Nyx was with you. You’re her daughter. You have to remember that always. I don’t know why you and the other kids died and un-died, but I can tell you that I am one hundred percent sure Nyx never abandoned you. You just took a different path than Jack. He is in the Otherworld with the Goddess, and he’s happier than he’s ever been in his life. It’s hard for those of us back here to understand, but I saw it with Heath. For whatever reason,
