Loved (House of Night Other World #1)(82)

“How about assigning one of our fledglings to each of them?” Aphrodite said.

“I like that. Where’s Lenobia?”

“In the basement, very awkwardly trying to get a bunch of boys to stop crying,” Shaylin said. “At this moment I’m pretty sure she hates her job.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re right. So, have Lenobia make a list of students she thinks would be good partners for the new fledglings. Then you guys start pairing them off to the dorm.”

“Okay, will do!” Shaylin said. Before she disappeared down the hallway, her eyes focused on Aphrodite. “Your Mark freaks me out. It’s beautiful and all, but still. Freaks. Me. Out.”

“Thank you,” Aphrodite said. Then her eyes brightened and she was on her feet. “There’s my man!” She glanced around the room and rolled her eyes. “Why do we not have a mirror in here?”

“Uh, it’s a conference room. A student conference room,” Shaunee said.

“And your point is students don’t want to look good? That’s just ridiculous.” She came to me and peered into my face like I was a mirror. “How do I look?”

“Well, your Mark is gorgeous.”

“I know.”

“And your hair is very cray.”

“If Erin were here she’d say it looks like a fart,” Shaunee said.

“No words. I have no words for you and that awful comment,” Aphrodite said to Shaunee.

While Shaunee cackled, I told Aphrodite the truth. “Hey, stop stressing. Darius is going to think you’re beautiful. Because you are beautiful and because he loves you.”

“You’re absolutely right. Thanks, Z.”

Then Darius walked into the room, with a wall of Sons of Erebus Warriors at his back.

“This is gonna be good,” Shaunee whispered.

Aphrodite turned. I saw Darius’ face go blank, as if he couldn’t process what he was seeing, and then his eyes widened and his face flushed. He went to Aphrodite and knelt on one knee and bowed his head.

“Marx said something happened. He said you are why the red fledglings woke and why the red vampyres committed suicide. My beauty, my High Priestess, my Consort, and my love—it is my lifelong honor to be your Oathbound Warrior. Do you accept my pledge?”

Aphrodite knelt in front of him. She took his face between her hands so that he looked into her eyes. “Always, Darius. Always. I haven’t deserved you. But I give you my oath in return that I’ll work harder to be worthy of you. Now, please stand up and kiss me.”

Darius did as his High Priestess commanded, and the Warriors behind him cheered.

“That was super sappy,” Shaunee said under her breath.

“What Shaunee said.” Stark kissed me quickly. “I’ll go help with the red fledglings. I have my phone with me, but if the cells go out again, be sure you keep radioing in back here. I want constant updates. Okay?”

“Okay.” I kissed him back. “Thank you. By the way, just in case you even wonder—you are my definition of awesomesauce.”

He grinned his cocky James Stark smile, tapped the end of my nose with his finger, and whispered, “I love you, too, my Queen.”



Zoey

I was beyond frustrated. We’d been searching downtown on a grid, and hadn’t found Kevin or any recent sign of him or any other red vampyres.

Oh, we’d found where they’d broken into the old Sinclair Building on Boston. They’d eaten some poor homeless people who’d had the bad luck to think they’d found safety from the blizzard, but the red vampyres hadn’t returned. And now it was 5:00 and almost sunset, and I could only think of one thing to do.

“Let’s return to the House of Night. I’ll get Stark and Stevie Rae and Rephaim, and we’ll come back out and keep searching.”

“Z, not sure that’s such a good idea. It’s starting to snow again,” Shaunee said.

“It’d be bad if you got stuck out here in another blizzard. Especially bad as there are red vampyres, probably panicked and dangerous, that are going to emerge from wherever they’re hiding in just a few minutes,” Darius added.

“I have to keep looking. He’s my brother.” What I didn’t want to admit aloud is what had been circling around and around inside my head all day—that I couldn’t let Other Kevin down. I’d already let one Kevin down. I’d basically abandoned him, leaving him to deal with my step-loser and high school peer pressure by himself.

“We get it, Z. We just want you to be safe,” Shaunee said.

“I know. Sorry if I seem short.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I had an awful headache and my eyes were stinging from staring out at sun-drenched snow all day. I needed food and rest, but when I thought about Kevin out there huddled somewhere dark and the pain and fear and confusion he must be going through—well, I had to keep looking. “I appreciate you guys.”

“We’ll find him.” Darius spoke with a lot more confidence than I felt.

I stared out at the milky grayness that signaled the beginning of sunset as the SUV crawled its way home. It had started to snow again. Thankfully this time the wind was being still and fat flakes lazily feathered their way to the ground.

Sometime in the middle of the day, the electricity had gone out across most of midtown, and as we approached the House of Night, it was lit up by flickering gaslight flames, making the campus look as if it had been frozen in the past.