Betrayed (House of Night #2)(50)

"Exactly," Shaunee said. None of us stated the obvious--that Erin, with her blond hair and blue eyes, was definitely NOT BLACK. We were too used to her and Shaunee being twinlike to question the weirdness of it. "Erik, you were amazing!" Damien rushed up with Jack fol lowing close behind. "Congratulations," Jack said shyly, but with definite enthusiasm. Erik smiled at them. "Thanks, guys. Hey, Jack. I was too ner vous before the performance to say that I'm glad you're here. It'll be nice to have a roommate." Jack's cute face lit up, and I squeezed Erik's hand. This was one reason why I liked him so much. Besides being gorgeous and tal ented, Erik was an authentically nice guy. There were a lot of guys in his position (ridiculously popular) who would have either ig nored this little third former roommate or, worse, been visibly pissed that they'd have to share a room with a "fag." Erik wasn't like that at all, and I couldn't help but compare him to Heath, who would probably have been freaked that he had to room with a g*y kid. Not that Heath was hateful or anything like that, but he was a typical teenage Okie boy, which tended to mean narrow-minded homophobe. Which made me realize that I'd never asked Erik where he was from. Jeesh, I was a crappy girlfriend. "Did you hear me, Zoey?"

"Huh?" Damien's question shut off my inner babbling, but no, I hadn't heard him. "Hello! Earth to Zoey! I asked if you realized what time it was. And are you remembering the Full Moon Ritual starts at mid night?" I looked at the wall clock. "Ah, hell!" It was 11:05. I still needed to change my clothes and then get to the rec hall, light the circle candles, make sure the five candles for the elements were in place, and check on the Goddess's table. "Erik, I'm so sorry, but I have to leave. There are a million things to do before the ritual starts." I made eye contact with each of my four friends. "You guys have to come with me." They nodded like bobble-headed dolls. I turned back to Erik. "You're coming to the ritual, aren't you?"

"Yeah. And that reminds me. I got you something in New York. Hang on for just a sec, and I'll go get it." He hurried back through the actors' entrance to the audito rium. "I swear he is too damn good to be true," Erin said. "Let's hope his friend is just like him," Shaunee said, sending Cole a flirty smile from across the room, which I noticed he re turned. "Damien, did you get the eucalyptus and sage for me?" I was already feeling nervous. Hell! I should have eaten. My stomach was an empty cavern just waiting to clench up on me. "Don't worry, Z. I got the eucalyptus and I even braided it to gether with the sage for you," Damien said. "Everything will be perfect, you'll see," Stevie Rae said. "Yeah, you don't need to be nervous," Shaunee said. "We'll be right there with you," Erin finished. I smiled at them, incredibly glad they were my friends. And then Erik was back. He handed me the big white box he was carrying. I hesitated before tearing into it and Shaunee said, "Z, if you don't open it I will."

"Damn right," Erin said. Eagerly, I slid off the decorative string that held it shut, opened the lid, and gasped (along with everyone else who was standing close enough to see). Inside the box pooled the most beautiful dress I'd ever seen. It was black, but woven into the material were metallic specks of silver, so that wherever the light touched, it glittered and sparkled like shooting stars against the night sky. "Erik, this is beautiful." I sounded choked because I was trying really hard not to make a fool out of myself and burst into happy tears. "I wanted you to have something special for your first ritual as leader of the Dark Daughters," he said. We hugged again before my friends and I had to rush out and head to the rec hall. I clutched the dress to my chest and tried not to think about the fact that while Erik was buying me an amaz ingly cool present I had been either sucking Heath's blood or flirting with Loren. And while I tried not to think about that, I also tried to ignore the guilty voice inside my head that kept say ing, over and over, You don't deserve him ... you don't deserve him ... you don't deserve him .. .

Chapter Twenty

"Shaunee, Erin, and Stevie Rae--you guys start lighting the white candles. Damien, if you place the colored candles for the ele ments in their positions I'll be sure that everything's set for Nyx's table."

"Easy--" Shaunee said. "Peasy," Erin chimed in. "Japanesy," Stevie Rae added, making the Twins give her mir ror eye rolls.

"Are the element candles still in the supply room?" Damien asked. "Yep," I called as I headed to the kitchen. I was glad I'd already put together a big tray of fresh fruits, cheeses, and meats for Nyx's table. I just needed to retrieve it and the bottle of wine from the refrigerator, and arrange the bounty neatly on the table placed in the center of the large circle made of white candles. The table al ready had an ornate goblet on it, as well as a beautiful statue of the Goddess, a long, elegant lighter, and the purple candle that would represent spirit, the last element I would call to the circle. The table symbolized the richness of the blessings Nyx has given her children, vampyres and fledglings. I liked setting up the God dess's table. It made me feel calm, something that I especially needed tonight. I arranged the food and wine, and went over and over in my mind the words of the ritual I was going to use in--I glanced at the clock and felt my stomach tighten--in fifteen min utes. Fledglings were already starting to come into the rec hall, but they were being pretty subdued and hanging out in the cor ners of the large room in clusters while they watched the Twins and Stevie Rae light the white candles that would form the cir cumference of the circle. Maybe I wasn't the only one nervous about tonight. It was a big change to have me lead the Dark Daughters. Aphrodite had been leader for the past two years, and in that time the group had become a cliquish, snobby club where fledglings who weren't part of the "in" crowd were used and made fun of. Well, things were changing tonight. I glanced at my friends. We'd all hurried to change our clothes before coming to the rec hall, and everyone had chosen to wear solid black to keep with the theme of the amazing dress Erik had given me. I glanced down at myself for the zillionth time. The dress was simple, but perfect. It had a round neckline that was low, but not as low as ho-ish Aphrodite's ritual dresses had been.