Chosen (House of Night #3)(53)

I squeezed her hand and then pried mine from her grip. "I'm sorry, but I gotta go. Neferet is having a special ritual for Professor Nolan, and then I have to do the Full Moon Ritual thing." And I was going to have to hit the library again and come up with some kind of ritual that might help Stevie Rae. And I didn't have a clue what to do about Loren. And Erik was probably going to be mad at me for taking off. And I hadn't broken up with Heath. Jeesh, my head hurt. Again.

"It's been a month."

"Huh?" I was standing, and already distracted with thinking about all the ands I had to deal with.

"I died during the last full moon, and that was one month ago.

That got all of my attention. "That's right. It has been a month. I wonder ..."

"If that might mean something? If tonight might be the right time to try to fix whatever happened with me?" I almost flinched at the sound of her hope-filled voice. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Should I try to get on campus tonight?"

"No! The place is crawling with warriors. They'd grab you for sure."

"Maybe they should," she said slowly. "Maybe everyone should know about me." I rubbed my head, trying to understand what my gut was telling me. It'd been shouting to keep Stevie Rae a secret for so long that I couldn't tell if I was still supposed to keep her hidden, or whether what I was feeling were just echoes and confusion (and probably some desperation and depression thrown in there, too).

"I don't know about that. I-I need a little more time, okay?" Stevie Rae's shoulders slumped. "Okay. But I don't think there's enough of me left to last another month."

"I know. I'll hurry," I said inanely. I bent and hugged her quickly. "Bye. Don't worry. I'll be back soon. Promise."

"If you figure it out, just text me or something and I'll come. Okay?"

"Okay." I turned at the door. "I love you, Stevie Rae. Don't forget that. We're still best friends." She didn't say anything, but nodded, looking bleak. I called night and mist and magic to me and hurried out into the darkness.

Chapter Twenty

Naturally, I got caught sneaking back on campus. I'd already floated back over the wall. (Yes, I literally floated, which was too cool for words.) I was making my way back to the dorm with what I considered excellent speed and stealth when I practically ran into them-a group of vamps and upperclassmen ringed by at least a dozen of the warrior mountains (I did see the Twins and Damien in the group, so Aphrodite had been right, Neferet was including my Prefect Council). I froze, stepped back into the shadow of a big oak, and held my breath, hoping that my newfound cool power of invisibility (or maybe mist-ability was a better way of describing it) would let me remain unseen. Unfortunately, as I watched, Neferet paused, which caused the entire dang group to pause. She cocked her head and I swear she sniffed the breeze like a bloodhound. Then her eyes went to my tree-my hidey place-and seemed to bore into me. And just like that I lost concentration. My skin shivered and I knew I was completely visible again.

"Oh, Zoey! There you are. I was just asking your friends"-she paused long enough to give the Twins, Damien, and (eek!) Erik one of her amazing one-hundred-twenty-five-watt smiles-"where you could have gotten off to." She dimmed the smile and exchanged it for a perfect look of motherly concern. "Now is not the time to wander about by yourself."

"Sorry. I, uh, I needed ..." I trailed off, majorly aware that all eyes were on me.

"She needed to be alone before the rituals," Shaunee said, stepping up to put an arm through mine.

"Yeah, she always needs to be alone before rituals. It's a Zoey thing," Erin said, moving to my other side and taking my other arm.

"Yep, we call it Z.A.T.-Zoey Alone Time," Damien said, joining the three of us.

"It's kinda annoying, but what can you do?" Erik said, moving around behind me to rest his warm hands on my shoulders. "That's our Z."

I had to struggle not to burst into tears. My friends were the best. Of course, Neferet probably knew they were lying, but they'd done it in a way that made it look like I was probably only up to little teenage mischief (i.e., sneaking out to break up with a boyfriend) versus big, scary mischief (i.e., hiding my undead dead best friend).

"Well, I want you to be sure you limit your alone time in the near future," Neferet told me in a mildly chastising tone.

"I will. Sorry," I mumbled.

"And now, on to the ritual." Regally, Neferet strode out from the group, causing the warriors to scramble to keep up with her and leaving me and my little cluster of friends in the figurative dust. Of course, we followed her. What else could we do?

"So, did you get the dirty done?" Shaunee whispered.

"Huh?" I blinked in shock at her. How did she know I'd been ho-ishly grinding against Heath. Did it show?

God, I was going to die if it showed!

Erin rolled her eyes. "Heath. Breakup. You with him," she whispered.

"Oh, that. Well, I, uh-"

"I was worried about you today." Erik had moved up and neatly nudged Shaunee from her place beside me. I expected the Twins to hiss and spit at him, but instead they waggled their brows at us and fell back to walk with Damien. I heard Shaunee murmur, "So damn fiiiiine." Jeesh, they could face Neferet, but Erik's hotness totally did them in.