Destined (House of Night #9)(106)

"A distraction? Why would I be a distraction?"

"As Stevie Rae's Consort and protector, Rephaim will be attending the ritual." Thoroughly annoyed Dragon retorted, "What does Rephaim have to do with me being a distraction?"

"If you harm the Consort of the Priestess who embodies the earth element, that will definitely distract her from performing her very pivotal part in the reveal ritual, and it will hinder the spell work to follow."

"I would be there to protect our students. Not to harm them." Dragon forced the words through clenched teeth.

"And yet Aphrodite has been given a vision wherein you appear to be harming Rephaim."

"I would not do that unless he was endangering the other students!"

"Be that as it may, your presence would be a distraction. Dragon, two other Warriors will be present, and the power of Zoey's circle will be strong. The students are protected. And, Sword Master, let me add that I have seen a deep, disturbing change in you since the death of your mate."

"I grieve her loss."

"Sword Master, I think the truth is that you are lost. And even were Rephaim not going to be at the ritual, I would not want you present."

"Then I will leave you so as not to be a distraction." Dragon spun on his heels, but before he could exit the room, Thanatos's words snared him.

"Please let me explain. I would not want you present at any ritual wherein a spell was cast to reveal the truth about death with the intent to bring about justice and closure. I do not mean to insult you, but I sense that you are in such conflict in your own life that your presence would simply go against the very heart of the spell."

As if her words had formed a wall before him, Dragon stopped. He did not turn to look at the High Priestess. In a voice he hardly recognized as his own, he spoke. "My presence would go against the very heart of the spell. Is that what you said to me?"

"I spoke the truth to you as I know it."

"Is that all you wish to say to me, Priestess?" He still did not turn to look at her.

"Yes, except that I wish you to blessed be, Sword Master."

Dragon didn't bow to her. He didn't fist his hand over his heart in respect. He could not. If he didn't get away so that he could think Dragon felt as if he would explode. He stumbled out into the hallway and started moving blindly. Ignoring the curious glances from students, he made his way from the main House of Night building and stumbled outside.

Memories bombarded him. Words swirled around and around through his mind. He'd been present when a different Warrior had been kept from attending another Priestess so, so many years ago, but he could hear Anastasia's voice as clearly as if she'd just spoken the words.

I do not mean to insult you, but I cannot cast a peace spell while I'm being guarded by a Warrior. It simply goes against the very heart of the spell ...

The High Priestess at Tower Grove House of Night had agreed with her young professor of Spells and Rituals and commanded that Dragon escort Anastasia in place of a vampyre Warrior. He'd been tasked with protecting her that night-with watching over her while she cast a peace spell in the heart of St. Louis.

And he'd failed Anastasia.

Oh, she'd lived. She'd not been killed that night, but Dragon had allowed evil to escape his sword. That same evil, one hundred and seventy-seven years later, had murdered his love, his life, his own.

Dragon was breathing hard. He was leaning against something that felt cool and soothing to the heat that boiled in his body. Blinking, he looked up and realized where his feet had taken him. Dragon was leaning against the statue of Nyx that stood before her temple. As he gazed at the Goddess's marble face, the whispering wind blew the clouds from the moon and silver light caressed Nyx, ill uminating her eyes.

She seemed, for a heartbeat, alive and looking at him with such a terrible sense of sadness that it made his heart, which he'd thought had been broken into so many pieces that it would never feel again, ache.

It was then that Dragon understood what he must do.

"I am going to the ritual. I'll watch and not interfere-unless evil tries to strike again. If it does, this time I give you my oath I will cut it down." Zoey

"Are you sure we shouldn't ask Shaylin to come?" Stevie Rae asked. She was sitting with Rephaim in their usual place on the bus while we waited for Thanatos to join us.

"I really think it's not right for her to come," I said. "She's only been Marked for just a few days. She hasn't had time to even settle in as a fledgling, let alone figure out her True Sight thing."

"Plus, we're not advertising that she has True Sight," Aphrodite said. "The less people know about our business, the better."

"She was part of Kramisha's poem, though," Stevie Rae said.

"We don't know that for sure. The poem said"-I squinted, like that could help my memory and then, mostly accurately I recited-"the poem said,

'Seen with True Sight, Darkness doesn't equate to evil, and Light doesn't always bring good.' What if the True Sight part is the same as most of Kramisha's poems-meant to be symbolic and not literal?"

"Goddess, I hate poetry," Aphrodite said.

"Kramisha's not comin', either?" Stevie Rae said, sounding weirdly whiny. "Shouldn't we get her?"