Revealed (House of Night #11)(33)

“But is it wise to keep a vision to yourself?”

“Right now my gut is telling me that it isn’t wise to blab what I saw.”

Darius leaned forward, kissing her softly. Then he met her gaze and said exactly what she needed to hear. “Trust your instinct, Prophetess. I believe in you and your gift. I want you to know that whatever you tell me I will hold sacred and I vow, as your Warrior and protector, not to tell anyone unless you allow it.”

Aphrodite slipped into his arms and felt the terrible tightness in her chest relax. She didn’t have to carry the burden of her visions alone. Darius would never betray her.

“I’m so crappy at this love stuff. I’ll never be able to tell you how much it means to me that I can trust you.”

He stroked her back gently. “You need not tell me. You show me every day we are together.”

Aphrodite closed her eyes and gathered strength from his touch and his words, praying silently: Please, Nyx, let the days we are together turn into months, the months years, and the years decades.

She hugged him hard, and then leaned back so that she could meet his gaze. Without any preamble she told him, “Darius, I need you to do something for me.”

“Anything,” he said.

“Watch Zoey.”

“Watch her?”

“Yes. Watch her and see if she acts unusually pissed off.”

“And if I see her being angry?”

“Come get me and I’ll deal with her. Don’t get Stark. He can feel her emotions and if she’s the level of pissed I think she’s going to be, I’m pretty sure he’s going to be ready to explode, too. Plus, remember that Aurox slash Heath is stuck inside the House of Night with us. We all saw Heath’s reflection. Z’s pretty much avoided him since that night, but who he really is has to be affecting her. It’s going to come out eventually, and, let’s get serious, you know there’s no damn way Stark will be cool with sharing Zoey again.”

Darius nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right about that. I will watch her.” He paused and then added, “Your vision was about Zoey.”

It wasn’t a question, but Aphrodite sipped her iced coffee and then nodded. “Yeah, it was about Zoey and her anger. She was out of control.”

“Why do you believe you shouldn’t speak to her of this? She knows your visions are valid. Perhaps she would listen to you.”

“That’s what I’d think, too, but the very first thing I said when I came back from the vision was for you not to get Z. Darius, I was speaking from instinct—Goddess-given instinct. Yeah, I could be messed up and misinterpreting it, but that’s why I think I shouldn’t tell Zoey—or at least not yet.”

“As I said, I believe in you. Trust your instinct and your Goddess-given gifts.”

“I’m going to, but I’m also going to get some outside help, sadly from an annoying source.”

Darius’s brows lifted. “I assume you do not mean me.”

“No, handsome, I don’t mean you. I mean Shaylin.”

“You’re going to tell her about your vision?”

“No. I’m going to tell her an interpretative exaggeration about my vision.”

“In other words, you’re going to lie to her.”

Aphrodite loved that he’d said it so matter-of-factly, with no judgment, and no lecture.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean, but calling it an interpretative exaggeration sounds better.”

“You’re going to have her watch Zoey, too?”

“Yes again.”

“Her use of the True Sight gift has, thus far, proven valid,” he said.

“Which is the only damn reason I’m going to ask for her help. She irritates the crap out of me.”

“And yet you are wise enough not to let that irritation keep you from calling on her gifts.” His smile was full of warmth and pride. “You see, my beauty, why I trust you so?”

“I see that you and I haven’t had enough quality alone time.”

“We are alone now.” His smile turned sexy.

“And my headache is definitely gone.” She drained the rest of the iced coffee and put the glass on her marble-topped nightstand. Aphrodite draped her arms around his broad shoulders and pulled him down to her. Darius came to her eagerly. His kiss was deep and as she opened her mouth he moaned, and rolled, taking her with him so that she was on top, pressed against him while his hand found the edge of her T-shirt and began moving in hot, insistent strokes against her naked skin.

When the knocking started on the door, Aphrodite whispered against Darius’s lips, “Ignore it and it will go away.”

The knocking became louder, more insistent.

Aphrodite nibbled on the side of Darius’s neck. “Pretend it’s reality TV. Ignore it.”

“Aphrodite! Hellllo!” Zoey’s voice carried through the door. “Stark told me Darius was bringing you iced coffee, which means you’re in there and awake.”

Darius reluctantly pulled down her T-shirt. “You do need to talk with her.”

Aphrodite kissed him one more time before she stomped to the door, not bothering to fix her hair, her T-shirt, or her annoyed look, and opened it, saying, “Oh, for shit’s sake, come in, birth control.”