CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

"Heath! What in the hell are you doing here!”

Stalking you.

"Well, you didn't call me back.” Oblivious to everyone else, he hugged me. I didn't need the bright light of the moon for me to see his bloodshot eyes. "I missed you, Zo!" he blurted, wafting beer breath all over me.

You Judgemental Bastards: 213

There’s condescension written all over that last sentence.

"Heath. You need to go—”

"No. Let him stay," Aphrodite interrupted me.

Heath's gaze swiveled up to her, and I imagined what she must look like through his eyes.

Are you sure you’re straight, Zoey? Because you admire the ladies a dozen times more often than you admire the guys.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

If Skylar's hissing and growling hadn't caught my attention, I would never have seen Aphrodite slumped in the little alcove down the hall from Neferet's room.

Given how unobservant you are, I’m surprised even that caught your attention.

"What is it, Skylar?" I held my hand out gingerly, remembering what Neferet had said about her cat being a known biter.

Does anyone honestly believe that’s what’s going to happen?

I was also sincerely glad that Nala wasn't tagging long after me as usual—Skylar would probably eat my poor little cat for lunch.

I wish he would.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

"That was truly the most prodigious circle-casting I've ever experienced!" Damien gushed after the circle had been closed and we were gathering up the candles and smudge stick.

Speshul Snowflake: 209

Look at that, Zoey casts circles better than the damn High Priestess herself. Is anyone honestly surprised? Because I’m not.

"I thought 'prodigious' meant 'big,' " Shaunee said.

"It also can show exciting wonder and can refer to something stupendous and monumental," Damien said.

"For once I'm not going to argue with you," Shaunee said, surprising everyone except Erin.

Because they share the same brain cell, you see.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"She has a point," Damien said.

"She joined the Dark Daughters," Shaunee said.

"What!" Damien squeaked, his voice going up about twenty octaves.

…is there a typo here? Was one of Damien’s lines supposed to be said by someone else? Because if not…he’s just as stupid as Zoey is. I mean, look at that. He’s like a Slowpoke; hit him over the head with something and it takes him a while to actually feel the pain. Except in this case, it’s tell him something, and it takes a while for it to sink in.

"Leave her alone," Stevie Rae said, instantly coming to my defense.

Zoey, call off your little attack dog. She’s not scary, she’s just pathetic.

CHAPTER TWENTY

I was going to have to talk to Neferet. I thought about it as Stevie Rae and I rushed through breakfast the next morning. I didn't want to tell her anything about my supposed strange reaction to the elements—I mean, I hadn't been lying to Stevie Rae. I could have imagined the entire thing.

We all know you didn’t imagine it; stop the faux humility.

Speshul Snowflake: 160

What if I tell Neferet and she makes me take some kind of weird affinity test (in this school, who knew?) and she finds out that I don't have anything other than an overactive imagination? No way did I want to go through something like that.

Why? At least you would know for sure one way or the other. Your aversion to telling anyone anything just makes you look even more stupid than you already are.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"Are you okay?”

Do you really want me to answer that?

"Yeah, I'm okay. Totally. Fine." I lied.

"You don't look fine," Erik said. "Mind if I sit down?”

"No, go ahead," I said listlessly. I knew my nose was bright red. I'd definitely been snotting on myself when he walked up, and I had the sneaking suspicion he'd witnessed at least part of the nightmare between Heath and me.

Kayla? Kayla who?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I have a bad feeling about this. I thought the last one was the Chapter That Wouldn’t End, but this one is even longer. I don’t know if I’m going to make it through alive…

"That's it." Stevie Rae had stopped, looking uncomfortable and apologetic in front of the steps that led to a round brick building situated on a little hill overlooking the eastern part of the wall surrounding the school.

Anyone want to explain why she looks apologetic? She’s acting like a dog preparing to be scolded for peeing on the carpet.

Huge oaks wrapped it in darkness within darkness, so I could barely make out flickers of either gas or candles lighting up the entrance. Not one speck of light was coming from the darkened windows that were long and arched and seemed to be made of stained glass.

If it’s so dark, how can you see that they’re stained glass?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Fencing was totally cool, which was a surprise. Class was held in a huge room off the gym that looked like a dance studio, complete with a floor-to-ceiling wall of mirrors. Hanging from the ceiling along one side were weird life-sized manikins

As opposed to ‘mannequins’. Seriously, PCK, who is your editor? Because they need to be boiled in oil.

that reminded me of three-dimensional shooting targets. Everyone called Professor Lankford Dragon Lankford,

Wow, that’s an awkward sentence.

or just Dragon. It didn't take me long to figure out why. His tattoo represented two dragons whose bodies, serpent-like, wrapped down over his jaw line. Their heads were over his brows and their mouths were open, breathing fire at the crescent moon. It was amazing and hard not to stare at. Plus, Dragon was the first male adult vampyre I'd seen up close. At first he confused me.

So what else is new? Zoey, you would be confused if someone told you the sun rose in the east. I’m starting to think your IQ is in the negative digits.

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Zoey! Over here!”

I almost cried in relief when I heard Damien's voice and saw his hand waving at an empty desk next to him.

Just his hand; not the rest of his body or anything.

"Hi." I sat down and smiled gratefully at him.

"Are you ready for your first day?”

No.

I nodded. "Yep." I wanted to say more, but just then a bell gave five quick rings and as the echo of it died Neferet swept into the room. She was wearing a long black skirt slit up the side to show great stiletto boots, and a deep purple silk sweater. Over her left breast, embroidered in silver, was the image of a goddess with her arms upraised, hands cupping a crescent moon. Her black hair was pulled back into a thick braid. The series of delicate wavelike tattoos that framed her face made her look like an ancient warrior priestess. She smiled at us and I could see that the entire class was as caught as I was by her powerful presence.

PCK, you’re only fueling my belief that Zoey is deeply in love with Neferet. There’s absolutely no reason for her to pay this much attention to every little detail about someone unless she has the hots for them. I also think you’re projecting your lust for her onto the rest of the class. Not everyone is going to be as in awe of her as you are.

CHAPTER TEN

"I keep thinking that hubris is eventually going to bring Aphrodite down," Damien said.

"Hubris," Stevie Rae explained, "having godlike arrogance.”

I kind of like it when things get explained to Zoey like the idiot she actually is. I also like that Stevie Rae apparently doesn’t have enough faith in Zoey’s so-called ‘intelligence’ that she automatically explains something without pausing to wonder if an explanation is truly needed.

Unless PCK are the ones who don’t have enough faith in us, the readers, and think that we’re the ones who needed the explanation. I’m going to go with the former, for the sake of my blood pressure.

"I actually know that one," I said, still staring after Aphrodite and her mob.

I’m not sure that two people can accurately be called a mob, but I suppose we have to do something to make her look threatening, since I still don’t know why everyone is so afraid of her.

“We just finished reading Medea in English class. It’s what brought Jason down.”

“I’d love to knock the hubris right out of her bobble head,” Erin said.

‘Bobble head’? What? If that was meant to be an insult, you missed the mark.