"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. She's changed."

"You're gonna have to do better than that," I said, getting a sick feeling in my stomach.

"Don't pretend like you didn't notice anything weird about her," Aphrodite said.

"She's been through a lot," I justified.

"My point exactly. She's been through a lot, and it's changed her."

"You've never liked Stevie Rae, so I don't expect you to suddenly start getting along with her, but I'm not going to listen to you talk c.r.a.p about her-especially after she just offered to let you come with her so that you don't have to stay here and pretend to be something you're not." I was working myself up into getting really p.i.s.sed, and I couldn't tell if that was because what Aphrodite was saying was hateful and wrong, or because what she was saying was a scary truth I didn't want to face.

"Did you ever think that maybe she wanted me to go with her because Stevie Rae doesn't want me to spend any time with you?"

"That's stupid. Why would she care? She's my best friend, not my boyfriend."

"Because she knows I've seen through her little act and that I'll tell you the real deal about her. The truth is that she's not what she used to be. I don't know exactly what she is now, and I don't think she knows either, but she's definitely not good ol'

white-bread Stevie Rae anymore."

"I know she's not exactly like she used to be!" I snapped. "How could she be? She died, Aphrodite! In my arms.

Remember? And I'm a good enough friend that I'm not going to turn my back on her just because going through something life- changing actually changed her."

Aphrodite stood there and stared at me a long time without saying anything-so long that my stomach started to hurt again.

Finally she lifted one shoulder. "Fine. Believe what you want to believe. I hope you're right."

"I'm right, and I don't want to talk about it again," I said, feeling weirdly shaky."Fine," she repeated. "I'm done talking about it."

"Good. So finish drawing in your Mark and let's go to the meeting."

"Together?"

"Yep."

"You're not caring that people know we don't hate each other?" she said.

"Well, I look at it like this: People, especially my friends, will be thinking a whole lot of not-so-nice stuff about the possibility that you and I have suddenly become friends."

Aphrodite's eyes widened. "Which will keep their wee little brains from thinking about Stevie Rae."

"My friends do not have wee brains."

"Whatever."

"But, yes, Damien and the Twins will be busy thinking p.i.s.sed-off thoughts about you, which will definitely keep their minds busy if Neferet happens to be listening in," I said.

"Sounds like the beginnings of a plan," she said.

"Sadly, it's all I have of a plan."

"Well, at least you're consistent about not knowing what the h.e.l.l you're doing."

"So good of you to look on the bright side of things."

"Anything I can do to help," Aphrodite said.

When she'd put the finishing touches on her fake Mark, we headed toward the door. Just before I opened it, I glanced sideways at her. "Oh, and I don't hate you, either," I said. "Actually, you're kinda growing on me."

Aphrodite gave me one of her best sneers and said, "See, that's what I mean about you being consistent about not knowing what the h.e.l.l you're doing."

I was laughing when I pulled open the door and ran smack into Damien, Jack, and the Twins.

CHAPTER SEVEN

"We want to talk to you, Z," Damien said.

"And we're glad to see she's leaving," Shaunee said, glaring at Aphrodite.

"Yeah, don't let the door hit your skinny a.s.s on the way out," Erin said.

I saw the hurt that flashed across Aphrodite's face. "Fine. I'm out of here," she said.

"Aphrodite, you're not going anywhere." I had to wait till the Twins got over making sputtering sounds of disbelief before I could go on. "Nyx is working strongly in Aphrodite's life. Do you trust Nyx's judgment?" I asked, looking at each of my friends.

"Yes, of course we do," Damien spoke for all of them.

"Then you're gonna have to accept Aphrodite as one of us," I said.

There was a long pause during which the Twins, Jack, and Damien all shared looks, and then Damien finally said, "I suppose we do have to admit that Aphrodite is special to Nyx, but the honest truth is none of us trust her."

"I trust her," I said. Okay, maybe I didn't trust her one hundred percent, but Nyx was working through her.

"Which is ironic, because we're having trust issues with you," Shaunee said.

"Nerd herd, you make no d.a.m.n sense," Aphrodite said. "In one breath, you're all 'Oh, yes! We trust Nyx!' and in the next you're saying you have trust issues with Zoey. Zoey is the fledgling. No one-vamp or fledgling-has ever been so gifted by Nyx.

Get a clue, would ya?" Aphrodite rolled her eyes.

"Aphrodite may have a point," Damien said into the stunned silence.

"No s.h.i.t?" Aphrodite said sarcastically. "Here's another newsflash for the herd of nerd-my latest vision is of Zoey being killed and the world being thrown into total chaos because of it. And guess who was responsible for your supposed friend's murder?" She paused, raising her brows at Damien and the Twins before answering her own question. "You all are. Zoey's killed because you guys turn your backs on her."

"She had a vision of your death?" Damien asked me. His face had suddenly gone very white.

"Yeah, two actually. But the visions were pretty messed up. She saw them from my point of view, which was kinda nasty.

Anyway, I just have to stay away from water and-" My words broke off as I almost said and Neferet. Thankfully, Aphrodite chimed in.

"-She has to stay away from water, and she can't be isolated," she said. "Which means you guys need to kiss and make up. But wait till I'm not watching, 'cause it's definitely going to make me sick."

"You p.i.s.sed us off, Z," Shaunee said, looking almost as pale as Damien.

"But we don't want you to die," Erin finished, looking equally upset.

"I'd just die if you died," Jack said, sniffling. Then he reached for Damien's hand.

"Well, then, you're gonna have to get over yourselves and be the buddy-buddy dork pack again," Aphrodite said.

"Since when have you cared whether Zoey lives or dies?" Damien said.

"Since I'm working for Nyx, and not myself. And Nyx gives a s.h.i.t about Zoey; therefore, I give a s.h.i.t about Zoey. And it's a good thing I do. You're supposed to be her best friends, and a secret or two and some stupid misunderstandings have made you freeze her out." Aphrodite looked and me and snorted, "h.e.l.l, Zoey, with friends like them, it's a good thing we're not enemies."

Damien turned from Aphrodite, shaking his head and looking more hurt than angry. "What really confuses me about all of this is that it's perfectly clear you're telling her the things you won't tell us."

"Oh, please, gay boy. Don't get your panties all in a big bunch over me taking your dorkish place beside Zoey. It's simple why she tells me stuff. Vamps can't read my mind."

Damien blinked in surprise. Then, eyes widening in understanding, he looked at me. "They can't read your mind either, can they?"

"No, they can't," I said.

"Oh, s.h.i.t!" Shaunee said. "You mean you think telling us things is like telling everyone?"

"It can't be that easy for the vamps to read fledglings, Z," Erin said. "If it was, then a bunch of kids would be in trouble all the time."

"Wait, they overlook things like fledglings sneaking off campus or PDA," Damien said slowly, as if he were putting two and two together as he spoke. "The vamps don't really care enough about a little broken rule here and there just as long as it's only typical teenage stuff, so they don't 'listen in' or whatever you want to call their psychic eavesdropping all the time."

"But what if they thought something was going on that was more than a little broken rule or two, and they had an idea about a certain group of fledglings who might know something," I said.

"They'd focus their thoughts on that group of fledglings," Damien concluded for me. "You really can't tell us certain things!"

"d.a.m.n," Shaunee said.

"Sucks royally," Erin said.

"Took you guys long enough," Aphrodite said.

Damien ignored her. "This has something to do with Stevie Rae, doesn't it?"

I nodded.

"Hey, speaking of," Shaunee said.

"What happened to her?" Erin asked.

"Didn't s.h.i.t happen to her," Aphrodite said. "She found me. I un-freaked when I finally got my Mark back, and then I came back here."

"And she went where?" Damien asked.

"Do I look like a d.a.m.n babysitter? How the h.e.l.l am I supposed to know where your b.u.mpkin friend went? All she said was she had to go because she had issues. Like that was a big shock."

"You're gonna have issues with my fist in your face if you start talking s.h.i.t about Stevie Rae," Shaunee said.

"I'll hold her skinny a.s.s for you, Twin," Erin said.

"Do you two share a brain?" Aphrodite said.

"Oh. My. G.o.d! Enough!" I yelled. "I might die. Twice. Some weird ghostly thing messed with me today, and now I'm feeling scared c.r.a.pless about it. I'm not sure what the h.e.l.l's going on with Stevie Rae, and Neferet has called a Council Meeting probably to go over her plans for war-a war that is totally not the right thing to do. And you guys can't stop bickering! You're giving me a headache and p.i.s.sing me off."

"You better listen to her. I counted two real cuss words and one almost cuss in that little speech. She's serious," Aphrodite said.

I saw the Twins actually have to stifle smiles. Jeesh. Why is my not liking to cuss such a big deal?

"Okay. We'll try to get along," Damien said.

"For Zoey," Jack said, giving me a sweet smile.

"For Zoey," the Twins said together.

My heart squeezed as I looked at each of my friends. They had my back. No matter what-they would still stand beside me.

"Thanks, guys," I said, blinking back tears.

"Group hug!" Jack said.

"Ah, h.e.l.l no," Aphrodite said.

"That's one thing we can agree with Aphrodite on," Erin said."Yeah, time to go," Shaunee said.

"Ah oh, Damien, we gotta go, too. You told Stark we'd check to be sure he was settled in before the meeting," Jack said.

"Oh, that's right," Damien said. "Bye, Z. See ya soon."

He and Jack followed the Twins out of my room. Calling goodbye to me, they filed down the hall, then went on chattering about the hottiness of Stark, leaving me with Aphrodite.

"So, my friends aren't so bad, huh?" I said.