Betrayed

to be certain that she does not upset the delicate balance of harmony among the fledglings. Of course we encourage you to work out problems among yourselves. You are much more than human teenagers, and we expect more from you, but feel free to come to me if Aphrodite's behavior becomes too"—she paused, like she was considering the next word carefully—"erratic.”
    "I will," I said, my stomach beginning to hurt again.
    "Good! Now, why don't you tell me the plans you've made for your reign as leader of the Dark Daughters.”
    I put Aphrodite out of my mind and outlined my new plans for the Prefect Council and the Dark Daughters. Neferet listened attentively and was openly impressed by my research and what she called a "logical reorganization.”
    "So, what you want from me is to lead the faculty in voting on the two new Prefects, because I agree with you that you and your four friends have more than proven your worth and are already an excellent working Council.”
    "Yes. The Council wants to nominate Erik Night for the first of the two open positions.”
    Neferet nodded her head. "Erik is a wise choice. He's popular with the fledglings, and he has an excellent future before him. Who did you have in mind for the last position?”
    "Here's where my Council and I disagree. I think we need another upperclassman, and I also think that person should be one who belonged to Aphrodite's inner circle.” Neferet raised her brows in surprise. "Well, including a friend of hers reinforces what I've said all along, that I didn't come into this because I'm power crazy and set out to steal what was Aphrodite's or anything stupid like that. I just wanted to do the right thing. I didn't want to start some kind of silly clique war. If one of her friends is on my Council, then the rest of them might understand that it's not about me getting over on her—it's about something more important than that.”
    Neferet considered for what seemed like forever. Finally she said, "You know that even her friends have turned from her.”
    "I realized that today in the dining hall.”
    "Then what is the point of putting an ex-friend of hers on your Council?”
    "I'm not convinced they are ex-friends. People act different in private than they do in public.”
    "Again, I agree with you. I already made the announcement to the faculty that Sunday the Dark Daughters and Sons will convene a special Full Moon Ritual and meeting. I would expect that the vast majority of the old members will attend—if for no other reason than curiosity about your powers.”
    I gulped and nodded. I was already way too aware that I was the main attraction in a freak show.
    "Sunday is the right time for you to tell the Dark Daughters about your new vision for it. Announce that there is one spot left on your Council, and that it must be filled by a sixth former. You and I will look over the applications and decide who is the best fit.”
    I frowned. "But I don't want it to just be our choice. I want the faculty to vote, as well as the student body.”
    "They will," she said smoothly. "Then we will decide.”
    I wanted to say more, but her green eyes had gone cold; I'm not ashamed to admit that that scared me. So instead of arguing with her (which was totally impossible) I went down a different road (as my grandma would say).
    "I also want the Dark Daughters to get involved with a community charity.”
    This time Neferet's brows totally disappeared into her hairline. "You mean community as in the human community?”
    "I do.”
    "You think they will welcome your help? They shun us. They abhor us. They are afraid of us.”
    "Maybe that's because they don't know us," I said. "Maybe if we acted like part of Tulsa, we'd get treated like part of Tulsa.”
    "Have you read about the Greenwood riots in the 1920s? Those African-American humans were part of Tulsa, and Tulsa destroyed them.”
    "It's not 1920 anymore," I said. It was hard to meet her eyes, but I knew, deep inside, that I was doing the right thing. "Neferet, my intuition is telling me this is something I must do.”
    I watched her expression soften. "And I did tell you to follow your intuition, didn't I?”
    I nodded.
    "What charity will you choose to get involved with—providing they actually allow you to help them?”
    "Oh, I think they'll let us help them. I've decided to contact Street Cats—the cat rescue charity.”
    Neferet threw back her head and laughed.

CHAPTER EIGHT

    I was already out of the dining hall