Burned

protection!
A small quiver of hope moved through his body. “I’m her protection!” he said quickly. “I don’t care if it’s in this world or the next. Just show me how to get to where she is, and I’ll be there for her.”
    “That does, indeed, sound logical, Stark,” Thanatos said. “But your gifts are that of a Warrior, which means your skills are corporeal and not of the spirit realm.”
    “Protection is protection,” Stark insisted. “Just show me how to get where she is, and I’ll figure the rest of it out.”
    “Zoey must make her spirit whole again, and that is a battle you cannot fight for her,” Aether said.
    “But I can be there for her while she gets herself together. I can protect her,” Stark insisted.
    “A living Warrior cannot enter the Otherworld. Not even to follow his High Priestess,” Aether said.
    “Should you attempt it, you would be lost, too,” Duantia said.
    “You don’t know that for sure,” Stark said.
    “In our recorded history, there is no Warrior who has recovered from attempting to follow his Priestess’s shattered spirit into the Other-world. All of them perished—every Warrior and every High Priestess,” Thanatos said.
    Stark felt a jolt of surprise. He hadn’t even thought of that—that he’d die, too. With a detached sense of curiosity, he realized he didn’t really mind the idea of dying, not if he could fulfill his Oath to Zoey; but before he could respond, Neferet’s cold voice intruded again. “And all of those Warriors and High Priestesses were older and more experienced than you.”
    “Maybe that was their problem.” Aphrodite pitched her voice low enough that only Stark heard her murmur. “They were
too
old and had
too
much experience.”
    Hope shivered through Stark again. He turned to Duantia. “I was wrong before. Neferet should be able to take Kalona to wherever she wants to take him, but I want the same right to take Zoey with me.” He paused and made a gesture that included Aphrodite, Darius, and the other kids who were huddled together not far from them. “
We
want to take Zoey with us.”
    “Stark, I cannot agree to what would amount to a death sentence for you, too.” Duantia’s voice was compassionate but firm. “Within this next week, Zoey is going to die. The best place for her is here, in our infirmary, being kept comfortable during the time she has left. The best thing for you to do would be to prepare yourself for that outcome and not sacrifice yourself in a futile attempt to save her.”
    “You are very young,” Thanatos said. “You have a long and productive life before you. Don’t cut Fate’s thread for you.”
    “Zoey will remain here until the end.” Duantia nodded in agreement. “You may, of course, stay by her side.”
    “Um, excuse me. I don’t mean to be disrespectful or anything.” Everyone’s attention turned to Zoey’s group of friends, who had, until then, been mostly silent with grief and shock. Damien’s hand was raised like he was in a classroom waiting for the teacher to call on him.
    “Who are you, fledgling?” asked Duantia.
    “My name is Damien, and I’m one of Zoey’s friends.”
    “He also has an affinity for air,” Jack added, wiping a hand across his tear-streaked face.
    “Ah, I have been told of you,” Duantia said. “Do you wish to address the Council?”
    “He is a fledgling. He should be seen and not heard in Council meetings,” Neferet snapped.
    “I didn’t know you spoke for the Vampyre High Council, Neferet,” Aphrodite said.
    “She does not,” said Thanatos, giving Neferet a hard look before turning to Damien. “Fledgling, do you wish to address the Council?”
    Damien sat up straighter, swallowed hard, and said, “Affirmative.”
    Thanatos’s lips twitched with the beginnings of a smile. “Then you may speak. You may also put down your hand, Damien.”
    “Oh, thank you.” Damien’s hand hastily retreated. “Well, all I wanted to say, very respectfully, is vampyre law states that, as Zoey’s Oath Bound Warrior, it is Stark’s right to decide where and how she should be protected. At least that’s what I remember from my notes last semester in Vampyre Sociology Class.”
    “Zoey is dying.” Duantia’s words were harsh, but her tone was gentle. “You must understand that her Warrior will soon be released from his Oath.”
    “I do understand. But she’s not dead
yet
, and all I’m saying is that her Warrior has the right to be her