Hidden (House of Night Novels)

to myself, trying to find my normal—my center, or even just a small measure of calm, but my heartbeat was pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. Heart attack, I thought. This level of crazy is too much for me and I’m having a heart attack.
    I’d just realized that maybe I couldn’t catch my breath and my heart was pounding like crazy because I was still running, when strong, familiar hands grabbed me, jerking me to a sudden stop. Like a total girl I collapsed against Stark, shaking so hard that my teeth were chittering.
    “Zoey! Are you hurt? Who’s after you?” Stark kept me tucked against him while he turned me so that he was staring through the darkness behind me. I’d wrapped my arms around him and I could feel that he’d slung his bow and an arrow holder over his shoulder. Readiness radiated from him. Even through my panic, his presence calmed me. I gulped air, shaking my head. “No, I’m okay. I’m okay.”
    He held me out at arm’s length, looking up and down my body like he was checking for wounds. “What happened? Why are you freaked and running like a crazy person?”
    I frowned at him. “I’m not a crazy person.”
    “Well, you were running like one. And inside here”—he pressed a finger against my chest over my quieting heart—“you were definitely feeling whacked.”
    “Old magick.”
    His eyes widened. “The bull?”
    “No, no, nothing like that. I looked through the Seer Stone at the tree. You know, the tree, by the east wall.”
    “Why in the hell would you do that?”
    “Because Thanatos told me I needed to practice with the stupid Seer Stone in case it could somehow be used to fight Neferet.”
    “So you saw something that came after you?”
    “Well, no. Yes. Kinda. I saw some creepy things inside something that looked like a tornado whirlpooling up from the middle of the tree. Stark, they were seriously the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen. And they smelled bad. Really, really bad. Actually, they almost made me puke. I did gag, which was when they noticed me, but before they could do anything this bright light zapped them.” I paused, thinking through my panic. “Actually, the zapping light was kinda like Sookie’s fairy-light-thing. Do you think there’s any chance I’m a fairy?”
    “No, Z. Focus. True Blood is fiction. This is the real world. What happened after the zapping light?”
    “I don’t know. I ran.” I glanced around us and noticed that I’d run all the way along the inside of the wall and I was almost at the stables. “I ran a really long way.”
    “And?”
    “And nothing. Except that you grabbed me. Goddess, I thought I was having a heart attack.”
    “So you were scared. That’s it?”
    I frowned at him again. His voice was kind, but his expression was strained, like he was trying to choose between shaking me, or kissing me. “Well,” I said slowly. “Yeah, but I was really scared.”
    His grip on my shoulders turned into a giant, squashing bear hug. I felt his body relax. He let out a long breath that ended up being a chuckle. “You scared the bejezzus out of me, Z.”
    “Sorry,” I mumbled against his chest, wrapping my arms around him again and squeezing him back. “Thanks for finding me and being totally ready to save me.”
    “You don’t have to say sorry. I’m your Warrior—your Guardian—it’s my job to save you. Even though you’re usually pretty good at saving yourself.”
    I leaned back so I could see his eyes. “I’m a job?”
    His lips tilted up in his cocky, half grin. “Full time. Totally. No benefits and no days off, either.”
    “Seriously?”
    “Okay, no.” His cocky grin got wider. “I do remember getting some sick days when an arrow burned me and a few more when a crazy Scotsman cut me up. So, I take that back. I get benefits. They’re just crappy ones.”
    “You’re so fired!” I would’ve smacked him, but I didn’t want to take my arms away from around his shoulders.
    “You can’t fire me. I signed up for life.” Stark’s smile faded from his lips, but remained in his eyes. “You’re my Priestess, my Queen, mo bann ri . I’ll never leave you. I’ll always protect you. I love you, Zoey Redbird.” He bent and kissed me so tenderly that I felt the truth of his commitment deep in my soul.
    When his lips finally left mine I looked up at him. “I love you, too,” I said. “And you know you don’t have to be jealous of a dead guy,