House of Night 09 - Destined

clearly as if she’d just spoken the words.
    I do not mean to insult you, but I cannot cast a peace spell while I’m being guarded by a Warrior. It simply goes against the very heart of the spell …
    The High Priestess at Tower Grove House of Night had agreed with her young professor of Spells and Rituals and commanded that Dragon escort Anastasia in place of a vampyre Warrior. He’d been tasked with protecting her that night—with watching over her while she cast a peace spell in the heart of St. Louis.
    And he’d failed Anastasia.
    Oh, she’d lived. She’d not been killed that night, but Dragon had allowed evil to escape his sword. That same evil, one hundred and seventy-seven years later, had murdered his love, his life, his own.
    Dragon was breathing hard. He was leaning against something that felt cool and soothing to the heat that boiled in his body. Blinking, he looked up and realized where his feet had taken him. Dragon was leaning against the statue of Nyx that stood before her temple. As he gazed at the Goddess’s marble face, the whispering wind blew the clouds from the moon and silver light caressed Nyx, illuminating her eyes.
    She seemed, for a heartbeat, alive and looking at him with such a terrible sense of sadness that it made his heart, which he’d thought had been broken into so many pieces that it would never feel again, ache.
    It was then that Dragon understood what he must do.
    “I am going to the ritual. I’ll watch and not interfere—unless evil tries to strike again. If it does, this time I give you my oath I will cut it down.”
    Zoey
    “Are you sure we shouldn’t ask Shaylin to come?” Stevie Rae asked. She was sitting with Rephaim in their usual place on the bus while we waited for Thanatos to join us.
    “I really think it’s not right for her to come,” I said. “She’s only been Marked for just a few days. She hasn’t had time to even settle in as a fledgling, let alone figure out her True Sight thing.”
    “Plus, we’re not advertising that she has True Sight,” Aphrodite said. “The less people know about our business, the better.”
    “She was part of Kramisha’s poem, though,” Stevie Rae said.
    “We don’t know that for sure. The poem said”—I squinted, like that could help my memory and then, mostly accurately I recited—“the poem said, ‘Seen with True Sight, Darkness doesn’t equate to evil, and Light doesn’t always bring good.’ What if the True Sight part is the same as most of Kramisha’s poems—meant to be symbolic and not literal?”
    “Goddess, I hate poetry,” Aphrodite said.
    “Kramisha’s not comin’, either?” Stevie Rae said, sounding weirdly whiny. “Shouldn’t we get her?”
    “No, Stevie Rae, we need to stick with our circle—our core group,” I said.
    “The Herd of Nerd, plus the guys and moi,” Aphrodite said. “Bumpkin, what’s your issue? It’s not like we haven’t taken on the world before and come out mostly ahead.”
    “You sound scared,” Damien said.
    Stevie Rae glanced behind me where Damien was sitting midway back with Erin.
    “I am scared,” she admitted softly.
    “Do not be scared.” Rephaim slid his arm around her. “Aphrodite’s vision has forewarned us. Nothing will happen to me.”
    “Uh, I’m not so sure being scared isn’t smart.” I spoke up, letting my gut help me reason through my thoughts. “I’m gonna see how my mom was killed. That scares me, so I know I’m gonna have to be ready for something terrible and super hard to watch. Aphrodite had a vision of Rephaim’s death, probably during the ritual we’re getting ready to go do. I think it’s okay if Stevie Rae is scared, you should be scared, too, Rephaim—just enough so you’ll both be prepared and ready for bad stuff if it happens.”
    “I’m frightened,” Damien admitted. “Jack’s death is still too raw, too close, and thinking about seeing another death frightens me.”
    “We’ll all be with you,” I told him. “We’re all in this together.”
    “I’m scared. I’ve never circled without being a Twin,” Shaunee blurted.
    There was a very uncomfortable silence, and then from the middle of the bus Erin said, “I’m still here. I’m still water to your fire. You won’t be alone.”
    “We all need to be scared safe, not scared stupid,” I said, feeling incredibly relieved that the Twins were kinda sorta talking.
    “Fear can be beneficial if it is tempered with common sense and courage.” We