House of Night 09 - Destined

Rephaim, and that he’s super excited to be starting school at the Tulsa House of Night. I’m sure they’ll even want to congratulate Neferet on being such an awesome High Priestess who can handle all the changes going on here.”
    “That’s devious. I like it,” Aphrodite said. “You put Neferet and even Dragon in a position where if they say ‘hell no we’re not accepting the birdboy,’ or even bitch and complain a little about it, they look massively bad—what with Nyx showing up and miracling.”
    “This still isn’t going to be an easy road,” Stark said.
    Rephaim met his gaze steadily. “No matter how rough it is, it’s a better road than the one that leads to darkness and hatred and death. And I think you know exactly what I mean.”
    “I do,” Stark said, returning his gaze unflinchingly.
    “So do I,” Stevie Rae said.
    “Me, too,” I added.
    “We’re in agreement then. Rephaim returns to the House of Night with us,” Darius said.
    “Okay, wait. Does this mean we have to get in the damn short bus?” Aphrodite asked.
    “Yes!” we all said together.
    Laughing and feeling lighter than I had in days, I clambered on the short bus with my friends, and bumped my shoulder against Stark as we took our seats. He barely glanced at me. It was about then that I realized he really hadn’t had much to say to me (or anyone) since we’d woken up. Remembering how close we’d been—how he’d touched me and made the world seem all right again—had me chewing my lip and feeling super confused. I snuck another glance at him. He was staring out the window. He looked tired. Really tired.
    “Hey, what’s up with you?” I asked as the bus bounced its way along Cincinnati Street heading toward midtown
    “Me? Nothin’.”
    “Seriously, you look really tired. Are you feeling okay?”
    “Zoey, you woke me up and kept me up through most of the day yesterday. Then you made that call to Thanatos to get the whole ‘return to school’ thing in motion, which was not exactly a calm, quiet conversation. I’d just got to sleep when you yelled whatever and woke me up again. Making love was great.” He paused and for a second smiled and looked almost normal. Then he opened his mouth and ruined it by saying, “Afterward you did some serious tossing and turning before you passed out. I couldn’t get back to sleep. So I’m tired. That’s all.”
    I blinked at him. Twice. And tried not to feel like he’d just slapped me in my face. Keeping my voice down because I didn’t want to deal with all my friends knowing, I said, “Okay, putting aside the whole I-had-to-call-Thanatos-to-get-us-back-to-school thing, which is what I shoulda done ’cause I’m the High Priestess in charge, and the fact that you came on to me when all I meant to do was cuddle and sleep, my mom is dead, Stark . Nyx let me see her enter the Otherworld. As of right now I don’t know how or why that happened. I’m trying like hell to act semi-normal. I haven’t even talked to my grandma yet.”
    “That’s right, you haven’t. I told you that you should have called her right away—or at least called your mom. What if it was all just a dream?”
    I looked at Stark in utter disbelief, struggling to keep my voice and my emotions under control. “You are the one person in this world who should understand better than anyone else that I can tell the difference between really seeing the Otherworld and dreaming it.”
    “Yeah, I know, but—”
    “But are you saying I should have gone through all of that and not disturbed your precious sleep? Well, except to have sex with you!”
    I clamped my mouth shut and tried to look normal when I saw Aphrodite turn around and glance back at me with a question mark on her face.
    Stark blew out a long breath. “No, that’s not what I mean. I’m sorry, Z.” Then he took my hand in his. “Seriously. I’m sounding like a jerk.”
    “Yeah, you are,” I said.
    “Sorry, again,” he said, and then he butted my shoulder with his. “Can we rewind this conversation?”
    “Yeah,” I said.
    “Here goes—I’m tired and it’s making me stupid. And about your mom, we don’t know what really happened and I think it’s freaking both of us out. But no matter what I love you, even if I’m a jerk. Okay? Better?”
    “Okay. Yeah. Better,” I said.
    Still letting him hold my hand I looked out of the window as we took the left on Fifteenth Street, passed Gumpy’s Garden, which always made the air