Marked

class.”
    I took the book. It was heavy and the cover felt cool in my hot, nervous grip.
    "If you have any questions, any at all, come see me right away. If I'm not here you can come to my apartment in Nyx's Temple. Go in the front door and follow the stairs on your right. I am the only priestess at the school right now, so the entire second floor belongs to me. And don't worry about disturbing me. You're my fledgling―it's your job to disturb me," she said with a warm smile.
    "Thank you, Neferet.”
    "Try not to worry. Nyx has touched you and the goddess cares for her own." She hugged me. "Now, I'm going to go tell Professor Nolan what's been keeping you. Go ahead and use the phone at my desk to call your grandma." She hugged me again and then closed the classroom door gently behind her as she left.
    I sat down at her desk and thought about how great she was, and how long it'd been since my mom had hugged me like that. And for some reason, I started to cry.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

    "Hi Grandma, it's me.”
    "Oh! My Zoeybird! Are you okay, honey?”
    I smiled into the phone and wiped my eyes. "I'm good, Grandma. I just miss you.”
    "Little bird, I miss you, too." She paused and then said, "Has your mom called you?”
    "No.”
    Grandma sighed. "Well, honey, maybe she doesn't want to bother you while you're settling into your new life. I did tell her that Neferet had explained to me that your days and nights will be flip-flopped.”
    "Thanks, Grandma, but I don't think that's why she hasn't called me.”
    "Maybe she has tried and you just missed her call. I called your cell yesterday, but I only got your voicemail.”
    I felt a twinge of guilt. I hadn't even checked my phone for messages. "I forgot to plug my cell phone in. It's back in the room. Sorry I missed your call, Grandma.” Then, to make her feel better (and to get her to quit talking about it), I said, "I'll check my phone when I get back to my room. Maybe Mom did call.”
    "Maybe she did, honey. So, tell me, how is it there?”
    "It's good. I mean, there are a lot of things I like about it. My classes are cool. Hey, Grandma, I'm even taking fencing and an equestrian class.”
    "That's wonderful! I remember how much you liked to ride Bunny.”
    "And I got a cat!”
    "Oh, Zoeybird, I'm so glad. You've always loved cats. Are you making friends with the other kids?”
    "Yeah, my roommate, Stevie Rae, is great. And I already like her friends, too.”
    "So, if everything is going so well, why the tears?”
    I should have known I couldn't hide anything from my grandma. "It's just…just that some of the things about the Change are really hard to deal with.”
    "You're well, aren't you?" Worry was thick in her voice. "Is your head okay?”
    "Yeah, it's nothing like that. It's―" I stopped. I wanted to tell her; I wanted to tell her so bad I could explode, but I didn't know how. And I was afraid―afraid she wouldn't love me anymore. I mean, Mom had quit loving me, hadn't she? Or, at the very least, Mom had traded me in for a new husband, which in some ways was worse than quitting loving me. What would I do if Grandma walked away from me, too?
    "Zoeybird, you know you can tell me anything," she said gently.
    "It's hard, Grandma." I bit my lip to keep from crying.
    "Then let me make it easier. There is nothing you could say that would make me stop loving you. I'm your Grandma today, tomorrow, and next year. I'll be your Grandma even after I join our ancestors in the spirit world, and from there I'll still love you, Little Bird.”
    "I drank blood and I liked it!" I blurted.
    Without any hesitation, Grandma said, "Well, honey, isn't that what vampyres do?”
    "Yeah, but I'm not a vampyre. I'm just a few-days-old fledgling.”
    "You're special, Zoey. You always have been. Why should that change now?”
    "I don't feel special. I feel like a freak.”
    "Then remember something. You're still you. Doesn't matter that you've been Marked. Doesn't matter that you're going through the Change. Inside, your spirit is still your spirit. On the outside you might look like a familiar stranger, but you need only look inside to find the you you've known for sixteen years.”
    "The familiar stranger…," I whispered. "How did you know?”
    "You're my girl, Honey. You're daughter of my spirit. It's not hard to understand what you must be feeling―it's very much like what I imagine I'd be feeling.”
    "Thank you, Grandma.”
    "You are welcome, U-we-tsi a-ge-hu-tsa.”
    I smiled,