Revealed

Doesn’t that mean something of you is still inside the raven?”
    He’d looked sad, but he’d told her the truth like they’d promised.
“When I am a raven I am a beast. I don’t know love. I don’t know you. Please don’t make it into something it’s not.”
    “But you come back to me!”
    “Stevie Rae.”
He’d cupped her face in his hands
. “I think that’s just because of Nyx’s magick.”
    “Like she put a GPS in you so you could find me?”
    “GPS?”
    “Modern magick that helps you find your way home.”
    He’d grinned.
“Yes! Nyx put a GPS inside me so I can find you.”
    Stevie Rae kicked off her blanket and looked at Shaunee’s empty bed. She should try to stay awake and be sure Shaunee was okay. It would be terrible to lose her best friend, and even though Erin and Shaunee had been having problems, that didn’t change the fact that up until just a few weeks ago, they had been inseparable for the entire time they’d been at the House of Night. There was a big difference between fighting with your BFF and having your BFF die.
    Stevie Rae’s mind automatically went back to the night Erin had coughed up her life’s blood and died. Zoey had been with her every second. It’d helped. Shaunee being there for Erin had to have helped her, too. And now Shaunee was doing the right thing—she was watching over her friend’s pyre until after dawn.
    Stevie Rae rolled over and stared at the blackout curtain, trying to keep her eyes open—trying to fight the energy drain that happened naturally to red fledglings and vampyres when the sun was in the sky. It wasn’t
impossible
for her to stay conscious during the day. It was just hard. Really hard. Her eyelids fluttered. Maybe she’d rest for just a little while. She’d hear Shaunee come in and wake up again and check on her…
    The door opened so quietly that it almost didn’t wake up Stevie Rae. She lay on her side, facing the window, struggling to come fully awake.
Shaunee’s being so quiet,
Stevie Rae told herself groggily.
Maybe she doesn’t want to talk. Maybe she just wants to sleep.
Stevie Rae decided that she’d roll over and open her eyes, but not say anything—just let Shaunee know she was there and awake (kinda) if she needed to talk. She started to turn over and suddenly there was a weird crackling sound just above her shoulder. She tried to sit up and the crackle changed to an even weirder hum as an electric shock, like static electricity on steroids, zapped through her, pressing her down on the bed.
    Instantly awake and completely freaked out, Stevie Rae tried to sit up again, saying, “Shaunee, somethin’s wrong over here.”
    Even though there was nothing above her, electricity shot through her again! Still on her side, Stevie Rae pressed herself into the bed, trying to stay away from whatever invisible danger was hovering above her. “Shaunee!” she yelled. “Help me!”
    “She ain’t here. She’s still bawling at Erin’s pyre. Fucking hypocrite.”
    Stevie Rae’s breaths came in little pants of panic as she recognized his voice. “Dallas, what are you doin’ in here?” Automatically, Stevie Rae began reaching out for the protection of her element, but Shaunee’s room was on the third floor of the dorm—too many feet above the earth for her element to help her without the aid of a cast circle and Zoey’s boosting power.
    He stepped into her view, a dark silhouette against the black drapes. She could see that he was holding one of his hands up, palm open, toward her. That palm was glowing. With his other hand he reached out to grasp the thick cord that knotted the drapes in place. “Let’s just say I’m here to start my payback.”
    Stevie Rae tried to get off the bed. An electric field crackled and zapped through her, making her cry out in pain and cringe back. “Dallas, this is crazy! Shaunee’s going to be here any second.”
    “It’ll be a second too late for you. And don’t worry, I’ll make sure Shaunee gets what’s coming to her, also. First, it’s your turn.” His eyes were flat. His voice was filled with hatred. “I’ll kill her fast, with just one quick zap. But not you—you deserve to suffer. You cheated on me with a fucking freak of nature—now fry for it!”
    Dallas tugged hard at the cord, untying the blackout drapes. Pulling his half of the curtain open, but being careful to keep himself covered, he stepped back.
    Daylight flooded into the room through the open, uncovered