Revealed

thing to me or you or Stark.”
    “It’s Stark, then. He’s the reason why you won’t be with me,” Aurox said.
    “No. It’s me. I can’t be with two guys at the same time.”
    “And you will not choose me over Stark because I am not Heath.”
    “I won’t choose you over Stark because I’m already committed to Stark,” I said firmly.
    “It’s because I’m not good enough for you—because of how I was made—what I can be.”
    I put my hand over his. “No, Aurox. Please don’t think that. You’re not to blame for any of that, and I don’t think about that when I’m with you.”
    “What do you think about?”
    I smiled, even though I felt sad, and continued to tell him the truth. “I think about how glad I am that you’re here. I also think you and Heath make a really good team.”
    “You know we love you,” he said.
    “I know.” I spoke softly, and pulled my hand from his. “I’m sorry.”
    “Where do we go from here?”
    “I want to be friends,” I said.
    “Friends.” The word sounded so flat when he repeated it.
    “Yeah, and Stark’s not going to act crazy around you anymore,” I said.
    “Zo, that’s because he doesn’t have any reason to.” Aurox leaned over, kissed my cheek, and then sounding completely defeated, said, “Would you let Kalona know I am going to check the perimeter again?”
    “Yeah, sure…” I said to his back as he sprinted away toward the school’s stone wall.
    I stood, feeling heavy and super, super tired.
Well I told him the truth, but it definitely sucked.
Trying not to think about anything but sleep, because the last thing I needed was for Stark to be awake and asking where I’d been and what had made me feel so crappy. I retraced my way into the field house and down the hallway that led to the entrance of the basement. Kalona wasn’t standing there. I sighed and stuck my head into the field house. He wasn’t there, either. Guessing that he was in the basement doing a quick check on the sleeping kids, I padded back toward the stairway.
    “Yes, I’ve been watching Zoey like I said I would.”
    At first when I heard my name I stopped because I was surprised. The voice drifted from the stable area, coming from the half-opened door that separated the hallway between the field house and the barn.
    “And? For shit’s sake, do I have to ask you everything?”
    Then I realized who was talking about me, and I crept closer, listening in disbelief.
    “And her colors got super crazy during the funeral. But I think I know why, and it doesn’t have anything to do with her losing control of her temper or her powers.”
    “Shaylin, you’re making my ass hurt. Just tell me what you saw.”
    There was a long pause. I heard Shaylin blow out a long breath and then my insides went cold as the Prophetess told Aphrodite, “I saw her looking at Aurox. A lot. Her colors were crazy. That made me think—so when she and Aurox went to the cafeteria together after the circle casting, I followed them.”
    “Shit, Shaylin! You’re not a Prophetess, you’re a super spy!” Aphrodite said, laughing. “Tell me that Z and Bull Boy did the nasty.”
    I bit my lip to keep from screaming.
    “Almost. The two of them are definitely all into each other. She sucked blood from his finger.”
    “That’s practically doing it for Zoey, and oh crap. That’s too fucking close to what I saw. Then, let me guess, her colors went crazy? All confused and frustrated and pissed?”
    “Totally. Especially after she—”
    I’d heard enough.
    “Shut up!”
I yelled. My chest was burning as hot as my face as I slapped my hand against the door, making it fly open and smack against the wall.
    “Uh-oh,” Aphrodite said.
    “Zoey! This isn’t what you think!” Shaylin said, backing away from me as I came into the room.
    “Really? How is
this
not what I think it is when I
hear you telling Aphrodite that you’ve been spying on me
!” I didn’t think. I reacted. Fisting my hand around the burning Seer Stone, I lifted my other hand and thought about how badly I wanted to knock Shaylin on her butt.
    A ball of blue fire burst from my hand, knocking Shaylin off her feet. She landed on her back, out of breath, gasping and crying.
    I didn’t care about her bawling. It felt good to put her on her butt. Shaylin deserved it.
    “Stop it. Now!” Aphrodite stepped in front of me.
    I narrowed my eyes. “You were talking about me behind my back!”
    “And I’ll tell you why in a second.