Tempted

at Jack. “You’re absolutely right. I can’t leave the House of Night right now.” Her gaze went around the room, touching on each of us and finally coming to rest on me. “You can lead them. You’ve been leading them. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
    But I’ve messed up! More than once! And I don’t even know if I can trust myself around Kalona!
I wanted to shriek. Instead, I tried to speak in my grown-up voice. “But someone has to tell the High Council what’s really going on with Neferet and Kalona. I can’t do that. I’m just a fledgling.”
    “No, Zoey, you’re our High Priestess, the first fledgling High Priestess, and they will listen to you because Nyx is with you. It’s obvious to me. It was obvious to Shekinah. It will be obvious to them, as well.”
    I wasn’t so sure, but everyone was giving me big smiles of encouragement, which really just made me want to barf my guts up. Rather than puking or my second choice, bursting into tears, I said, “When do we leave?”
    “As soon as possible,” Lenobia said. “We have no idea how much damage Kalona is doing right now. Think of the disaster he wrought here in only a matter of days.”
    “It’s almost dawn. We’re going to have to wait for the sun to set.” Stark’s voice was tight with frustration. “Because I would imagine now that the ice storm is over, the sun will actually be visible, and that means Stevie Rae and I will fry getting to the plane.”
    “You leave here at sunset,” Lenobia said. “Until then, pack, eat, and rest. I’ll take care of the arrangements.”
    “I don’t think Zoey should stay on San Clemente Island,” Stark said. He turned to Darius for support. “Don’t you agree it’s a bad idea for her to stay exactly where Aphrodite saw her drowning?”
    “Stark, she also saw me getting decapitated right here in Tulsa. It didn’t happen, though, because my friends didn’t turn their backs on me.
Where
I am isn’t as important as the fact that I know I’m in danger, and I’m surrounded by people who have my back.”
    “But she saw me with you! If I can’t protect you, who can?”
    “I can,” Darius said.
    “Air can, too,” Damien said.
    “Fire can kick some butt,” Shaunee said.
    “I got water, and I’m sure as hell not letting Zoey drown,” Erin said indignantly.
    “Earth will always protect Zoey,” Stevie Rae said, though her expressive eyes seemed sad.
    “I’m annoyingly human, but I’m still mean. If someone gets by Darius, you, and the nerd of herd, they’ll have to go through me, too,” said Aphrodite.
    “Add one more annoying to that human, fledgling, and vamp soup,” Heath said.
    “See,” I told Stark as I blinked hard to keep the tears that had filled my eyes from overflowing. “It’s not all on you. We’re in this together.”
    Stark’s gaze held mine, and I could see how tortured he was. To have an oath-bound High Priestess be killed was every warrior’s nightmare. Just the mention that Aphrodite had seen him there, and then seen me being killed anyway, had been enough to completely shake Stark’s confidence.
    “It really will be okay. I promise,” I said.
    He nodded and then looked away, like he couldn’t bear to meet my gaze any longer.
    “All right. Let’s get busy. Pack light. You won’t have time to carry around a bunch of baggage. Each of you take a book bag with your essentials,” Lenobia said. I saw Aphrodite blanch in horror and had to cough to hide a giggle. “I’ll meet you in the cafeteria at sunset.” She started to leave, then paused at the door. “Zoey, be sure you’re not sleeping alone. Let’s keep Kalona out of your head as much as possible. We don’t want him to have any idea you’re coming after him.”
    I swallowed hard, but nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
    “Blessed be,” she said.
    “Blessed be,” we all chimed in, even Heath.
    Lenobia closed the door, and no one said anything for a few moments. I think we were all a little stunned and hadn’t quite grasped the fact that we were actually going to Italy to speak before the Vampyre High Council. Or at least I was going to speak. Ah, hell.
I was going to have to speak in front of the Vampyre High Council.
Or maybe I’d get up there, in front of all those old, powerful vamps and have raging diarrhea and poo myself. Yep. That would certainlymake an impression on the Council. “Unique” would be just one of the words they’d call me.
    Jack’s question stopped my