Untamed

in red stones that sparkled like my dress.
    I grinned at my friends, feeling proud and confident. Grandma was in excellent hands with Sister Mary Angela. My friends were beside me—this time with no secrets between us. The ritual would go well, and Stevie Rae and the red fledglings would be out in the open, which meant Neferet would no longer be able to hide, whether she admitted her part in their existence or not. Erik had sorta started to talk to me again. And, speaking of guys, I was even feeling hopeful about Stark undeading. This time a kid coming back from death would be witnessed by the vamp power of Shekinah. And I wasn't going to worry about the possibility of being interested in two guys at the same time (again). Or at least not right now I wasn't going to worry about that.
    Basically, I was feeling good and we were ready to take on any stupid ancient evil that tried to mess with us.
    "Okay, so the ritual will go pretty much like it always does. I'll come in to whatever music Jack plays."
    Jack nodded enthusiastically. "I'm ready! The best parts of the Memoirs of a Geisha soundtrack mixed with something else is what you're gonna come in to. But I'll wait and surprise you with the something-else part."
    I frowned at him. Like I needed a surprise tonight?
    "Don't worry," Damien said. "You'll like it."
    I sighed. It was too damn late to change whatever it was now anyway. "So then I'll cast the circle with the elemental invocations. Aphrodite, let's be sure you're standing right in front of that huge oak by the east wall."
    "Already taken care of, Z," Erin said.
    "Yeah, we set up the candles and the ritual table when Jack and Damien did the audio stuff. So we put the earth candle right next to the tree."
    "Uh, you guys didn't catch sight of Stevie Rae, did you?"
    "Nope," the Twins, Damien, and Jack all said.
    I sighed again. She'd better show.
    "Don't worry about it. She'll be there," Damien said.
    Aphrodite and I exchanged a quick look. "I hope so," I said, "or I don't know what the hell we're gonna do about the earth candle being zapped from your hands when I try to invoke it."
    "Aphrodite could always put the candle down while you light it and do an interpretive earth dance," Jack said helpfully.
    Aphrodite rolled her eyes, but I said, "Let's consider that a Plan B we hope never happens. So once Stevie Rae appears and all of the elements are invoked and the circle cast, I'll make some kind of general announcement about the red fledglings and how their appearance should help cleanse the school of secrets."
    "That's an excellent point to make," Damien said.
    "Thanks," I said. "And what I'm expecting is that there will be a lot of explaining that will need to go on after the ritual, so I'm going to cut it pretty short."
    "Then we watch Neferet deal with the fallout," Aphrodite said.
    "And if she's Queen Tsi Sgili, like we think she might be, she's going to be way too busy trying to squirm her way out of how pissed Shekinah is going to be to do anything about fulfilling Kalona's prophecy," I said. And if the very worst happens, and Queen Tsi Sgili is Stevie Rae or one of her kids, I'll trust Shekinah and Nyx to handle that, too. Out loud I added, "Damien, keep an eye open for those Raven Mockers, though. If you think you see, or even hear one, zap him with wind."
    "Will do," Damien said.
    "So are we ready?" I asked my friends.
    "Yes!" they yelled.
    Then we all hurried out of the dorm and, with confident hearts, headed straight into our last moments of innocence.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

    It seemed like the whole school was already there waiting for us. By prepositioning the tall pillar candles, the Twins had already set the stage, so fledglings and vampyres made a huge circle around the appointed area, with the big oak serving as the focal point and head of the soon-to-be-cast circle.
    I was glad to see all the Sons of Erebus. The warriors had situated themselves all along the outside of the circle, but they'd also taken up positions on top of the big stone-and-brick wall that surrounded the school. I knew it was probably making it a pain in the butt for Stevie Rae and the red fledglings to get onto the school grounds, but between the Raven Mockers, Kalona, and whoever had been killing vampyres—they made me feel safe.
    Jack and I stood off to the side while Damien, the Twins, and Aphrodite took their places facing inward with the colored candles representing their elements in their hands. If I stood on my