It couldn't be that he cared that she was in pain. It could never be that.

"I call upon the power of the spirit of ancient immortals, which is mine by birthright to command."

Rephaim spoke quickly. Ignoring the pain in his battered body, he pulled energy to him from the deepest shadows of the night, and then channeled that power through him, charging it with immortality. The air around him glistened as it became stained with a dark scarlet radiance. "Through the immortal might of my father, Kalona, who seeded my blood and spirit with power, I send you to my - " There his words broke off. His? She wasn't his anything. She was . . . she was . . . "She is the Red One! Vampyre High Priestess to those who are lost," he finally blurted. "She is attached to me through blood Imprint and through life debt. Go to her. Strengthen her. Draw her to me. By the immortal part of my being, I command it so!"

The red mist scattered off instantly, flying to the south. Back the way he'd come. Back to find her.

Rephaim turned his gaze to look after it. And then he waited.

Chapter Three

Stevie Rae

Stevie Rae woke up feeling like a big ol' pile of poo. Well, actually, she felt like a big ol' pile of stressed-out poo.

She'd Imprinted with Rephaim.

She'd almost burned up on that rooftop.

For a second she remembered the excellent season two True Blood episode where Goderick had burned his own self up on a fictional roof. Stevie Rae snorted a laugh. "It looked way easier on TV."

"What did?"

"Sweet weeping puppies, Dallas! You nearly scared me spitless." Stevie Rae clutched at the white, hospital-like sheet that covered her. "What in the Sam Hill are you doin' here?"

Dallas frowned. "Jeez, settle down. I came up here a little after dusk to check on you, and Lenobia told me it'd be okay to sit here for a while in case you woke up. You're awful jumpy."

"I almost died . I think I have the right to be a little jumpy."

Dallas looked instantly contrite. He scooted the little side chair closer and took her hand. "Sorry. You're right. Sorry. I was real scared when Erik told everyone what had happened."

"What did Erik say?"

His warm brown eyes hardened. "That you almost burned up on that roof."

"Yeah, it was really stupid. I tripped and fell and hit my head." Stevie Rae had to look away from his gaze while she spoke. "When I woke up, I was almost toast."

"Yeah, bullshit."

"What?"

"Save that load of crap for Erik and Lenobia and the rest of 'em. Those ass**les tried to kill you, didn't they?"

"Dallas, I don't know what you're talkin' about." She tried to take her hand from his, but he held tight.

"Hey." His voice softened and he touched her face, pulling her gaze back to his. "It's just me. You know you can tell me the truth, and I'll keep my mouth shut."

Stevie Rae blew out a long breath. "I don't want Lenobia or any of them to know, especially not any of the blue fledglings."

Dallas stared at her a long time before he spoke. "I won't say anything to anyone, but you gotta know I think you're makin' a big mistake. You can't keep protecting them."

"I'm not protectin' 'em!" she protested. This time she held tight to Dallas's safe, warm hand, trying through touch to get him to understand something she could never tell him. "I just want to deal with this - all of this - my own way. If everyone knows they tried to trap me up there, then it'll all be out of my hands." And what if Lenobia grabs Nicole and her group, and they tell her about Rephaim? The sickening thought was a guilty whisper through Stevie Rae's mind.

"What are you gonna do about them? You can't just let them get away with this."

"I won't. But they're my responsibility, and I'm gonna take care of them myself."

Dallas grinned. "You're gonna kick their butts, huh?"

"Somethin' like that," Stevie Rae said, clueless about what she was going to do. Then she hastily changed the subject. "Hey, what time is it? I think I'm starving."

Dallas's grin changed to laughter as he stood up. "Now that sounds like my girl!" He kissed her forehead and then turned to the mini-fridge that was tucked within the metallic shelving across the room.

"Lenobia told me there's baggies of blood in here. She said as fast as you've been healing and as deep as you've been sleeping, you'd probably wake up hungry."