"Thank you," Stevie Rae said a little breathlessly.

"All right then, you may all begin writing your questions." Thanatos paused and glanced from Rephaim to Aurox, addressing both of them with the one question. "I did not think to ask before, but as both of you are new to the, well, let us say, the academic world, do either of you need reading or writing assistance?"

Rephaim shook his head and answered first, "I don't need help. I can read and write several languages of man."

"Wow, really? I didn't know that," Stevie Rae said.

He smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "My father found it useful."

"And you, Aurox?" Thanatos prodded.

I saw him swallow and he looked nervous. "I can read and write. I-I do not know how I came by this skill, though."

"Huh, well that is interesting," Thanatos said. And then, as if people having the magickal ability to read and write was totally normal, she continued totally nonplussed. "Zoey and Stevie Rae, as you're sitting close by, please divide the room and pick up the questions from both sides for me."

Stevie Rae and I muttered our okays and then I sat there and stared at my empty piece of notebook paper. So should I ask something harmless, like a question about affinities and when is it "normal" for them to manifest? Or should I be for real and ask something I really wanted to know?

I glanced around me. Stevie Rae was writing with a very serious look on her face. Rephaim had just put his pencil down and was folding his paper in half. I got a quick look at it, but all I could see was that he'd signed his name to the question.

I'm gonna be for real, I decided and wrote: How do you get over losing your parents? I hesitated, and then signed my name to the question. I tried to check out what Stevie Rae was writing, but she was already finished and had her paper in her hand. She bounced out of her desk and started walking up and down the aisles on her side of the room, picking up papers like a pro.

I sighed and began to minesweep my side. Of course Aurox was there. The next kid in the row after Damien and Shaunee. I didn't want to meet his eyes, so instead I looked at the paper he handed me. On it, in big block letters was the question: WHAT AM I? And he'd signed it.

Totally surprised, I met his gaze. He looked back at me steadily. Then he spoke so softly only I could hear him saying, "I would like to know." I couldn't look away from his unusual, moonstone eyes. For some moronic reason, I heard my voice whispering back, "Me, too." I snatched the paper from him and moved hastily away, trying not to think, trying just to do what I'd been told. Dall as and his group were super subdued. They barely looked at me or Stevie Rae, but I noticed they hadn't written any words on the papers I picked up from them, which was a seriously passive-aggressive bad sign. I shoved those papers to the bottom of the pile on my way back to the front of the class. Thanatos took the papers, thanked us, and then said, "I shal study your questions tonight and begin discussions on some of them tomorrow. For the rest of the hour let us turn to a subject I believe most of you will find relevant-that of Imprinting with a mate or Consort." I expected Thanatos to give us the standard just-say-no speech we'd been given about the Imprinting thing from day one, but I was wrong. She talked frankly about the pleasure and beauty of the proper Imprint, as well as the tragedy of one going wrong. She was interesting and funny (in a dry British kind of way). It seemed like I blinked and the bell for the end of the hour was chiming.

I hung a little behind, waiting for Aphrodite who was still in a deep but surprisingly respectful discussion with Thanatos about Imprinting.

Aphrodite's point was that an Imprint wasn't based on sexuality. Thanatos was insisting, much to Aphrodite's consternation ('cause she'd Imprinted with Stevie Rae, even though it hadn't lasted very long) that sexual attraction went hand in hand with Imprinting.

Thanatos finally ended the discussion with, "Aphrodite, whether you admit a thing or not does not make it more or less true."

"I'm going to be sure Zoey gets to second hour," Aphrodite said, sounding disgruntled.

"You do that, young Prophetess." Thanatos had a smile in her voice, if not on her face. "And thank you for such a lively discussion today. I'll look forward to another one like it tomorrow."

Aphrodite nodded and frowned, and just out of earshot of Thanatos said, "Lively discussion my gorgeous ass. I'm not discussing shit about lesbian Imprints again. Ever."

"I don't think that's what she meant, Aphrodite," I said, careful to keep the smile from my face, too. "But she was right, it made for a good class-