"So the Seer Stone showed me the truth?"

"Yes, Zoey. It absolutely did," Lenobia said before she turned her face into Travis's chest and wept while he held her, releasing two centuries of waiting and loss and pain.

I stood and took Stark's hand again, pulling him away so that the two of them could be alone. As we walked into the stables he said, "This does not mean Aurox is Heath come back to you. You know that, right?"

Stevie Rae saved me by rushing up and gushing, "Ohmygoodness! Where have you been? I can't wait to tell you 'bout Lenobia and Travis."

"Been there. Done that," Stark said. "Where are Aphrodite and Darius?"

"They're already in front of Nyx's Temple at the funeral pyre," Stevie Rae said. "We're meeting them there real soon."

"I'll go find Erin and Shaunee and Damien. We need to get going."

"What's up with him?" Stevie Rae asked, watching Stark stride away.

"Heath may really be inside Aurox," I said.

Stevie Rae echoed my thoughts exactly by saying, "Ah, hell!"

CHAPTER TWELVE

Kalona

Being on the side of Light wasn't as interesting as he remembered. Truth be told, Kalona was bored. Yes, he understood why Thanatos had told him to stay in the background and not draw attention to himself until after Dragon's funeral. It was then that she was going to announce to the school that he was her new Warrior, and would take the position of Sword Master and Leader of the Sons of Erebus at the Tulsa House of Night. Until then his presence would be confusing, if not insulting to the other Warriors.

The problem was Kalona had never minded being insulting. He was a powerful immortal. Why should he be bothered by the inconsequential feelings of others?

Because those I find most inconsequential sometimes surprise me: Heath, Stark, Dragon, Aurox, Rephaim. The last name in his mental list startled him. Rephaim had seemed inconsequential to him at one time, but he'd been wrong. Kalona had realized he loved his son-needed his son.

What else had he been wrong about?

Probably quite a lot of things.

The thought depressed him.

He paced back and forth along the darkest, most shadowy side of Nyx's Temple. There he was within hearing distance of Dragon's pyre, so he could come when Thanatos called, but he was also out of sight.

Being told what to do annoyed him. It had always annoyed him.

And there was this fledgling who had an affinity for fire, Shaunee. She seemed to have the ability to prod him, to make him consider things he was unused to spending his time considering.

She'd done it before. He'd meant to manipulate her-to get information about Rephaim and the Red One. What had happened was that she had gifted him with something ridiculously mundane and simple: a cell phone. That small gift had saved his son's life.

Now she'd made him think about all those eons he'd spent apart from Nyx.

"No!" he spoke the word aloud, causing the little grove of redbuds that had been planted on the west side of Nyx's Temple to shake as if a storm threatened them. Kalona focused his thoughts and quieted his temper. "No," he repeated using a voice that was no longer filled with otherworldly power. "I will not think of the centuries I have spent apart from her. I will not think of her at all."

Laughter danced around him, causing the redbud grove to shimmer, shift, and then burst into full bloom as if the summer sun had suddenly beamed down upon them. Kalona clenched his fists and looked up.

He was sitting on the stone eaves of the temple. There was little light on that side of the building, which was why Thanatos had commanded he wait there, but Erebus was a light unto himself.

Erebus-his brother-Nyx's immortal Consort. The one being in this universe who was most like him, and the one being in this universe Kalona hated even more than he hated himself. Here! In the mortal realm after all these eons? Why?

Kalona hid his shock with disdain. "You are shorter than I remembered."

Erebus smiled. "Good to see you, too, brother."

"As usual, you put words in my mouth."

"I apologize. I do not need to. Not when your own words are so interesting. I will not think of her at all." Not only was Erebus almost a mirror image of Kalona, he also mimicked his brother's voice perfectly.

"I was speaking of Neferet." Kalona quickly collected his thoughts and lied easily. It had been eons, but he used to be good at lying to Erebus. Kalona found he still had the knack.

"I doubt you not, brother." Erebus leaned forward, spread his golden wings, and floated gracefully to the ground before Kalona. "You see, that is exactly why I made this little visit."