Okay, Darkness was a pain in the butt and hard things happened to us, but at least we were together and we had love. Always love.

"I need to talk to you."

Erin's emotionless voice was like ice water on my happy shower.

"Okay, sure. Hey, I'll be in the bus in a sec," I told Stevie Rae and Damien.

"I'm staying." Erin spoke the two words as soon as we were alone.

"Staying? You mean here?" I knew what she meant, but I needed to stall, to buy some time to try to wade through the questions in my mind. I mean, I'd stopped Shaunee when she'd tried to break away from us and move back to the House of Night right after she and Erin had started having problems. Shouldn't I stop Erin, too?

"Yeah, of course I mean here. I'm sick of the tunnels. The humidity is frizzing my hair."

"Uh, there's product for that. Aveda makes it. We'll pick you up some from the Utica Ilhoff salon tomorrow," I said.

"Okay, so, it's not just my hair. I don't want to live in the tunnels. This is where I live. This school. I don't want to be bussed in. It's stupid."

"Erin, I know taking the bus is stupid. Hell, it was stupid before I was Marked. But I think we need to stay together. We're more than just a group or a clique, we're a family."

"No, we're not a family. We're a group of kids who all go to the same school. That's it. The end."

"Our affinities make us more than that." She was shocking me-not just by what she was saying, but by her attitude. Erin was so damn cold! "Erin, we've been through too much together to ever believe that we're just a group of kids who happen to go to the same school."

"What if that's how you feel, but not how I feel? Don't I get to choose? I thought Nyx was all about free choice."

"She is, but that doesn't mean we can't say something when someone we care about is messing up," I said.

"Let her go."

Erin and I looked up to see Aphrodite standing on the bottom stair of the bus. She was leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. I expected to see the familiar Aphrodite Sneer on her face, but she didn't look mad. She didn't sound sarcastic. She just seemed very sure of herself. Behind her I could see Stevie Rae and Shaylin. Each of them nodded, and that unspoken support for Aphrodite tipped me over as I realized that my Council had ruled-they'd decided what was best for all of us, even if it wasn't what was best for Erin.

"Thanks, Aphrodite. Who knew you'd be the one to agree with me?" Erin laughed, sounding petulant and childlike in the wake of Aphrodite's calm maturity.

"You know what, Erin, I'm glad you and Aphrodite reminded me," I said. "Nyx does give us free choice, and if you choose to live at the House of Night, then I'm going to respect that. I hope that doesn't change things with our circle. You're still water. Your element and you are still important to us."

Erin's lips smiled, but the expression didn't reach her cold blue eyes. "Yeah, of course. I'll always be water, and water can slide around from anywhere. Just call if you need me. I'll be sure to get right on it."

"Sounds good," I spoke quickly, feeling super awkward. "So, well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, right. I'll see you guys in class." With a flippant wave of her hand, Erin walked off.

I climbed the stairs into the bus asking Darius, "Are we all here?"

"All present and accounted for," he replied.

"Then let's go home." We all scattered to our seats-Stevie Rae beside Rephaim, Aphrodite in the first seat right behind Darius as the driver. Stark was waiting for me in the next seat back, and I leaned down, kissing him quickly and whispering, "I'm gonna go check on Shaunee, then I'll be back."

"I'll be waiting. Always," he said, touching my cheek gently.

I lurched in time to the potholes in the parking lot as Darius made a big U-turn and headed toward the school's long driveway, making my way to the back of the bus where Shaunee sat by herself.

"Mind if I sit down for a sec?"

"Sure, yeah," she said.

"So, you and Erin aren't so much talking anymore?"

Shaunee chewed the side of her cheek and shook her head. "No."

"She's pretty pissed." I was trying to figure out something to say that would help Shaunee open up.

"No, I don't think she is," Shaunee said.

I frowned. "Well, she seemed pissed."