"Let me see your wrist," Darius said to Aphrodite.

Without speaking she'd turned her back to the staring Twins and Jack and gave her arm to Darius, so I had been the only one who really saw what he did. The warrior lifted her wrist to his mouth. Without taking his eyes from hers, his tongue snaked out and ran over the ridge of bite marks that were still dripping scarlet. Her breath caught, and I saw that she was trembling, but the moment his tongue touched the wound the bleeding began to clot. I had been watching closely, so I didn't miss the way Darius's eyes had widened suddenly in surprise. "Well, shit," I heard Aphrodite say softly to him. "It's true, isn't it?"

"It is true," he answered her in a low voice meant for her alone.

"Shit!" Aphrodite repeated, looking upset.

Darius smiled, and I saw a definite glint of amusement in his eyes. Then he kissed her wrist gently and said, "No matter; it will not affect us."

"Promise?" C hI she whispered.

"I give you my word. You did well, my beauty. Your blood saved her life."

For a moment I saw Aphrodite's unguarded expression. She shook her head slightly and her smile was tinged with honest wonder and more than a little sarcasm. "And why the hell I have to keep saving Stevie Rae's country-bumpkin ass I do not know. All I can say is that I used to be really, really bad, so I have an unbelievable amount of shit I have to make up for." She cleared her throat and ran the back of her hand shakily across her forehead.

"Do you need something to drink?" I asked, wondering what the hell the two of them were talking about, but not wanting to ask just then because they obviously didn't want the whole room to know.

"Yes." Stevie Rae surprised me by answering for her.

"Here's a shirt," Damien said. He'd approached the bed, saw that Stevie Rae, who had gone from gulping to sipping from the glass, was partially naked, and averted his eyes.

"Thanks." I gave him a quick smile, took the shirt from him, and tossed it to Stevie Rae. Then I looked back at the Twins. The swallows of blood had begun to work in my body, and the exhaustion that had pressed down on me since I'd had to call all five of the elements and control them while we escaped from the House of Night finally had lessened enough for me to think again. "Okay, guys, bring the blood and wine over here. Do you have another glass for Aphrodite?"

Before they could answer Aphrodite spoke up. "Uh, no blood for me. I have one word for that: disgusting. But I will take the booze."

"We didn't bring another glass," Erin said. "She'll have to drink out of the bottle like a peasant."

"Sorry, kinda," Shaunee said insincerely, handing Aphrodite the bottle. "So, as a human, can you explain to us what it's like to get your blood sucked by a vamp?"

"Yeah, inquiring minds want to know 'cause you looked like you were liking it, and we didn't know you swung that way," Erin said.

"Did you brain-sharers not pay any attention in Vamp Soc class?" Aphrodite said before she tipped up the bottle and drank from it.

"Well, I've read the physiology section of The Fledging Handbook." Damien said. "Vampyre saliva has coagulants, anticoagulants, and endorphins that act on the plea sure zones of the brain, human and vamp. You know, Aphrodite is right. You two really should pay better attention in class. School's supposed to be more than a social event." He finished primly while Jack nodded enthusiastically.

"You know, Twin, what with all the drama going on above--the release of an evil fallen angel and his goons--and the House of Night pretty much in panic mode, there might not be school for a while," Shaunee said.

"Excellent point, Twin," Erin said. "Which means we won't need Queen Damien and his tutorness for a while." "So we could, I dunno, hold him down and pull out his hair? What do you think?" Shaunee said.

"Sounds fun," Erin said.

"Great. I'm drinking cheap red wine out of a bottle. Miss Teen Country Vamp just bit me-- again. And now I'm going to be witness to a nerd herd rumble." Sounding much more like her bitchy self, Aphrodite sighed dramatically and plopped down on the end of the bed next to Darius. "Well, at least being human means I can probably get drunk. Maybe I can stay that way for the next ten years or so."

"I don't have enough wine for that." We all looked up as a red fledgling entered the room, followed by several others who clustered behind her in the shadows. "And that isn't cheap red wine. I don't do cheap anything."