Why had she not killed him? Perhaps she still would--or at least perhaps she would betray his presence to her friends. If she did, so be it. Life as he had known it was over for him. He would welcome the chance to die battling anyone who tried to keep him prisoner. But it hadn't seemed she'd been imprisoning him. He thought hard, forcing his mind to work through pain and exhaustion and despair. Stevie Rae. That had been the name she'd given him. What was her motive in saving him if not to imprison and use him? Torture. It made sense that she had kept him alive so that she and her allies could force him to tell her all he knew about Father. What other reason could she have for not killing him? He would have done the same had he been lucky enough to have been in her place. They will discover that the son of an immortal will not be easily broken, he thought.

Stressed beyond the reserves of even his great strength, Rephaim collapsed. He tried to position himself so that he could attain some relief from the agony that wracked his body with every beat of his heart, but it was impossible. Only time could relieve his physical pain. Nothing would relieve the soul-deep pain of never being able to fly again--of never being whole. She should have killed me, he thought. Perhaps I can goad her into it if she returns alone. And if she comes back with her allies and attempts to torture my father's secrets from me, I will not be the only one to shriek in pain. Father? Where are you? Why did you desert me? That was the thought foremost in his mind when unconsciousness finally claimed Rephaim again and, at last, he slept.

Chapter Nine

Hey, remember you promised the nun you'd go to bed. And I'm pretty sure that didn't mean going to his bed. Heath jerked his chin at the door to Stark's room. I raised my brows at Heath. He sighed. I said I'd share you with the stupid vamps if I had to, but I didn't say I'd like it. I shook my head. You're not sharing me with anyone tonight. I'm just going to make sure Stark's okay, then go to my own bed. Alone. By myself. Got it? Got it. He grinned and then kissed me softly. See you soon, Zo. See you soon, Heath. I watched him walk away down the hall. He was tall and muscular and looked every inch the star quarterback. He was all set to go to OU on a full-ride scholarship next year, and then, after college, he was going to be either a cop or a fireman. Whichever he chose there was one thing for certain--Heath would be one of the good guys.

But could he do all that, would he do all that, and also be a vampyre High Priestess's consort? Yes. Hell, yes. I am going to make sure Heath gets the future he's dreamed of and planned since we were kids. Sure, some parts of it will be different. Neither of us planned on the vamp stuff. Some parts of it will be hard--like, well, the vamp stuff. But the truth is, I care about Heath too much to force him out of my life and I care about him too much to mess up his life.

So we are just going to have to make it work. Period. The end. You going to go in, or are you just going to stand out here and stress? Holy crap, Aphrodite! Could you not sneak up and scare me? No one was sneaking, and holy crap,' is that a curse? 'Cause if it is, I'm afraid I'm going to have to wake up the Potty Mouth Police and have them make an arrest. Darius followed Aphrodite into the hall and gave her a be nice look, which made her sigh and say, So. Stark's not dead yet. Gosh, thanks for that update. You just made me feel ever so much better, I said sarcastically. Don't be a pain in my ass while I'm trying to be nice.

I turned my attention to the only responsible adult in the area and asked Darius, Does he need anything? The warrior hesitated for only an instant, but it was an instant that I caught. Then he said, No. He is doing well. I believe he will recover completely. Well . . . I dragged out the word, wondering what the hell was really going on. Was Stark hurt worse than Darius was admitting? I'll check on him real quick, then I'm going to bed. I raised a brow at Aphrodite. You and I are roomies. Darius is rooming with Damien and Jack. Uh, that means you're not sleeping with him 'cause that would freak the nuns. You got that, right? Oh.

No. You so didn't need to give me that Anne of Green Gables lecture! Like I can't behave with some propriety? Are you remembering my parents purchased propriety for Tulsa? My. Dad. Is. The. Mayor. I can't believe I have to deal with this shit. Darius and I stared, speechless, as Aphrodite worked herself up into a seriously extraordinary hissy fit. I heard the damn nun. Plus, it's not like this abbey is exactly romantic. Like I want to have hot monkey sex while the penguins cross themselves and pray? Ugh. Not hardly. Goddess! I may melt if I stay here too long. When she paused to take a breath, I inserted, I didn't mean I didn't think you knew how to act.