Bad ones. His easy smile vanished and he started to sit up, then sucked in a sharp breath and went totally white. No! You can't get up! I pressed his shoulders gently back. You have to tell Darius, Stark said through clenched teeth. I have to talk to Stevie Rae first. I don't think that's-- Seriously! I have to talk to Stevie Rae first. I took his hand again, trying to will him through my touch to understand. She's my best friend. You trust her? I want to trust her. I have trusted her. My shoulders slumped in defeat. But if she doesn't come clean with the truth when I talk to her, I will go to Darius. I need to get out of this damn bed so I can make sure you're not surrounded by enemies! I'm not surrounded by enemies! Stevie Rae isn't my enemy.

I sent up a silent prayer to Nyx that I was right about that. Look, I've kept things from my friends before--bad things. I raised a brow and shot him a Look. I kept you from my friends. He grinned. Well, that's different. I didn't let him tease me out of being serious. No, it's really not. Okay, I hear what you're saying, but I'm still not okay with it. I don't suppose I can get you to bring Stevie Rae here when you talk to her? I squidged my forehead at him. No, not likely. Then promise me that you'll be careful and you won't go off alone with her somewhere to talk. She wouldn't do anything to hurt me! Actually, I'm assuming she can't hurt you, being as you have control of five elements to her one. But you don't know what kind of powers these rogue fledglings she's hiding have, or how many of them there are. And I know a little something about being a badass red fledgling.

So promise you'll be careful. Yeah, okay. I promise. Good. He relaxed a little bit back on the bed. Hey, I don't want you to worry about me right now. You just need to concentrate on getting better. I drew a deep, fortifying breath and continued, I think it's a good idea for you to drink from me. No. Look, you want to be able to protect me, right? Right, he said, nodding tightly. Then that means you have to get well fast so you can. Right? Yeah. And you'll get well quicker if you drink from me, so it's only logical that you do. Have you looked in a mirror lately? he asked abruptly. Huh? Do you have any idea how tired you look? I could feel my cheeks getting warm. I really haven't had time lately to worry about stuff like makeup and doing my hair, I said defensively. I'm not talking about makeup or hair. I'm talking about how pale you look.

You have dark circles under your eyes. His gaze slid down to where my shirt covered the long scar that stretched from one of my shoulders to another. How's your cut? Fine. With my free hand I tugged up my shirt, even though I knew none of the scar was exposed. Hey, he said gently. I've already seen it, remember? I met his eyes. Yes, I remembered. Actually, he'd not just seen my scar--he'd seen all of me. Naked. Okay, now my entire face felt hot. I'm not mentioning it to embarrass you. I'm just trying to remind you that you've almost died lately, too. We need you to be strong and well, Zoey. I need you to be strong and well. And that's why I'm not going to take anything from you right now. But I need you to be strong and well, too. I will be. Hey, don't worry about me. Apparently, I'm practically impossible to kill. He grinned his cute, cocky smile. Keep my stress level in mind. Practically impossible is not the same as impossible. I'll try to remember that. He pulled on my hand. Lay down next to me for a little while. I like it when you're close.

Are you sure I'm not going to hurt you? I'm almost positive you will hurt me. He smiled, making his words teasing, but I still want you close. Come here to me. I let him tug me down so that I was lying next to him. Curled on my side I faced him, resting my head carefully against his shoulder. He reached across his body and draped an arm over me, pulling me more firmly against him. I said I'm not going to break. Now relax. I sighed, and willed myself to relax. I wrapped my arm around his waist, being careful not to jostle him too much or touch his chest. Stark closed his eyes and I watched his face go from tight and pale to relaxed and pale as his breathing deepened. I swear within a minute he was sound asleep. That was exactly what I wanted him to be for what I'd decided to do. I drew three deep, cleansing breaths, centered myself, and then whispered, Spirit, come to me. Instantly I felt the familiar stirring within me, like I'd just understood something unbelievably magickal, as my soul responded to the infilling of the fifth element, spirit.

Now, quietly, carefully, gently, go to Stark. Help him. Fill him. Strengthen him, but don't wake him up. I spoke softly, mentally crossing my fingers that he'd stay asleep. As spirit left me I felt Stark's body stiffen for an instant, then he trembled, and then he let out a long, sleepy sigh while spirit soothed and, hopefully, strengthened him. I watched for a little while more; then slowly, I untangled myself from Stark and, with a last whisper asking spirit to stay with him while he slept, tiptoed from the room, closing the door gently behind me. I'd only taken a couple steps when I realized I didn't have a clue where I was going. I stopped and felt my shoulders slump. A nun, who had been walking with her eyes cast down, hurried past me and gave a little jolt as she looked up and our gazes met. Sister Bianca? I thought I recognized her.