His next words reinforced that he hadn't been there long enough to have caught even a glimpse of Rephaim. You sealed it off to keep the rest of them from getting to the abbey, didn't you? Stevie Rae nodded and tried not to let the wave of relief she felt show in her voice. Yeah. I didn't think it was smart to give 'em such easy access to the nuns. It would be kinda like an old-lady smorgasbord for them. Dallas's eyes glinted mischievously. Don't be gross. But she couldn't help grinning at him. Dallas really was adorable. Not only was he her unofficial boyfriend, but he was also a genius with anything to do with electricity or plumbing or basically whatever you'd find at Home Depot. Grinning back at her, he moved closer and tugged on one of her blond curls. I'm not being gross. I'm being real. And you can't tell me you haven't at least thought about how easy it would be to chomp on these nuns.

Dallas! She narrowed her eyes at him, truly shocked by what he'd said. Heck no I haven't thought about eatin' a nun! It doesn't even sound right. And like I told ya before, it's not smart to think a lot about eatin' people. It's not good for you. Hey, relax, cutie. I'm just messing with you. He glanced behind her at the wall of earth. So, how are you going to explain this to Zoey and the rest of them? I'm gonna do what I probably shoulda done a while ago. I'm gonna tell them the truth. I thought you wanted to stay quiet about the rest of the fledglings because you thought they might come around and be more like us. Yeah, well, I'm startin' to think I've messed up with some of my choices. All right, it's up to you. You're our High Priestess. Tell Zoey and them whatever you want. Actually, you can do that right now. Zoey just called a meeting in the cafeteria. I came looking for you to tell you about it. How'd you know where to find me? He smiled at her again and slipped his arm around her shoulders. I know you, cutie. It wasn't very hard to figure out where you'd be.

They started walking out of the tunnel together. Stevie Rae wrapped her arm around Dallas's waist. She let herself lean against him, glad that he felt normal and totally guy-like beside her. It was a relief to have her world shift back to what she knew was right. She'd put Rephaim out of her mind. She'd helped someone who'd been hurt, that's all. And now she was done with him. Seriously, he was just one badly injured Raven Mocker. How much trouble could he cause? You know me, huh? She butted him with her hip. He pressed right back against her. Not as well as I wish I knew you, cutie. Stevie Rae giggled, ignoring the fact that she sounded kinda manic in her effort to be normal. She also ignored the fact that she could still smell Rephaim's dark scent on her skin.

Chapter Eighteen

I was in that magical, misty place between awake and asleep when he pulled me against his body. He was so big and strong and hard that the contrast between his physical presence and the soft, sweet breath that tickled the side of my neck along with the gentle kisses he placed there had me shivering. I was mostly asleep and didn't want to wake up all the way yet, but I sighed happily and stretched so that he could reach more of my neck. His arms felt so right around me. I loved being close to him and was thinking about how glad I was Stark was my Warrior when I murmured sleepily, You must really be feeling better. His touch became sexier and less gentle.

I shivered again. Then my groggy mind registered two things simultaneously. First: I wasn't shivering just because I liked what he was doing, even though I definitely liked what he was doing. I was shivering because his touch was cold. Second: The body that pressed against me was too big to be Stark's. At that instant he whispered, Do you see how your soul longs for me? You will come to me. You are fated to do so, and I am fated to wait for you. I sucked in a gasp, came wide awake, and sat up. I was completely alone. Calm down . . . calm down . . . calm down . . . Kalona is not here . . . everything's fine . . . it was just a dream . . . Without thinking about it, I automatically started to control my breathing and steady my emotions, which were definitely in overdrive. Stark wasn't in the room, and the last thing I wanted him to do was to come running back to me because he could feel how panicked I was, when I was not in any real danger.

I might be uncertain about a bunch of things, but I was dead sure about one thing: I didn't want Stark to start thinking he couldn't leave my side. Yeah, I was crazy about him, and glad we shared a bond, but that didn't mean I wanted him to believe I couldn't function without him. He was my Warrior, not my babysitter or my stalker, and if he started to think he had to watch me constantly . . . gawking at me while I slept . . . I suppressed a groan of horror. The door that led to the little bathroom my room shared with the guest room next door opened and Stark strode in, his gaze going straight to me. He had on jeans and a black Street Cats Catholic Charities T-shirt, and he was towel-drying his still-wet hair. I guess I must have calmed myself down and fixed the panicked expression on my face enough that as soon as he saw me sitting up in bed, alone and in no danger, his worried look changed to a smile.