House of Night 6
PC and Kristin Cast
Zoey stares up at the moon and thanks Nyx for her help in driving away Kalona and Neferet. Darius starts assigning jobs, but Zoey is worried about Heath looking for Raven Mockers since he is only human. Erik makes a comment that starts him and Heath arguing. Stark laughs at a comment that Aphrodite makes about the two of them and Darius ends up having to take him inside to heal. Stevie Rae comes out to continue giving orders. She hugs Zoey and tells her to go inside with the others. Kramisha already took Sylvia inside and Zoey should check on her and Stark. Zoey can’t help feeling something is off about Stevie Rae and the other red fledglings, but she goes inside anyway.
Stevie Rae sends Heath with Johnny B and Erik with Dallas to search around the abbey. She goes into the woods to search for any signs of Raven Mockers. As she searches, she wishes Zoey didn’t have so much boy drama and could be more like her and Dallas. Suddenly, she gets a scent of blood that is wrong. She follows the smell to find a Raven Mocker lying on the ground. She goes to call for Dallas so they can move the body, but it moves. It asks her to kill him and she is surprised it can talk. He laughs bitterly and asks again that she end his pain. He passes out and Stevie Rae starts to move him.
Zoey Finds Darius tending to Stark and Sister Mary Angela helping Sylvia into a chair. Jack comes in with Duchess. Stark calls to her and she goes to him. They are both happy to be reunited, but Stark knows he can’t take care of her by himself anymore. He asks Jack if they can share her and he happily agrees. Damien and Jack leave with Duchess. Sister Mary Angela asks Zoey to help her get Sylvia to bed. Zoey thanks Stark for saving her life before she goes. When they get Sylvia into bed, Sister Mary Angela leaves them alone. Sylvia asks how long Zoey has known she is the reincarnation of A-ya.
Zoey tells her grandmother that she felt a different kind of draw to Kalona than the other fledglings, but she resisted it. She knows that she isn’t A-ya and has the ability to follow her own path. Sylvia advises her to do that at take it one day at a time. Sister Mary Angela comes to get Zoey and takes her to the cellar. Damien takes them to the cave Stevie Rae made to get the red fledglings there from the depot. Zoey takes the only flashlight they have between the three of them and starts down the earthy tunnel. Aphrodite and the twins appear suddenly from around a corner and scare Zoey. They all get out of the tunnel and start talking. Stevie Rae shows up and confirms they don’t have to worry about the Raven Mockers. Everyone is relieved, but Stevie Rae admits she feels bad for them because it isn’t their fault how they were born. She starts tells Sister Mary Angela that she can’t believe the virgin Mary is Nyx and Damien goes off on a history lesson of how Mary is often noted as one of Nyx’s many faces. Zoey starts down the tunnel again and feels her soul screaming for her to get away. She tries to get out, but can’t move. Everything turns gray and she starts falling.
It isn’t until Zoey lets go of her fear that she is able to maneuver through the darkness. She is suddenly A-ya when Kalona was trapped in the ground. She feels everything that A-ya felt and is completely content to be lying with him. She suddenly starts to fade into the ground and as she screams a voice tells her to remember. Aphrodite slaps Zoey awake. She doesn’t want to tell everyone what she experienced, but she does to show Stevie Rae what she should be doing. When everyone starts asking a bunch of questions, Zoey changes to subject by asking Stevie Rae how she made the tunnel to the abbey. Stevie Rae reminds Zoey that she had been investigating the tunnels previously. when she found one that was obstructed and was easily able to clear the way using her earth affinity. When Zoey warned her they might have to move to the abbey, she started experimenting. When it was time to move everyone, she used her affinity to clear the way to the abbey. Zoey asks her if all the red fledglings came with them, but Stevie Rae says they ones they previously met were all there. Zoey is suspicious. Sister Mary Angela suggests they get some sleep. When they move up to the basement, Stevie Rae joins the red fledglings who are watching the Sound of Music. Sister Mary Angela tells the rest of them they will be staying upstairs. Zoey is sharing a room with Aphrodite. Heath calls down to Zoey that he found Doritos and pop for her.
Heath starts to walk Zoey to her room, but he stops her and has her sit in his lap for a while. He comforts her and tells her they belong together. Zoey tells him she is bonded to Stark and doesn’t know what she is going to do about Erik. He doesn’t care. He tells her he loves her and he always will, so he will deal with the rest. She lets him comfort her rather than letting him go. Heath becomes her consort.
Stevie Rae goes outside and starts calling for Erik. She is distracted by the shed she hid the Raven Mocker in and is surprised when Erik appears. She tells him to go inside because Zoey was worried about him earlier. He starts asking about Zoey. Stevie Rae warns him to leave her alone and let her rest, but he insists he is her boyfriend and she will want to see him. After he goes inside, Stevie Rae goes to cover up the blood the Raven Mockers left behind in case any humans decide to leave their homes. She goes to the greenhouse and grabs some supplies before going into the shed. She looks at the Raven Mocker and wonders if he is still alive. She wonders why she didn’t call for help killing him before. He tells her to finish it. She remembers how human he sounds and remembers being being as hopeless as he is now.
Using what she found in the greenhouse, Stevie Rae cleans out the wounds in the Raven Mocker’s chest and wing. She binds his wing to his back and wraps his ankle as well. When he asks why she is helping him, she admits that she doesn’t know. She tells him the sun is up and she has to go inside. She doesn’t think anyone will mess with him, and she promises to come back at night. He tells her his name is Rephiam and she introduces herself as well. After she is gone, Rephiam wonders if Stevie Rae is planning to torture him for information. He tries to prepare himself and swears he will go down with a fight. He wonders why his father abandoned him as he falls asleep.
Zoey has Heath leave her at Stark’s door. She wants her human consort to have everything he would if he was a normal human, but isn’t sure how to accomplish that without sending him away from her. Aphrodite and Darius come out of Stark’s room. Zoey reminds Aphrodite they are sharing a room and Aphrodite takes off towards it. Darius tells Zoey that her blood will help heal Stark because of their bond. However, he is refusing to take it because he knows she was recently injured and cannot be weakened in case Kalona and Neferet return. Before taking off, Darius asks Zoey’s permission to pledge himself as Aphrodite’s warrior. She gives him her blessing and he takes off.
Quietly as possible, Zoey goes in to check on Stark. She starts wondering if she should just cut her wrist so she can get him to drink from it. He wakes up and sees her stressing out. She admits she isn’t comfortable about him knowing what she is feeling. He tells her he gave her his vow because she trusted him. It hurts him that she doesn’t trust him with her feelings, but he promises to ignore anything except fear. He points out how exhausted she is and how people can see it. That is why he is refusing to take her blood. He asks her to lay down next to him for a little while and she carefully complies. When he falls asleep, she calls on Spirit and asks it to watch over him while he sleeps. She sneaks out and gets directions to her room from Sister Bianca. When she gets up the stairs, Erik is there waiting for her.
Zoey tries to tell Erik that she is tired, but he starts to complain that she is spending time with all of her boyfriends except him. He continues to rant and mentions Kalona looking at her with longing. She finally tells him to stop and that they are through. He argues that she can’t walk away from him after all that she put him through, but she tells him she is. She sends him away with the elements while he rants about how crazy she has become. She goes in her room where Aphrodite has been listening and now tries to comfort her. While settling in for bed, Zoey asks Aphrodite why she would beg Erik to take her back if she knew he was a possessive jerk. Aphrodite explains she knew things were changing at the House of Night and with Neferet even before Zoey’s arrival. She was fighting to keep control and having Erik as a boyfriend would help maintain her popularity. She knew people were going to die if she didn’t say anything about her visions, but she also knew Neferet wasn’t going to do anything about them. They agree they have to return to the House of Night, but that it will be a mess when they do.
That night, Zoey dreams she is on top of a castle overlooking a cliff above the sea. Kalona appears and tries to get her to give into her desire for him. He says he can give her everything. She points out that he cannot give her normalcy, which is what she really desires. She makes a choice and decides she will not betray Nyx. She throws herself off the top of the castle and over the cliff to get away from him.
Zoey wakes up screaming to find Aphrodite has done the same. She turns on the light to see Aphrodite's eyes are red like blood and swollen. She goes to get a glass of water and a wet cloth to take care of her friend. Aphrodite tells her about her vision. It starts off with Neferet talking to seven vampires on thrones. She continues to tell them Kalona is Erebus and she is Nyx incarnate. The vision changes so that Aphrodite sees from the perspective of people and vampires standing in a field. Those that think poorly of Neferet and don’t believe her start to burn. From there the vision splits into two possibilities. In the first, Zoey starts fornicating with Kalona in front of the field of burning people. In the second, Zoey kills Kalona and the people stop burning. Aphrodite is worried about Zoey’s innate attraction to Kalona. Zoey tells her about her dream and what she did to get away from Kalona. Aphrodite points out that either way, Zoey will not be able to avoid him. There is a knock at the door.
When the door opens, Stark comes rushing in. He felt Zoey’s terror and came to protect her. Aphrodite fills her in on the dream and the visions before going to find Darius. Zoey goes to make sure the blinds are closed and sees the sun isn’t making it through the cloudy weather (which was how Stark was able to get to her). They lay down in bed together. She offers him her blood again. He refuses saying his strength comes from her safety. They fall asleep.
Aphrodite finds Darius with Damien and Jack. She does her best to avoid their questions by indicating that Zoey is having sex with Stark. As soon as she has Darius out of the room, he stops her to ask if she is alright after having another vision. She tells him everything that has happened as they walk to Stark’s unoccupied room. Darius changes the bedsheets and Aphrodite comes to the realization that she loves him. She tells him this and he reciprocates the sentiment. She starts to cry because she cannot understand why he loves her. Darius explains that Nyx sent her to him for a reason. He offers his oath to her. After he explains Zoey has already given her blessing, Aphrodite accepts.
Stevie Rae can’t sleep because she is feeling guilty about harboring Rephiam. She gets up an hour before sunset determined to move him to a new location. She decides that if she puts him somewhere he can heal on his own and make his own decisions about his future, she will no longer be responsible. She uses earth to make a tunnel to the outside. The sun is filtered enough by the clouds and sleet to keep her from burning up. She goes to the shed and notices Rephiam’s blood smells like the darkness she knew when she first woke as a red fledgling. She realizes it is still what the other red fledglings she is hiding smell like. She finds the Raven Mocker and he is surprised that she came along again.
After making her way to the injured Raven Mocker, Stevie Rae checks on his bandaging. She explains she has an idea to keep him from being discovered. She carefully rewraps his wounds and breaks a shovel for him to use as a cane. She covers him with a blanket and helps support him to the tunnel entrance. After helping him down, she joins him underground. She tells him to stay in the depot and she will block off the tunnel. Rephiam says he owes her a life and she wants him to make the right choice with his as repayment. She seals off the tunnel just before Dallas shows up to tell her Zoey has called a meeting. He guesses that she is closing off the tunnel to prevent the other red fledglings from getting to the abbey. Stevie Rae plans to tell Zoey and the others about them in order to keep them from wandering through the tunnels and finding Rephiam.
Zoey is partially awake when she feels arms wrap around her. She sinks into them thinking it is Stark. Kalona tells her she can’t escape the draw she feels towards him and she wakes up. Zoey quickly calms herself down and Stark comes out of the bathroom from a shower. She tells him she woke up falling off the bed to account for her scare. She asks him to gather everyone up in the dinning room for a meeting and then goes to shower herself. She admits that her soul recognizes Kalona and starts to cry. Zoey makes her way towards the dinning room and is greeted by Heath, Aphrodite, Darius, Sister Mary Angela, and Stark. Erik shows up soon after with Venus hanging all over him. Zoey decides to ignore his snide comments and feeble attempts to make her jealous by being friendly. As soon as they start to enter, the room erupts into gossip about how Zoey and Erik broke up.
The large group sits at a table and starts eating. Aphrodite starts to tell everyone about her vision and mentions that there are two versions, making it a double-edged sword. Kramisha interrupts to give Zoey a prophetic poem where the first line is about a double-edged sword. Zoey says she wants to go home to the House of Night to figure it out. Stevie Rae jumps in to tell them about the other red fledglings. Zoey understands Stevie Rae keeping the secret and closing off the tunnel. Stevie Rae tells them it isn’t safe for them to go back to the depot, so she is up for returning to the House of Night as well.
Suddenly the group goes into chaos. Stevie Rae nonchalantly brings up that Aphrodite accepted Darius’ oath to be her warrior. Aphrodite is upset that the news was made so public. Erik makes a comment about Zoey’s slutty behavior. Zoey gets fed up and starts dishing out orders. She tells Stevie Rae and Aphrodite to work out their imprint and learn to get along. She tells Erik to get over himself. She scolds Stark for laughing at him. Zoey thanks Sister Mary Angela for the nun’s hospitality and gives out orders to get them home. She then goes to say goodbye to her grandmother. She rants to Sylvia about how she made everyone feel bad after loosing her temper. Sylvia calms her down and reassures her the attraction she feels towards Kalona is just a memory. Zoey promises to do her best to hold to the truth.
Everyone is quiet as they slowly make their way back to the House of Night. Zoey asks Stark if he will ever talk to her again. He says she could have handled the scene in the cafeteria better and she agrees. She promises to do better next time. Stark makes a joke and she laughs. Some of the tension is broken by the sound. As they get closer to the school, the bodies of Raven Mockers can be seen under the trees. Darius, Stevie Rae, and Erik go and confirm they are dead. Lenobia meets up with them. She explains the fire they see is Anastasia Lankford’s funeral pyre. Rephiam slit her throat before they left to follow Zoey.
Lenobia takes the horses upon their arrival. Zoey and the others make their way onto the school grounds where they find Dragon alone with his wife burning on a picnic table. Zoey and her friends call on their elements to help ease Dragon’s grief. The priestess then looks around and notices no one else is out there. Lenobia arrives to explain Neferet and Kalona’s poison is still present on the rest of the population. The red fledglings, Erik, Heath, and Jack agree to stay with Dragon while the others go inside to help those in the infirmary.
As they enter the infirmary, Zoey and her group are confronted by Sapphire and Margareta, Neferet’s assistants. Zoey explains they are there to help the injured kids with the use of the elements, but the two nurses are skeptical. They walk past the nurses to find the kids that were hurt. They explain that anyone that stood up to the Raven Mockers was hurt and anyone else was left alone. Erin’s boyfriend, TJ, is there, but his best friend and Shaunee’s boyfriend, Cole, didn’t stand up to them. The nurses come in to tell them there is nothing more that can be done for the students. Zoey sends them away. Stevie Rae finds north and they cast their circle. Zoey focuses on sending the elements to heal those injured. Stark has to shout to get her to stop. She closes the circle and falls to the floor.
Back in the courtyard, Zoey starts dealing out tasks. She has Stevie Rae give Kramisha the duty of room assignments for the red fledglings. Darius, Shaunee, and some of the red fledglings go to collect the bodies of the Raven Mockers so they can be burned. Damien tells Jack to help Kramisha, but Jack asks to stay with Dragon. Zoey asks Lenobia to meet in her dorm room with the others to discuss what happened since they’ve been gone. Stark leads Zoey on a detour to the cafeteria and sends Heath in to feed her his blood.
Rephiam has been sleeping in Stevie Rae’s bed. He wakes up and is disgusted with his own fascination with her. He decides to go to the makeshift kitchen to eat. As he slowly makes his way there, he is confronted by three red fledglings, Nicole, Starr, and Kurtis. He tells them he escaped the battle that made Kalona and Neferet flee. Nicole puts her hands on his arms and pushes him against the wall. He is frustrated that he doesn’t have the strength to kill her. Nicole’s palms heat up and she can see his thoughts. She sees that Stevie Rae helped him escape. He honestly explains he doesn’t know why. Nicole explains they are going to kill Stevie Rae and asks if he is on their side. He tells them he is his father’s son. He is worried for his father as he sees Neferet using Nicole to see him.
Zoey is reluctant to drink Heath’s blood because she is not ready to have sex with him. He tells her that he will not pressure her and it will only be about helping her get strong again. She agrees and as she drinks from his neck, he tells her about how she has to get strong because everyone is counting on her. Afterwards, Heath holds her until Stark comes in to take Zoey to her dorm room. Health kisses her goodbye and goes to help Darius. Stark is visibly upset because he had to feel what Zoey felt while she drank Heath’s blood. She tries to joke with him, but he is too upset. She thanks him for helping her heal when he knew it was going to hurt himself. She notices that he still looks sad.
While getting herself a can of pop from the common room kitchen, a girl named Becca comes up to Zoey and is upset that she sent Kalona away. Zoey is not impressed with her attitude and ends up calling her a bitch. Stark holds Becca back and sends her back to her friends, who all glare at Zoey. Stark takes the priestess up to her room where everyone is waiting for them. As they start talking, they try to figure out what the people that were not affected by Kalona’s influence have in common. Zoey realizes they made a choice for good. Everyone agrees that must be it. Aphrodite tells everyone about her vision. Suddenly, Kramisha’s poem is remembered and Zoey pulls it out. The five elements are mentioned and believing will set them both free. The general consensus is the poem is from Kalona to Zoey.
The group starts trying to figure out where Kalona is when Jack comes in and says the internet is back up. The vampire news feed put Kalona and Neferet in front of the High Council in Venice, Italy. Damien shows her a picture of San Clemente, which is where Aphrodite saw one vision of Zoey dying because she was alone. He then shows her a picture of Capri that Zoey instantly recognizes from her last dream. Damien points out Capri was where the High Council was originally located. They are all going to Italy.
Lenobia tells the group they can take the House of Night jet to Italy, but she needs to stay there to watch over everything. Everyone goes their separate ways to get ready to leave. Stark asks Heath to sleep with Zoey while he checks the perimeter and helps Lenobia. Stevie Rae sends Heath to the common room for food. She then tells Zoey she can’t go to Italy because the red fledglings need her (especially the evil ones). Zoey understands and tells her best friend to be careful. Heath returns with food and they eat. As they lay down for bed, Zoey tells him he can’t come to Italy with them because it will mess up his last semester of High School and he’ll lose his scholarship. Heath points out their assignments are all posted online and he can keep up. Zoey agrees to let him come if his parents approve (without telling them what is really going on). They fall asleep and Zoey finds herself on top of the castle again.
Kalona is looking over the edge of the cliff Zoey jumped off last time they met in the dream world. She is confused why she is there while Heath is sleeping next to her. She approaches Kalona and explains he was able to bring her there because he doesn’t want to manipulate her. He wants to show her the truth of her past. If he starts lying, the connection will be broken. She agrees to go with him and takes his hand. Suddenly, she sees him with white wings protecting Nyx. He was her warrior because good and evil are everywhere to maintain balance. He became jealous of her consort, Erebus, and Nyx punished him. He fell to earth and was in constant search of filling the hole Nyx left. A-ya did that for a while, but now she is gone. Zoey reminds him that she is not A-ya or made for him. She has freewill and cannot choose him because he is evil and has only done evil. She points out that he continues to be with Neferet and keep the House of Night students filled with hate. He points out that she saved Stark after the horrible things he has done, but Zoey refuses to save him. She wakes up in Heath’s arms and he tells her everything is fine and to go back to sleep.
After they wake up, Heath calls his parents and convinces them to let him go with Zoey’s school on an educational trip to Italy and then goes home to get his things. Stevie Rae asks Zoey about her dream. Zoey tells her about seeing Kalona’s past. It all seems to add up, but she can’t be positive it is really true. They head down to the cafeteria where the students stare at them. As they eat breakfast, Zoey tells her group that Heath is going with them and Stevie Rae is not. Soon after, they start getting ready to go to the airport. Stark holds Zoey back a bit so they have some privacy. He asks if anything is wrong. She tells him she is fine and trusts him completely. She has faith that he will do everything in his power to protect her. This eases his worries and they continue on their way.
Zoey calls her grandmother to let her know that she is leaving for Italy. Sylvia reminds her there is power in truth and to use her connection to Heath and Stark to keep her grounded in herself rather than A-ya. Lenobia suggests Jack stay behind, but Zoey points out he has an affinity for modern technology and they might need him. Everyone boards the plane and Zoey decides to sit by herself and sleep rather than making either Heath or Stark jealous. Stark brings her a pillow and blanket and promises to wake her up if he senses anything odd from her. She falls asleep almost instantly.
Stevie Rae is unsure where she and her fledglings will end up. Lenobia says they belong at the House of Night, but understands if they are more comfortable at the depot. They could always commute to the school to continue classes. Before heading off, Stevie Rae asks Lenobia about the Raven Mockers. Lenobia is determined they made their choice for evil a long time ago and are unable to change. Stevie Rae sends a text message to Nicole to arrange a meeting. They agree to meet an hour and a half before dawn. Nicole comes to Rephiam to tell him her plan. She wants him to lure Stevie Rae up to one of the towers of the building they are under. Once she goes to help the Raven Mocker, the fledglings will make a sort of cage to trap her on the roof. She will be too far away from the ground to call on earth and will fry in the sun. Nicole checks on Rephiam’s thoughts and sees he is angry. He agrees to follow through with her plan, so long as he can keep the charred body to give to his father. Nicole agrees and leaves Kurtis there to watch over him.
Zoey wakes up as the plane lands in Italy. Erce boards to tell them they are in a private hanger and will be taken to the island by boat to meet with the Vampire High Council. Darius goes off first to makes sure everything is safe and comes back to get the group. They come out into a private hangar where a boat is waiting for them. Erce explains that Aphrodite has special permission to attend and speak in front of the council. She plans to go over the rules with them on the trip over. Suddenly, Aphrodite is in horrible pain. She says something is horribly wrong with Stevie Rae.
Stevie Rae goes to talk to the other red fledglings. Only Nicole and Starr show up and have no interest in returning to the House of Night. Kurtis arrives to tell them he tried to eat the Raven Mocker that has been running around the tunnels. Stevie Rae warns them they will have to leave if they can’t behave if she decides to return to the depot with the others. They mock her, so she amplifies her voice and makes the earth shake to emphasize her point. She goes up a tree to get to the roof. She makes her way to Rephiam and he tries to warn her before she is knocked unconscious. He wakes her up and tells her she has to move because the sun is rising. He shields her as much as he can with her good wing and tells her to think of earth as they both work at a rusty part of the grate that traps her. They are able to break it. Rephiam grabs her and is able to get her to the tree as she slowly burns. They slide down and she opens up the earth for them to hide from the sun.
Erce suggests they get Aphrodite on the boat so they can better take care of her. Darius holds her as she lays on a chaise. Heath tries to coach her through the experience reminding her it isn’t really happening to her. Erce gives Aphrodite a pill hoping it will lessen the connection between her and Stevie Rae. Suddenly, it stops. Aphrodite can tell that Stevie Rae is safe, but not doing well. Suddenly, she is surprised and announces to everyone that Stevie Rae has imprinted with someone else.
Rephiam sees that Stevie Rae is in bad shape and getting weaker despite being in the ground. He cuts himself and tells her to drink his blood to help her heal. She is weary about it at first because he doesn’t smell right, but she finds that he tastes much better than he smells. She drinks until she imprints with him and then stops. They are both trying to get used to the odd feeling of the imprint when Lenobia and Erik start calling out for Stevie Rae. She tells them they will need to block the sun for her to be able to get out and they go to find something to create shade. Meanwhile, she tells Rephiam to go to the Gilcrease Museum and hide there. The house in the center is supposed to be haunted, so no one would be surprised if he made some noise. She promises to bring him food there the next night. Lenobia and Erik have completed their task and Stevie Rae gets herself out of the ground.
Zoey talks with Stevie Rae about what happened. Stevie Rae makes up a story about going to save a cat that was stuck on the roof and tripping over something. She says she was knocked out and tangled in some chains that were left up there. She also claims her bond with Aphrodite was broken because she was so close to death. Zoey is skeptical, but glad that her best friend is okay. Erce comes to tell Zoey the council is ready for her. On the trip over to the island, Zoey started to get a bad feeling about Erce as she tries to take charge of the group and give directions. When they enter the old church that now serves as the council’s meeting place, Erce leads them to their seats. Zoey is surprised by the stained glass window depicting Erebus and how much it looks like Kalona. The seven council members arrive and Neferet and Kalona take their seats shortly after. Duantia opens the meeting and starts asking Kalona about his origins. Zoey prays that he only speaks the truth to prove there is still hope for him. Kalona does only speak the truth, but he words it so it sounds like he is saying he is Erebus. He says he fell because he could not serve his goddess. He now feels like he could serve her representation on earth. Duantia sees him staring at Zoey and “recognizes” her, which allows her to speak.
Neferet is appalled that the Tulsa House of Night has named Zoey as their high priestess. Duantia points out that if Neferet really is Nyx reincarnated, she will have to learn to deal with conflict better. She asks for Zoey’s opinion. Zoey believes that Kalona was once with Nyx, but fell. When he came to earth, he did horrible things to her Cherokee people, but their might be room for him to be good once again. She knows Neferet is no longer associated with Nyx. Neferet is outraged by her claims. She tells the audience that she has bought back Nyx’s castle on Capri and will lead from there. She then storms out with Kalona following. Duantia requests that Zoey and her circle return the next day with Aphrodite in order to explain the situation further. When they leave the cathedral, everyone tells Zoey it sounds like she believes Kalona’s story. She tells them she thinks he can come back to Nyx’s side, but they point out he isn’t like Stark or Stevie Rae. Stark is frustrated and leaves. She tells them she needs to think alone and they all leave her to walk by herself.
Heath knows he has to do what is best for Zoey, so he sets off after Stark. He remembers when he first fell in love with her and thinks of how nice it will be once Kalona is gone and they are back in Tulsa. Instead of finding Stark, Heath finds Neferet and Kalona. The immortal admits to Neferet that he is manipulating Zoey using the truth. She warns him that he cannot have both of them and leaves him. Kalona calls out to Heath knowing that he has been watching the encounter. Heath tries to call on spirit so he can get Zoey there and tell her what he just heard. Stark starts heading up to the rooms that are reserved for their group. Just as he is about to join the others, he feels Zoey. Darius tells him to focus and follow his feelings. Stark takes off running with the others following behind. He reaches Zoey just in time to see her witness Kalona breaking Heath’s neck. She hurls spirit at Kalona. Stark holds her and explains to the others that Zoey’s soul shattered when Heath died.
Zoey finds herself in bathing in the sun completely stress free. She starts thinking, but stops herself. She hears a familiar sound and decides to follow it. She finds Heath sitting on a pier over a lake fishing. She recognizes Heath and her memories come back to her. He tells her she is in the Otherworld and doesn’t belong there, but he does. She remembers and everything goes dark.