Awakened

unless the Darkness you part.

See with the soul and not your eyes

because to dance with beasts you

must penetrate their disguise.

Stevie Rae told herself she wouldn’t cry, but her heart felt bruised and broken. The poem had been right. She’d seen Rephaim with her soul, not with her eyes. She’d parted Darkness and trusted and accepted him—and because of that, because she’d allied herself with a beast, she had paid with her heart. She was still paying with her heart.

Reluctantly, Stevie Rae looked to the second poem on the page—the new one. Reminding herself not to react, not to let her face give away anything, she started reading:

Beasts can be beautiful

Dreams become desires

Reality changes with reason

Trust your truth

Man … monster … mystery … magick

Hear with your heart

See without scorn

Love will not lose

Trust his truth

His promise is proof

The test is time

Faith frees

If there is courage to change.

Stevie Rae’s mouth felt dry. “Sorry, I can’t help you. I don’t know what these things are about.” She tried to hand the piece of paper back to Kramisha, but the poet’s hands were folded across her chest.

“You ain’t a good liar, Stevie Rae.”

“It’s not smart to call your High Priestess a liar.” There was an edge of mea

“What’s happenin’ to you? You dealing with somethin’ that’s eatin’ you from the inside out. If you was yourself, you’d be talkin’ to me. You’d be trying to figure this out.”

“I can’t figure out this poetry stuff! It’s metaphor and symbolism and weird, confusing predictions.”

“That’s a damn lie,” Kramisha said. “We been figuring this stuff out. Zoey has. You and I did, or at least we did enough to get word to Z in the Otherworld. And it helped. Stark said it did.” Kramisha pointed at the first poem. “Some of this one came true. You met the beasts. Those bulls. You been different ever since. Now I been given another one of them beast poems. I know they for you. And I know you know more than you sayin’.”

“Look, stay outta my business, Kramisha.” Stevie Rae stood up, stepped out of the alcove, and as she walked right into Dragon Lankford she yelled back at Kramisha, “I’m done talking ’bout this beast stuff!”

“Hey, whoa, what’s this about?” Dragon’s strong hand steadied Stevie Rae when she stumbled because of their collision. “Did you say beast stuff?”

“She did.” Kramisha pointed at the notebook page in Stevie Rae’s hand. “Two poems come to me, one the day Stevie Rae tangled with them bulls, and the second just a little while ago. She don’t want to pay them no mind.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to pay them any mind. I just want to take care of my own business my own self without every dang body in the universe nosing around.”

“Do you consider me every dang body?” Dragon asked.

Stevie Rae forced herself to meet his gaze. “No, ’course not.”

“And you are in agreement with me that Kramisha’s poems are important.”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then you can’t just ignore them.” Dragon rested his hand on Stevie Rae’s shoulder. “I know how it feels to want to keep your life private, but you’ve stepped into a position where there are more important things than your privacy.”

“I know that, but I can deal with this myself.”

“You didn’t deal with the bulls,” Kramisha said. “They still happened.”

“They’re gone, aren’t they? So I did deal with them just fine.”

“I remember seeing you after your battle with the bull. You were gravely injured. Had you understood Kramisha’s warning the cost to you might not have been so great. And then there is the fact that a Raven Mocker appeared, and he might even be the creature Rephaim. That monster is still out there somewhere and a danger to all of us. So, you must understand, young priestess, that a forewarning meant for you ca

Stevie Rae stared into Dragon’s eyes. His words were strong. His tone was kind. But was that suspicion and anger she saw in his expression, or was it just the grief that had been shadowing him since the death of his wife?

While she hesitated, Dragon continued, “A beast killed Anastasia. We ca

“I-I know,” she stuttered, trying to order her words. Rephaim killed Anastasia the night Darius shot him from the sky. No one will ever forget that—I can never forget that, especially now that things have changed. It’s been weeks and I haven’t seen him. At all. Our Imprint is still there. I can feel it, but I haven’t felt anything from him.

And that lack of feeling made the decision for Stevie Rae. “Okay, you’re right. I need help with this.” Maybe this is the way it was meant to be, she thought as she handed Dragon the poems. Maybe Dragon will discover my secret, and when he does it will all be destroyed: Rephaim, our Imprint, and my heart. But at least it’ll be over.

As Dragon read the poetry Stevie Rae watched his expression get darker. When he finally looked from the page and into her eyes, there was no mistaking his worry.

“The second bull you conjured, the black one that vanquished the evil bull, what type of co

Stevie Rae tried not to show how relieved she was that Dragon was focusing on the bulls and not questioning her about Rephaim.

“I don’t know if you could really call it a co

“The earth…” Dragon seemed to be thinking aloud. “If the bull reminds you of your element, perhaps that is enough for the two of you to remain co

“But we know he’s good,” Kramisha said. “They’s no mystery ’bout that. The poems can’t be talkin’ ’bout him.”

“So?” Stevie Rae couldn’t hide her irritation. Kramisha was like a dang dog with a soup bone. She just wouldn’t leave it alone.

“So, the poem, ’specially the last one, is all about trusting the truth. We already know he’s good. You can trust the black bull. Why do you need a poem to tell you that?”

“Kramisha, like I tried to tell you before, I do not know.”

“I just don’t think they’s talkin’ ’bout the black bull,” Kramisha said.

“What else could they be talkin’ about? I don’t know any other beasts.” Stevie Rae said the words fast, as if speed could take away the lie.