Redeemed

“Did you enjoy your feast, Kylee?” Neferet asked her, as if she really cared about her answer.

“Yes, Goddess, I did.”

“Excellent!” She laughed happily and made a shooing motion at Kylee. “Go ahead and precede us to the ballroom, Kylee. Have the quartet begin to play the music I chose from the final scene of the ballet Giselle.”

“Yes, Goddess.”

When they were alone, Neferet said, “Come, Lynette. Would you help me make sure my hair is perfect?”

“I’d be happy to, though I have to admit that I’m not very good with hair.”

“Oh, just be certain none of the flowers the stylist wove into the back fell out as I was dancing. What was that stylist’s name? She was very proficient.”

“Allison,” Lynette said, tucking a stray sprig of baby’s breath back into Neferet’s dark auburn mane.

“Yes, that’s right—Allison. Such a nice name. I am pleased that she made it to the feast.”

“As am I,” Lynette agreed. Only one stylist of the four who had been hired for the wedding that had brought them all to the Mayo was still alive. Lynette thought that it seemed that night had happened an eternity ago.

“Lynette, I am sorry you missed the feast, but it pleased me that you and I were able to sup together earlier. I hope you don’t mind that the stew was simple and the wine not my best.”

“Our meal was wonderful. I enjoyed all of it, even the wine,” Lynette said, marveling at how genuine Neferet seemed. It was as if a switch had been thrown within the Goddess. Her entire attitude had changed.

Lynette was afraid to hope it would last.

“And now it is almost midnight. Everyone is dressed in their best and sated with food and drink. The scene is set for the perfect exit event,” Neferet said.

“That is my fondest wish,” Lynette said. Then she took a chance and asked, “Goddess, are you sure there is nothing I can do to help you with our actual exit?”

“Ah, my dear Lynette, no. I have already explained to you that your duty is to get everyone ready for our spectacular exit. The rest of this event is my duty, as it requires the magick of a Goddess.”

“As you wish, Goddess—after you.” Lynette curtsied as Neferet and her swarm of Darkness swept past her. Obediently, she followed her into the elevator, ignoring the cold-ski

Lynette was worried about how Neferet was going to break them free of the Mayo. She had no idea what the Goddess had pla

“Lynette, my dear, have you ever been to Italy?”

Lynette blinked in surprise at the unexpected question. “Yes, actually I have. I’ve been to Rome and Venice, Sorrento and Capri.”

“Did you enjoy Italy?”

“Very much,” she assured the Goddess. “Would you like me to begin researching a trip for you?”

“Oh, let’s see how tonight goes, shall we? As you always say, you need time and means to plan the perfect event.”

A little confused, Lynette nodded in agreement. Supposing it was a good sign that Neferet was quoting her, she smoothed the lovely dress the Goddess had given her and patted her hair into place. This was one event for which Lynette absolutely wanted to look her best.

Zoey

“So, because I have somehow been drafted into being secretary for the Herd of Nerds, let me recap your pathetic attempt at coming up with a plan,” Aphrodite said, pausing to glance at the yellow legal pad I could see that she’d mostly just doodled Darius’s name all over. “We have zip. Nada. Nothing. And we’ve been brainstorming for hours, though I am getting extremely attached to the professors’ dining room.” She nibbled on the edge of a fudge brownie the chef had brought us a plate of an hour or so ago. “But if I stay up here much longer, my butt is going to be the size of this cushy chair.”

“That’s not true,” I said. “Well, the part about your butt is probably true. The zip, nada, nothing part isn’t true. We know I have to use Old Magick to kill Neferet. I’m wearing this”—I lifted the Seer Stone as Exhibit A—“and I haven’t freaked out or gotten pissed or anything. So I might be able to use it without turning into anything terrible. I mean, I don’t know how yet, but still.”

“The Seer Stone heats up around Aurox,” Stark added, sending Aurox an a

“But not all the time,” Damien said.

“Z, is it hot right now?” Stevie Rae asked me.

I closed my fingers around it to be sure before I answered and shook my head. “Nope. It’s just a stone. Not hot. Not cold.”

“Neferet can’t be killed,” Aurox said. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He’d been sitting off to the side of our group, listening but hardly saying anything, for hours.

“Yeah, genius. We know that. She’s immortal,” Aphrodite said.

“But Zoey just said she needs to use Old Magick to kill Neferet. Damien said it an hour ago. You even said it forty-five minutes before that. Stevie Rae mentioned it as soon as we all sat—”

“Okay, we get it,” I interrupted him, feeling the irritation level in the room rising with each of his comments. “We know she can’t be killed.”

“At least we think she can’t be killed,” Rephaim said. “Father was immortal, and he is dead.”

There was a long, sad silence, so when Aurox spoke, it sounded extra loud and extra awkward.

“I believe that is the core of your problem. You’re not asking yourselves the right question because of what happened to Kalona. You know Neferet is immortal, yet you believe if Zoey wields enough power, she can still be killed. I think that is a mistake that is keeping you from finding your plan.” As if he was warming to the subject, Aurox leaned forward in his chair, studying Rephaim. “No one has explained it to me, but you all seem to know the answer unsaid. Forgive me if this brings you pain, but can you tell me how it is your father was killed, though he had been immortal for eons?”

Stark stood and put his hand on Rephaim’s shoulder. “I’ll answer that for you.” He gave Aurox a hard look. “When Heath, the kid who’s soul is inside you, was killed by Kalona, Zoey’s soul shattered and she was trapped in the Otherworld. I followed her there to try to get her back. Kalona did, too, because Neferet got control over him and sent him to be sure Z never made it back. Kalona and I fought in the Otherworld. He won. I lost. He killed me. Nyx interceded because Kalona cheated. He should have never been there to begin with. He was banished from the Otherworld by the Goddess, and he slipped back in under a technicality.”

I saw Aurox’s confusion and I explained, “Nyx banished Kalona physically, but didn’t specifically say his spirit wasn’t allowed in the Otherworld, either. He came back as spirit, not body.”

Aurox nodded. “I see.”

“Because Father disobeyed the Goddess’s edict, she commanded him to give Stark a piece of his immortality,” Rephaim said.

“And because Kalona obeyed her command, I’m alive today,” Stark said.

“But he’s dead because of it,” Aurox said. “I understand.”

“Do ya also understand that’s a pretty sore subject right now?” Stevie Rae said, taking Rephaim’s hand and sliding closer to him.

“Of course I understand that. I did not mean to cause anyone pain. Rephaim, you have my apology,” Aurox said.

“Accepted,” Rephaim said. “We all know Father made many mistakes. It’s just difficult to relive them right now.”

“And yet we need all of the information we can get to defeat Neferet, and that includes understanding that her immortality is intact,” Aurox said.