morning

guysss mau cerita tentang apaa ya..
tetntang hal yang bakal aku alamin aja yaa.
hmm udah H-5 kali yaa?? degdegan banget aslii oh god...
mana yaaa temen2 tuh cerita ttg masalalu mereka dll dulu wah tambah buat badan gue panas dingin guysssss....
dimana lapangan yang cukup besar untuk dimana gue bertarung sebagai seseorang yang punya keberanian, harga diri untuk memperlihatkan bahwa kami bisa.
yaa walaupun buat sekarang dr kami sangat enjoyyy atas semuanyaaa maksud aku sangat "santai"
santai dlm arti kami adalah ga ada beban. wahhebatkan? aku aja bingung karena kesantaian kami bisa mmbuat siapa saja marah besar hahahaha
oke segitu aja dulu yaa
doain ajaa biar kami jadi Winner nanti yaaa :* amiiiiiiin o:)

To The Beautiful You | You Lift Me up

TTBY Minho High Jumping BTS (ENGSUB)

Min-Ho and Sulli Kiss Scenes (TTBY)

my boy haha :*

salah-__-

okee temen-temen aku mau cerita soal seseorang yang ga terlalu aku pikirin di posting aku sebelumnya.......
jadi gini yaa, aku tadi ga sengaja gitu lagi ngomong"in dia pas depan TU. Abis itu tau gaaaaa? dia muncul trus jalan hmm udah asli serasa jodoh gitu *ngarep* terus dia bolakbalik kayak orang sibuk gitu. ga lama dari itu aku disibukan buat kegiatan aku selanjutnya. heheheh sok sibuk, tapi beneran.
terus aku tadi awalnya bareng dona abis dari kerjaan aku eh tibatiba dia nyapa bule "anallisa peterpan" uh bubegitu dona memanggilnya dan betenya lagi dia udh tau mau cepet eh malah ngobrol asik2an sm tuh bule.
yaudah aku tinggal aja....
aku ga tau harus bersyukur atau engga ga nunggu dona tadi, ya bingung juga sih abisnya ada rasa nyesel ga liat + seneng juga karna ga menyaksikan langsung hahah...
pasti penasaran kan apa yang dona liat? jrennggggg jreeeng.......
jadi gini dona ngeliat kucing kawin...... lahhh hahahah ga koo
ini serius yaaa.. yang diliat dona itu si hmm yang ga terlalu aku pikirin tadi hahah
dona ga sengaja melihat sang pangeran aku romantis banget sm seseorang temennya. wah pas di ceritain dona hati aku seneng+ sedih juga sih. oke yang buat aku seneng itu adalaaaaah aku menegetahui kalo sang "prince" itu romantis kaya di film2 korea gitu. aduuhhhh.. yang buat aku sedih ya tadi dia ngelakuin itu sm temennya. hukuhuk-__-
tadi pas roadshow berlangsung aku ga sengaja melihat disekelilingku aku melihat..... yaaa aku melihat dia lagi. tapiiii.... dengan disebelahnya itu temennya yang dona liat tadi. aku langsung berfikir "mereka pacaran ya" sengan perasaan kecewa, takut, dan penasaran aku segra menyanyakan hal tersebut dengan dona.
tapi dona malah menjawab "ga mungkin dia ipa". Lah klo dia ipa emng kenapa? karana aku berfikir tanggapan dona itu rada ga nyambung jadi aku berpikir keas sendirian...
tapiii selama roadshow berlangsung aku ga berenti2 ngeliat mereka sampe mereka berpisah pada tempatnya.
yaaa setelah kegiatan roadshow itu selesai penasaran ku akan hal itu semakin membahana!!! dan aku berniat untuk menanya kan itu dengan marsya yang aku tau orangnya itu sedikit "KEPO" dan emang bener ,ereka pacaran dan aku sekarang aku tau "prince" aku itu siapa...
okee smpe sekarang aku sdikit kecewa. ya gimana jalan aku buat move on itu ga mudah. nah dia salah satu penyebab aku sedikit move dari yang lalu.....
hmm tapi yasudahlah aku ga mungkin maksa hehehe.........................
Longlast ya kamu! :))

....

haiii guysss udh lama ga ngasih kabar hahahaha iyaaaa maaf ya buka blog cuma mau buat tugas.
bukan sombong loh ini hmm
eh iyaa aku tdi nulis sesuatu di hp yang sebenernya nulis ya di dalem blog._.
mau aku ulang? ga ah males, udh sekarang intinya aku cerita masalah perasaan.... ciee *tanpagalau*
oke gue sekarang ngerasa dilema bgt perihal gue bingung lagi serk sm siapa. ya gue mikir sih apa gue udh mve atau gagal.
gini ya malem ini yang ada dalem tak gue iniiiii ada 3 org sih kebanyakan ya? tapi tunggu loh gosip gue playgirl itu ga bener *PDmuncul*
tapi skrg gue lagi mikirin bgt 2 orang dari 3org cowo tadi hmm karna yang satu itu masi remang tak terlihat~
nah yang 2org ini kalian pasti udh nangkep siapaa yakan ayooo ngakuuu!!
iya emang mreka yg akupikirin sekarang.
jadi gini gue bingung suka sm siapa kalo gue ketemu yang satu guengerasa ketemu malaikat penyejuk hati hehehe tapi pas dia enyah darihadapan gue yaudah rasa itu balik lagi jadi biasa. kaya ngeliyat idolague dteng kerumah trus harus benrangkat lagi hahaha
nah kalo yang satunya ini berhubung dia udh beda pulau sm gue, gue hanya bisa saling "say hello" lewat media sosial atau apalah itu namanya yaa. nah pd saat itu aku juga kaya berapi2 cinta cieee *lebay*
nah taoi klo percakapan tu selesai udh gue biasa aja.
hmmm.........................
jadi intijnya gimana sih? ga tauuu beneran -__-

awakenend eight

"I think y'all should give Zoey a break. After what she's been through she could use a vacation," Stevie Rae said.

 

 

"If that's all it is," Erik said.

 

 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

 

 

"Word is she isn't planning on coming back. At all."

 

 

"That's just plain silly."

 

 

"Have you talked to her?" Erik asked.

 

 

"No, have you?" she countered. "No."

 

 

"Actually, Erik brings up a valid point," Lenobia said. "No one has talked with Zoey. Jack said that she's not returning. I've spoken with Aphrodite. She and Darius are, indeed, arriving soon. Zoey is not making or taking calls."

 

 

"Zoey is tired. Stark is still messed up. Isn't that what Jack reported?" Stevie Rae said.

 

 

"Yes," Dragon Lankford said. "But the truth is, we have barely spoken to Zoey since her return from the Otherworld."

 

 

"Okay, seriously, why is this such a big deal? You're acting like Z is some truant bad kid, and not a kick-ass High Priestess."

 

 

"Well, for one thing, it concerns us because she does have so much power. With power comes responsibility. You know that," Lenobia said. "And then there is the issue of Neferet and Kalona."

 

 

"Here I must speak," Professor Penthasilea said. "I am not the only one of us to have received the High Council's most recent message. There is no Neferet and Kalona. Neferet has broken with her Consort since his spirit returned to his body and he regained consciousness. Neferet had him publically lashed, and then banished from her side, and from vampyre society for one century. Neferet spearheaded his punishment for the crime of killing the human boy.

 

 

The High Council ruled that Kalona, and not Neferet, was responsible for the crime."

 

 

"Yes, we know that, but--," Lenobia began.

 

 

"What are y'all talkin' about?" Stevie Rae interrupted, feeling like her head was going to explode.

 

 

"Looks like we ain't on the email list," Kramisha said, looking every bit as freaked out as Stevie Rae. As the clock outside began to chime midnight, Neferet stepped from within the hidden door that was the High Priestess's entrance to the Tulsa Council Chamber. She moved with purpose to the huge round table. Her voice was whip-like and full of confidence and command.

 

 

"I see I have returned none too soon. Would someone please explain to me why we have begun allowing fledglings access to our Council Meetings?"

 

 

"Kramisha is more than just a fledgling. She's a Poet Laureate and a Prophetess. Add to that the fact that I'm a High Priestess and I've invited her--all that gives her the right to be in this Council Meeting."

 

 

Stevie Rae swallowed the sick fear that came with confronting Neferet and was incredibly relieved that her voice sounded steady when she finally freed the words from the back of her throat. "And why aren't you in jail for Heath's murder?"

 

 

"Jail?" Neferet's laughter was cruel. "What impudence! I am a High Priestess, one who has earned that title and not simply been given it by default."

 

 

"And yet you avoid the question of your culpability in the human's murder," Dragon said. "I, too, did not receive communication from the Vampyre High Council. I would like an explanation of your presence, and why you were not held responsible for the behavior of your Consort."

wakenend seven

The moment before his father appeared the consistency of the air changed.

 

 

He'd known Father had returned from the Otherworld the instant it had happened. How could he not have known it? He'd been with Stevie Rae. She'd felt Zoey become whole again just as the knowledge of his father had come to him. Stevie Rae ... It had been less than a fortnight since he'd been in her presence, spoken with her, touched her, but it seemed that their time together had been an eternity ago.

 

 

If Rephaim lived for another century he would not forget what had happened between them just before Father had returned to this realm. The human boy in the fountain had been him. It hadn't made rational sense, but that didn't make it any less true. He'd touched Stevie Rae and imagined, for just a heartbeat in time, what could have been.

 

 

He could have loved her. He could have protected her. He could have chosen Light over Darkness.

 

 

But what could have been was not reality--was not to be. He'd been born of hate and lust, pain and Darkness. He was a monster. Not human. Not immortal. Not beast.

 

 

Monster. Monsters didn't dream. Monsters didn't desire anything except blood and destruction. Monsters didn't--couldn't--know love or happiness: they weren't created with that ability.

 

 

How then was it possible that he missed her?

 

 

Why this terrible hollowness in his soul since Stevie Rae had been gone? Why did he feel only partially alive without her? And why did he long to be better, stronger, wiser, and good, truly good for her?

 

 

Could he be going mad?

 

 

Rephaim paced back and forth across the rooftop balcony of the deserted Gilcrease mansion. It was past midnight and the museum grounds were quiet, but since the cleanup after the ice storm had begun in earnest, the place was becoming busier and busier during daylight hours. I'm going to have to leave and find another place. A safer place. I should leave Tulsa and make a stronghold in the wilderness of this enormous country. He knew that was the wise thing to do, the rational thing to do, but something compelled him to stay.

 

 

Rephaim told himself it was simply that he hoped now that his father had returned to this realm, he would also return to Tulsa, and he was waiting here for him to come back--to give him a purpose and a direction. But in the deepest recesses of his heart he knew the truth. He didn't want to leave this place because Stevie Rae was here, and even though he couldn't allow himself to contact her, she was still near, reachable, if only he dared.

 

wakenend seven

The moment before his father appeared the consistency of the air changed.

 

 

He'd known Father had returned from the Otherworld the instant it had happened. How could he not have known it? He'd been with Stevie Rae. She'd felt Zoey become whole again just as the knowledge of his father had come to him. Stevie Rae ... It had been less than a fortnight since he'd been in her presence, spoken with her, touched her, but it seemed that their time together had been an eternity ago.

 

 

If Rephaim lived for another century he would not forget what had happened between them just before Father had returned to this realm. The human boy in the fountain had been him. It hadn't made rational sense, but that didn't make it any less true. He'd touched Stevie Rae and imagined, for just a heartbeat in time, what could have been.

 

 

He could have loved her. He could have protected her. He could have chosen Light over Darkness.

 

 

But what could have been was not reality--was not to be. He'd been born of hate and lust, pain and Darkness. He was a monster. Not human. Not immortal. Not beast.

 

 

Monster. Monsters didn't dream. Monsters didn't desire anything except blood and destruction. Monsters didn't--couldn't--know love or happiness: they weren't created with that ability.

 

 

How then was it possible that he missed her?

 

 

Why this terrible hollowness in his soul since Stevie Rae had been gone? Why did he feel only partially alive without her? And why did he long to be better, stronger, wiser, and good, truly good for her?

 

 

Could he be going mad?

 

 

Rephaim paced back and forth across the rooftop balcony of the deserted Gilcrease mansion. It was past midnight and the museum grounds were quiet, but since the cleanup after the ice storm had begun in earnest, the place was becoming busier and busier during daylight hours. I'm going to have to leave and find another place. A safer place. I should leave Tulsa and make a stronghold in the wilderness of this enormous country. He knew that was the wise thing to do, the rational thing to do, but something compelled him to stay.

 

 

Rephaim told himself it was simply that he hoped now that his father had returned to this realm, he would also return to Tulsa, and he was waiting here for him to come back--to give him a purpose and a direction. But in the deepest recesses of his heart he knew the truth. He didn't want to leave this place because Stevie Rae was here, and even though he couldn't allow himself to contact her, she was still near, reachable, if only he dared.

 

awakenend six

"Duch, what is it, beautiful girl? Why are you acting so psycho today?" Jack pulled the pile of purple origami papers from under the blond Lab and put them up out of dog-butt reach on the wooden stool he was using as an outside table and sword stand. The big dog huffed, thumped her tail on the ground, and scooted closer to Jack. He sighed and gave her a loving but exasperated look. "You don't have to be attached to my side. Everything's fine. I'm just decorating."

 

 

"She is being more than a little codependent today," Damien said, folding his legs and sitting on the grass beside Jack.

 

 

Jack stopped working on the paper sword he'd been folding into shape and stroked Duchess's soft head. "Do you think she can sense that S-T-A-R-K is still not feeling one hundred percent? Do you think she knows he's not coming back tomorrow?"

 

 

"Well, maybe. She is extraordinarily intelligent, but my guess is she's more worried about you climbing up there than Stark being tired and tardy."

 

 

Jack fluttered his fingers at the eight-foot ladder that sat open and ready not far from them. "Oh, there's nothing for Duch or you to be worried about. That ladder is perfectly safe. It even has an extra hold-it-open latch that makes it totally steady."

 

 

"I don't know. It's awful high up there." Damien gave the top rungs of the ladder a wary look.

 

 

"Nah, it's not so bad. Plus, it's not like I'm climbing up to the top--or at least not much. This poor tree has limbs that are hangy-downy now. You know, ever since he burst up from under it." Jack said the last sentence in a stage whisper.

 

 

Damien cleared his throat and gave the big oak they were sitting under the same wary glance he'd shot the ladder. "Okay, don't get mad, but I really need to talk to you about choosing this particular spot for Zoey's Celebration Ritual."

 

 

Jack held up his hand, palm out, in the universal stop signal. "I already know people are going to have issues with this location. I've just decided that my reasons for it are better than the reasons against it."

 

 

"Honey, you always have the best intentions," Damien took Jack's hand and held it in both of his. "But I think this time you need to consider that you might be the only one who can see anything positive about this place. Professor Nolan and Loren Blake were killed here. Kalona escaped from the earth, ripped open the ground, and split the tree right here. It just doesn't feel very celebratory to me."

 

 

Jack's free hand covered Damien's. "This is a place of power, right?"

 

 

"Correct," Damien said.

 

 

"And power isn't negative or positive in its unused form. It only takes on those characteristics when outside forces take over and influence it. Right?"

awakenend five

Stevie Rae

 

 

"You ain't yourself. You know that?"

 

 

Stevie Rae looked up at Kramisha. "All I'm doin' is just sittin' here, minding my own business." She paused, letting the unlike you implication sink in. "How is that not being myself?"

 

 

"You picked the darkest, creepiest corner stuck allover here. You blew them candles out so it'd be evendarker. And you sitting here moping so loud I can almost hear your thoughts."

 

 

"You can't hear my thoughts." The hard edge to Stevie Rae's voice had Kramisha's eyes widening. " 'Course I can't. They's no need for you to get all huffy. I said almost. I ain't Sookie Stackhouse. Plus, even if I was I wouldn't listen in to your thoughts. That'd be rude and my mama raised me better than that." Kramisha sat next to Stevie Rae on the little wooden bench. "Speaking of--am I the only one who thinks that werewolf is hotter than Bill and Eric put together?"

 

 

"Kramisha, do not mess up season three of True Blood for me. I haven't finished my DVDs of season two."

 

 

"Well, I'm just sayin', prepare for some serious four-footed hotness."

 

 

"Seriously. Don't you dare tell me anything else."

 

 

"Okay--okay, but the whole wolf-monster-hotness guy thing is somethin' I need to talk to you 'bout."

 

 

"This bench is made of wood. Wood equals earth.Which means I can probably figure out a way tomake it smack the living crap right outta you if youmess up True Blood for me."

 

 

"Would you please relax? I'm already offa that. I got somethin' else we gotta discuss before we go into what I know is gonna be one majorly boring Council Meeting."

 

 

"It's part of what we gotta do. I'm a High Priestess. You're a Poet Laureate. We have to go to the Council Meetings." Stevie Rae let out a long puff of air and felt her shoulders slump. "Dang, I'll be glad when Z gets back here tomorrow."

 

 

"Yeah, yeah, I get that. What I don't get is what's got you so messed up in the head you seem turned inside out."

 

 

"My boyfriend has lost his dang mind and disappeared off the face of the earth. My best friend almost died in the Otherworld. The red fledglings-- the other ones--are still out there somewhere doin' Bubba-knows-what, which I'm pretty sure means eating people. And to top it all off I'm supposed to be a High Priestess, even though I'm not even sure what all that means. I think that's enough to mess up anyone's head."

 

 

"Yeah, it is. But it ain't enough to keep givin' me weird-assed poems that all have the same freaky theme. They about you and beasts, and I want to know why."

 

 

"Kramisha, I do not know what you're talkin' 'bout." Stevie Rae started to stand up, but Kramisha reached into her huge bag and pulled out a piece of violet-colored paper that had her bold writing scrawled across it. With another heavy exhale of breath, Stevie Rae sat down and held out her hand. "Fine. Let me see."

 

 

"I wrote 'em both on this paper. The old one and the new one. Somethin' told me you might need yourmemory refreshed."

 

 

Stevie Rae didn't say anything. Her eyes went to the first poem on the paper. She took her time reading it. Not because she needed her memory refreshed. She didn't. Every line of the poem had been burned into her mind.

 

 

The Red One steps into the Light

 

 

girded loins for her part in

 

 

the apocalyptic fight.

 

 

Darkness hides in different forms

 

 

shape,

awakened four

"I have to do what to my cashmere scarf?"

 

 

"Tear a strip from it," Stark said.

 

 

"Are you sure?"

 

 

"Yeah, I got the instructions straight from Seoras. That and a bunch of smart-ass comments about my education being sadly lacking and something about not knowing my arse from my ear or my elbow, and also something about me being a fanny, and I don't know what the hell that means."

 

 

"Fanny? Like a girl's name?"

 

 

"I don't think so..."

 

 

Stark and I shook our heads, in total agreement about Seoras and his weirdness. "Anyway," Stark continued, "he said the pieces of fabric have to be from something that's mine and something that's yours, and it has to be special to each of us." He smiled and tugged at my shimmery, expensive, beautiful new scarf. "You like this thing a lot, don't you?"

 

 

"Yeah, enough that I don't want to rip it up." Stark laughed, pulled his dirk from the sheath at his waist, and handed it to me. "Good, then that tied with my plaid will make a strong knot between us."

 

 

"Yeah, that plaid didn't cost you eighty euros, which is more than a hundred dollars. I think," I muttered as I reached for the dirk.

 

 

Instead of letting me take the dirk from him, Stark hesitated. His eyes found mine. "You're right. It didn't cost me money. It cost me blood."

 

 

My shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. Listen to me, whining about money and a scarf. Ah, hell! I'm starting to sound like Aphrodite."

 

 

Stark flipped the dirk around so that it pressed against his chest over his heart. "If you turn into Aphrodite I'm going to stab myself." "If I turn into Aphrodite, stab me first." I reached for the dirk, and this time he gave it to me.

 

 

"Deal." He grinned.

 

 

"Deal," I said, and then I pierced the fringy edge of my new scarf and with one quick yank ripped a long, slender piece from it. "Now what?"

 

 

"Pick a branch. Seoras said I'm supposed to hold my piece, and you hold yours. We tie them together, and the wish we make for us will be tied together."

 

 

"Really? That's super romantic."

 

 

"Yeah, I know." He reached out and traced my cheek with one finger. "It makes me wish I'd made it up, just for you."

 

 

I looked into his eyes and said exactly what I was thinking. "You're the best Guardian in the world."

 

 

Stark shook his head, his expression tight. "I'm not. Don't say that."

 

 

As he had done to me, I traced his cheek with a finger. "For me, Stark. For me you're the best Guardian in the world."

 

 

He relaxed a little. "For you, I'll try to be."

 

 

I looked from his eyes to the ancient tree. "There."

 

 

I pointed to a low-hanging branch that forked, creating with leaves and limbs what looked like a perfect heart. "That's our place."

 

 

Together we went to the tree. Then, like Sgiach's Guardian had instructed, Stark and I tied the earthcolored MacUallis plaid and my shimmery length of cream together. Our fingers brushed and as we looped the last part of the knot, our eyes met.

 

 

"My wish for us is that our future is strong, just like this knot," Stark said.

 

 

"My wish is that our future is together, just like this knot," I said. We sealed our wishes with a kiss that made me breathless. I was leaning into Stark to kiss him again when he took my hand in his and said, "Would you let me show you something?"

 

 

"Okay, sure," I said, thinking that just about then I'd let Stark show me anything.

 

 

He started leading me into the grove, but he felt my hesitation because he squeezed my hand and smiled down at me. "Hey, there's nothing here that can hurt you, and if there was I'd protect you. I promise."

awakened three

For the zillionth time I thought about what an amazing place Sgiach's throne room was. She was an ancient vampyre queen, the Great Taker of Heads, uber-powerful and surrounded by her own personal Warriors known as Guardians. Hell, way back in the day she'd even taken on the Vampyre High Council and won, but her castle wasn't a nasty-outdoorplumbing-medieval- version-of-camping (gross).

 

 

Sgiach's castle was a fortress, but it was--as they say over here in Scotland--a posh castle. I swear the view from any of the sea-facing windows, but especially her throne room, is so incredible that it looks like it should be on HD TV and not in front of me, in real life.

 

 

"It's beautiful here." Okay, talking to myself-- especially so soon after being, well, kinda sorta crazy in the Otherworld--might possibly be a not- so-good idea. I sighed and shrugged. "Whatever. With Nala not here, Stark mostly out of it, Aphrodite doing stuff I'd rather not imagine with Darius, and Sgiach off doing something magickal or kicking ass in superhero-like training with Seoras, talking to myself seems like the only option."

 

 

"I was simply checking my email--nothing magickal or ass-kicking about that."

 

 

I suppose she should have made me jump. I mean, the queen seemed to materialize from the air beside me, but I guess being all shattered and crazy in the Otherworld had given me a pretty high spookiness tolerance. Plus, I felt a weird bond with this vampyre queen. Yeah, she was awe-inspiring and had mad powers and all, but in the weeks since Stark and I had come back, she had been a fixture by my side. While Aphrodite and Darius played gross kissy-face and walked hand in hand on the beach, and while Stark slept and slept and slept, Sgiach and I had spent time together. Sometimes talking-- sometimes not. She was, I'd decided days ago, the coolest woman, vamp or not, I'd ever met.

 

 

"You're kidding, right? You're an ancient warrior queen who lives in a castle on an island no one can get to without you letting them, and you're checking your email? Sounds like magick to me."

 

 

Sgiach laughed. "Science often feels more mysterious than magick, or at least I have always thought so. Which reminds me--I have been considering how odd it is that daylight affects your Guardian with such debilitating severity."

 

 

"It's not just Stark. I mean, it's been worse with him recently 'cause, well, 'cause he's hurt." I paused, tripping over the words and not wanting to admit how hard it was to see my Warrior and Guardian so obviously messed up. "This really isn't normal for him. He can usually stay conscious during the day, even if he can't stand direct sunlight. All the red vampyres and fledglings are the same about it. Sun does them in." "Well, young queen, it could be a distinct disadvantage that your Guardian is unable to protect you during the daylight hours."

 

 

I gave a shoulder shrug, even though her words sent a shiver of what might be premonition down my spine. "Yeah, well, recently I've learned to take care of myself. I think I can handle a few hours a day on my own," I said with a sharpness that surprised even me.Sgiach's green-amber gaze caught me.

 

 

"Do not allow it to make you hard."

 

 

"It?"

 

 

"Darkness and the struggle against it."

 

 

"Don't I have to be hard to fight?" I remembered skewering Kalona to the wall of an Otherworld arena with his own spear, and my stomach clenched.

 

 

She shook her head and the fading daylight caught the streak in her silver hair, making it glisten like cinnamon and gold mixed together. "No, you must be strong. You must be wise. You must know yourself and trust only those who are worthy. If you allow the battle against Darkness to harden you, you will lose perspective."

awakened two

"Speak to me. Tell me everything slowly and clearly. I want to savor each word." Neferet went to Kalona, kneeling before him, stroking the soft, dark wings that unfurled loosely around the immortal as he sat on the bench, face raised to the night sky, bronzed body bathed in the golden glow of the moon.

 

 

She tried to keep herself from trembling in anticipation of his touch--of the return of his cold passion, his frozen heat.

 

 

"What would you have me say?" He didn't meet her eyes. Instead he opened his face to the sky, as if he could drink in the heavens above them. His question took her aback. Her lust abated and her hand ceased stroking his wing. "I would have you give me the details of our victory so that I might savor the retelling of it with you." She spoke slowly, thinking that perhaps his brain might still be slightly addled from the recent displacement of his soul.

 

 

"Our victory?" he said.

 

 

Neferet's green eyes narrowed. "Indeed. You are my Consort. Your victory is mine, as mine is yours."

 

 

"Your kindness is almost divine. Have you become a goddess during my absence?"

 

 

Neferet studied him closely. He still wasn't looking at her; his voice was almost expressionless. Was he being impudent? She shrugged off his question, though she continued to watch him closely. "What happened in the Otherworld? How did Zoey die?"

 

 

She knew what he would say the instant his amber eyes finally found hers, though childishly she covered her ears and began to shake her head back and forth, back and forth as he spoke the words that were like a sword stroke to her soul.

 

 

"Zoey Redbird is not dead."

 

 

Neferet stood and forced her hands from her ears. She stalked several paces from Kalona, staring unseeingly out at the liquid sapphire of the night sea. She breathed slowly, carefully, attempting to control her seething emotions. When finally she knew she could do so without shrieking in anger to the sky, she spoke.

 

 

"Why? Why did you not complete your quest?"

 

 

"It was your quest, Neferet. Never mine. You forced me to return to a realm from which I'd been banished. What happened was predictable: Zoey's friends rallied about her. With their aid she healed her shattered soul and found herself again."

 

 

"Why did you not stop it from happening?" Her voice was frigid. She didn't so much as glance at him. "Nyx."

 

 

Neferet heard the name leave his lips as if he'd spoken a prayer--soft, low, reverent. Jealousy speared her.

 

 

"What of the goddess?" She almost spat the question.

 

 

"She intervened."

 

 

"She did what?" Neferet whirled around. Disbelief tinged with fear made her words breathless, incredulous. "Do you expect me to believe that Nyx actually interfered with mortal choice?"

awakenend one

Neferet

 

 

A disquieting sense of irritation awakened Neferet.

 

 

Before she had truly departed that amorphous place between dreams and reality, she reached out with her long, elegant fingers and felt for Kalona. The arm she touched was muscular. His skin was smooth and strong and pleasing beneath her fingertips. All it took was that small, feather-like caress. He stirred and turned eagerly to her.

 

 

"My Goddess?" His voice was husky with sleep and the beginnings of renewed desire. He annoyed her. They all annoyed her because they were not him.

 

 

"Leave me ... Kronos." She had to pause, and search her memory to remember his ridiculous, overly ambitious name.

 

 

"Goddess, have I done something to displease you?"

 

 

Neferet glanced up at him. The young Son of Erebus Warrior was reclining on the bed beside her, his handsome face open, his expression willing, his aquamarine eyes just as striking in the dimness of her candlelit bedroom as they had been earlier that day when she'd watched him training in the castle courtyard. He'd stirred her desires then, and with one inviting look from her, he'd willingly come to her and futilely, though enthusiastically, attempted to prove that he was god in more than namesake alone.

 

 

The problem was that Neferet had been bedded by an immortal, thus she knew all too intimately just how much of an imposter this Kronos truly was.

 

 

"Breathe," Neferet said, meeting his blue eyes with a bored glance.

 

 

"Breathe, Goddess?" His brow, decorated by a tattoo pattern that was supposed to represent ball and mace weaponry, but to Neferet appeared more like frilly Fourth of July fireworks, furrowed in confusion. "You asked what you'd done to displease me and I told you: you're breathing. And in much too close a proximity to me. That displeases me. It's time you depart my bed." Neferet sighed and flicked her fingers at him in dismissal. "Go. Now."

 

 

She almost laughed aloud at his undisguised look of hurt and shock. Had the youth really believed he could replace her divine Consort? The impertinence of the thought fueled her anger.

 

 

In the corners of Neferet's bedchamber, shadows within shadows quivered in anticipation. Though she didn't acknowledge them, she felt their stirrings. It pleased her.