And, yes, it was weird that I got that about him so quickly.

"I think he's definitely cute," I said.

"Ohmigod! I just realized who he is!" Jack gasped.

"Do tell," Shaunee said.

"He's James Stark!" Jack said.

"No shit," Erin said, rolling her eyes. "Jacky, we already know that."

"No, no, no. You don't get it. He's the James Stark who is the best archer in the whole world! Don't you remember reading about him online? He kicked butt in the track and field Summer Games this past year. Guys, he competed against grown vamps, actual Sons of Erebus, and he beat them all. He's a star . . ." Jack ended on a dreamy sigh.

"Well, shit! Slap me and call me impaired, Twin. Jacky's right!" Erin said.

"I knew his hotness was of major proportions," Shaunee said.

"Wow," I said.

"Twin, I'm gonna try to like his dog," Erin said.

"Of course we are, Twin," Shaunee said.

Naturally, all four of us were staring at Stark like total morons when he and Damien came back to the table.

"What?" he said, mouth filled with a bite of sandwich. He glanced from us down to Duchess. "Did she do something while I was gone? She kinda likes to lick toes."

"Eesh, that's—," Erin began, but shut up when Shaunee kicked her under the table.

"No, Duchess was a perfect lady whilst you were gone," Shaunee said, giving Stark a very, very friendly grin.

"Good," Stark said. When everyone continued to stare at him, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. As if on cue, Duchess moved so that she could lean against his leg and gaze up at him lovingly. I watched him relax as he automatically reached a hand down and ruffled her ears.

"I remember hearing about you beating all of those vamps in archery!" Jack blurted; then he squeezed his lips shut and blushed bright pink.

Stark didn't look up from his plate. He just shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I'm good at archery."

"You're that fledgling?" Damien said, just now getting it. "Good at archery? You're amazing at archery!"

Stark looked up. "Whatever. It's just something I've been good at ever since I've been Marked." His eyes went from Damien to me. "Speaking of famous fledglings, I see the rumor about your extra Marks is true."

"It's true." I really hated these first meetings. It made me uncomfortable as hell when I met someone and all they could see about me was the uber-fledgling and not the real Zoey.

Then I got it. What I was feeling was probably a lot like what Stark was feeling.

I asked the first thing I could think of to get the subject away from how "special" he and I both were. "Do you like horses?"

"Horses?" The sarcastic smile was back.

"Yeah, well, you seem like you might be an animal lover," I said lamely, jerking my chin in the direction of his dog.

"Yeah, I guess I like horses. I like most animals. Except cats."

"Except cats!" Jack squeaked.

Stark shrugged again. "I've never really liked them. They're too bitchlike for my tastes."

I heard both the Twins snort.

"Cats are independent creatures," Damien began. I heard the schoolteacher lecture tone in his voice and knew my mission to change the subject had been successful. "We all know, of course, that they have been worshipped in many ancient cultures of the world, but did you know that they were also—?"

"Uh, guys, sorry to interrupt," I said, standing and shifting my grip on Nala so that I wouldn't drop her on Duchess's back. "But I gotta go see what Aphrodite wants before the Council Meeting. I'll see you there, 'kay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"I guess."

"Whatever."

At least I got some sort of good-bye.

I gave Stark a friendly smile. "It was nice to meet you. If you need anything for Duchess, just let me know. There's a good Southern Ag not far from here. They carry an extra lot of cat stuff, but I'll bet they have dog stuff, too."

"I'll let you know," he said.

And then, as Damien resumed his cats-are-wonderful lecture, Stark gave me a quick wink and a nod that clearly said he appreciated my not-so-subtle subject shift. I winked back at him and was halfway to the door that led outside before I realized I was grinning like a fool instead of thinking about the fact that the last time I'd been outside, something had seemed to attack me.

I was standing in front of the big oak door like a Special Needs/Special Services student when a group of Sons of Erebus Warriors poured down the stairway that led to the staff dining room on the second floor.

"Priestess," several of them said when they caught sight of me, and the entire group paused to give me respectful bows with lovely crisp salutes, hands fisted over their muscular chests.

I returned the salute nervously.

"Priestess, allow me to get the door for you," said one of the older warriors.

"Oh, uh, thank you," I said, and then with a sudden inspiration added, "I was wondering if one of you could walk back to the dorm with me and maybe give me a list of the names of the warriors who will be assigned to guard the girls' dorm. I think it would make the guys feel more at home if we knew their names."

"That's quite considerate of you, my lady," said the older warrior, who was still holding the door for me. "I would be happy to give you a list of names."

I smiled and thanked him. All the way to the girls' dorm, he chatted courteously about the warriors who would be assigned to guard us while I nodded and made the appropriate noises and tried to sneak glances up into the quiet night sky.

Nothing flapped or chilled the air, but I couldn't get rid of the frightening feeling that someone or something was watching me.

I had barely touched my door handle when it was pulled open and Aphrodite grabbed my wrist. "Would you get your butt in here? Shit, you are slow as a fat kid on crutches, Zoey." She pulled me into the room and slammed the door firmly behind us.

"I'm not slow, and you have a whole hell of a lot of explaining to do," I said. "How did you get in here? Where is Stevie Rae? When did your Mark come back? What—?" My tirade of questions was cut off by a loud, insistent tapping that was coming from my window.

"First of all, you're a moron. It's the House of Night not Tulsa Public Schools. No one locks their doors, so I walked right in your room. Second, Stevie Rae is over there." Aphrodite breezed past me as she hurried to the window. I just stood there staring at her while she pulled back the thick drapes and started unlatching the heavy leaded-glass windowpane. She gave me an irritated look over her shoulder. "Hello! A little help would be nice."

Utterly confused, I joined her at the window. It took both of us to wrench it open. I gazed out from the top floor of the old raw stone building that looked more like a castle than like a dorm. The late December night was still cold and dreary, and it was now making a halfhearted attempt at rain. I could just see the east wall through the darkness and the shrouding trees. I shivered, but fledglings rarely feel cold, and it wasn't the weather giving me the chills. It was a glimpse of the east wall—a place of power and mayhem. Beside me, Aphrodite sighed and leaned forward so she could peek out the window and down the wall. "Stop messing around and get in here. You're going to get caught, and more importantly, the humidity is going to frizz my hair."

When Stevie Rae's head bobbed up into view, I almost peed on myself.

"Hi, Z!" she said cheerfully. "Check out my new ultracool climbing abilities."

"Ohmygod. Get. In. Here." Aphrodite reached through the open window, grabbed one of Stevie Rae's hands, and yanked. Like she was a balloon, Stevie Rae popped into the room. Aphrodite quickly closed the window and pulled shut the drapes.