Tempted Read Free Page A

him,” Darius said before Sister Mary Angela could respond. “He needs rest and quiet and—”
    “Rest and quiet are fine,” Stark interrupted him. “Like I said before: I’m not dead yet.” He met Darius’s eyes and I saw the Son of Erebus shrug and nod his head briefly, as if he’d conceded some point to the younger vampyre.
    I should have just ignored the little interplay between them, but my patience had evaporated hours before. “Okay, what aren’t you telling me?”
    The nun who’d been assisting Darius shot me a long, cold look and said, “Perhaps the injured boy needs to know his sacrifice was not made in vain.”
    The nun’s harsh words gave me a jolt of guilty shock that closed my throat and didn’t let me respond to the hard-eyed woman. The sacrifice Stark had been willing to make was his life for mine. I swallowed past the dryness in my throat. What was my life worth? I was just a kid—barely seventeen. I’d messed up over and over again. I was the reincarnation of a girl created to trap a fallen angel, and that meant deep inside my soul I couldn’t help loving him, even when I knew I shouldn’t . . . couldn’t . . .
    No. I wasn’t worth the sacrifice of Stark’s life.
    “I already know it.” Stark’s voice didn’t waver; suddenly he sounded strong and sure. I blinked my vision free of tears and met his eyes. “What I did was just part of my job,” he said. “I’m a Warrior. I’ve sworn my life into the service of Zoey Redbird, High Priestessand Beloved of Nyx. That means I’m working for our Goddess and being knocked to the ground and burned a little really doesn’t mean shit if I helped Zoey beat the bad guys.”
    “Well said,
tsi-ta-ga-a-s-ha-ya,”
Grandma told him.
    “Sister Emily, I relieve you of your infirmary duties for the rest of the night. Please send Sister Bianca here in your stead. I believe you should, perhaps, spend some time in quiet contemplation of Luke 6:37,” said Sister Mary Angela.
    “As you wish, Sister,” the nun said and hurried from the room.
    “Luke 6:37? What’s that?” I asked.
    “ ‘Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven,’” my grandma said. She was sharing a smile with Sister Mary Angela when Damien knocked softly on the half-open door.
    “Can we come in? There’s someone who really needs to see Stark.” Damien glanced over his shoulder and made a
stay-there
motion behind him. The soft
woof!
that came in response told me the some
one
was really a some
dog
.
    “Don’t let her come in.” Stark grimaced in pain as he abruptly turned his head away so that he couldn’t see Damien or the doorway. “Tell that Jack kid she’s his now.”
    “No.” I stopped Damien as he began to back away. “Have Jack bring Duchess in.”
    “Zoey, no, I—” Stark began, but my raised hand stilled him.
    “Just bring her in,” I said. Then I met Stark’s eyes. “Do you trust me?”
    He looked at me for what seemed like a really long time. I saw his vulnerability and pain clearly, but finally he nodded once and said, “I trust you.”
    “Go ahead, Damien,” I said.
    Damien turned and murmured something over his shoulder and then he moved aside. Jack, Damien’s boyfriend, came into the room first. His cheeks were pink and his eyes were suspiciously bright. He stopped after a couple of feet and turned back to the door.
    “Come on. It’s okay. He’s in here,” Jack coaxed.
    The blond Lab padded into the room and I was surprised by how quietly she moved for such a big dog. She stopped briefly by Jack’s side and looked up at him, wagging her tail.
    “It’s okay,” Jack repeated. He smiled at Duchess and then wiped away the tears that had escaped his eyes and were slipping down his cheeks. “He’s better now.” Jack made a motion to the bed. Duchess’s head turned in the direction he’d pointed, and she looked directly at Stark.
    The injured boy and the