Page 123 of Lost

I’ll admit that I was shocked that Kevin stood up to Dragon. The Swordmaster could absolutely kick my brother’s butt, yet there he was, holding Aphrodite in his arms, going toe-to-toe with him.

“Bryan, Kevin is one of our own. And he is right—we are family.” Anastasia put her hand on her mate’s arm gently. “My love, do you not trust him?”

“Yes. Kevin has proven himself,” Dragon said reluctantly.

“Then we must trust his judgment too.”

“Bring her in,” was all Dragon said, and then he moved aside.

“Anastasia, I’ll need something cool and damp to put over her eyes, and she needs something to drink.” I remembered that in this world Aphrodite was a fully Changed blue vampyre and added, “Wine laced with blood would be perfect.”

“We have those things. I’ll be back in just a moment.” Anastasia hurried away.

Kevin went to the interior of the cave and the closest hearth fire, where he knelt and gently place her on the stone ground where she could lean against the rounded rock wall.

“Rephaim, would you run back to our room and get Aphrodite one of our sleepin’ bags? That’ll help her be more comfortable,” said Stevie Rae. He nodded and hurried away.

Aphrodite cocked her head to the side. “Am I friends with a bumpkin in that other world?”

“Yepper,” said Stevie Rae. “But don’t worry. You’re still nuttier than squirrel turds in our world too.”

“Squirrel turds? Really? I’m feeling like I need to go there and have a serious talk with myself,” Aphrodite said, pressing a shaking hand against the T-shirt that covered her eyes.

I sat beside her. “What’s it been, about forty-five minutes since your vision?”

“Yes,” said Kevin. “She had it just as we were leaving the House of Night. She was so brave. It hit her hard. Her eyes filled with blood and she went blind, but she kept walking—kept moving forward so Neferet wouldn’t know. She’s like a superhero.”

“Kev, you sound besotted. Stop it.” But Aphrodite’s soft tone took the sting out of her words.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure I know what that is, but I think I might be cool with it,” Kevin said.

“It kinda means you’d drink her bathwater, Kev,” Stevie Rae said with a big grin. “And like it.”

“Hum. Aphrodite, would you like me to like that?” he asked.

I punched his arm. “You’re gonna make her roll her eyes, and that’ll hurt.”

“Sorry.” Kevin looked chagrined.

“Aphrodite will be better soon. She just needs to rest,” I said. “Thank you, Anastasia.” I took the clean, wet strip of a linen bandage from the priestess. “Aphrodite, I’m going to take the shirt from your eyes and replace it with a damp cloth. It’ll feel good.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding shakily.

“Keep your eyes closed. Our Aphrodite says that helps,” Stevie Rae added.

“Just breathe, child,” Grandma Redbird said.

“Who’s that?” Aphrodite asked.

“Our grandma,” I said. “You’ll love her. We all do—in whatever world.”

“That’s sweet, Zoeybird. I’ll go see if I can find some nice, hearty soup. That will also help.” Grandma disappeared farther into the cave.

“Okay, here goes,” I said. Gently, I took the bloody T-shirt from Aphrodite’s face. I knew what I was going to see. I mean, I’d helped Aphrodite through the aftermath of more visions than I could count. Still, it was awful. Blood had crusted in the corners and edges of her eyes. Her eyelashes were matted with it. Blood, mascara, and eye shadow had tracked down her face, making her look like a macabre clown.

“Don’t open your eyes. I’ll clean you up a little.” I looked at Anastasia, who was staring in shock at Aphrodite’s face. “I could use another of these cloths.”

“And I could use that blood-laced wine,” Aphrodite said.