I suppose this came out of the frustration that my beloved "hag from hell" didn't get the credit she deserved in "Awakened", but I'll never think she's treated well enough. Anyway, here is my lame attempt to right the wrong (and maybe project what will happen in the next book...)

"Aphrodite, you know that's not what I meant."

The Prophetess scowled at her warrior. "I don't know what else you could have meant and I don't know why the hell you're bringing it up at all!"

He heard her words, but her blue eyes didn't reflect her words. He could swear those eyes were hiding pain.

She was a talker and a complainer. She was a bitch and princess. And she always doted over him, paid attention to him, appreciated him.

She was none of this since they had left the House of Night, left Neferet in power, followed Zoey.

Of course following Zoey was normal. She was as devoted to Zoey as she was to him. Aphrodite could be, and usually was, demeaning and bitchy to everyone but him and the High Priestess.

Though if he understood correctly, she had been just as awful to Zoey before Neferet had pulled her from power as head of the Dark Daughters, and had given that title to Zoey. He didn't know her then, and he found almost unbelievable the stories that the Fledglings she called the "Nerd Herd" told about her. Almost. He had seen glimpses of that Aphrodite, but only glimpses.

What might be even harder for him to understand was that, after all that had happened to her, she still helped Zoey. Just listening to Aphrodite and the others, Zoey was not very nice about it and the Nerd Herd was impossibly cruel to her. But for some reason, she had told Zoey about the visions she kept having - allowing Zoey's grandmother, Heath and others to be saved.

He knew that Aprodite had a difficult time before he came to the Tulsa House of Night. Zoey still barely tolerated her, but for some reason –Aphrodite would say Nyx – she helped Zoey, took the abuse, and before it was done, sacrificed herself to save Zoey's best friend and a number of other fledglings.

The cruelty towards Aphrodite was still there when he arrived at the House of Night with his brother warriors. He hadn't shown it, but he was smitten from the first sight of the strikingly beautiful blonde. He jumped at the chance to be with her when she and Zoey left the school to go to town. He watched the blonde beauty as she helped and showed her devotion to the uniquely marked fledgling, and he became even more infatuated with her.

He watched as his beauty and the young high priestess became inseparable. When she trusted him and he asked why she changed she would say she hadn't. She was devoted to Nyx. When she thought that meant Neferet, she was devoted to the high-priestess-gone-bad. When she figured out it meant Zoey, she put aside her grievances and worked with Zoey, though she admitted it was hard to do.

She had little use for the rest of Zoey's friends, though she had grown closer to Stevie Rae since the imprint incident. Aphrodite was always high-maintenance, even more so while she was imprinted with the Red High Priestess. He handn't minded. He knew Stevie Rae was alive and coherent because of Aphrodite, Stevie Rae and all of the red fledglings.

Her past was difficult to understand. One thing he did understand, though was that Aphrodite spoke of Zoey and Nyx in the same tone, with the same degree of respect. When she trusted him, she spoke of her and Zoey and their meeting with Nyx. He knew that the High Priestess survived the shattering of her soul because Aphrodite had been close enough to Nyx that the Goddess showed her what Stark needed to do to bring her back, because Aphrodite had been able to get the message to Stark.

He could pretend that he had been drawn to her because he could see Nyx in her, but that would only be pretending. He was drawn to her strength, her beauty, her intelligence, perhaps even her coarseness. It was hard to imagine her chosen of Nyx, but she was. He had seen it time after time in her and in the way Zoey treated her, listened to her, consulted with her.

Which made it all the more unbelievable that she could have taken what he would see as a slight, a snub so easily. True, she seemed more like herself before he brought it up, but he thought they had to talk about it, they had to deal with it.

"Nyx appeared and talked to everyone but you," he said. "How did that make you feel."

The blonde's stare became icy, her tone harsh. "I was there, Darius! She was talking to me along with everyone else."

"But she acknowledged Zoey, the ravenmocker, Damien, Neferet, Stevie Rae, even Dragon, but not you."

"Are you doubting that I know her? Do you not believe what I've told you?"

She glared at her warrior, angry and upset with him, but grateful that he didn't back down. He never backed down. He understood her, accepted her and, if needed, argued with her as an equal.

"You know I believe you, Aphrodite. I've seen more than enough. I just need to be sure you're OK, that her distance didn't upset you."

The Prophetess' eyes stared at him coldly at first, then softened. He wasn't Eric or the twins, he wasn't challenging her. He deserved better than this, better than her. Why was he still here?

She spoke softly and let her eyes drop. "I've heard her voice time after time, I've seen her face to face, I've given myself to her as she carried me to the Otherworld, she's comforted me while showing me the most awful things. I know she loves me, she has told me so herself. She can pay attention to others now, she's given me enough."

Darius just looked at the human he loved. He still thought he saw some pain there, some hurt, but he was wondering if he had caused it.

They were looking at each other when they heard a knock at the door, the door to the small quarters they shared since leaving the House of Night.

Neither moved immediately - Darius came to his senses first. He quickly moved to the door as Aphrodite regained her composure. Zoey and Stark were at the door.

"Hey, can we come in?" Zoey was smiling as she spoke to Aphrodite, but it didn't look quite right to the blonde.

"Sure, Z," Aphrodite said, eyes fixed on her friend as Darius and Stark greeted each other.

Zoey pulled her into a hug. Not really unusual, but she could feel the tension in the goddess-gifted Fledgling.

Zoey didn't speak, so Aphrodite asked the question she felt in the hug. "Do we need to talk alone?"

The High Priestess' nod was slight, but the Prophetess felt it. She looked to Darius and found his eyes.

"Go do something guy-ish with Arrow-Boy. We need a minute."

Stark was watching them as well, but didn't react. Darius nodded and, knowing Stark's unwillingness to leave Zoey's side while they were both awake, pulled Stark towards the door, "We'll be close," he said for the benefit of both Aphrodite and Stark.

Aphrodite silently watched them leave, Zoey had released her and taken a step back, but still faced her, eyes closed, head slightly bowed..

"Z?" the blonde asked the dark-haired Fledging softly.

Zoey lifted her head and opened her eyes. She was unsure as she spoke, unsure of the answer to her question, unsure if she should be asking it at all. She couldn't have asked it of anyone else. Aphrodite would get upset, but would listen to her, would talk to her, would be able to help her.

"Can you see darkness?"

The blonde studied the dark-haired, tattooed priestess. "What do you mean?"

"Can you see darkness? Like the darkness that was around Neferet? Can you see it?"

"Couldn't you?" Aphrodite was a little confused. She had thought it was visible to everyone.

"I think so, but I'm wondering if I imagined it. I'm wondering if I just saw it because I knew who she was for so long."

Aphrodite closed her eyes and nodded. "I can see it. I have to want to, but I can."

Zoey took a breath to help her resolve, and asked the question she had come to ask. "Can you see it in Stark?"

Aphrodite's eyes widened as she considered the question, "What the….Stark? Why would you ask? You know he loves you. You know what he's done for you."

Zoey didn't want to believe it herself, she didn't want to believe that she couldn't handle this herself. That she couldn't handle anything herself. But this was different, Stark was different. He had hurt her, something she never thought he would do. Something she knew he would never have considered doing. But he did it.

She had managed to snap him out of it, had managed to bring him back to his senses, but she had seen something.

"I know what he's done, Aphrodite, but you don't. You don't know what he did to me."

Aphrodite held her eyes and whispered, "Your Guardian?"

Zoey nodded. "I brushed it off the first time, but it happened again."

Zoey watched Aphrodite's expression change from shock to anger. "What the fuck did he do to you?"

"That's just it, I'm not so sure it was him."

Aphrodite just stared into the eyes of her High Priestess, the eyes of her friend. She had seen so much while she was with Zoey, but she had never seen this expression. Zoey had always known what to do, or at least she had always done something and it had worked out.

The Prophetess nodded. "I can see it, them – the threads of darkness."

Zoey had to force herself to ask the question, it did not come out easily. "Then will you tell me if you see them on Stark?"