So, this fanfic occurs after Tempted, so if you haven't read that, STOP READING RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!

!!!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

The first thing after my author's note (inbetween those two grey line things) is the last two sentances of Tempted, just so you'll remember.

Enjoy!

"Zo, babe, this is the Otherworld. It's not me who doesn't belong here—it's you."

Memory crashed over me, drowning me with despair and darkness and reality as my world shattered, and everything went black.

Zoey

Someone was crying, from far away; a man, I think. I could feel a wetness dripping down my body, soaking my clothes and hair. Was I bleeding? Had I died? I couldn't remember. All I had been thinking about when I ran towards Kalona, spirit in my hand, was Heath, and the danger he was in.

A wave of mental agony washed over me as I thought about Heath, my loving Heath, whom I would never see again. Unless, of course, I had died. I suddenly wished that I had, so I could be with him. He reminded me so much of my former life, my childhood, and more. But then I wouldn't be able to see Grandma Redbird. If I died, it would break her heart. Just that thought alone strengthened me.

The blackness that had taken me so easily before was fading, and I opened my eyes weakly. I squeezed them shut again as the bright sunlight almost blinded me. I was too weak to lift my arm to shade my eyes, so instead I opened them slightly, and realized that it was in fact, cloudy, and the liquid dripping down me was rain. As I gazed at the sky and gained more of my consciousness, the crying grew louder, and it seemed like the sky was crying.

"Don't cry, sky, it's okay, I'll be with him someday," I muttered feebly to the sky, who obviously was not crying, but I was out of it, so it looked like it was. I closed my tired eyes again, and shivered in the cold rain. It felt like I was lying on stone, which drained the warmth from me, making me much colder.

I tried to crumple into a ball, to keep me warmer, but all I could manage was to roll kind of onto my side and bend my knees. I shivered again, and as I did the crying stopped. Who was crying? I pondered this, but could come to no conclusion.

Suddenly, hot arms wrapped around me, enveloping me in a warm embrace. I hadn't realized how cold I really was until coming into contact with somebody else. If they felt hot, I must have been freezing. I curled closer to them, soaking in the warmth.

"Zoey," the one holding me whispered in my ear, and draped what must have been a blanket over me. It was already warm. I sighed in content, but briefly wondered why they weren't taking me inside.

It was probably Stark, since Heath was—

A small sob shook my body and I began to cry. Heath, he was dead, and Kalona had killed him! He'd told me he would become good, but then he'd killed Heath.

"Shh, don't cry," Stark crooned as he took my cold, shaking hands in his hot grasp. I opened my eyes again, but the blanket got in the way. I reached out slowly to move it aside so I could see where we were. I touched the warm blanket to move it, only to pause for a moment at it's odd texture. I couldn't quite place it, but whatever it was, it was certainly very comfortable and warm.

I pushed the blanket aside a bit, and saw that we were on the roof of the castle that Neferet and Kalona had bought off the old human guy. The roof of my dreams. I wondered how we'd gotten there so fast, and hoped that Darius, the twins, Damien, and Aphrodite were kicking Kalona's butt for what he'd done to—

No, don't think about it, I urged myself as I felt a twinge of sadness make me sob harder. Oh yeah, I'd forgotten that I was crying.

I wanted to get up, wanted to stop acting like a baby, just laying there sobbing, so I called spirit to me. It filled me and gave me enough strength to be able to stand and walk, but not much more. So I tiredly poked my face out of the gap I'd made in the blanket. It brushed my face, the texture again feeling familiar, but strange.

Rain immediately hit my face, and I almost pulled my head back into the warmth like a sissy, but instead sat there and just examined my surroundings. I didn't see anybody else. Maybe they'd all gone inside like sane people. I shivered again in the cold rain, and this time I did pull back into the blanket, and Stark's warm embrace.

Stark stood up, and, as if reading my mind—which made sense with the whole warrior-priestess link think—headed towards the doors of the Castle. We went inside, warmth flooding over my still cold body. I was feeling much better now—still weak, but better.

"Put me down, I can walk," I said in a pathetic-sounding voice.

"No, you need to get your strength back," Stark whispered back, his voice dripping with concern. How cute.

"Please, Stark, I can walk, or at least sit in a really comfortable chair." When I said his name, his grip on me tightened. It kinda hurt, and made it relatively hard to breathe in.

"Th-that hurts," I gasped. His grip lessened, and I heard him mutter an apology. It didn't sound very sincere. I felt him take a seat, and by the way he dipped down afterwards, it seemed like a very cushy, comfortable chair. Or couch. Or whatever it was he was sitting on. I peeked out of the blanket again and still didn't see anyone else. Huh.

"Where is everyone?" I asked in confusion, still not understanding where they could be.

"They can't come here," Stark answered emotionlessly, and I could just picture the guarded look on his face. What was that supposed to mean?

I wrapped my arms around his warm waist comfortingly, and in doing so, I realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt. How odd. Then a thought struck me; maybe that was the 'blanket' around me. That would make sense as to why it was warm and familiar feeling; warm from his body heat, and familiar because, well, it was a shirt, and I would have felt it on him earlier.

He relaxed at my embrace and squeezed me gently. We sighed in content as one, and my breath shuddered, reminding me that I'd stopped crying. By now I was completely warm, hot even, and ready to come out of the blanket.

I stirred, and reached out to pull the blanket off of me, when Stark's large had grabbed mine.

"What are you doing?" His voice feinted calmness, but was laced underneath with alarm.

"I'm getting up, it's hot in here," I pouted as I tried to wrestle out of his grasp.

"You need to rest."

"I'm fine, just let me up."

"I...are you sure you're alright?" His voice was hesitant, and there was something different about it… Maybe it was more gruff, or something, but it definitely sounded more manly. Wow. I guess me almost dying really took a toll on him.

"Yeah, I'm sure." I rolled my eyes at his overly-protectiveness.

He slowly let go of me and I immediately shoved the blanket aside in case he changed his mind. It's familiar quality again distracted me, and something inside me told me it was not a shirt.

I weakly rose to my feet, and he grabbed my arm from behind me so I wouldn't topple over. I noticed that he'd also used the blanket to keep me from falling, which made me laugh faintly. It was wrapped around my middle and part of my legs, and as I looked down at it, the laughter died in my throat. I stared until I thought my eyes would pop out of my head.

Now I realized why the 'blanket' had had such a familiar texture. It was most definitely not a shirt. I ran my fingers along it, making sure I wasn't hallucinating in my weak state. I could easily feel the structure of each and every deep, black feather that I touched. I swallowed, knowing whose gaze I would meet when I turned around. I did so, and his wings brushed my arms lightly as he brought them closer to his body.

I stood in the middle of a room I'd never been in, or seen before, and watched as my greatest enemy knelt on the floor in front of me. My eyes narrowed in rage.

"Please, Zoey," he begged, "Forgive me! I did not know how much the boy meant to you, but he had found out too much!"

"And that's your excuse for killing him?" I countered, my voice dangerously low.

"I—no. I have no excuse."

"You said you used to be good. You lied to me. I saw what Heath saw; he sent it to me. We were imprinted."

Kalona's eyes widened. He suddenly stood and took a step towards me. I backed up, my hatred and sadness overcoming A-ya's love for Kalona. I could see the hurt in his eyes at my words, and the A-ya part of my mind wanted me to apologize, forgive him, and run into his arms. But the Zoey in me, who I really, truly was, could not. I turned from him and marched outside into the cold, wet air.

The rain had almost stopped. I stood there like an idiot, not knowing how to leave. This had to be a dream. I knew it was. So I closed my eyes and wished myself away, wondering why I hadn't already been whisked away from here and woken up. At this point in a dream I usually was.

I started to glow with a golden light, and I could feel my will disintegrating me. I turned to see Kalona running towards me, the fear evident in his eyes.

That would be scary, I concluded, To see someone fall apart in front of you. I knew I should have been totally freaked out at the fact that I was disintegrating, but, instead, my mind was very serene.

Kalona reached out for me, trying to save me, but the moment his hand came into contact with what was left of me, I exploded into a billion shining pieces that the wind carried away.

And suddenly, I was back, and whole, with Heath in 'The Otherworld'. I was very confused now. I looked at him, he looked at me, and we both spoke at the same time.

"What the Heck?"

Soooo... What'd ya think?

Tell me in a review!

Please Review!!!

Your Pal,

ll SuperOreoMan ll

!!!END OF SPOILER ALERT!!!