I will definitely have spoilers for Revealed in here so if you haven't read it and don't want it spoiled, don't read.
Becoming a fledgling is hard, it's harder when you're the first not undead fledgling to go red, even harder when you're gifted with an ability that's so rare no one really knows how to help you with it and harder still when your high priestess loses her mind. Hopefully Shaylin has what it takes to help her friends and herself during the trying times to come.
Disclaimer: I don't own the House of Night series (obviously) and all recognizable characters from the books aren't mine.
I woke up with a start, disoriented and lost. I couldn't remember where I was for a moment and tensed when I realized there were arms wrapped around my waist and legs were entangled with mine.
"Shaylin, what's wrong?"
That's when I remembered why I slept so comfortably and quickly even after what happened with Zoey, Nicole was sharing my bed. Her sleepy voice was groggy but undeniably cute and I felt myself blush when she kissed the top of my head. My lips tingled with the memory of Nicole's and my cheeks heated up even more.
"Nothing," I replied, relaxing little by little into her embrace. It was weird, but I didn't question my feelings; after all, there was nothing wrong with finding comfort in anyone's arms. And Nicole's arms were really comforting.
"You sure?" she asked softly, loosening her hold on me. I heard hesitation and worry laced thickly in her words. "I mean… it's not… you're okay?" She pulled her arms away and tucked them closer against herself.
I nodded, rolling onto my side on my small mattress, looking at her face, studying her features. She was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth and looked on the verge of tears. A quick glance at her dimmer aura told me she was anxious and I could only guess why.
"I'm okay, I promise." Her gaze met mine and after a long moment she nodded and closed her eyes; her hands were shaking. "It felt nice."
"Really?" There was a tremble in her voice and I saw a tear run down her cheek. She needed reassurance and even though I wasn't sure what would happen between us, if anything at all, I knew there was something there before we fell asleep.
"Really."
"Okay."
We stayed that way a little longer, our legs tangled in my covers and surrounded by warmth. It felt nice, comforting and normal even with the slight awkwardness hanging in the air between us. Nicole didn't pull me back into her arms and she didn't open her eyes but she didn't pull further away; although that could only be because she would've fallen off.
Either way, it ended all too soon and in a horrible way.
Aphrodite rushed in, not saying a word as she burst into the basement and yanked my arm. I opened my mouth to yell at her but before the proper words formed in my mind, I noticed her aura and looked at her face. Beside me, I felt Nicole tense and knew she realized just how horrible something must be for Aphrodite to not snark about us in bed.
"It's Zoey," was all she said before tugging at my arm again. This time, I quickly got out of bed, forgetting about everything else and followed her. If not for Nicole, I would have fried outside in the afternoon sun but she wrapped me in the blanket we had shared and walked with me into the open daylight.
The first thing I noticed was Stark's aura. My Sight zeroed in on the dangerous swirling of his colors and I knew something had happened and it involved Zoey. After that everything whirpooled. Damien and Shaunee stood huddled together, clearly shaken and confused while Kalona shadowed them. Thanatos was talking to a human officer whose colors' movements reflected compassion and sincerity as well as sadness. His colors resembled everyone else's who was upset but his face betrayed little to nothing as he nodded at whatever Death's high priestess said.
"What happened?" Nicole finally asked, looking to Aphrodite for answers. I dreaded whatever reply was going to come, I knew it'd be bad, really bad.
For a moment the normal and bitchy girl I'd gotten somewhat used to reappeared as she sneered at Nicole. It wasn't as bad as usual but it was still enough to get Nicole scowling.
"What the fuck do you think happened? While you and it were snuggling and doing goddess knows what, Zoey flipped her shit." She turned her glare on me, her colors calming shaking and dimming as she spoke. "My vision came true. She killed two humans and now she turned herself in." Her glare completely vanished and that's when I realized her eyes were shining with tears and her lip was trembling.
"My beauty," Darius breathed, rushing up to her side. He lifted her into his embrace and quickly carried her away but not quick enough to keep her soft sobs from reaching my ears.
"Oh shit," was all I managed to say before my knees gave out and my vision went dark.
A/N: Okay, so this was my first shot at a HoN fanfiction. Hopefully it wasn't too bad. I'm hoping to update this somewhat often because I'm not going to make the chapters as long as I usually do. Shaylin/Nicole is adorable and I definitely ship it. Anyway, follows, favorites and reviews are appreciated (: