Zoey and I stood behind the twins in the Salad bar for lunch, fixing up our plates. Mrs. O'leary kept looking at me, tilting her head, and I knew she wanted me to give her some food. I just gave her a look that meant later at the table, and she stopped begging and just followed us in line. I got so invested in my plate of food that I didn't even realize that Erik had come up behind Zoey in line. I only turned around when I heard my voice get said. I looked over, and Zoey and Erik were both looking at me curiously.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, and then they both laughed a bit.

"I said, I heard both you and Zoey joined the Dark Daughters and Sons," Erik explained and looked more so at Zoey. "Which is cool; that group needs new blood."

"You say a group like you aren't one of them," I said and then tilted my head, noticing that his last statement was more pointed at Zoey. "Aren't we both Dark Sons?"

"Yes, but we're more ornamental," Erik explained, and I looked over to see the Twins, Damien, and Stevie Rae watching the conversation intensely. "It's opposite how it is in the human world; all of us guys know that we're just there to look good and keep Aphrodite amused."

I made a face hearing the aphrodite part, Erik chuckled, and Zoey giggled a bit. "Well, I think both you and Percy will have a hard time at that," Zoey commented, and I smiled a bit and shook my head, walking over to the four people waiting for us.

The Twins stared at me like I had caused the House of Night to be enveloped in water. I gave Mrs. O'leary some ham on my salad. I watched as Erik and Zoey flirted with each other. I smiled, watched them, and smirked as Zoey walked over to the table with him.

"So, will you go….with me….tonight?" Erik asked, and his confidence seemed to be wavering. I looked over at Zoey, who wore this disappointed look on her face.

"I'd love to," Zoey said, but it didn't stop there. "But I can't tonight; after everything that happened last night, I want to perform a purification prayer to completely center myself."

Erik nodded, his expression incomplete understanding. "I understand; hey, if you need anything- or help with it, let me know, okay?"

Zoey nodded, and Erik smiled at the rest of us before walking off and sitting with some other upperclassmen.

"You have lost your damn mind," Erin said pointedly, and that caused Zoey to look at the rest of us.

"My exact thoughts," Shaunee said, staring at Zoey. "What's so important about this purification prayer that you had to blow off Erik Night?"

"Think he'd let me comfort him?" Damien asked absent-mindedly.

"He doesn't play for your team," Erin said, rolling her eyes, and I chuckled, also watching him.

"Plus," I said, looking at them all. "I think he's going to understand."

"And," Stevie Rae added, giving us all a mom look. "This purification prayer has to be a part of Zoey's plan to take Aphrodite down."

"They joined the Dark Daughters." Shaunee said in a "duh" kind of voice. "How is that taking her down?"

"Reconnoitering," I said simply, and Erin rolled her eyes.

"Reconnoitering like hell! Y'all joined; y'all are engaging the enemy full-on." That was when I learned that if Erin was passionate about something, her Oki twang came out.

"That's why I want to perform the purification prayer," Zoey said as she started to explain her idea. "I don't really have any plan, but I do know that the Dark Daughters need some purifying. So I talked with my Grandma earlier today, and she suggested that I cast a Cherokee purification prayer, and I thought I could make it focused around Nyx and ask her for some guidance."

"Asking for Nyx's help isn't a bad idea," I said and sat back a bit thinking about it.

"Are you Cherokee?" Shaunee asked, and Erin rolled her eyes.

"Her last name is Redbird Twin," Erin said, gesturing to Zoey. "She's Cherokee."

"I just think that Nyx might actually hear me," Zoey explained even further, and I saw how her expression changed to a more determined one. "Maybe she'll give me a clue as to what to do about Aphrodite and her cruel friends. They can't be what Nyx wants as examples for other fledglings to follow."

"Why do you think Nyx will listen to you?" I asked, thinking about it a bit. "I mean, she gave you the filled in Mark, but there's something else, isn't there?"

"Oh, let me tell them!" Stevie Rae suddenly said, and the Twins zoned in on Zoey like gossip lasers. "It'd only help if they knew!"

"What. The. Fuck," Erin said, and Shaunee crossed her arms and smirked a bit.

"Now you have to tell us," Shaunee explained, and Damien shook his head. "She knew if she said that, we would pester the crap outta you til you told us what she's talking about."

Zoey then glared at Stevie Rae for a split second before getting a bit quieter, making sure only we could hear her.

"Okay, but this isn't some gossip that can be told to anyone," Zoey said pointedly at the Twins, and both of them made the motion of zipping their lips tight. "Okay, I think I can feel the elements when a circle is being cast."

There was a heavy silence between us till Shaunee spoke up. "I knew there was more to your mark than falling."

"Please," Erin said and smirked. "I think we all did."

I looked over and saw Damien was deep in thought. Like he was looking for a specific piece of information. "I….I don't think there has ever been a record of a High Priestess with an affinity for all five elements." He then looked back up at Zoey with excitement in his eyes. "Zoey, do you know what this means? You could be the most puissant High Priestess the vamps have ever known."

"Puissant?" I asked, and people chuckled and bit, and Damien smiled, looking at me.

"Stong, powerful," He said and then smiled, sitting up a bit straighter. "You are a puissant sword fighter."

I nodded a bit and mentally put puissant into my vocabulary as the conversation quickly went back on track.

"In any case," Damien said, looking back at Zoey. "You definitely can take down Aphrodite, but every High Priestess needs her circle."

"Yeah!" Stevie Rae said, and I noticed how she looked like she could bounce out of her seat any minute. "So, when and where are we doing this purification ritual."

I looked at Zoey, who looked shocked at everyone but immediately went back to thinking. "Well, I hadn't thought about casting a circle, just the prayer."

"Well, casting a circle would focus the prayer to Nyx," I said, and then Mrs. O'leary sat up, and I realized how similar Nyx sounded to Styx and Sticks. "So it purifies while also making sure it gathers our Goddesses attention."

"I'm starting to think having a demigod as a friend has some excellent perks," Erin said, and I noticed how everyone looked at me with excitement.

"Oh no," I said, chuckling a bit. "My days of adventure should have been severed the moment this crescent outline was placed on my head."

Everyone started to chuckle, and Zoey just gave him a kind smile before she spoke up. She is new to it all; guide her, be her Chiron. The voice whispered in my mind, and I smiled back at Zoey.

"Okay, that makes sense. Whenever my grandma said the prayer, she always thanked the seven sacred directions of the Cherokee people: north, south, east, west, sun, earth, and self. So putting the prayer to a circle would make it more focused on Nyx."

"Yeah," Damien said, nodding. "Nyx is the goddess of the night, so the sun isn't very focused on Nyx."

Zoey nodded and then looked at everyone. "Okay, so I am going to need a smudge stick because there isn't any running water nearby, or is there?"

Everyone looked at me, and I chuckled to myself. "Despite your assumptions, I can't sense water like a metal detector."

Damien was the only one who didn't look at me, and he started to laugh a bit before he spoke up. "There is a stream that flows through the courtyard outside the dining hall."

"No, that won't work," Zoey said, shaking her head. "I can feel that this needs to be private. So what works best for a smudge stick is mixed dried sage and lavender, but if I have to, I can use pine."

"I can get that," I said, and they all looked at me. "I mean, isn't Anastasia the Spells and Rituals teacher?" I thought back to when I met her, and she seemed to be in charge of the protection bearer.

"She is," Damien answered, and he tilted his head at me. "Why can you get it, though?"

"Because she's a daughter of Athena," I explained and then smiled. "I'll just explain that there is some weird stuff going on and that we need some lavender and sage. She'll understand that this has to be kept secret." Once I explained that Shaunee and Erin looked confused, I realized I never said Athena kids. "Athena is still a maiden goddess; she creates demigods by the mixed intellect between her and a mortal. My ex-girlfriend is a daughter of Athena." They all nodded, and Damien gave me a look, and I gave him one back. "We were at each other's throats till we experienced a tone of near-death experiences. They make you realize just how stupid intergenerational feuds are."

Everyone at the table started to laugh, and so did Zoey, who looked super relaxed being around us. She calmed down and wiped the tears from her eyes; we all settled down.

"Okay, the last thing we need are the candles for the circle," Zoey asked, and Shaunee then sat up straighter.

"Oh, we got you," Shaunee said, and Erin nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, they are in Nyx's temple, and as long as we return them, they don't mind if we borrow them."

"Okay," Zoey said, and then she bit her lip slightly. "Let's all meet at the big Oak tree by the wall that surrounds the school. Damien, Percy knows where it is. Twins, it's easy to find if you pretend to be hurting out of the rec hall after fleeing a Dark Daughter's ritual. Time to meet up, let's say five O'clock after dinner, making sure to meet up separately."

"Not hard to pretend," Erin said with a smirk as Shaunee nodded, looking determined.

With a plan set in motion Shaunee started up the gossip between Zoey and Erik, and Damien just gave me a smirk. I gave him a pointed look and went back to my salad, noticing just how much Mrs. O'leary was eyeing it. I was determined to eat all my lunch and not share it with my hellhound.