Unknown

Not even after a minute after I got home, Neferet summoned me. She had to have spies or something to always know when I was home. …not that the apartment I lived in really felt like home to me since the accident, but still.

"You called, Priestess?" The word always felt like it would get stuck on my tongue. But "goddess" was even worse, so I was thankful she did not have me say that.

Neferet had her hands pressed to her temples. "I have such a migraine," she complained. "Will you be a dear and find Christophe? I need him to do an area sweep to make sure there are no traitors on our hands."

"I beg your pardon, Priestess?" Could she possibly know about Aurox? "You can tell when someone will betray you?"

She smiled at me wearily. "Yes, pet, it's a bonus for avenging you. Luckily you didn't die when your charge was killed, too." Closing her eyes, she sighed. That was my sign of dismissal.

I lingered for a moment before complying. I was not about to find Christophe, though. If any of them knew that it was me, I would surely be executed this time. Later I would go back and give her a false report. For now, I had to find out what was really going on.

The scribes looked up from their books. One of the main scholars got to his feet and come over to me. "How may we assist you, Great One?" he inquired, doing a quick bow.

I scanned the book-filled walls of the massive library, then decided my best chance would be to get his help. "I'm looking for Greek mythology. Neferet suggested I read up on my past."

"Of course. You were one of Chaos' greatest creations."

"I… what?"

"Chaos, the powerful Creator of All," the scholar explained. I caught my reflection in a mirror hanging nearby. I looked haggard, my long brown hair matted and tangled with burrs. The skin around my eyes was tight; the irises themselves were turning less black and more of a brown. As the scholar continued to explain to me where I had originally come from, something clicked in my mind.

"You need to run," I told him when he was finished, better than any book I could read. "Neferet is searching for traitors, and I'm not sure she'd appreciate you telling me this."

Another scribe gave me a hollow smile. "We would if we could, Great One, but we're prisoners here. So are you."

"Not all cells have bars," my helper chimed in sadly.

Feeling strangely melancholy, I left. I had to make that report to Neferet before I decided to do anything. If I could get myself and the scholars away from the damned place, where would I go? Aurox would be willing to help, but I wouldn't see him for another day. I needed a plan before I dragged him into this.

"Priestess," I greeted. Neferet looked up. By now she never expected me to show any sign of respect. "There are no visible signs of a traitor. Are you still unwell?"

"It is quite funny, that I should feel better when you are not in my presence." I blinked, holding back my emotions. I could feel her straining to get a read on my mind, but something now blocked her from doing so. "Perhaps my Consort will speak to you on the matter."

An icy chill slid down my back. Darkness erupted from nowhere. Distantly, I realized I was screaming, but I couldn't hear myself over the blood roaring in my ears. The white bull snorted and Neferet laughed; I could hear them like hammers in my skull.

Keep away from here, Aurox! was my last thought. Whether or not he heard me was another matter.

Stark

Erik stiffened, his blue eyes glazed over with pain. Aurox shook his head, pressing at his temples. I watched, more confused than I was worried, until both of them were as straight as statues. Neither of them moved – in fact, they looked too afraid to move.

"What's wrong with them?" I asked Apollo, who passed a hand in front of each of their faces. "Will they be okay?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I think Starr might have cried out to them, wherever she is and whatever happened to her. It couldn't have been good."

Aurox clenched his fists, released from whatever spell it was before Erik, who was still frozen. "Damn it, Neferet!" he exclaimed, radiating fury. "I was so close to her, too!"

"Who?" I inquired, waiting for him to punch something. In all honesty, I wanted a fight, even if my opponent was Aurox.

"Stella." He shook his head. "Starr. I called her Stella when I found her because it hurt her to think of what she was – who she was – before Darkness took her."

Erik whirled suddenly and punched Aurox square in the jaw. "You should have gotten her out of there when you had the chance! She wouldn't be brainwashed now if you had!" He looked haggard all of a sudden, his blue eyes nearly gray. "My Starr, I am so sorry…" Tears misted over his dark gaze, although he clearly was not about to cry. It was just a reflex.

"What happened?" I jumped to my feet, as angry now for not knowing as they were for sensing it. "What the hell just attacked my sister?"

Apollo eyed them both carefully, addressing me. "She began to uncover too much about her accident. Zoey sent Aurox after her. When Aurox found Starr, he had enough sense to only be there for her. But something changed when she was with him, because she went to the finest scribes they have, and one of the scholars told her about Asteri, about Chaos and the others. Her subconscious was about to break free of Neferet's control when Neferet called the white bull to deal with a traitor in their midst. She didn't know who it was, but Darkness did. It tortured her. The bull took away everything from Starr. She's little more than a mindless servant now."

"How the hell did you know that?" Erik demanded.

I met the sorrowful depths. "He read through the distress call the two of you got, tracked it to where Starr is, and then went from there." I shrugged as Apollo glanced at me curiously.

"She's gone again and it's my fault." Aurox hung his head.

Erik sighed. "No, it's not. You did what you could, given the circumstances. I should've protected her better in the first place."

Apollo glared at all of us. "What the hell did I do?" I snapped at him.

"You have the two things that might help us most," he told me, voice steely. "Not only is Starr your sister, but you used to be Dark. Those two connections can very well get you into their fortress, at least long enough to figure out where they're keeping her. And you can buy us some time to find the Rune."

"What about Zoey?" I queried. "Ever think of her?"

"Even you have to admit that Zoey is safer than Starr at the moment." Apollo's condescending tone made my heart ache.

Plus she has her affinities, which she never uses; the words were left unsaid. I closed my eyes, exhaling slowly before I snapped again. "I have a choice to make, don't I?" When I reopened my eyes, Aurox had sat down on Erik's bed, looking exhausted. Apollo smiled hollowly at me.

Erik just appeared defeated, so I went over and smacked him. His expression turned bewildered as he met my gaze. "Why?" he exclaimed, referring to the blow.

"I'm getting her back," I said, determined. I turned back to Apollo. "Tell me what I have to do."