Betrayed by Kristin Cast, P.C. Cast Read Free Book Online Page B

myself sternly that I’d have to get rid of my nerves . . . that it was the best thing for the Dark Daughters if Neferet was there showing her support of my new ideas and—
    â€œBut that’s what I saw!” Aphrodite’s voice, carrying from the cracked door of Neferet’s classroom, jarred my thoughts and made me stop short. She sounded awful—totally upset and maybe even scared.
    â€œIf your sight is no better than that, then perhaps it’s time you quit sharing what you see with others.” Neferet’s voice was ice, terrifying, cold, and hard.
    â€œBut, Neferet, you asked! All I did was tell you what I saw.”
    What was Aphrodite talking about? Ah, hell. Could she have run to Neferet about seeing Loren touch my face? I looked around the deserted hall. I should get out of here, but no damn way I was going to leave if that hag was talking about me—even if it seemed Neferet wasn’t believing anything she was saying. So instead of leaving (like a smart girl), I walked quickly and quietly into the shadowed corner near the partially opened door. And then, thinking fast, I took off one of my silver hoop earrings and tossed it into the corner. I come and go from Neferet’s classroom a lot—it’s not beyond all reason that I’d be looking for a lost earring outside her door.
    â€œYou know what I want you to do?” Neferet’s words were so filled with anger and power that I could feel them crawl across my skin. “I want you to learn to not speak of things that are
questionable
.” She drew the word out. Was she talking about gossiping about Loren and me?
    â€œI—I just wanted you to know.” Aphrodite had started crying, and she choked the words between sobs. “I th-thought there might be something you could do to stop it.”
    â€œPerhaps it would be wiser for you to think that because of your selfish actions in the past, Nyx is withholding her power from you because you are no longer in her favor and that what you are now seeing are false images.”
    I’d never heard the kind of cruelty that filled Neferet’s voice. It didn’t even sound like her, and it scared me in a way that was hard for me to define. The day I’d been Marked, I’d had an accident before I got to the House of Night. When I was unconscious I’d had an out-of-body experience, which ended with me meeting Nyx. The Goddess told me that she had special plans for me, and then she kissed my forehead. When I woke up my Mark had been filled in. I had a powerful connection with the elements (although I didn’t realize that till much later), and I also had a weird new gut feeling that sometimes told me to say or do certain things—and sometimes told me very clearly to keep my mouth shut. Right now my gut feeling was telling me that Neferet’s anger was all wrong, even if it was in response to Aphrodite’s malicious gossip about me.
    â€œPlease don’t say that, Neferet!” Aphrodite sobbed. “Please don’t tell me that Nyx has rejected me!”
    â€œI don’t have to tell you anything. Search within your soul. What is it telling you?”
    If Neferet had spoken the words gently, they might have been nothing more than a wise teacher, or priestess, giving someone who was troubled some direction—as in look inside yourself to find, and fix, the problem. But Neferet’s voice was cold and sneering and cruel.
    â€œIt’s—it’s telling me that I’ve—I’ve, uh, made m-mistakes, but not that the Goddess hates me.”
    Aphrodite was crying so much that she was getting harder and harder to understand.
    â€œThen you should look closer.”
    Aphrodite’s sobs were wrenching. I couldn’t listen anymore. Leaving my earring, I followed my gut and got the hell out of there.

CHAPTER FIVE
    My stomach hurt all through the rest of Spanish class, so much so that I even figured out