English
Several days after the events of Chosen, Zoey is hiding in the stables with her horse, Persephone. After an internal debate she finally decides to talk with her friends. On the way to the cafeteria she feels the presence of Darkness and rushes inside. She tries to blend in and act normally but her friends ignore her and the situation degenerates with the appearance of a newly re-Marked Aphrodite, who chooses to sit with the 'nerd herd'. A confrontation is postponed by the arrival of new fledgling and famous archer James Stark.
After lunch, Zoey meets Aphrodite and Stevie Rae in her room. She finds out that Stevie Rae is mostly normal now and the only differences she experiences is an intense aversion to sunlight, and that Aphrodite's Mark is fake- she has mostly reverted to a human teenager, except for her visions. After Stevie Rae's departure the two are about to leave Zoey's room but meet Damien, the Twins, and Jack on the threshold. Aphrodite explains to them that Zoey confided in her because she was the only other one who could block her mind from adult vampyres and that her visions show Zoey dying alone. They make up with Zoey. After they leave, Aphrodite asks Zoey to cast a circle to see if she still has her Earth affinity. When the green candle "zaps" her, Aphrodite is convinced that the goddess has taken back her gift because she was disappointed in her. Zoey casts the circle and asks for guidance. Nyx appears to tell them that she still loves Aphrodite, that she was only safekeeping the Earth affinity for Stevie Rae, and that she reverted back to human because her own humanity was too strong.
After the goddess' disappearance, they rush to a Council meeting. They find out that the Priestess of all vampyres, Shekinah, has come to the House of Night to reject Neferet's declaration of war on humans. She follows Zoey's advice to put Detective Marx on the case instead. Erik Night returns to the school and takes over Professor Nolan's drama class, much to Zoey's dismay. On her way back Zoey meets Stark and watches him practice. He confesses to her that he has a gift for archery- that he never misses a target- and it was discovered when he killed his mentor by mistake. Because he fears his power, he asks Zoey to use her powers to protect the others from him. When she starts to leave, his body rejects the Change and he dies in her arms. Zoey tells him, before he dies, that he might be revived as a red fledgling.
Zoey, Darius and Aphrodite go to Street Cats, a local cat shelter, as Zoey has been searching for a community activity for the Dark Daughters. The organization is led by nuns from the Benedictine Abbey. Their leader, Sister Mary Angela, astounds Zoey with the contrast between her beliefs and John Heffer's. At the shelter, Aphrodite is chosen by a cat, to her delight, and names her Maleficent. On the way back they stop to eat at one of Zoey's favourite restaurants where they have a run-in with Heath, who is with one of Zoey's old friends. He tells Zoey that he's given her up as loving her hurt too much...