untamed - Weebly

"But don't worry," I said quickly. "I made them give me back a bunch of your
things. And I know where the rest of your stuff is. I can get it all back if you want it."
And just like that, the meanness vanished and I was looking at my best friend
again. "Even my lamp made outta a cowboy boot?"
"Even that," I said, smiling at her. Hell, I'd be pissed, too, if someone had taken all
my stuff.
Aphrodite said, "You'd think if someone died, at least their shitty non-fashion
fashion sense would change. But no. Your bad taste is fucking immortal."
"Aphrodite," Stevie Rae told her firmly, "you really should be nicer."
"And I say whatever to you and your countrified Mary Poppins outlook on life,"
Aphrodite said.
"Mary Poppins was British. Which means she wasn't countrified," Stevie Rae said
smugly.
Stevie Rae sounded so much like her old self that I gave a little happy shout and
threw my arms around her again. "I'm so darn glad to see you! You're really okay now,
aren't you?"
"Kinda different, but okay," Stevie Rae said, hugging me back.
I felt an amazing wash of relief that drowned out the kinda different part of what
she'd said. I guess I was just so glad to see her, whole and herself again, that I had to hold
that knowledge safe and special inside myself for a while, and that need didn't let me
consider that there could be any leftover problems with Stevie Rae. Plus, I remembered
something else. "Hang on," I said suddenly. "How did you guys get back on campus
without the warriors going crazy?"
"Zoey, you really gotta start paying attention to the stuff that's going on around
you," Aphrodite said. "I walked through the front gate. The alarm's down, which I
imagine makes sense. I mean, I got the same school notification call on my cell about
winter break being over I bet everyone else who was away from campus got. Neferet had
to unzap this place or she'd go insane dealing with all the alarms the returning students
would set off, not to mention the zillions of delicious Sons of Erebus who are descending
on this place like yummy presents for us students."
"Don't you mean all the alarms would make Neferet go more insane than she
already is?"
"Yes, Neferet is definitely batshit crazy," Aphrodite said, for an instant in
complete agreement with Stevie Rae. "Anyway, the alarm's gone, even for humans."
"Huh? Even for humans? How do you know that?" I asked.
Aphrodite sighed, and with a weirdly slow motion–like movement, she brought
the back of her hand up and wiped it across her forehead, causing the outline of the
crescent moon to smear and partially rub off.
I gasped. "Oh, god, Aphrodite! You're . . ." My words sputtered out as my mouth
refused to say it.
"Human," Aphrodite supplied for me in a flat, cold voice.
"How? I mean, are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Damn sure," she said.
"Uh, Aphrodite, even though you're human, you're definitely not a normal
human," Stevie Rae said.
"What does that mean?" I asked.