Chapter 1

The sun rose from the mountain tops in the distance slowly. As dawn broke, a beautiful woman appeared right inside the walls of Tulsa's House of Night. She could sense her children guarding the borders of the school as well as inside their dorms, all not yet asleep. She walked through the grounds, a veil of Darkness covering her from any and all eyes. She finally found her way to the stables, the summer warm, air caressing her skin. The clouds were thick though, a mist in the air. She walked in through the doors, happy that Lenobia was asleep as she made her way to the last stall on the right.

"Persephone," she breathed a sigh of relief, looking down at the goddess's animal form. Within seconds, the beautiful midnight black mare glowed brightly as the goddess revealed her true form. When the brightness faded, a beautiful pale woman with dark hair and hazel eyes stood in front of the Goddess of Night, a long white dress covering her body. "Nyx, how did you find me?" the goddess asked curiously. "I came here because I knew my husband and all others wouldn't be able to find me." Persephone brushed some hay from her dress and moved out of the stall standing beside her friend.

"Well Persephone, you have been staying at a school of my children. I do watch over them now and again. And I just happened to be watching over Zoey Redbird last night when she mentioned a beautiful mare named Persephone," she raised a delicate eyebrow. "I knew it must have been you." Persephone groaned softly and looked up at Nyx, pleadingly. "Please, please don't tell Hades. I like it here where I'm away from my husband and my mother once in a while. No one knows who I am," she took a deep breath, shaking her head. Nyx looked at her fellow goddess sadly, keeping the calm composure she was known for. "I understand how you feel. But there was another reason I came here tonight...Kalona is rising, as well as the Titans. The Olympians have been oblivious to my children throughout the centuries, but now...I think my children are the only way we will be able to survive the upcoming war with the Titans. My fledglings and vampyres need to know the truth about what they are, and why they cannot afford to be outside of the schools borders any longer, as well as away from vampyres. As the most evil of monsters resurface, all demigods are now in even more danger, and I cannot bear to see another of my children fall." Persephone listened to the goddess's speech in silence, her emotions showing only slightly on her soft features. "Nyx, do you know about what Neferet has been doing?" was all she asked. There was a look of pure confusion on the deity's face as she looked at the Queen of the Underworld. "What about my high priestess?"

"She must have been hiding her actions from you but I have seen it, everything...Once a fledgling dies, Neferet brings them back and turning them into some...twisted sort of cliché vampyre. Her loyalties now lie with Kalona," she said sadly. She could almost see Nyx's anger flare up inside of the goddess. There was a mixture of the five elements swirling around her like a whirlwind. "She needs to be stopped," she said simply, clenching her teeth angrily, controlling her voice to be quiet, deathly quiet. And with that, she walked away from her fellow goddess and disappeared into the night.

Persephone sighed softly, looking into the shadows. Something has to be done. She raised her chin and stalked out of the stables, to the front door of the Horse Mistress's quarters. She took a deep breath, not understanding the feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. Before she could stop herself, she raised her fist and knocked on the door three times.

She could hear the movement of Lenobia as she hurried down the stairs and pulled open the front door. Her eyes were wide, her hair disheveled. She looked like she was expecting an emergency, though she never could have guessed it would be of such degree.

"Who are you?" Lenobia asked, confusion clear on her features. She stood up straighter, trying to smooth her hair.

Persephone resisted biting her lower lip, she had to tell her. "Merry meet, Lenobia. I doubt you recognize me, I am Persephone, Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld. We need to speak. The children must know the truth."

She could see the alarm in the vampyre's eyes, her eyes flicked from the goddess standing in front of her to the horse stables in which Persephone had came from. "Won't you come in, Goddess? We have much to talk about."

"That we do." Persephone spoke, closing the door behind her.