Hunted (House of Night) Chapter 15: They’re Still Just Talking In The Tunnels

Heads up! This our last regular House of Night post of the year! We’re taking off regular coverage next week for END OF THE YEAR 2016 HOLIDAY SPECIAL FUN TIME SURPRISES (nonfinalized event name). As much fun as those are going to be, this does mean you’ll have to wait until 2017 to see where the House of Night story goes.

Not that it’s been going anywhere in Hunted anyway…

House of Night (Hunted): Chapter 15

The gang moves Zoey from their makeshift operating table. Zoey keeps asking herself how she feels about Erik and Heath, which is definitely the lingering plot point we were most desperate to spend the entire first half of this sequel talking about. Kalonawho?

Erik and I were supposedly back together, but after the scene in the basement I wasn’t one hundred percent sure we should be together. I mean, he said he loved me, which was all well and good, but did loving me mean he’d turned all possessive and jerkish? […] He just looked sad. Really, really sad. Did I still want to be Erik’s girlfriend? The longer I looked into his eyes, the more I thought that maybe I did. Then where did that leave me with Heath? […] The truth was I cared about both of them.
God, it’s exhausting being me.

It’s exhausting reading about you too, Zoey.

Meanwhile, it’s been determined that it’s too dangerous for Jack to go back to the House of Night. Where ALL of the others are going. So it’s just Jack and Erik being left behind in the tunnels with the not super trustworthy red fledglings. Good plan?

Jack took a deep breath and finished on a sob, “It’s just poop that I can’t go!”

Actually, wait, why am I complaining that Jack’s leaving the story for a while? Can we hurry up?

Everyone wanders off and eventually leave Zoey and Erik alone together, and they immediately feel very awkward about it. Surprisingly, Erik actually talks about his feelings?

“I’m so damn pissed I don’t know what the hell to do! And what’s worse is that this,” he paused, gesturing to the huge Ace bandage hiding the wound the sliced across my chest, “is really my fault. […] If I hadn’t been such a possesive asshole in the basement, you wouldn’t have gone outside with Heath. You were sending him away, but I had to push things and piss you off, so you went out there with him. […] It’s just that Heath makes me so damn jealous! He’s known you since you two were kids.”

Oh my God, is Erik actually admitting that he’s been a huge asshole? Is he actually maturing? Does he finally have a sense of fucking perspective?

“I just didn’t want to lose you again, so Iacted like a jerk, and not only did you almost die, but I lost you again!”

Ok, maybe not the perspective bit then, since I think Zoey dying might be worse than Zoey breaking up with him.

The conversation gets a little weirder when Erik admits that, on an intellectual level, he gets that Zoey’s relationship with Heath isn’t the same thing as what she has with him. The weird part isn’t that Erik admits that the world is a little nuanced (feelings are hard! so that’s fair), but rather… well, see if you can see it…

“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s the human I’ve Imprinted with. There’s a big difference.”
“Consort,” Erik said bitterly. “It’s called being the High Priestess’s human consort. Many of them have one. Often they have more than one.”
I blinked in surprise. I sure hadn’t gotten to that part in my Vamp Sociology class.

Ok, real talk. When does Zoey ever actually go to class? No wonder she doesn’t know this shit! She goes to class maybe once per book?

Erik explains that it’s been historically acceptable for High Priestesses to have both consorts and mates, which are humans and other vampyres that she’s Imprinted with, respectively. Zoey’s internal dialogue while this is being explained to her is, predictably, hilarious.

That seemed like good news to me. Clearly it wasn’t such good news to Erik

It’s unclear whether these rules only apply to the one and only High Priestess or to any vampyre, but it’s a little weird how these books take place in a world where this is kinda normal and yet they’re full of slut shaming anyway.

“Okay, Erik. I don’t know what I’m going to do about Heath. It’s all a little too much for me to deal with right now on top of everything else. Hell, I don’t know what I’m going to do about you, either.”
“We’re together,” Erik said softly. “And I want us to stay together.”
I opened my mouth to tell him I really wasn’t totally sure that was the best idea, but Erik bent and kissed me gently on the lips, silencing my comment.

So glad this book is just about Zoey’s feelings for this shitty, shitty dude.

Someone cleared his throat and we looked at the entryway to see Heath standing there, looking pale and pissed.

AND THIS shitty dude! Man, and to think I was worried that the story would have nowhere to go after it resurrected a brand new major antagonist. What a relief that the sequel didn’t have to resort to actually ever talking about that!

“Heath! What are you doing here?” […]
“Darius sent me to tell you the roads are too bad. There’s no way I can get back to B.A. tonight.”

OH MY GOD CAN WE PLEASE LEAVE THESE FUCKING TUNNELS ALREADY?

Heath gets angry at Zoey (what else is new?). Everyone else comes back and learns that Heath is stuck. Kramisha dryly comments that Heath’s imprinted blood makes him “good for nothin’ now ‘cept for being your boy toy”, which prompts Heath to break his sobriety and start chugging straight from a bottle of wine. Incidentally, Kramisha is my favorite character.

Kramisha announces that she’s written two new poems, which is of interest since we just learned that her poems are actually prophecies. The Casts aren’t… great poets, shall we say?

What once bound him
Will make him flee
Place of power- joining of five

Night
Spirit
Blood
Humanity
Earth

Joined not to conquer,
Instead to overcome
Night leads to Spirit
Blood binds Humanity
And Eath completes.

Damien decides that the poem must be some unclear instructions on how to get rid of Kalona. Aphrodite also says that the poem makes her head hurt. I think it’s safe to say that both of them are right.

Kramisha reads her other poem.

She comes back
Through blood by blood
She returns
Cut deep now
Like me
Humanity saves her
Will she save me?

Erik says that he doesn’t like it. Let me do my job, Erik.

They talk about the second poem and decide that their best guess is that it’s a prophecy that Zoey returning to the House of Night might somehow save Stark.

“Let me guess. Stark’s another guy, isn’t he?” Heath said.

Hahaha, welcome to House of Night, Heath.