Heath.

We'll have to agree to completely disagree on that. And one point I have to call you out on is saying that Heath wouldn't sacrifice himself for Zoey. In the tunnels with the red things (before they became Red Fledgelings) and when the Raven Mocker attacked Zoey, Heath put himself squarely between Zoey and the danger. Admittedly he didn't have the High Priestess powers to fight the things off, and he KNEW THAT, and did it anyway ... if that's not willingness to sacrifice, I don't know what is. Again, I think Zoey needs Heath AND Stark, and I think Heath will come back and she'll have both; together, they keep her in balance.

Heather never puts her in danger intentionally, and I don't think it was unreasonable, considering the connection and the past that he and Zoey have, to want to talk to her alone. If I was dating someone who put me in danger on purpose ... heck no, I'd dump them in a heartbeat. But that's not Heath.

I don't think she can fully commit or love just one person either. Which is why it really annoys me when some of the other posters here (not talking about you) call Heath 'selfish' ... they don't seem to criticize Zoey for dating Erik, while making out with Heath, and then having sex with Loren ... if that's not 'selfish', I obviously don't know the meaning of the word. And Heath has said he's ok with sharing Zoey ... well, not ok, but he's willing to do that if he has to to be a part of her life. That earns him big maturity points in my book ... he knows Zoey is different, knows she has another life that he isn't a part of and doesn't fully understand, and is willing to, no matter how much it hurts him, accept not being the 'only guy' in her life.

As far as putting her in danger, all of her friends and associates do that. Stevie Rae has done it, her ex-mentor Neferet has done it ... Zoey, because of her abilities and situation, is always going to find herself facing some kind of danger, and I think Heath is getting a bum rap from simply being around when that happens.

Wow. He doesn't do it intentionally, you're right, but Heath always ends up into trouble and Z always has to help. I mean, looked where it got her in Tempted/Burned!

True, which is why I'm hoping when he comes back, although I hope he does it SOON, he'll have changed into something that will make him more capable of defending himself against the things that Zoey constantly has to face.

Ditto.

I agree with that as well.

Maybe I'm overlooking something; if you two wouldn't mind, please give me some examples of Heath not thinking right and putting Zoey in danger when he should have been aware that his actions might endanger her. I can't think of any. Please tell me:

1) What he did, and
2) How according to the books he should have definitely known beforehand that his actions were placing Zoey in jeopardy, or, if the didn't have that knowledge, how he wasn't 'thinking smart' and what he should have thought/known/realized before he did whatever he did to endanger Zoey.

If you can give me some examples, I'll happily give credit where credit is due and re-read with any eye toward re-examining Heath as a liability. If you can't (and unless I'm forgetting something major, again I can't think of any), then once again Heath is taking the rap because Zoey, due to her gifts, the timing of the story, and her situation as a powerfully gifted fledgling, basically challenged Neferet and holds some weird attraction for Kalona. And none of that is Heath's fault. At all.

Plz note, I'm not being sarcastic, I REALLY want to know if I'm seriously overlooking something.

Okay then....

Zoey discovered too late how perfect Heath was for her. No matter how she pushed him away, he never went away. Even when she hurt him with Loren, he never acted like her friends or Stark or Erik. Given their history, the betrayal would've been deeper but his love for her was true. He tied her to her humanity and kept her head screwed on right. She finally realized it in the Otherworld. I hope all the talk about resurrection, and "in this lifetime", means that Nyx will gift Zoey with Heath for after she kicks Neferet and Kalona's patooties.

Lol. I LOVE UR PROFILE PIC///NAME!!!

Jedibarrister, I'm with you ALL THE WAY on that ... I hope he comes back in Awakened.

I don't agree. I mean, Zoey would be really happy and all, but she would probably leave my Stark. And it's not like he can go back to Stevie Rae because she's with Rephaim.

She can have both of 'em. Neither one might not be super happy, but Heath already said he'd share if he had to, and Stark would adjust to Zoey having a human consort.

The only reason Heath wanted to take Zoey outside was b/c Erik wouldn't allow them to talk inside. Lay the blame where it belongs. Erik could've stepped downstairs and given them 5 minutes to talk. It was his belligerence that pushed them outside to get attacked. As for the park, after a month of being away, Heath was in serious pain from the Imprint. He needed to see her not for some dorky high school meathead reason but b/c he needed her to drink and put his pain to ease.

Erik was standing at the doorway into the tunnels and said he wasn't going to budge. Heath wanted to have a private discussion with Zoey and NEITHER of them could make Erik give them privacy. The area they were in wasn't large enough that they could go off to the side and not be seen/heard. As for the park, didn't Zoey set up the meeting there? I vaguely recall that she did when he was calling her begging to be seen. She thought it was going to be a quick "I shouldn't see you anymore" conversation. She had no idea the Imprint was so strong that it was causing Heath physical pain that needed release. I don't blame Heath. Zoey never sat and really listened to Heath....until he was dead. Erik wouldn't give them the space they both wanted out of jealousy. And Heath couldn't just go away because he had (a) over a decade invested in Zoey (not months like the other boys), (b) knew he was necessary to tie Zoey to her humanity (which even she admitted), (c) Zoey wouldn't have a mature conversation with him about their future and just kept pushing him away with what he considered lame excuses, and (d) as Stark recognized, with Heath and Zoey, the tie that bound them would always be a deep and abiding love.

Well said.

I agree.

Lilith of Night wrote:

Why be with someone that causes you not to make good decisions? Obviously Heath clouds her mind. That's not really a good thing either. Her impaired judgement when it came to Heath has proven dangerous. Not something Heath should be completely to blame for, but he knew the kind of hold he had on Z and he admitted it more than once. It's been awhile since I read the books, but I'm pretty sure one of the times he admitted it was on the boat heading to the island when they were in Italy. Not intentional, but he still isn't completely innocent.

I think it was clearly established that Heath cleared her mind not clouded it. Zoey admitted to him that by anchoring her humanity, she actually was a better person. I guess two people can read the same words and walk away with completely different takes on the same issue. But the last 2 books have been an aria to Heath, a major "thank you" for all he's done and fought for on Zoey's behalf....at least that's how I see it.