Sylvia Redbird

Sylvia Redbird is Zoey's maternal grandmother, the mother of Linda Heffer, Zoey's mother. She has Cherokee heritage, and encourages Zoey to embrace it as well. Zoey said that she always smells of lavender sage. She calls Zoey u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya, Cherokee for daughter, as well as Zoeybird and Little Bird.

After Zoey was Marked and escaped from her mother's house, she went to Sylvia. Sylvia took Zoey's unconscious body to the House of Night to get treatment so that Zoey would not die of the Change. She was not at all bothered by Zoey becoming a fledgling vampyre, saying that there was ancient magic in their Cherokee veins. Sylvia extracts a promise for Zoey's safety from Neferet. Sylvia later tries to call Zoey to see how she's settling in, but Zoey's cellphone was off. Zoey calls her sometime afterward when Zoey has drank blood and discovered she likes it, even though fledglings are always disgusted by blood. Sylvia does not find this disturbing, and once Zoey adds that she thinks she might have an affinity for all five elements, her grandmother tells her it is just because she is special and that there is nothing wrong with it. She also says that Zoey has been granted with great powers, and therefore, great responsbilities. She remains supportive of Zoey and everything she does throughout the series.