Page 3 of Bone Year

It sounds unsettling, but maybe that’s the human in me talking.

“Ashwell, you magical asshole, you don’t know what you’re missing!” I shout into the trees as we reach the outskirts of the village, the forest enveloping us.

Jace’s head snaps toward me, blue eyes wide with shock before he breaks into laughter.

“You’re completely nuts,” he says, “and it’s why I love you.”

I stick out my tongue to avoid dwelling on the feelings swelling in my chest. It must mean the warm-up is over. We both start jogging down the path stretched out ahead.

We run until we reach the river then follow the water for a few miles. By the time we finally slow to a stop, I’m thoroughly sweaty and panting, my lungs burning with each breath. I’m exhausted enough that my mind has gone blissfully quiet.

All I can focus on is the fire in my lungs and the ache in my legs.

I walk over to the rapids and brace myself against a smooth rock, bending down to scoop a handful of ice-cold water into my mouth. Jace splashes his face before straightening with a satisfied breath.

We move a few steps away from the river and collapse onto our backs beneath a broad tree, staring up through the leaves as they sway in the breeze overhead. I let my eyes close, letting the steady rhythm of my heartbeat slow while we rest, knowing we’ll have to make the same run back soon.

“If you get into Ashwell, I don’t know what I’ll do around here without you. These runs won’t be the same,” I say, staring up at the wisps of sunlight streaming through the branches overhead.

“You’d never make it this far without me,” he says. “You’d stop halfway and call it a victory.”

I snort. “I would stop halfway and call it self-care.”

“Lying in the dirt gasping for air is not self-care.”

“Bold of you to assume I’d be gasping,” I say, reaching over to jab him.

He laughs, “You despise exercise.”

“I tolerate it. There’s a difference.”

“Come here.”

He lifts his arm and tugs me closer, and I settle against him, my head resting on his chest. His heartbeat is steady beneath my ear, grounding in a way nothing else seems to be lately.

“I won’t get in,” he says, “so you don’t have to worry about it. If I were meant to be a Veilguard, they would’ve accepted me three years ago when I first applied.”

Gods, it’s moments like this that test me, standing on that thin, dangerous line between what we are and what we could be. One shift, one kiss, one choice away from everything changing.

“Maybe they’re slow,” I murmur.

“Or maybe they’re smart enough to see I don’t belong there,” he says, his hand tracing slowly along my back.

I pull back enough to look at him. “That’s not true.”

“But either way, we need to get you back to treating patients. You have the talent. One day, you’ll be even better than your father was. You’re only twenty-three and are already as good as he ever was. Talent like yours shouldn’t be wasted.”

His fingers hook gently under my chin, tipping my face up until I meet his gaze. “Maelis Rose, you’re destined for greatness. This is just a small bump in the road.” He taps my nose then leans back against the ground as if he hasn’t unraveled me.

I stare up at the canopy above us, my mind drifting.

I don’t feel destined for anything right now. Maybe I used to. But my father’s death… That night changed everything.

A loud crack echoes through the trees, sharp enough to be heard over the rapids. We both sit up at the same time, scanning the forest.

In nearly a year of running out here, we’ve never seen anyone. The occasional squirrel or rabbit, but never someone from the village.

There’s a man standing in the brush ahead of us.