Page 59 of Bone Year

“That was...” he starts.

“Yeah,” I laugh softly, “it was.”

He pulls back enough to look at me. There’s wonder in his expression, like he can’t believe this is real.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time,” he says.

“How long?”

“Since we were fourteen and you fell in the river trying to catch a fish with your bare hands and came up laughing with mud in your hair.”

I groan. “That’s such an embarrassing memory.”

“It’s my favorite memory.”

I shove his shoulder, but I’m smiling. He catches my hand and presses a kiss to my knuckles.

“Stay with me tonight?” I ask.

“I wasn’t planning on going anywhere.”

We shift until we’re lying down, his arm around me, my head on his chest. Poppy snores softly from her pillow pile. The storm howls outside, but here it’s warm and quiet and safe.

Jace holds me for a while, the covers pulled up tight around us. I start to fall asleep until he says, “Mae, when you were in the mirror... something happened.”

My eyes open wide. “What do you mean?”

I tip my head back to look at him.

“The mirror started to glow, and the bones in the frame were vibrating. They were pulsing. It didn’t change like that for anyone else. And Headmaster Ashmoor stepped forward like he was going to pull you out or something. But then he stopped himself.” Jace’s eyes meet mine. “And he smiled.”

A chill creeps over me. “He smiled?”

“It was like whatever was happening to you was exactly what he wanted.” His hand finds mine under the covers where it rests on his chest. “I thought maybe he wanted it to hurt you, to take the human out of his school. But then you were out and okay.”

I nestle my head back into his shoulder. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what the headmaster wanted after the way he acted with me in his office. Unremarkable Maelis. What is that guy’s deal?

Jace lets out a sigh, and I ask, “How does Draven have an eidolon already? He’s a bone year like us.”

He tenses slightly. “I don’t know. I’ve wondered the same thing.”

“His wolf is different too, larger and black.”

“I noticed.” His arm tightens around me. “There are rumors about the Alucard family. Stay away from Draven. Something about him isn’t right, and after the way he attacked you in class today⁠—”

“What rumors?” I press curiosity getting the better of me. “What do people say about the Alucard family?”

“Not all vampires are born, you know.”

I blink. “No, I didn’t know that. I thought all the bloodlines were born what they are.”

“Not vampires.” His fingers trace slow circles on my back. “In fact, most of them are turned, usually at a young age by their family.”

I sit up a bit to look at him. “So if two vampires have a baby, it’s not a vampire?”

“No, having a vampire baby is rare. It happens, but most are turned. That’s how the bloodline keeps thriving.”

“And what’s the rumor about the Alucards?”