Page 96 of Bone Year

“No.”

“I said go away, Alucard.”

“And I said no.” He crosses the room and crouches in front of me, close enough that I can count the flecks of gold in his eyes. “How much have you had?”

“Not enough.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’re getting.”

He takes the bottle from my hand. Fighting him would require me to care, and I’ve decided I’m done with caring tonight. His eyes move over my face. Then lower.

He goes completely still.

I forgot to cover the bite.

Draven’s eyes are fixed on my throat and his brows furrow.

“Who?” It sounds like he’s holding something back by a thread.

“Does it matter?”

His hand shoots out and catches my chin and tilts my head to the side, exposing the wound. His fingers are cold against my jaw. I should shove him off, but I don’t have the energy.

He stares at the bite. Two puncture wounds ringed in bruises by now. His thumb drifts along the edge of it, feather-light.

“Who, Rose?”

“Malric.”

His hand drops from my face like I’ve scalded him. He stands abruptly, turns away, and I watch his shoulders lock. His hands are shaking at his sides, trembling with the effort of not driving his fist through the stone.

I must be drunker than I thought, because Draven Alucard does not come undone. Draven does not get emotional for me.

“Draven—”

“Did he force you?” He still won’t look at me.

“No.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying.” My voice cracks straight down the middle. “I asked for it. The bite. Nothing else. I needed to feel anything other than what I was feeling, and he was there. That’s the truth of it.”

When he turns back, his face is carved from stone. But his eyes look like they’re burning.

No, I’m drunk. I’m inventing things.

“Of all the people in this school, you let Malric touch you.”

Cruelty is a language I speak fluently tonight.

“I let him bite me. Right after I let Nella die. What a night.” I want him to hate me. I want everyone to hate me because I hate myself right now.

A muscle ticks in his jaw.

“Did he drink from you?”