Page 51 of Malcroix Bones Academy (Bones and Shadow #1)

Claws

Despite my angry, on-and-off thoughts since the early hours of that morning, when I actually made it, the decision was entirely spontaneous.

Spurred on by a green and purple flyer, and an opportune moment with someone I had reason to believe might be open to the idea, I blurted out the words without thought.

“Hey, do you want to go to that with me?” I asked.

The mage standing next to me froze. Slowly, he turned his head.

I flushed at his astonished look.

“You can say no,” I clarified. “I just thought?”

“Yes,” he cut in. “Yes. Of course. Absolutely, I’ll go.”

A low laugh from directly behind us caused both of us to turn.

Graham Strangemore, my classmate and widely-acknowledged talent on the Skyhunt field, flushed in embarrassment when he saw two older students watching us, listening to the exchange in obvious amusement.

“Smooth, Strangemore,” one of the witches smirked, winking at me. “Very smooth. Maybe I should go with her, instead.”

Graham flushed redder.

“Sorry,” he muttered to me.

The two grinning witches resumed walking, hips swaying past where we stood.

“…I guess it’s kind of a turn-off, me sounding so eager,” Strangemore added.

“Not at all,” I assured him.

“If you change your mind, come find me, Shadow,” the blonde witch added over her shoulder. She tossed her head, smiling wider. “I’ll go to the dance with you. I won’t blush and titter, either. Promise. Not unless you want me to.”

I honestly wasn’t sure if the witch was kidding.

Then again, I didn’t even know her name.

“Already asked and answered,” Graham said, a little sharper, before the witch could try again. “Move along, Esmerelda. You’ll have to find someone else for the Myst?ria Dance.”

The blonde witch shrugged, eyeing him. “Wasn’t talking to you, Strangemore.”

That time, however, she left the common room, her koi fish primal swimming through the air behind her, glinting in the light from the overhead chandelier.

We stood by the main bulletin board for Grathrock College, not long after dinner had let out.

I’d been looking at the flyer when Graham came up to stand next to me.

It was the first I’d ever heard of a school dance.

Then again, I’d been so focused on my studies and my “side project” with Bones, I’d barely paid attention to what was going on in other parts of the school.

I had remembered Halloween, but no one else at Malcroix Bones seemed to think October 31st required any sort of acknowledgment, so I kept it to myself. I heard Samhain referenced in passing a few times, but that was it.

According to the flyer tacked to the wall, Magicals celebrated other holidays involving costumes, however, which excited and disappointed me in equal measure.

Halloween had been my favorite holiday back home.

Eleusínia Myst?ria Dance, the flyer read, in hand-lettered, silver font. Come celebrate with us in Morwormer Hall! Drinks, music, hors d’ oeuvres, dancing. Friday, 21 November at 7PM. Costume required for entry!

The flyer didn’t explain the holiday itself, but the words coupled with drawings of masquerade masks, musical symbols, and wine glasses, made the meaning clear.

I’d have to look up “Eleusínia Myst?ria” in my Magique Britain book.

“I’ll tell you what,” Graham Strangemore said, pulling my eyes back to his. “I’ll go with you on one condition. You come see me fly this weekend.”

“Oh.” I flushed, glancing at where he was pointing.

A different flyer hung on the bulletin board next to the one announcing the dance.

I’d entirely forgotten about the big Skyhunt match. Miranda and Jolie both insisted I had to go. Miranda claimed I needed to see that match, in particular, as it was against one of the school’s big rivals. For the same reason, I nodded, holding out a hand to Strangemore.

“Deal,” I said.

He grinned, and shook my hand firmly back.

Watching Graham beam at me, obviously pleased, I wondered what exactly I was doing.

I didn’t really fancy Graham, or even see him that way.

He was attractive, sure. Very fit, if I were being honest, but I’d been reluctant to go out with him in the past because I hadn’t really felt a spark there, and didn’t want to mislead him.

Now I wondered which thing was stupider?my own hesitation over nothing but vague, ill-defined misgivings, or me blowing right past those misgivings because of a stupid dream.

I’d have to find a costume now, and I might need some kind of sports paraphernalia for the Skyhunt tournament the coming weekend, as well.

I’d ask Miranda. Mir would know what I’d be expected to wear or bring for both events, but the idea of suddenly needing “date” clothing made me uneasy.

Did I really want to date right now, given everything?

I hadn’t done a lot of dating in Overworld.

It hadn’t really been a conscious choice.

I’d always been busy between school and Archie, and the vast majority of boys I met in school didn’t interest me.

I’d snogged a few Overworlders in dark dance clubs in Southampton, most of them older.

I don’t know if it had been rebellion exactly, or just some feeble attempt to have any kind of dating life when both things felt pretty much impossible for me back then.

I’d even slept with a few, but only in cars and back rooms. I had to be home before dawn, either to get Archie up and dressed and fed and off to school, or just to be there when he woke.

Bringing someone back to Ankha’s house, or spending the night elsewhere, with someone I’d only just met in one of those clubs, was never even remotely an option.

My encounters never went anywhere for the same reason, despite occasional efforts to get my phone number, and a few offers of dinner or a movie.

I’d never had much interest in dating someone I didn’t know enough to truly fancy, whether I’d shagged them or not, and I’d never met anyone worth the amount of effort it would have taken to know them that well.

How could I have?

There was always Archie, and school.

But now I could conceivably do it, even with school.

And maybe that’s how these things always started, a little lukewarm until you got to know the person? Maybe I needed to make an effort to even get to the point where I might want to date someone?

Either way, I’d definitely need new clothes.

Which meant dragging Jolie and/or Miranda out shopping with me. Which also meant I’d have to tell them I’d asked Graham Strangemore on a date.

Two dates, really.

Miranda would be positively insufferable about it.

She’d been urging me to stop overthinking it and simply “jump that hot mage jock” for the past two months.

She thought it absolutely ridiculous I hadn’t taken the opportunity to fuck a popular, attractive guy for no reason other than it would be fun.

“What should we wear?” Graham asked, as if seeing the uncertainty on my face. “To the Myst?ria bash, I mean. Do you want to try pairing costumes? Or should we just wing it, go with whatever we find that we like?”

I laughed at that, I couldn’t help it. “I’ll be honest, I have no idea what the holiday is even about. I was just thinking about bribing my friends with coffee and cake to get them to go shopping with me, so I wouldn’t make a complete arse out of myself.”

He smiled, and I saw something in his eyes relax.

“It’s in honor of Persephone rising from the Underworld,” he explained. “But don’t worry about that for costumes. You can wear anything you want. There’s nothing religious about how it’s actually celebrated, although you’ll see lots of gods, angels, demons, and so on.”

I thought about that.

“Okay,” I said. “Then, unless you have strong feelings about it, I vote we just wing it. I likely won’t know what I want to wear until I’m actually looking at it. And I’m liable to mess up any attempt to match. I won’t get Magical pop culture references, I promise.”

He chuckled, his smile widening. “While I very much doubt that, given who your friends are, winging it works fine for me. Should we surprise one another? Not share ideas until we see whatever the other’s come up with?”

I quirked an eyebrow. “You can’t be offended if I just give you a blank stare and make dumb guesses as to what you’re supposed to be.”

He laughed louder, and a few people looked over. Graham touched my arm. He withdrew his hand quickly, but never stopped smiling.

“I’ll explain, if you don’t get it,” he promised. “I’ll explain all of them, if you like, the ones I know, anyway. We can have our own running commentary on every costume in Worm Hall. I’ll even rank them according to historical accuracy and style.”

I felt myself relaxing with him.

“I’ll take you up on that,” I warned him. “And incidentally, you’ll have my friends to thank for mine. They’ll make sure I’m vaguely presentable, at least.”

He grinned and touched my arm again.

That time, he let his hand linger longer.

When he walked away a few seconds later, I let out a relieved breath.

That hadn’t gone too badly. He’d been funny about it, self-depreciating, and definitely not a prat.

And, whether there were sparks there or not, maybe it was good I’d ripped the plaster off, whatever my faulty reasoning for asking him out in the first place.

It was just a date. I should occasionally do normal university things, like date.

As I thought it, still smiling, I happened to glance at the other side of the room.

Caelum Bones stood there.

His upper body leaned against the fireplace mantle, the pose casual.

He wasn’t looking at me. To the ordinary, sane observer, he had no idea I was even in the room, much less any awareness of who I’d been talking to, or what we’d been talking about.

So why did I strongly get the feeling he’d caught my entire interaction with Strangemore, anyway?

Even as I thought it, his eyes shifted subtly towards mine.

It was barely a look, but the fury I saw there startled me.