Page 100 of Malcroix Bones Academy

“It’s family stuff, my beautiful little monocerus,” he said, removing his hand from under mine and patting my fingers affectionately. “There’s nothing to be done about it. My father is a sadistic, cold-hearted, dark-magic-loving bastard and will nevernotbe thus. Suffice it to say, I wasn’t in the mood for a party tonight. I thought I’d lick my wounds in relative privacy.”

I felt the last of my anger at my friend ebb away.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

I didn’t add the trite,At least you have a father to be angry at.

I knew having a family wasn’t always better.

“Thank you, love,” he said, smiling back at me. “And thank you for coming to me. I reallyhavemissed you, and feel a bit foolish for letting my paranoia influence whether we spoke. It’s idiotic. And cowardly.”

I frowned, opening my mouth to ask.

He went on before I could.

“Bright lights attract darkness, unfortunately,” he mused. “Nothing to be done about that. It’s always been that way, in magic and in life. Anyway,” he shrugged. “It’s not like they’ll simplyignoreyou if I continue to pretend I’m not fond of you.”

I opened my mouth again, puzzled.

Again, he beat me to it.

“…Anyone who might object to you and I being friends will simply have to get over it,” Alaric declared. “In that regard, your optimistic friend at the bar likely did me a favor. Not that he isn’tutterlyadorable,” he repeated wistfully, his eyes taking in the length of Draken where he sprawled over a barstool. “I don’t like his chances once Cal hears about tonight, though. On the plus side for me, I’m likely to be the least of his complaints?”

“Cal?”I stared at him in disbelief. “Cal, as inCaelum?You can’t possibly mean that bloody Bones menace?”

Alaric rolled his eyes.“Of courseI mean the menace.”

“You’ve been avoiding me because of Caelum Bones? Why?” I demanded.

“Because we grew up together,” Alaric said with a sigh, taking another drink from the smoking silver goblet. “And he understands the risks as well as I do. Better, really.”

“That’s not an answer,” I said, a touch more coldly.

“It is, though,” Alaric said. A smile toyed at his lips. “Why did you punch him, by the way? I think you quite shocked him with that right-hook of yours. He’s been muttering about it ever since. At least where Elysia and the three trolls can’t hear it.”

I bit my lip.

I considered not pursuing it, but, given I’d had no one to ask these questions of for the past month, apart from that blond wanker, I couldn’t help myself.

“The three trolls?” I queried.

“You must have seen them.” Alaric lifted his cup, and drank down the dregs of the blue concoction. “Caelum’s bodyguards. He can’t go anywhere without them lumbering after him like stray hellhounds with a bad case of distemper.” At my frown, he added, “Nicolai Panzen, who goes by the inglorious moniker, ‘Pants.’ Scarpen Maskey, whom everyone simply calls ‘Scar.’ And their sort-of leader, Norrick Voltaire.”

I frowned. “Voltaire? You mean, like?”

“Exactly like,” Alaric affirmed. He motioned with a finger at the bar’s one cocktail waitress, who saw and began making her way towards us. Alaric looked back at me. “He’s the nephew of our illustrious headmaster, Darica Voltaire.”

“Lovely,” I said, remembering the mean-eyed stares from Caelum’s table. “So why do they follow Bones around? Lesser royalty, hoping to get in with the Prince Prick?”

Alaric snorted out a laugh, and covered his mouth.

“Not far off,” he said, smirking. “But I suspect it’s theKingPrick they want to get in with, not the prince. They may be stupid, but they understand power.”

I rolled my eyes, remembering our first real conversation, in front of the fireplace of my suite at the Dragon’s Keep, after procuring wine, beer, and snacks from the wall.

“I forgot you all call him ‘King,’” I muttered, shaking my head. “Sad King Bones, was it?” I scoffed. “He doesn’t strike me as particularly sad. Just obscenely arrogant, rude, condescending, and so smug it should be illegal. Calling him ‘king’ is positively vomit-inducing, by the way. Not to mention a horrid means of reinforcing the insanely inflated, and wholly undeserved opinion he has of himself already.”

Alaric didn’t answer. When I glanced at him, he had an odd look on his face. His mouth opened slightly, like he was about to speak, but stopped himself. His eyes focused on the base of my neck.