Page 135 of Bone Year

I learned Tomas’s father’s name is Edric. Once we got him inside and bandaged, he was incredibly grateful. His wife cried. Tomas gave Draven multiple hugs that he took in stride, awkwardly enough to make me giggle. Draven wrapped my ankle on Edric’s kitchen floor, and I can walk on it now. It’s not broken, just sprained. Edric’s wife insisted we stay for a warm meal, and then Edric pressed a bottle of whiskey into Draven’s hand as thanks, for saving his life.

I haven’t seen Seamkeeper Ostric all day. I assume he’s still manning his tower. I want to give him a piece of my mind for not helping, but it’s not worth my time, and I’m not going to change the old man or the way these people have been doing things for gods know how long.

It’s dark by the time we head back into our bedroom.

The fire in the nave is stocked up for the night, and the wind has died down some. I sit on the edge of the bed and pull off my boots one at a time. My ankle is swollen, and I catch Draven staring at it when I look up.

“What?”

He doesn’t answer and starts removing his boots.

Only his right wing is still out. He told me it should heal enough by morning to be able to retract it. Must be nice to have vampire healing.

I take off my leather pants and jacket. I can’t sleep in all these layers, and Draven has already seen my pink shorts. I have nothing to hide anymore.

He watches me. A smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth as he grabs his pillow off the bed, like he plans to sleep on the floor again. I don’t feel right making him do that after the day we’ve had. Not with his wing the way it is.

“Sleep on the bed.”

He stares at me for a beat.

“And you’re going to sleep on the floor?”

I stare at him for a second, crossing my arms over my chest. “What, you can’t stand the idea of sleeping so close to me?”

He tosses the pillow back onto the bed, sits down, and leans against the headboard.

“It’s you I worry won’t be able to keep your hands off me, Freckles.”

I laugh.

It might be the first time he’s broken that serious facade the whole trip. He grabs the whiskey off the nightstand, takes a couple of long pulls, and offers it to me.

I crawl onto the bed and lean against the headboard beside him. The bed is so small, and he is so large that our shoulders are touching. I don’t mind it.

I take the bottle and a long well-deserved drink. It burns all the way down to my belly until warmth blooms inside me and heats my cheeks. I pass it back.

“Today did not go how I expected it would.” He takes another drink and offers the bottle again.

“I didn’t know what to expect.” I take another swig. “That bell is going to haunt my nightmares for many nights to come.”

Draven chuckles and takes the bottle from me.

“That thing you did today with the shadow bats, is that a vampire thing or just a Draven thing?”

He pulls the tie out of his hair and lets it fall to his shoulders. A few pieces drop into his face, and I watch him brush them away with the back of his hand. His golden eyes find mine.

“I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.”

I burst out laughing.

“Forget hundreds of shadowy bats? You’re delusional if you think I’d forget that.” I take the bottle back and tip it toward him. “I hurt my ankle, not my head. Or did you forget?”

That half smirk appears again. “It’s a bloodline thing. Some in my family are blessed with the gift, but not all vampires have it.”

I take another sip, longer this time, and feel the warmth on the back of my tongue before I swallow. The whiskey has caught up with me. I can feel it in the way my fingers are warm against the glass and the way my thoughts are fuzzier than they were ten minutes ago.

I hand the bottle back, and before I have the sense to bite my tongue, I say, “You mean your royal bloodline. Prince Draven Aldric.”