Fang And Claw (Nocturne Academy 2)

“You mean do I fear I will turn her into one of my kind? Or at least, an imitation of my kind—a ‘Made Vampire’?” Griffin asked.

I perked up my ears at that.

“You mean you can turn someone into a Nocturne just by biting them?” I asked uneasily. I had been living with the Breedloves for years but this was the first I had heard of any such possibility.

“Only a human,” Griffin assured me. “And only if there was prolonged and continuous biting over a period of time. A different kind of Other cannot be turned for they already have magic of their own.”

“Which means my sweetie can bite me whenever he wants to,” Megan said perkily, which made Avery and Emma groan again.

“Come on, Megan—don’t rub our noses in it,” Emma exclaimed. “We’re happy for you and Griffin, of course, but the rest of us are sadly single.”

“And likely to remain so,” Avery sighed, casting another longing glance at the Drake table.

“Sorry, you guys,” Megan said contritely. “I don’t mean to be so in your face with it. I’m just so, well, happy. I can’t help myself, you know? I mean, being Blood-Bonded to the right person is amazing.”

She smiled at Griffin, who smiled back, making Emma and Avery groan a third time. I didn’t join in, however—I was too busy mulling over what Griffin had said about a “Made Vampire.”

My mind slipped back to little Allegra, biting me for a “midnight snack” last night, as she had so many times before. I wondered uneasily if maybe I ought to curb that little habit of hers…

But surely not—probably Griffin had only been talking about romantic biting, the way he bit Megan for pleasure more than just for blood. I doubted a child could pass on the vampirism germ or virus or whatever it was that would cause a human to turn into a Nocturne—or a kind of facsimile of one. It was probably only present in the fangs of grown Nocturnes.

I shook my head, pushing my stupid worries away. It was just this awful cold I felt coming on that was making me feel paranoid and anxious. Not to mention light-headed and clumsy—I had tripped over my own feet in my History of Magic class today. If I hadn’t felt so bad, Ari never would have had to catch me in the first place.

Sighing, I took another sip of the tasteless tea. I wished I didn’t feel so tired and worn out. I’d had severe anemia for a while, when I was in the Burn Unit of the hospital, recovering after The Fire, and that was how I felt now—like I was about a pint low on blood.

But it didn’t matter how run down I felt—the day wasn’t over yet. Above us, the bell chimed politely but insistently, letting us know that lunch time was over and it was time to move on to our next class—which for me was Trigonometry.

“Oh—time to go,” Megan remarked, jumping up with abundant energy I couldn’t help envying. Finding true love seemed to really agree with her

“Off to Elementary Casting?” Avery asked her, lifting an eyebrow. “I don’t understand why they don’t move you out of there. Anyone with enough power to destroy the Edict should not be in a class for beginners.”

Megan made a face.

“It’s the same reason I can’t get myself switched out of Remedial English or Home Ec—because the school secretary hates me. And it’s not like I can use my magic to change her mind, either,” she added, when Emma opened her mouth to protest.

“That sucks, Megan,” she said, apparently stowing the idea of telling Megan to use Blood magic to change the school secretary’s point of view. “It’s really not fair, either. Why don’t you appeal to the Headmistress and get her to change your schedule?”

Megan shook her head as we all got up and gathered our books.

“I’ve bothered Headmistress Nightworthy quite enough lately, thank you—what with blowing up the most important rule of Otherkind in my very first week here. Right now I’m just trying to fly under her radar and keep a low profile. Besides…” She shrugged. “I’ve heard that Nocturne Academy is in the process of hiring a new guidance counselor. As soon as they come on board, I’ll ask about a change. And in the meantime, at least I have one of my Coven-mates to keep me company in Home Ec.”

She shot me a smile and I smiled tiredly back.

“I’ll be there today,” I told her. “I’m officially in Home Ec for sixth period now.”

“What?” Emma frowned at us both. “How did you manage that?”

“Because the school secretary—a woman composed entirely of bile and iron filings—apparently likes Kaitlyn, though she loathes all the rest of humanity,” Griffin remarked dryly.

I nodded apologetically as Emma and Avery stared at me in disbelief. All of the rest of my Coven-mates had had run-ins with the awful Mrs. Vernon from time to time but she did, in fact, seem to like me. I think she just felt sorry for me, actually, but I wasn’t above using that to my own advantage.