Crave

With Jaxon’s teeth in her flesh, Grace panics, but the sensation is pure pleasure. They make out for a while, ravenous for each other. He promises that no one is going to hurt her, which she believes. Another minor earthquake strikes. Jaxon admits that his feelings for her are causing the quakes, which he can normally control. Grace is in awe of his powers.

They kiss and talk more, but every time Grace caresses the scar on his face, Jaxon flinches. She assures him that he’s sexy, asking why he doesn’t embrace the scar and how he got it. The scar brings up memories of which he doesn’t want to be reminded.

As Grace and Jaxon lay side by side in his bed, Jaxon finally admits that he killed his brother. He didn’t plan to murder him, but Hudson was an extremely powerful vampire with the ability to manipulate others. Hudson forced others to join his campaign for vampires to rule; he planned to destroy the dragons, wolf-shifters, witches, and humans. Jaxon couldn’t let his power-crazed older brother succeed, so he stepped in.

Ever since Hudson’s attempted coup, the other supernatural beings have been divided. Lia still blames Jaxon for taking away her boyfriend. To Grace, Jaxon’s motive makes sense. He did what was needed to save the world from Hudson’s wrath. Afterward, Jaxon’s mother, the Vampire Queen, attacked him and gave him the scar on his face. He believes she needed to release her grief. Jaxon regrets having to kill Hudson, but he’d do it again. Grace thinks he’s responsible, strong, and resilient to endure such tragedy.

After more kissing, Jaxon tells Grace that their romance can’t be the only reason people are trying to kill her. Flint tried to kill her before their romance started, in the trees during the snowball fight. The wind was from Flint, and Jaxon used his telekinesis to make Flint land underneath Grace. Flint also told her to walk under the chandelier. Jaxon thinks the dragons and wolf-shifters want to kill her, but their motives are unclear. Although she defends Flint, Grace sees Jaxon’s points. She feels sick thinking her friend Flint is really an enemy.

Uncle Finn pounds on Jaxon’s door. After the wolf-shifter incident, he’s coming to reprimand Jaxon. Finn tells Grace to get to class. She hears her uncle chastising Jaxon for the violent fight as she rushes out.

After reading more Hamlet in her class with Mekhi, Grace has to walk through the underground tunnels to reach her art class. Mekhi, sent by Jaxon, accompanies her for protection. She wonders if Flint would have hurt her in the tunnels if Lia hadn’t arrived. Flint jogs up and asks how she’s doing, but Grace asks if he’s worried the “chandelier didn’t do its job well enough” (356). Flint goes rigid, so Grace knows Jaxon was right. Flint argues that she should hear his side of the story, but Grace snaps that she can’t imagine a good reason for trying to kill her. Mekhi breaks up their fight, though Flint wants to talk to her alone. Grace refuses, and he tells her to be safe and not go anywhere alone.

Mekhi thinks Grace’s uncle will give Jaxon a warning for the fight, not expel him. Finn isn’t shortsighted and knows Jaxon will safeguard her. When she asks about Hudson, Mekhi describes him as “selfish,” “egotistical,” and “opportunistic” (362).

Lia appears behind them. Mekhi and Lia are hostile to each other, but Grace calms their tension. Since Hudson’s death, Lia’s fellow vampires don’t accept her. The girls talk about Jaxon’s attack on the wolves, with Lia stating that Hudson was similarly overprotective of her. Grace wants to talk about the murder attempts, but other students are nearby.

Lia invites her over, but Grace declines, saying that she’s waiting for Jaxon. Grace tells her that Jaxon misses her friendship, but Lia doubts it. Grace advises her to connect with others instead of drowning in grief alone. Lia wanted to do that with a girl’s night, so Grace hugs her and promises to hang out soon.

That night, Macy helps Grace get ready for a date with Jaxon. Though Macy advises her to wear a suggestive, short dress, Grace picks a modest one. She teases Grace with sexy vampire puns: Grace is nervous, but Macy makes her laugh.

When Grace arrives at Jaxon’s door, he comments on her beauty. After kissing her, he gives her a warm jacket and opens his curtains to reveal the night sky.

Grace squeals at the Northern Lights outside, which she’s always wanted to see. They climb out to the parapet, snuggling close together as they watch the magnificent display. Grace tells him that her dad painted the aurora on her wall as a kid, promising he’d take her to view it one day. Jaxon comforts her, then asks if she trusts him. She immediately responds with “yes,” and he twirls them into the sky. They float about 300 feet above the castle, into the shimmering lights.

As it gets late, they float back to Jaxon’s room. He surprises Grace with a dazzling rainbow-colored topaz gemstone necklace. Grace is touched by the gift.

To warm up from their sky dance, they make tea. Jaxon explains it’s a home brew from Lia, so Grace thinks she listened to her advice about Jaxon missing her. They kiss until Jaxon asks to bite her again, which she craves, too. Jaxon’s fangs give her extreme pleasure.

While Jaxon bites her, Grace feels dazed. He shoves her away suddenly, telling her to get out now. His voice is wild, and Grace realizes this isn’t her Jaxon, but a monster who has sucked her blood. He snarls at her to go, barely in control. Grace is worried about him, but she runs away. She stumbles to the door, weak from blood loss, as Jaxon bears down on her. Grace manages to get out the door, nearly collapsing on the stairs.

Lia arrives, asking if she’s okay. Grace pleads for help, but Lia slaps her across the face. In shock, Grace can’t comprehend her actions. Jaxon rushes out, screaming for Lia to leave Grace alone. Lia states she should have made the tea stronger, then pulls out a gun and shoots Jaxon in the heart.

Grace screams, trying to reach Jaxon after he’s shot. Her body can barely move from Lia’s secretly poisoned tea. The room spins as she reaches for Jaxon, who lies motionless. Lia shouts for her to stop whimpering because she only tranquilized him. Grace pleads for Jaxon to wake up, then Lia shoots Grace with the tranquilizer.

Grace wakes up in pure pain. Still groggy, she realizes she’s tied up by her hands and feet on an altar. She’s in a dark, cold room underground. She panics about Jaxon, then Lia and her fake friendship.

Grace wishes she had supernatural powers like the others to break her binds. She flails, turning her wrists and feet until they bleed. At last, she slips her wrists out, then unties her feet. Grace runs out of the room, touching the walls to guide her. She hears screams and dashes through something wet.

Light illuminates the room and reveals that Grace is wading through blood: There are giant vials of blood around the altar where she was imprisoned. An enormous green dragon flies at her. Its talons wrap tightly around her, and the dragon carries her through the exit doors. Grace hopes the dragon is saving her, suspecting he’s Flint, but the talons digging into her may be meant to kill her. Lia runs after them with vampire super speed.

Lia jumps and grabs the dragon’s tail, pulling them down with incredible force. They fall to the ground. Grace is injured in multiple areas and bleeding. While Flint and Lia battle, Grace sprints into a nearby tunnel to reach the school’s main castle. Flint explodes with fire, then transforms into a human. He runs after her, slamming Grace against the wall.

She’s shocked, but Flint yells that Lia killed Grace’s parents, and the dragon and wolf-shifters tried to stop this. Grace is confused. Flint doesn’t have time to explain, promising that he doesn’t want to hurt her, but Lia’s plan can’t succeed, or the world will end. He says Grace’s death is the only way to foil Lia’s plan. He wraps his hands around her neck, suffocating her.