by Chris Cannon
“Next time, you should ask to be excused.”
Bryn shot to her feet. “She’s a teacher. She isn’t supposed to attack students.”
“Let me explain the facts of life to you. She is a person with power. You have none. Come to me next time this happens, and I’ll help you. If you go this route again, your time here will be quite unpleasant.”
“It’s been a bed of freaking roses up till now.”
“Bryn.” His voice carried a serious warning.
She sank back into her seat. “Fine. What happens now?”
“I’ll find someone to tutor you in History. You won’t set foot in Mrs. Hanfelder’s class again.” He pointed a finger at her in warning. “Don’t you dare smile. This is an added complication I don’t need.”
He seemed genuinely peeved. While she didn’t want to add to his work, being banished from Mrs. Hanfelder’s class was a gift. “I know something that might make you smile. Watch my fingernails.” She placed her right hand on his desk, concentrated, and turned her fingernails green.
He blinked. “How?”
“I don’t know. I can change my coloring in dragon form, too. That’s how I figured it out.”
Mr. Stanton shook his head. “You didn’t use an emissary.”
“I focus my life force, and my coloring changes.”
“Who taught you?”
“My mom taught me how to focus my life force in yoga. I’m good at visualizing.”
“Amazing.” He grinned. “Any other powers I should know about?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
Mr. Stanton stood, signaling their meeting was over. “You’d best go to lunch. Since you missed Basic Movement, I’ll email your teacher to explain the absence. Try to appear contrite when you walk into the dining hall. Otherwise, Mrs. Hanfelder will say I wasn’t hard enough on you.”
“I can do that.” Bryn grabbed her book bag and headed for lunch. On the walk, she changed her nails back to their original red.
Keeping her head down, she entered the dining hall. There was a small line at the buffet. Once her plate was full, she scanned the room for Clint and Ivy. Thank God they’d chosen the same seats as at breakfast.
She sat next to Clint. “Sorry you got detention.”
“It was bound to happen. I have the uncanny ability to piss people off.”
“What happened in Stanton’s office?” Ivy asked.
“I’ve been removed from Mrs. Hanfelder’s class. Mr. Stanton is going to find me a tutor.”
“I’m not sure that’s a punishment,” Clint said.
“Mr. Stanton was furious.” Bryn played up his anger in case word got around.
“The look on Jaxon’s face when he threw himself out of the chair was fantastic.” Ivy chuckled. “I think you singed his eyebrows.”
Bryn shoved French fries in her mouth to keep from laughing. When she was under control, she asked the question that had haunted her the entire time she sat outside Stanton’s office.
“What’s everyone saying about me?”
“Don’t you know?” Clint grabbed one of her fries. “You’re the new ‘bad girl’ of the school.”
Laughter bubbled up from her throat.
“We need to start on your tattoos to keep up your image,” Ivy said.
Clint held his thumbs and forefingers like a frame. “I picture barbed wire starting at your ankle and swirling around your leg. That would be sexy.”
Yeah. Right. “All I need now is a motorcycle and leather pants.”
“I doubt your father would approve.” Zavien spoke from behind her. His tone was arctic.
Shit. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face him. “I didn’t start it, and I’ve been yelled at enough today.”
Zavien sat beside her. “Too bad. It’s my turn.”
Clint raised his hand. “You should know she bit her tongue for the first round of insults. I’m the one who charged in and set Hanfelder off.”
Ivy placed her hand on Clint’s shoulder. “For future reference, when I grab you like this, it means keep your mouth shut.”
“Really? I assumed it meant you weren’t able to keep your hands off me.” He pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm. Ivy appeared at a loss for words.
“We need to talk. Follow me.” Zavien picked up Bryn’s tray and walked away.
“What the hell?” Bryn glared after his retreating form.
“Go back to the buffet and get more food,” Ivy said.
It was her food, and she was getting it back. Bryn stalked over to the empty table where he’d taken her tray, pulled out a chair, and slammed it on the tile. The sound echoed through the dining hall.
A muscle in Zavien’s jaw twitched, giving her a strange sense of satisfaction.
He scowled. “That’s very mature.”
She sat, picked up her hamburger, and took a bite.
“You can’t shoot fireballs at everyone who says mean things to you.”
Bryn chewed, swallowed, and pretended she couldn’t hear him.
“You’re lucky the Directorate didn’t kick you out. If they did, your parents would be out of work and homeless.”
Her stomach heaved. She barely kept the hamburger from coming back up. “They can’t do that.”
“Yes. They. Can. The Directorate can do whatever they want. You attacked a Directorate member’s son. Didn’t you think there might be some retaliation?”
“He started it.” And now she sounded like a five-year-old.
“That argument doesn’t work around here. He can do whatever he wants. You need to duck and cover.”
“Fine.” Angry tears filled her eyes. “Are you done?”
“No. I’m not. If you don’t want the Blues coming after you, you need to appear defeated. You need to make it look like Stanton ripped your head off. Do you understand? I don’t want you to laugh or smile in public for the rest of the day. Stay away from Ivy and Clint if you have to.”
Students stood and walked toward the door. Their lunch hour was almost over.
“I have to go.”
“Not yet.” He held out his hand. “Give me the necklace.”
The food in her stomach turned into a ball of lead.
“What?”
“I don’t give presents to immature girls who think of no one but themselves. Give me the necklace.”
His face was a cold mask. He wasn’t kidding.
Her hands shook as she unclasped the chain and placed it on his palm.
Pretending to study it, he opened the dragon locket and removed the key. The necklace went in his pocket. He palmed the key and transferred it to her tray.
“Don’t lose your protection charm. You’ll need it. From here on out, you’re on your own.”
He stood and mocked her by slamming his chair against the table like she’d done earlier. She flinched. A weight settled on her chest. It took effort to breathe. This could not be happening. She’d trusted him. How could he abandon her? She couldn’t do this on her own.
The edge of the key poked out from under the napkin on her tray. She retrieved it and tucked it in her shirt pocket. The sound of approaching footsteps caused her to clench the edge of the table.
“We need to go.” Ivy placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
She couldn’t talk without crying. Keeping her gaze on the floor, she followed her friends to class.
In Algebra, Bryn copied formulas from the board and worked on the assignment. At one point, she heard Jaxon say her name. Her classmates laughed.
She tuned everyone out and concentrated on substituting numbers for letters. She’d do her work one day at a time until she was able to leave this horrid place. Then she’d run away as fast as she could and never look back.
On the way to Proper Decorum, Ivy pulled her down a side hall. “What did Zavien say to upset you so much?”
“He said he’s done with me. I’m on my own.” Repeating his words made her stomach ache. “He took the n
ecklace back.”
“That’s not right,” Ivy said.
Bryn sniffled. “Right doesn’t count for much around here.”
“You don’t need him,” Clint assured her. “You have us.”
…
When she thought her day couldn’t get any worse, she reached a new level of hell.
It was called Proper Decorum.
The woman at the front of the room droned on about utensils. Bryn thought her name was Mrs. Silvertrap, but that couldn’t be right.
Pictures of various forks, knives, and spoons appeared on a screen at the front of the classroom. Each bore the appropriate label and its proper use. Why couldn’t rich people use one fork per meal like everyone else?
“I expect you to label these utensils by Friday. Everything I’ve shown you today is in chapter one.”
The Proper Decorum textbook was an inch thicker than her Algebra book. The world no longer made sense.
“What can I do to get kicked out of Proper Decorum?” Clint asked as he held the door open for Bryn and Ivy to exit the building.
“Electrocute someone,” Ivy suggested.
“Too bad Zavien isn’t in class with us.” Clint cracked his knuckles. “I’d be happy to zap him.”
Ivy shifted her book bag to her other shoulder. “I can’t believe he took your necklace back.”
Bryn touched the hollow of her throat. She missed the warmth of the necklace against her skin. If she wanted to keep the key a secret, she’d have to replace the locket. The sooner the better. “When can we go to Dragon’s Bluff again?”
“Whenever we want,” Ivy said. “We have to sign out at the back gate on school nights, but on the weekends, we’re free to come and go as we please.”
“I want to buy a new necklace.”
“We could go now,” Clint said. “Dinner isn’t for a couple of hours. I’m not ready to start on homework, and detention isn’t until seven.”
Bryn cringed. “Sorry.”
“I’m a big boy. I’ll be all right.” He reached for Ivy’s hand. “What do you say? We could fly over to Dragon’s Bluff after we drop off our books.”
“Let’s ditch our things in Bryn’s room,” Ivy said. “It’s closer.”
When they reached her room, Bryn discovered an unwanted intruder. Zavien sat on her couch like he had a right to be there.
She threw her book bag at his head. “Get. Out.”
He dodged the missile and held both hands up in a sign of surrender. “I’m sorry.”
Smoke shot from her nose. “For what? Lying to me so I’d think you gave a damn, or taking back my birthday present?”
“I do care about you.” He met her gaze and held it. “You needed to show remorse for your actions. With your Red temper, it was the only way I could think of to get through to you. I was afraid of what Jaxon or the other Blues might do if you walked around as if nothing had happened. I did it to protect you.”
A hollow feeling settled in her chest. “Don’t tell me how I should act. Your life wasn’t stolen. You didn’t get dropped into an alternate world where people hate you for being born. A person you trusted didn’t tell you he was done with you to manipulate your emotions.”
“That was a dick move,” Ivy informed him.
Clint shook his head. “Not cool.”
Zavien rammed his hand back through his hair. “I’m trying to apologize.”
The sincere tone of his voice pissed her off more. “You can’t treat me like this and expect an apology to fix it. I don’t trust you anymore.”
She stalked past him into her bedroom, threw open the window, shifted, and took flight. Clint and Ivy joined her. They soared toward the back gate. Landing hard, Bryn sent up a cloud of dust.
The guard on duty coughed. “You need to practice your landings.”
“Sorry.” She shifted to human form. “We want to run an errand in Dragon’s Bluff.”
He held out a clipboard. “Sign here.”
Once they were in the air again, Bryn felt her neck muscles relax. She scanned the ground below. From this height, the town was a crosshatch of gray streets and red brick buildings. At the far end of town, she noticed an airstrip and several small commuter planes.
“What’s the airport for?”
“What?” Ivy flew closer.
Bryn shouted. “What’s the airport for?”
“It’s to cover for us when we fly. Plausible deniability.”
Interesting. They landed near the edge of town. Bryn bent her knees hoping to soften the landing, overbalanced, and fell forward. “Damn it.”
Clint laughed but said nothing.
The streets were less crowded than the first time she had visited. Families walked to dinner, kids raced their bikes in the street, and a few students wandered in and out of shops.
It was a short walk to All that Sparkles. When they entered the store, the memory of Zavien smiling and paying for the locket reared up and smacked Bryn in the back of the head. Angry tears filled her eyes. What a jerk.
Honesty was important to her right now, so she showed her friends the key. “I need to hide this in something I can wear all the time. It has a protection charm.”
“It’s pretty. Why don’t you wear it on a chain?” Ivy asked.
“I’m not sure if I should let everyone see it. It was a gift from someone, and I don’t know where he acquired it.”
“With your luck, it’s one of Jaxon’s family heirlooms,” Clint said.
Talia approached with a warm smile. “Bryn, I didn’t expect you back so soon. What can I help you with?”
“I need a new necklace.”
The shopkeeper’s eyebrows drew together. “What happened to the dragon?”
A bitter taste filled her mouth. “It was revoked.”
“If I remember correctly, it was a gift.”
“Not so much.” Bryn’s voice cracked. “I need a replacement. What do you suggest?”
Talia gestured at the silver and gold trees lining the walls. “We have animals, plants, and symbols of the universe.”
“What’s the symbol for ‘Mess with me, and I’ll shoot a fireball at your head’?” Clint asked.
The door to the shop opened. Bryn pointed to the new customers. “Why don’t you help them? If I need anything, I’ll yell.”
After studying her choices, Bryn picked up a pendant of the sun. “What about this?”
Ivy shook her head. “It doesn’t mean anything. The dragon was a symbol. We should find something like that.”
Clint walked to a different display and came back with a charm bracelet. “What about hiding it in plain sight?”
The bracelet was decorated with gold and silver key charms.
“That might work.” Bryn put it on her wrist. “It’s too big.”
“I think it’s an ankle bracelet,” Ivy said.
Bryn bent over and secured the bracelet around her ankle. “Does anyone wear ankle bracelets?”
“Only the coolest people.” Clint knelt and placed a silver bracelet around Ivy’s ankle.
A smile spread across Ivy’s face. “Are those leaves?”
“I thought they’d match your tattoo,” he explained.
Not wanting to intrude on their moment, Bryn walked over to a counter and leaned against it while she unclasped the anklet. The key slid onto an existing charm holder.
“Find something you liked?” Talia asked.
“I did.” Bryn handed over her credit card, hoping it didn’t cost too much, and returned the bracelet to her ankle. There, she didn’t need Zavien’s stupid gift. She could do this on her own.
Chapter Fourteen
Stretched out on the carpet in her dorm room, Bryn worked her way through a large pepperoni pizza from the café downstairs while she did homework. While it wasn’t as good as Fonzoli’s pizza, it wasn’t bad. When she finished her Algebra assignment, she reached for another slice of pizza and found the box empty.
“I can’t believe I ate the whole thi
ng.”
“I’m not surprised.”
Zavien’s voice caught her off guard. She whipped her head around and growled.
His tie hung loose around his neck, and the top buttons on his pinstriped shirt were undone. He slouched against her bedroom doorframe.
“I came to apologize, again.”
Good thing the viselike pain at the base of her skull canceled out the effect he had on her hormones. She reached up to rub her neck. “My head is going to explode, and it’s your fault.”
He came closer and sat beside her. “Did I mention I give fabulous neck rubs?”
Of course he did. Jackass. She fantasized about beating him to death with her Proper Decorum book.
He kneaded the stiff muscles of her neck. It was bliss. She bit her lip to keep from moaning.
“I was wrong.” He worked his way down her neck to her shoulders. “You’re one giant knot.”
“I wonder why?”
“Sorry. Stupid thing to say.”
She growled. “Less talking, more massaging.”
“If I promise neck rubs for the rest of your life, will you forgive me?”
It was a tempting offer. “If I forgive you, you can’t lie to manipulate me.”
“I won’t.” He dug his thumbs into the base of her skull.
Bryn feared she might drool. She concentrated on staying mad. “You lied to me. You told me you only lie on three occasions.”
“I told you I—”
“I know. You lie to protect people from themselves.” There was no way he could miss the sarcasm in her voice.
“I do, but I won’t do it to you again. I swear.”
“What are the other two reasons?”
He dug his thumbs into the muscles above her shoulder blades, and the tension in her body drained away.
“Am I forgiven?” he asked.
His voice was disturbingly close. Warm breath brushed across her ear. He was manipulating her again. This type of manipulation she didn’t mind, but he wasn’t going to throw her off track. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“Fine. I would lie to protect someone I cared about.” He worked his way back up to her neck. “The third reason you’ll never have to worry about, because it only applies to Black dragons. Are we okay?”
