Burning Bright

by Chris Cannon

  “I managed to avoid seeing Valmont all summer. I don’t think I’m ready to see him yet,” Bryn said. She may have broken their dragon-knight bond but that was only after he’d broken her heart.

  “Are you over him?” Ivy asked.

  “I don’t know.” Bryn played with her napkin while she thought about the question. Part of her life felt empty without him and she missed what they’d had together, but thinking of him no longer caused her physical pain. “I think I am.”

  “If you saw him with another girl, how would you feel?” Clint asked.

  “If you’d asked me that three months ago I would have wanted to roast him, but now I think it would just make me a little sad. I guess that’s an improvement.”

  Clint sat up straight and muttered, “Incoming.”

  Bryn turned and saw Zavien striding her way. He was no longer the spiky-haired rebel who’d impressed her so much when she’d first come to school. He wore his dark hair short, and his cheekbones were more pronounced than she remembered, as if he’d been ill and lost weight. Dark circles stood out under his eyes.

  He approached their table, like he wasn’t sure if he was welcome. “Bryn, can we talk?”

  It’s like someone had flipped her life into an alternate dimension. How many times had she wanted to speak to him and he’d blown her off? All of that seemed so long ago and childish now…and slightly embarrassing. He’d been her first crush, and the first guy who’d disappointed her, but all of that paled in comparison to the attack on campus.

  “Have a seat,” Bryn said.

  “I thought maybe we could go for a walk.” Zavien gestured toward the doors of the dining hall.

  “That wouldn’t be appropriate,” Bryn said. Was it wrong that she enjoyed throwing that statement in his face? He’d said it to her often enough.

  “That’s a nice bit of irony,” Zavien said.

  “I think so,” Bryn said.

  He sat and stared at her for a moment. “I don’t have the words to say how sorry I am about Nola. I want you to know that I had no idea she was involved with any of that madness.”

  Even though he’d turned out to be a huge disappointment as a friend and more than that, she knew he’d never meant to hurt her. “I know.”

  He continued talking. “She always acted like she had another agenda, but I had no idea she could be so—”

  “Psychotic?” Ivy offered.

  “That’s one way to put it,” Zavien acknowledged.

  “I know you don’t condone violence and that you worked for peaceful change through your petitions,” Bryn said. “If you’d known anyone’s life was at stake you would have turned Nola in.”

  “I would have.” He sighed and reached up to rub the back of his neck. “I don’t understand how she hid so much from me. When they questioned me after the attack they asked if I knew that Nola was behind the attack on the theater building. I had no idea. She was so distraught over all the destruction. I never would have guessed she was faking all that emotion.”

  “She majored in theater,” Clint said. “Apparently, she was one hell of an actress.”

  “Maybe that was it,” Zavien said. “Anyway, I just needed you to know.” He tapped his fingers on the table.

  “Did they find out how deeply she was involved with the Rebels?” Bryn asked.

  “She was one of their inside spies on campus. No one has confirmed this, but I think she’s the one who poisoned you.”

  Anger boiled up inside of Bryn. She wanted to unleash a torrent of fire and ice against Nola, but that would do little good. Nola was dead, and the plan to kill Bryn had failed, but thinking about the crazy dark-haired Barbie made fire crawl up the back of Bryn’s throat. A wisp of smoke drifted from Bryn’s nostrils as she exhaled. She took a moment to compose herself. “I wondered about that.”

  “I have something I wanted to give you…sort of as a peace offering.”

  “Okay.”

  He reached into his book bag and pulled out a black folder. “I made it awhile ago, but I still hope it makes you smile.”

  Now she was curious. She opened the folder. There was a pamphlet inside. On the front in elegant script it said:

  Bryn’s Primer

  Inside the pamphlet there were sketches of dragons from each Clan and a list of their traits and their breath weapon.

  Red Dragons—Breathes fire. Strongest, with slightly scary tempers

  Black Dragons—Breathes lightning. Most artistic, with a penchant for tattoos

  Green Dragons—Breathes wind. Smartest, lacking in sense of humor

  Orange Dragons—Breathes sonic waves. Plant whisperers who can kick your ass

  Blue Dragons—Breathes ice. Elite lawmakers, chronic snottiness, fastest second fastest fliers

  Red/Blue Hybrid Dragon—Breathes fire & ice, kick-ass chick, fastest flyer

  Bryn grinned. “I love it. When did you make this?”

  “A few weeks after you came to school, which seems like a lifetime ago,” he said. “After everything that has happened, I know I don’t deserve this, but is there any way we can be friends again?” Vulnerability shone in his dark brown eyes.

  There were so many answers she could give him and none of them were simple. “You were a good friend to me when I first came to school and didn’t know anyone. I appreciate that because I would have been lost without you, and you literally saved my life after I was poisoned…but then you turned into an asshat. If it was up to me, I might agree to give our friendship another chance, but as an official member of the Blue Clan and Ephram Sinclair’s granddaughter, I’m not sure I can.”

  Zavien gave the lop-sided grin she used to love. “I’ll respect that answer for now, but if you ever change your mind, or you need someone to talk to, I’ll be around.” And with that, he stood and headed toward the dining hall door.

  “Well, that was interesting,” Ivy said.

  “That’s one word for it,” Bryn leaned closer to her friends. “I wasn’t wrong, was I…about not wanting to be friends with him?”

  “No,” Clint said. “He did some shady things to you and he was involved with someone who tried to kill you and destroy life as we know it.”

  “Ahh, when you put it that way, I don’t feel bad.” She closed the folder so no one else could see it because not everyone would find it as amusing as she did.

  Chapter Three

  “We’re about to have more company,” Ivy said.

  Seriously? Who’s coming to brighten my day now?

  Jaxon walked over to her and held out a set of keys. “You’re three doors down and across the hall from where you were before.”

  She took the keys from his hand. “Thanks.”

  With a curt nod, Jaxon left.

  “Want to help me move my stuff?” Bryn asked, like she was offering them a special treat.

  “That has fun written all over it,” Ivy said.

  It didn’t take long for Clint and Ivy to help Bryn move her clothes and the few personal items she had from one dorm room to another. The setup was the same—two bedrooms and a large front room divided into a living room with a couch and a study area with a library table and bookshelves featuring random pieces of art.

  Clint plucked a small silver treasure chest from the shelf. “Mind if I open this?”

  “It’s too small to contain a dead body, so knock yourself out,” Bryn said, referring to the root cellar door Clint had opened which had led to a tunnel where a family of hybrids had been murdered and left to rot.

  He turned to glare at her. “Was that really necessary?”

  “Sorry.” Why had she said that? Maybe because being back on campus was bringing up all sorts of memories.

  “Are you sure you don’t want the comforter your grandmother bought you?” Ivy said.

  “No. Everything from that room reminds me of Valmont or Rhianna. I want to start fresh.” And there was only one place to do that. “So unless you have other plans, I think I’m ready to suck it up and deal wi
th going to Dragon’s Bluff.”

  “Here’s a test,” Clint said. “Are you ready to eat at Fonzoli’s?”

  Was she ready to eat at Valmont’s family’s restaurant? Her gut said no. “Only if you have an uncontrollable craving for Italian food. Otherwise, I’d rather do without the side of possible drama and go with burgers and caramel corn from the Snack Shack instead.”

  “I’m not really in the mood for drama,” Ivy said. “Burgers it is.”

  They headed out the window to Bryn’s terrace and shifted into dragon form. She didn’t even have to think her way through the transformation anymore, it was just second nature. She closed her eyes, felt something inside of her unfurl and then her center of gravity shifted. She opened her eyes and stretched her wings.

  Ivy and Clint stood next to her with their black scales gleaming in the sunlight. The outline of their human faces flashed across their dragon faces for just a moment, which was how they recognized each other in dragon form.

  Clint tilted his head and studied Bryn. “Did you mean to do that?”

  “Do what?” Bryn asked.

  “You have alternating red and blue scales,” Ivy said. “It’s cool, but that’s not your normal look.”

  “Crap. Hold on.” Her grandparents would have a fit if she presented herself as a Red-Blue hybrid rather than a Blue dragon. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself entirely blue.

  “You could leave one red scale,” Ivy said. “Like the stripe in your hair.”

  “That would be cool, but I’m not sure it’s worth the family issues it would cause.” When she had thought her parents were dead, she’d moved in with her grandparents. Her grandfather Ephram Sinclair was one of the most powerful individuals on the Directorate, the ruling council for the dragon clans. He helped balance out Jaxon’s father’s extremism, but he was supremely proud of his Blue Clan heritage and took Bryn’s habit of coloring her hair as a personal insult. They’d settled on her going blond with a single red stripe. She missed her tri-colored red, black, and blond hair but some things weren’t worth a fight…especially since she liked her new hair color.

  Bryn launched herself into the air, soaring up and away from the Institute, leaving it and all the issues it contained far below. She was supposed to head for the back gate, but the lure of flying was too strong. She performed a diving roll and then banked right, enjoying the sensation of sunshine on her wings.

  Clint and Ivy joined her in some aerial acrobatics. After ten minutes, Ivy flew alongside Bryn. “Are you ready to go shopping now?”

  “Sure.” She didn’t want to come back down to earth, but it was unavoidable. Bryn had practiced her landings over the summer, something she seemed to have more trouble with than the average dragon. She discovered if she hovered above the ground for a moment and tucked her wings to drop into a sort of crouch, she did much better than when she tried to stick a landing.

  “Hey,” Clint said, “you didn’t stumble.”

  “Thank you for noticing,” Bryn said.

  They shifted to human form and headed for the back gate. When she’d first come to the Institute, students had to sign in and out before exiting through a simple gate and flying to Dragon’s Bluff. Now the exit had a reinforced steel fence, a turret with some sort of gun on top, and a small building where several guards were on duty at all times.

  When they arrived at the gate, the guards glanced at them like they found their presence irritating.

  “We want to go to Dragon’s Bluff,” Bryn said.

  “You may go, but you’re required to have an escort,” the closest guard said.

  “What does that mean?” Ivy asked.

  “All students leaving campus will be escorted and driven by a guard. We’d like to keep flying off-campus to a minimum to ensure students’ safety.” He waved at another Red standing by several parked SUVs.

  The Red dragon climbed into the vehicle, drove over to the gate, and rolled the driver’s side window down. “Hello, I’m Manuel, and I’ll be your driver today.”

  Guarded transportation to and from campus was new. Not that it was a bad idea, but it did bring up a question. “Once we’re ready to return to the school what do we do?”

  Manuel said, “I’ll wait for you and then bring you back.”

  That seemed like a lot of manpower for students to leave campus. The Institute probably didn’t want to stop students from visiting Dragon’s Bluff because the town was still recovering from rebel attacks and keeping the businesses prosperous was a step in the right direction of returning to a normal life.

  Bryn and her friends climbed into the SUV. “Does everyone get an escort to town,” Clint asked. “Or is this because of Bryn’s grandparents?”

  Manuel smiled. “Bryn’s grandmother and the Blue Women’s League came up with the proposal, but it benefits all students. Plus, it gives us something to do rather than stand around waiting for trouble. It’s a win-win situation.”

  Bryn was thankful that this hadn’t been something afforded only to her, due to her status as Ephram and Marie Sinclair’s granddaughter. So many aspects of her new life made her feel uncomfortable. “Where to first?” Bryn asked to change the subject.

  “I heard that Bath and Beauty expanded their store to include towels and sheets,” Ivy said. “I bet they have comforters, too.”

  Clint groaned. “Not the smelly lotion store.”

  “I don’t understand your objection to Bath and Beauty,” Ivy said.

  “It’s a girl store. When I walk in there my testosterone level probably drops by ten points.”

  Manuel the driver chuckled.

  “See, he agrees with me,” Clint said.

  Too bad Clint didn’t have a guy to hang out with while she and Ivy went into the store. In times past, he would have waited for them while he talked to Valmont. It was weird to realize that there would never be a fourth person added to their group again because she’d never be able to have a boyfriend again. She’d have Jaxon, but he wouldn’t hang out with them. And she was pretty sure that Clint wouldn’t want to pal around with him, either.

  “Why do you have that look on your face?” Ivy asked.

  “What look?” Bryn asked.

  “You look sad. Are you sure you’re okay with going to Dragon’s Bluff?”

  “It’s not like I can avoid it forever.” There wasn’t any other place they could go while they were in school. She just needed to face the sad memories head-on. “And I do want to go shopping, so I’m just going to have to deal with it.”

  When they reached town, the driver parked in a covered lot that hadn’t been there a month ago. The Directorate had done their best to make it blend into the rest of the town. The lot had a roof that matched the shops, which made it look like a strange house that had lost its walls. There were steel beams holding the roof in place and what looked like a small office off to one side where a Red sat at a desk. “There are several lots like this throughout town,” Manuel said. “If you are near a different lot and want to return to school you can ask someone there to take you. Just make sure you have them call me so I know you’ve gone back.”

  “Okay,” Bryn said. “Thanks for the ride.” She climbed out of the SUV, feeling like she should pay him or give him a tip.

  They headed down the street. When Bryn had first seen Dragon’s Bluff it had looked like a town out of a fairy tale, with its matching red brick buildings, bright yellow awnings, and yellow flowers in the planters that lined the sidewalks. Most of the awnings had been burned in the battle and whoever had been in charge of replacing them had chosen black instead. It shouldn’t have made a difference since they all matched, but somehow it made the town feel more somber. Maybe that was the point…to remind people that there had been an attack and to keep their guard up.

  When they reached Bath and Beauty, Clint opted to go across the street to a bookstore. “I’ll be over there reading manly books while you shop for girly stuff.”

  Ivy chuckled and gave him a quick kis
s. “Have fun.”

  Inside the store, there were more changes. The entire area had once been devoted to scented lotions and shampoos and any other body care product you could think of. Now half of the space offered sheets and towels and shower curtains.

  A navy comforter with a gray stripe caught Bryn’s eye. She wandered over to look at it. “I like this one.”

  Ivy pointed to another comforter which was hot pink with yellow flowers. “That’s so bright it would keep me awake at night.”

  “But that one is cool.” Bryn walked over to check out an aqua comforter with random width white stripes.

  “And it’s happier than the navy one,” Ivy said. “Although the inconsistent stripes might make me crazy after awhile.”

  “It would probably make my grandmother crazy, too, but I kind of like that it’s not symmetrical.” The perfection of everything at her grandparents’ estate sometimes gave her a headache. There was too much pressure for everything to be just right. Bryn grabbed the matching sheets and then investigated the bathroom accessories.

  “Look at this.” Ivy held out a smiling green frog with long eyelashes and some sort of lotion pump on its head.

  “What is it?” Bryn asked.

  “It’s a soap dispenser. And even though it doesn’t fit my kick-ass tattooed image, it makes me smile.”

  “Then you should get it.” Bryn followed Ivy over to the other soap dispensers displayed with a sign that said: Find one that makes you happy. “Great marketing campaign,” Bryn said. After all the fighting and bloodshed, finding little things that made you smile was a good idea.

  She debated over several cute animals and then picked a plump blue bird. “This one works for me.”

  After paying for their items, they went outside to find Clint arguing with a Red Guard.