Burning Bright

by Chris Cannon

  He set his pen down. “I guess that would be all right.” In quick efficient motions, he packed up his bookbag. He stood and looked at her like he wasn’t sure about the situation. “Perhaps we could stop these near-death experiences you seem to keep encountering.”

  She laughed at his attempted humor. “Fine by me.”

  “Good.” He opened the door and then paused. “Do me a favor. Wear your elemental sword bracelet at all times.” He pointed at his shirt cuffs where he wore the cuff links that channeled his power into two frozen swords. “I plan to wear mine.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Even if she’d had her bracelet on when the Greens ambushed her she wasn’t sure she would have been able to activate the sword, but it did make sense to keep a weapon handy in case anyone tried again.

  He let himself out, and she locked the door behind him.

  Bryn went into her room and retrieved the sapphire and platinum cuff bracelet, which focused her elements. She put it on and squeezed the bracelet to release the safety. When she pantomimed holding a sword, a blade of fire and ice shot from the bracelet. Maybe she’d keep it on twenty-four hours a day, even if it did look ridiculous with her yoga pants ensemble. She turned the safety back on by pressing the top.

  Armed with her badass sword, she fell asleep within minutes of Jaxon leaving. Strange dreams of Green dragons stalking her plagued her mind. She never thought Greens would be behind something so ruthless. They were logical…like Spock from the old Star Trek shows her dad used to watch. They might be curious and perform experiments, but they didn’t seem like the type to use people for their own ends.

  She drifted into a strange dream where Jaxon followed her every move, like literally…he turned into some sort of shadow that mimicked everything she did, and she couldn’t shake him. Whenever she thought she was alone, he would jump out at her. She woke up and checked her room. For a moment she expected to find shadow-Jaxon standing there. That was ridiculous. Was her subconscious commenting on their impending marriage? Maybe.

  She got out of bed and went to call Clint and Ivy. She needed to interact with real people to shake the strange dream. They showed up on her terrace fifteen minutes later.

  Ivy climbed in the window and gave Bryn a hug. “You’ve got to stop doing things like this,” she said. “You scared the crap out of us.”

  “I’d love to lead a calmer life, but the universe seems to have other ideas.” She walked into the living room and they followed her.

  “How did Jaxon deal with everything?” Clint asked. “Because he was doing that I’m-a-Blue-and-I-have-no-emotions thing earlier.”

  Crap. Jaxon. She was supposed to call him. “He was okay. I need to call him really quick or he’s probably going to be ticked off.”

  He might be ticked off that she called Clint and Ivy before him. “Would you guys mind participating in a little white lie by saying that you called me? I don’t want him to think I forgot about him.”

  “No problem,” Clint said. “It’s for the greater good.”

  Bryn called and told Jaxon that she had company so he didn’t need to worry about her.

  “Don’t leave the dorm by yourself again,” Jaxon said. “Have your friends come here to meet you or call me and I’ll walk you wherever you need to go.”

  “I want to whine and say that I don’t need a babysitter, but I won’t because there are evil dragon-pires out there.”

  “Glad to see you understand the situation,” he said and then hung up.

  Bryn sat in one of the wing-backed chairs and pulled her knees up to her chest. “So…did you hear any interesting rumors about the dragon-pires?”

  Ivy laughed. “Everyone is talking about them. No one can believe they shanghaied you in broad daylight.”

  “That was pretty ballsy,” Clint said. “Zavien told us how they lured you in. If I come across someone who needs help I hate that my first instinct will be to make sure they aren’t trying to trick me and suck out my Quintessence.”

  “I know,” Bryn said. “From now on, unless someone is in danger of bleeding out, I’m going to call for a guard.”

  …

  Jaxon walked Bryn to breakfast the next morning, parting company with her when they reached the dining hall. They ate breakfast separately and she walked to Elemental Science with Clint and Ivy. She had most of her classes with her friends, except for Quintessential Medicine.

  “I can walk to one class by myself,” Bryn objected as Jaxon escorted her to the appropriate room.

  “You could, but you don’t have to,” Jaxon said as they turned the corner into her hallway and approached her classroom. “And arguing this is pointless because it’s my job to make sure you’re safe.”

  That was so weird. “What a difference a year makes,” she said.

  Jaxon snorted. “If you’d told me a year ago that we’d be in this situation, I would have thought you were insane.”

  “Life is stranger than fiction.” Bryn entered her classroom. It was weird how seriously Jaxon was taking his duties. In a way it was a good thing because now that he was focusing on her, he seemed determined rather than sad.

  She sat next to Janelle, who looked like she was about to launch into a series of questions but wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Go ahead,” Bryn said. “Fire away.”

  “I didn’t want to be rude,” Janelle said. “But now that you mentioned it, what in the hell happened?”

  Bryn gave a succinct version of her misadventure. Everyone in the class seemed to stop talking so they could listen in. “Any questions?” Bryn asked when she’d finished her story.

  “Were the Greens students or adults?” Janelle asked.

  “The one whose face I saw appeared to be a college student, but I don’t know about the other one.”

  “Did they have you look at photos of students?” Janelle asked. “To see if you could identify anyone.”

  “No, but that’s not a bad idea.”

  Medic Williams cleared her throat. “I think the Directorate assumed that anyone who let you see his face must have altered his appearance, but it wouldn’t hurt to look at some pictures. Now, we’re all glad that Bryn is safe. And the sad truth is that everyone needs to keep their guard up. Let’s turn to chapter ten in our books and read about treating puncture wounds.”

  After class, Medic Williams waited with Bryn for Jaxon to show up.

  “How many days do you think I’ll have to do this?” Bryn asked.

  “I think this is your new normal until we find out who is behind these attacks,” Medic Williams said.

  “That’s not the answer I wanted to hear.” Something else was bothering her. “I hate feeling like something bad is out there waiting to pounce on unsuspecting students. And I hate that I fell for their act.”

  “Your pride is wounded?” Medic Williams asked.

  “Yes,” Bryn said. “I’ve fought in bloody battles but some guy with a rag soaked in chemicals did me in. It’s embarrassing.”

  “It’s not like you engaged in some risky behavior. You were trying to help someone.”

  “I know. And as someone who wants to be a Medic, now I’m going to hesitate when anyone asks for help. That feels wrong, too.”

  “We’ll figure out who is behind this and then you won’t have to second-guess your instincts,” Medic Williams said.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Bryn came to accept Jaxon as her ever-present escort. He didn’t seem to mind, which was strange, and he even joked around with her. Maybe they were reaching a comfortable stage of their not-quite-real relationship.

  At dinner Thursday night, Bryn was grateful to be alone with Clint and Ivy, which made her feel guilty. “I feel like a terrible person because all I want is to walk somewhere by myself.”

  “Being around Jaxon almost twenty-four hours a day has to be an interesting experience,” Clint said. “Who knows, maybe you’ll find some common ground.”

  “Maybe. And he’s been great about everyth
ing, but I’m pretty sure he’s over there telling his friends that he’s tired of being my shadow.”

  Ivy peered past Bryn. “He’s not at his table.”

  “What?” Bryn turned around. Quentin sat there with some other Blues, but Jaxon wasn’t one of them. Maybe he was in the food line. She checked the buffet. Nope. “Okay, where did he go?”

  “He could be in the restroom,” Clint said. “Give it a few minutes before you panic.”

  It seemed like anyone within her gravitational pull eventually ended up in trouble. “I’m hoping my chaos magnet hasn’t rubbed off on him.”

  When he didn’t show up in five minutes, Bryn stood and approached Quentin. “Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt, but I noticed Jaxon wasn’t here.”

  Quentin pointed at a plate of food, which looked untouched. “He said he’d be back in a minute, but it’s been awhile.”

  “Not to raise any red flags, but I’m not a fan of people going anywhere alone.”

  “Understandable,” Quentin said. “Why don’t we go check on him.”

  Jaxon had known Quentin forever, so Bryn had no reason to mistrust him, but she also didn’t know him very well. “Let’s grab Clint just in case we’re outnumbered.”

  Quentin didn’t comment. He just followed Bryn back to her table. “Clint, come for a walk with us.”

  Ivy stood. “You’re not leaving me here by myself.”

  “The more the merrier,” Bryn said.

  “Let’s check the restroom first,” Quentin said.

  When they reached the restroom, Clint and Quentin went in and came back out thirty seconds later. “We need to alert the guards. There’s blood on the floor.”

  Damn. Damn. Damn. “Clint, you and Ivy go find a guard. Quentin and I will keep looking.”

  “If he wasn’t injured, he would’ve come back to our table,” Quentin said.

  “Unless someone cut him off.” She looked around, getting her bearings. There was a long hallway to her left. “There are private dining rooms down that hall.” There was a short hallway to her right. “I think that leads to the kitchens.”

  “Let’s go this way.” Quentin headed to the private dining rooms.

  Splitting up would save time, but it wouldn’t be smart, so Bryn followed him, activating her elemental sword. Quentin glanced back and his eyebrows went up, but he didn’t comment. They approached the first dining room but didn’t see anyone inside.

  Voices came from farther down the hall. The words were indistinct. Quentin ran ahead and threw open the door and then laughed. “It looks like we were worried about nothing.”

  Bryn pushed past him and saw that Jaxon had a Green male pinned to the wall with one of his elemental swords, while another Green lay bleeding at his feet, trying to stand back up.

  “I wouldn’t mind a little help.” Jaxon’s lip was swollen and bleeding and he appeared winded.

  Bryn walked over and got a better look at the student on the floor. He was the one who’d pretended to offer help and then drugged her. She turned off her sword and nudged the guy with her foot. “Hello, there. Remember me?” Anger over what he’d done stoked the fire inside of her. She focused on cold and then blasted the young man with ice, building layer after layer until he was covered with ice from the shoulders down. “Not going anywhere now, are you?”

  The sound of several people running came from the hallway. Quentin waved out the doorway. “We’re in here.”

  Two guards entered and assessed the situation. One approached Jaxon. “Are you all right?”

  Jaxon nodded. “I can see myself to the medical clinic.”

  “One of us will escort you there, for the sake of protocol. If you’ll release him, I’ll restrain him.”

  Jaxon released his elemental swords and the man who’d been pinned against the wall sagged with relief. The guard grabbed his shoulder, spun him around, and not so gently pushed him against the wall before putting on a pair of handcuffs.

  The other guard pointed at the Green on the floor. “Who did this?”

  Bryn held up her hand. “He’s one of the Greens who ambushed me, and sometimes payback is a bitch.”

  The guard nodded. “I’ll have to defrost him.”

  “That’s a shame.” Bryn approached Jaxon. “Where are you hurt?”

  “Just my face and my pride,” he said.

  “Can you give a rundown of what occurred?” the first guard asked as he pulled a small recording device from his pocket and pressed a button.

  “There’s not much to tell. These idiots tried to jump me when I was leaving the restroom.”

  “That didn’t go how they expected it,” Quentin said.

  “No. I’d just washed my hands and reached for a paper towel when the one on the floor tried to grab me and sedate me with a drug-soaked rag. I elbowed him. The other one caught me by surprise with a sucker punch. I activated my elemental swords. After that it was me chasing them down so they couldn’t escape.”

  “Your story is way better than mine,” Bryn said.

  “I am a Westgate,” Jaxon said in a fake snotty tone.

  Bryn laughed.

  “So everyone is good?” Ivy said from where she and Clint were peeking in the doorway.

  “Yes,” said Jaxon.

  After one of the guards hauled their prisoners away, the other guard said, “I could call for a Medic to come here.”

  “No. My father would want me to follow protocol.”

  Bryn and Jaxon went to the Medical Center with their escort, while Clint and Ivy went to finish dinner with orders to bring two boxes of carryout food back to Bryn’s room.

  When they reached the Medical Center, Bryn was less than pleased to find Ferrin waiting for them but held her tongue. Jaxon explained what had happened in a very modest fashion, which surprised her.

  “Once again, you have made me proud,” his father said. “I’ll let you know when we have some answers about who these two criminals are and why they went after you.”

  Jaxon beamed with pride as his father exited the building.

  “If you’ll let me heal you, you can go have your dinner,” the Medic said.

  The Medic scanned Jaxon, placing her hand on his head. As Bryn watched, the swelling of his lip receded, and the cut healed to a fine pink line. The woman continued to scan Jaxon. She probably wanted to be thorough since he was the Speaker’s son. She frowned. “Did you forget to mention that one of those men hit you in the ribs?”

  “Maybe,” Jaxon said. “I’m sure it’s just bruised. It wasn’t a big deal.”

  “One is cracked,” she said. “Take your shirt off.”

  Jaxon frowned as he loosened his tie and removed his shirt. An ugly purple bruise decorated the left side of his rib cage.

  “What the heck?” Bryn asked.

  Jaxon frowned. “They came at me out of nowhere. When the first punch didn’t take me out, the other guy tried to tackle me and rammed me into the sink. I was too busy activating my elemental swords to brace for impact.”

  “So the sink cracked your rib?” Bryn said, trying not to smile. She really shouldn’t find any of this funny, but she did. Maybe because it made her feel better that his ambush hadn’t gone as perfectly as he’d said.

  “Yes, and that information will not leave this room,” Jaxon said.

  “No, it won’t. This falls under patient-client privilege.” The Medic placed her hand on his rib cage and the bruise faded.

  Jaxon gave Bryn a questioning look as he put his shirt back on.

  “No one will hear it from me,” she said.

  He started to knot his tie and then let it hang loose instead. “I think I can be excused for not following the dress code just this once.”

  Bryn smiled. “Next thing you know, you’ll be wearing yoga pants.”

  He laughed, his eyes sparkled, his hair was kind of tussled, and with his tie undone he looked so much more normal…still devastatingly handsome and undeniably hot…but normal. Bryn froze. Wait. Did I just think J
axon is hot? Where did that thought come from?

  “What’s wrong?” Jaxon asked.

  “Nothing.” Nope. Nothing was wrong. She did not think Jaxon was hot. I do not. “Clint and Ivy will be waiting for us outside my room with food. Let’s go eat.”

  “Sounds good.” They walked to the Blue dorm. Guards were positioned outside of every building and along the sidewalk. Despite the heightened security, it seemed like just another night. A normal night. Not a night where she suddenly found herself attracted to a certain asshat…because that was just wrong.

  When they entered the Blue dorm, it looked like the entire Blue student body was in the main lounge waiting for them. Jaxon acted like nothing was out of the ordinary, so Bryn followed suit.

  Clint and Ivy sat on the floor outside Bryn’s room playing Go Fish.

  “There you are,” Ivy said. “I was beginning to worry.”

  “We’re fine,” Bryn said. She opened the door and they all sat at the library table where Clint placed four carryout boxes.

  “Before you try to finish off all this food, Ivy and I call dibs on this container of nachos.” He pulled a container over toward himself. “You guys can split the rest.”

  Bryn popped open the other containers to reveal nachos, hamburgers, and an entire container of French fries. “Since you were injured, you can pick first,” Bryn said to Jaxon.

  He ripped the lid off one of the containers, placed two burgers in it and two handfuls of fries. “You can have the rest,” he said.

  “Challenge accepted.”

  Clint and Ivy left after they finished their food, but Jaxon hung back like he wanted to talk to her.

  She finished off the last of the fries while she waited for him to start.

  “Do you think those Greens targeted you and then me because of our Directorate connections or was that a coincidence?” he asked.

  “Your father should be finding out the answers to those questions right now.” The two Greens would be dosed with a drug that would make them talk, which was much more civilized than she’d thought dragons would be.