by T. S. Ryder
Avalon nodded.
"I doubt that the assassin will try anything more overt than poison and we can defend against that easily enough."
He said 'assassin' so casually. How could he be so calm about this?
Still, Avalon forced herself to eat. When she was finished, she slipped into the bathroom to do her magical grooming routine and dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. She opted away from her regular wedges, instead putting on a sensible pair of running shoes.
"Do you have any ideas who it is?" she asked as she and Vaughn walked to the Offense building. There was a heavy rain pouring down, but Avalon had magicked a cloud umbrella and they stayed dry.
"Several." Vaughn barked out a laugh. "Elsa gave you your drink, Mike was eyeing you something fierce—"
"Because he wanted to kill me or f—" she cut off at Vaughn's glare.
"There were a couple of girls who were loitering near the punchbowl when Elsa was getting your drink. Either of them could have slipped something into your glass. And I don't like the look of that George."
"Why? He seemed nice to me."
Vaughn frowned. They were at the building by this time, though, and had to stop talking in case anybody overheard. He moved closer to her.
Well, at least there is one benefit to all this, Avalon thought, repressing a shiver as they entered Madame Fire's classroom. I've found my strong emotion to work from.
***
For the next few weeks, Avalon jumped at any unexpected sound or movement, but nothing threatening happened. Vaughn never left her side, even standing directly outside the washroom if she needed to use it outside the dorm.
The fact that he was sleeping in her room instead of his, which was right next door to hers, did not escape Elsa's notice. Elsa waggled her eyebrows suggestively every time they met in the corridors.
Maybe Vaughn was wrong about all this. Maybe it had just been a stomach bug and the ironide test had given a false positive.
In any case, Avalon soon found herself more worried about her lack of progress in magic than her supposed assassin.
While her water skills were skyrocketing, despite being enrolled in only one class, her offensive magic was 'too timid' according to Madame Fire. And her defensive magic, while not terrible, wasn't improving much either, especially when she tried to defend and attack at the same time.
She needed to learn how to multitask, to feel strong emotion while also being in complete control. It would help if Avalon knew what that meant.
Just before midterms, she lay on the floor in her dorm, watching a solar system of rocks move in lazy circles over her.
Levitation was a defensive magic and she was supposed to levitate these rocks and crack them, an offensive technique. But every time she tried to explode a rock in the air, she lost her concentration and everything came raining down. She'd already had to heal a few bruises.
I'm never going to be able to do this. Why didn't Mom and Dad send me here years ago? Maybe then I'd stand a chance at learning all of this in time!
The bathroom door opened and Vaughn's voice reached through her gloomy thoughts. "It doesn't look like you have any asteroid belts up there."
"I'm taking a break," she muttered.
"Break a rock."
Avalon's mouth twisted at the order, but she moved the rocks over her bed and concentrated on the large purple one. Just as she began to crack it and they all started dropping, Vaughn stepped into her line of vision.
He had just showered and his skin still damp from the water, red curls tousled. He only wore a towel around his waist, showing off his rock-hard abs. Instant heat flooded Avalon and she whipped her head back to the rocks, determined not to let her emotions show.
The rocks exploded. Each went off like a crack of a gunshot, spreading fine dust and projectiles everywhere. Everything shot straight up as Avalon gasped. She mentally reached out, blocking them from going through her ceiling. They froze, a cloud of bits of rock and dust.
"Wow," Vaughn said.
She snuck a glance at him. His awed expression made her heart leap. And everything collapsed to the floor. Avalon squealed and brushed bits of rock from her hair.
Vaughn laughed. He stepped closer, that smug-but-still-sexy grin back on his face. "Should I start taking my shirt off in your classes? You think that will help?"
Avalon glared at him, stomping into the kitchen to grab the broom. She determinedly did not notice how much her hands were shaking, or that warmth that was spreading up into her face–and down into other regions as well.
Chapter Five
"You! Dragon! Are you taking good care of my little girl?"
Avalon groaned as her father, Chen, caught sight of Vaughn and covered the webcam with her hand. She turned, exaggerating a grimace and Vaughn's mouth twitched. His shoulder shook with suppressed laughter and he came over to where Avalon was enjoying her “Happy Birthday” Skype call from her parents.
"I am doing my best, sir," he said when Avalon moved her hand. "I assure you I will give my last breath before I allow anything to harm her."
Avalon's cheeks burned at the seriousness of his tone and made a face at her parents. "Hey, isn't this supposed to be you telling me how proud you are of me for my progress? Yesterday I managed to shield myself from Madame Fire's attacks. I mean, I wasn't able to shoot anything back at her, but her magic couldn't get through my defenses at all."
Vaughn chuckled. "Her fists did."
Elaine frowned. "Of course we're proud of your progress, honey. You've really improved."
Avalon heard the unspoken “but not enough” and held her breath. Her father gave her mother an irritated glance, to which Elaine responded with a scowl.
They had been informed about the supposed attempt on her life, but given that literally nothing had happened since then, they had decided to inform the dean and leave it at that.
Even though Avalon would have liked a lot more to happen between them, Vaughn seemed to be fully focused on his job of protecting her. He even stopped walking around without a shirt on, which was a shame.
"We've spoken with your teachers," Elaine said. "We all agree that it would be a good idea for you to stay there for the summer semester. You seem to be really blossoming under their teaching methods and there isn't much time—"
"I know, Mom," Avalon interrupted, unable to keep a note of irritation from her voice. "And I figured you'd want me to stay over the summer. It's fine, I like it here."
"Are you sure?" Elaine's eyes were worried. "We know how lonely you can get, honey."
"I'm sure. I have a class starting in a few minutes," she lied, eager to get off of this line of questioning. "If I don't go now, I'll be late."
"Okaaay," Elaine dragged out the word like she always did when she knew Avalon was lying, but wanted her daughter to confess on her own. "Love you, sweetheart."
"I love you, too. And you too, Dad. I'll talk to you later. Bye."
"Love you, bye."
Avalon disconnected the call and sat back, frowning. She had made a lot of progress. Good progress. She was starting to find new ways of developing a passion for her offensive magic, though it still remained her weakest subject.
The most frustrating thing was that defensive magic required a calm mind and the teachers expected her to use both fire and earth at the same time. It should be impossible to feel passionate and calm at the same time, yet Madame Fire was able to defend against and attack her students so effectively Avalon wondered if the tiny woman actually had two brains.
"I can see why you've had so much trouble in the past," Vaughn said, putting his hands on her shoulders. His touch was electrifying, made all the worse by how rarely they actually made physical contact. "They coddle you. Especially your father."
"They care about me. That's not coddling."
"They haven't prepared you for the real world. It's not their fault. They just love you and didn't want you faced with the awfulness of reality."
Avalon bris
tled and pulled away from him. "Was there something you wanted, Vaughn?"
"It's time for you to practice your fire magic. I've set up targets in a spare classroom in the offense building."
Avalon groaned.
Vaughn smirked at her. "You don't want me to tell your parents you lied to them about having a class do you?"
"Not fair! You're supposed to protect me, not blackmail me."
"I protect you by any means necessary."
He winked at her and a flutter went through her stomach. She wondered how he'd react if she marched up to him and threw her arms around him and planted a big, sloppy kiss on his lips.
There were times when she thought she saw an attraction towards her in him, like at Elsa's party, but Avalon was afraid she was just projecting her own feelings onto him. She might just not be his type. Lots of guys preferred smaller girls than her, just like a lot of girls preferred men who were taller and more tanned than Vaughn.
He's tall enough for me, she thought stubbornly. Any taller and I'd get a kink in my neck trying to kiss him. And I like his freckles. They give him character.
"Shoes," he called back at her as he stepped into the hallway. "I'm giving you two minutes and then I'll carry you on my back."
Avalon stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh as he closed the door. She quickly changed into some workout clothes, which were much more comfortable for the fighting that offensive magic required and mournfully looked at the pretty things in her closet. She'd lost weight since arriving at school and her clothes didn't fit her quite right anymore.
Well, at least that means I'll be able to go shopping again soon, she thought, ruffling her short bob. That always cheers me up. Hey, maybe that's the key to my magical fighting. I'm passionate about shopping, and it calms me down.
The thought made her smile as she went out to join Vaughn.
***
Elsa and Helen were sparring in the classroom that Vaughn had booked. Avalon watched Helen's form with envy. She was truly masterful at this! Her movements were smooth as she defended herself and attacked at the same time. Elsa wasn't as good, but she was still pretty darn efficient. As the two women prepped to leave, Elsa wandered over.
"Semester's almost done, isn't it exciting?" she gushed. "I'm arranging a dance to celebrate."
Avalon smiled. Elsa had parties and dances for everything. End of the month, end of midterms, beginning of rest week, just because she felt like it. "When?"
"May first. It's after all the final exams are done and everything. When we'll actually be able to relax and party. You'll come, right?"
"I'll try to," Avalon promised, glancing at Vaughn.
He hated parties. It was too difficult to keep track of all the moving bodies. If Avalon was honest, not being able to drink was pretty annoying and sucked a lot of the fun out of it for her, too. She'd been to a few of Elsa's gatherings and always left after only a couple of hours.
The Valentine's Day one was the worst. George was drunk and
had tried to kiss her. Vaughn had practically dragged her out after that and seethed for hours about all the ways toxins could be slipped into the body via the mouth. For the next few days every time he saw George he glowered, as though wanting to rip his head off.
Elsa followed her gaze and lowered her voice. "Oh, are you going to have your own party? Tell me–and you can trust me–how is he in bed? Are his abs as yummy as they look?"
Avalon's face flared red, but Helen saved her from having to reply.
"Elsa, come on. I want to catch a movie tonight."
Elsa sighed dramatically, but skipped away, waving.
Avalon, her face still beet red, faced Vaughn on the fighting mats. She tried to solidify her embarrassment to use as an attack, but her heart just wasn't in it. She was bored with routine. Elsa's dance seemed like just the thing to take her mind off magic for a couple hours and let her relax.
Now she just had to figure out a way to convince Vaughn.
Chapter Six
Vaughn shook his head. "Absolutely not."
Avalon picked out a sapphire necklace and tried it on. "It's the end of the semester. We're practically the only ones that are staying for summer school. I want to go and say goodbye to my friends. It's been four months since the ironide incident and I'm bored."
"The more time that goes by and the less vigilant we are, the more likely the assassin will strike again."
"Who is it? Tell me who wants me dead and then I'll think you're not paranoid," Avalon a raised brow at the dragon, who flushed and looked away, his expression unhappy. "That's what I thought. You know what I think? I think you're just jealous and you don't want me making out with any of the hot guys that are going to be there."
Vaughn's face went the same color as his hair. "That is not true!"
"Because that's exactly what I plan to do. I'm going to find a guy and we're going to make out. And if things go well we're going to find a room and do a little more than making out. In the morning he won't remember my name, I won't remember his and if he comes back for fall we won't even remember who the other is and it will be all fine."
Vaughn's jaw dropped and he stared in horror.
Avalon began applying her lipstick. "Going to call me a slut now?"
"I… no!" Vaughn spluttered for a long moment. "But what if you choose the assassin?"
"There is no assassin!"
"There is an assassin! And if you go to this party I am going to be right by your side at all times, including if you go find a room!"
"I didn't know you were into that sort of thing," Avalon said nastily, then regretted her tone. "It's not that I want to make your job harder. And I probably won't end up doing that. I'm just bored and—"
"Horny?"
It was Avalon's turn to blush. "Maybe, yeah."
How could I not be when I'm stuck in such close proximity with you all the time?
"It's been a couple years since my boyfriend broke up with me, and… And I guess I'm really just a little lonely. I've never had a one night stand and I don't really want to start now but I just… I want to be able to just cut loose for a few hours and not worry about being in control."
Vaughn stepped closer, looking at her seriously. "Avalon, you've been working hard. I understand that. But putting yourself in danger like this isn't the way to relax."
"I'm not in danger."
"How many people know you're staying for the summer? Now would be the prime time to target you, while everybody is letting loose and getting too drunk to notice when suspicious things happen."
The urgency of his voice made Avalon hesitate. She cast a glance in the mirror. Blue sequined top paired with tight black slacks. She looked fantastic! No guy at Elsa's dance would be able to resist her.
But she didn't want any of those guys, anyway.
She wanted Vaughn. He didn't want her, though, that was obvious. So she had decided to move past him, find some other guy to quell her physical urgings.
But she didn't want a one-night stand. She just wanted to move on from this hang up she had. If Vaughn was going to be her bonded dragon one day, her protector for life, then she couldn't have this simmering desire for him. It would screw her up for the rest of her life.
Tonight might not be the best time to try to force herself to move on, though.
"Fine," she relented. "I'll tell Elsa I'm feeling sick and can't go."
Vaughn put a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you. This means a lot to me."
Looking at him, Avalon was almost overcome by the desire to kiss him. So she hurriedly turned away and tried to think instead of the five steps of making a dreamless sleep potion to distract herself.
***
The vase exploded when Avalon tried to wrap a shield around it. She shrieked, hiding her face as shards of glass flew at her. Vaughn was there in an instant, shielding her with a pillow.
The glass didn't get quite that far, but a scratch of Avalon's cheek showed where Vaughn had been a little too s
low the previous day and he wasn't taking any chances.
"I'm getting worse!" Avalon waved her hand at the shattered glass, banding it back together as a vase.
Why couldn't fighting magic come as easily to her as everyday grooming or housekeeping tasks? The vase was soon back on the small table, no indication that it had been broken in the first place.
"Let's take a break from this," Vaughn suggested. "Let's work on levitating while fighting hand-to-hand."
"I'm tired. I don't want to do this anymore."
Avalon grabbed a towel, checking it for glass shards before she mopped the sweat off her face. It had been a week since the end of the last semester and the new one was meant to start again in a couple of days. But all throughout the break she had been distracted and couldn't control either her earth or fire magic.
It was worse than ever and Avalon just wanted to run away, find a hole in the ground and become a hobbit.
"What's holding you back?"
"If I knew, don't you think I'd be able to figure this out?" Avalon glowered at him, though she knew he was just trying to help.
Vaughn's expression was just as frustrated as hers and he beckoned her with one finger to join him on a bench. Avalon reluctantly did so. Tears pricked her eyes.
"I just don't know how I'm going to do this," she whispered.
"You just need to use your strengths. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in, hold it… now release," his hand touched hers. "Tell me what you're thinking."
"I wish I'd gone to Elsa's dance," she blurted. "I'm angry at you for not letting me go."
Vaughn's jaw dropped. Avalon flushed. She knew she had no right to still be angry over that, but it was as close to the truth as she could say out loud.
"Avalon, I didn't want you to go because—"
"Because of the danger. I know. I know, but I had… reasons for wanting to go. And I just feel like if I had been able to go, I might have been able to—" She cut herself off before she could say “get over you.” That wasn't a confession she wanted to make right now.
Vaughn was silent for a long moment. Eventually, his hand moved over hers and squeezed. "I may have been overly cautious–okay, paranoid." That half-smile was back, looking smug even though he had nothing to be smug about. "I just… I could never live with myself if something happened to you because I wasn't careful enough. It's more than just my duty, Avalon. I…"
