Trial By Fire (Going Down in Flames)

by Chris Cannon

  Wait a minute. That was a load of crap. She’d still be friends with Clint and Ivy. The Blue Clan may not approve, but that was too bad. Better to tackle the bigger issue now. “Why wouldn’t I spend time with Valmont? He’ll continue to be my knight after I’m married.”

  “That wouldn’t be appropriate.”

  “Is that what this comes down to, appearances? Jaxon plans to carry on with Rhianna after we’re married, so why couldn’t I continue my relationship with Valmont?”

  “Part of the marriage vows include protecting your spouse above all others. Jaxon would provide all the protection you need. Having a knight after marriage would make him appear weak.”

  “Not this crap again.”

  “Bryn, I told you once before if you plan to stay in our world you must respect our ways. And not that I approve, but you wouldn’t necessarily have to sever all ties with Valmont. He could remain a confidant, but you must release him from the bond before your wedding.”

  Bryn felt like she was falling down a well. “I’m not sure I can.”

  Her grandmother glanced toward Valmont. “In a way, it will be a good thing. If the bond is heightening your emotions, after you break the bond, they will go away. If it’s not the bond keeping you two together, you’ll know that, too.”

  Bryn’s field of vision seemed to narrow. She clutched her paper cup of punch so tightly it crumpled. Lukewarm punch spilled over her fingers and dripped onto the carpet.

  Valmont was by her side in an instant with his arm around her shoulders. “What’s wrong? Do we need a medic?”

  “No.” Bryn leaned into his warmth. What she needed was a miracle.

  “What were you discussing?” Valmont’s tone toward her grandmother was respectful, but wary.

  “Her impending marriage and what it will mean for the two of you,” her grandmother said.

  “I don’t understand. Did you tell her about the turkey baster plan?” Valmont asked.

  Bryn choked back a laugh. “Of course not.”

  Her grandmother crossed her arms over her chest and waited. “What on earth is he talking about?”

  “Don’t,” Bryn warned Valmont. There was no way her grandmother would find the scenario appropriate or funny.

  “Fine.” He cleared his throat. “You can tell her when you’re ready.”

  Like she’d ever be ready to share that information with her grandmother. “Can we talk about something that doesn’t include Jaxon?”

  “Of course.” Her grandmother seemed intrigued but didn’t push the issue. “There is a Valentine’s Day party coming up. Since your petition has not yet been approved, you may attend the dance with whomever you wish. Once the petition is approved, that will be another story.”

  “But Jaxon said people date even after their petitions are approved.”

  “People might, but Sinclairs do not.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to point out she was a McKenna, not a Sinclair, but that would hurt her grandmother’s feelings, so she bit back the words and went with something less inflammatory. “This is something Jaxon and I should probably discuss before it happens.” They had discussed it, sort of. The memory of Valmont kissing her and declaring he wouldn’t give her up made her cheeks color, but it also made her sad. He hadn’t kissed her like that since before she’d been ill, and she wasn’t sure he planned to do it again.

  “That would be a wise move. You wouldn’t want to start off on the wrong foot.”

  She didn’t want to start off on any foot with Jaxon.

  “Mrs. Sinclair,” Valmont’s voice was pitched low, like he was trying to keep his emotions in check. “I care a great deal for Bryn. Whatever happens between her and Jaxon, my feelings will not change. I will uphold my oath until the grave. Nothing can change that.”

  Bryn leaned into him, loving the reassurance of his arm wrapped around her. She wanted to tell him not to worry, that they were a package deal, but if she followed her grandmother’s way of thinking, she would have to set him free from the bond before her marriage. Her heart hurt just thinking about it.

  “I have faith in you, young man. I’m sure you’ll do what’s best for my granddaughter.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  After her grandmother left, Valmont wrapped his arms around Bryn and kissed the top of her head. The gesture should have been reassuring. What did he mean by it? Big brothers kissed their little sisters on top of the head. While it was affectionate, it didn’t seem like something a boyfriend would do to his girlfriend. Then again, she didn’t have much experience with the whole boyfriend scenario, so what did she know?

  On the walk back to the dorm, Valmont kept his arm around her shoulders. “What did your grandmother say to upset you?”

  Bryn glanced around. Other students walked on the sidewalk a few feet away from them. God forbid they overhear anything. “Let’s wait to talk until we’re back in my room.”

  “Is it that bad?” he asked.

  “It’s not good.”

  In her head, she’d always thought that even if she had to marry Jaxon, she’d still have her knight. She hadn’t realized she’d be required to release him before the wedding ceremony. Not that she couldn’t still have a relationship with Valmont, but would he want one?

  This whole arranged marriage thing was all so backward and archaic. Why couldn’t Jaxon just marry Rhianna? They wanted to be together. An odd thought invaded her brain. If she were injured, or less than perfect, Jaxon would have to find someone else to marry. A limp would almost be worth not having to spend the rest of her life in a sham marriage. But that would not be honorable or loyal, and she cared about those things now, damn it. She was stuck like a fly in a web.

  Once they reached the privacy of her dorm room, Valmont said, “What’s wrong?”

  A mild headache beat in Bryn’s temples. “My grandmother shared something with me that sucks, big time.”

  Valmont pointed at the couch. “Step into my office.”

  She plopped down on the couch, where he joined her. “Whatever it is,” he said, “we’ll deal with it together.”

  How would they deal with it? As a couple? As best friends? There were too many balls in the air right now and she was sure they were all going to come crashing down on her head at any moment. What she needed was some reassurance about his feelings. “I’ll tell you, if you kiss me.”

  Valmont’s lips pressed together in a thin line. For every second he waited the beat in her temples increased.

  He took her hands in his. “Bryn—”

  Not this again. “Damn it, Valmont. I need some proof you care about me as more than a friend. If you don’t, what I have to tell you won’t matter, anyway.”

  “I’m trying to do the right thing.” Valmont closed the distance between them and placed his hand under her chin so he could stare into her eyes. “But you’re making it difficult.” In slow motion, he leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “If that’s how you want to kiss me, nothing’s wrong.” Was she being rude? Yes. But she needed more from him, some sign he wanted her. Then again, maybe the small, brief, I-want-to-kiss-you-about-as-much-as-I-want-to-kiss-a-dead-frog was the message he intended to send.

  “Bryn, we discussed this.”

  Flames banked in her gut. “No. You made a decision without me. You decided to treat me like a little sister.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”

  Anger felt better than feeling sad and pathetic, so she decided to go with it. “That kiss and the other one where you kissed the top of my head…those were affectionate, and nice, but they weren’t the same as the kiss at Rhianna’s.”

  “I told you—”

  “I know, ‘blah blah blah, I’m being honorable.’ I don’t want honorable.” Smoke shot from her nostrils. “I want you to really kiss me, and if you can’t do that, then don’t bother.”

  One minute he was glaring at her, and the next minute, she was
flat on her back. Valmont’s weight pressed down on her. His mouth moved against hers. She clutched at his shirt holding on to him as the kiss grew, fueled by the magic of their bond, full of hunger and longing and need. It felt like they were flying, soaring through the air except in this weird role reversal her legs were wrapped around his back.

  A growl reverberated through her chest, and Valmont froze. He pulled away with a questioning look on his face. “That was a good growl?”

  Good God, how can he form coherent sentences? She nodded, not trusting what might come out of her mouth if she tried to talk. Probably gibberish or some embarrassing, hormone-fueled comment about how pants were overrated.

  He pressed his mouth to hers in a languid, lingering kiss. Warmth filtered through her body, and her grip on his shirt relaxed. Without breaking the kiss, he shifted back to an upright position pulling her with him, so she was sitting on his lap. Staying tangled up with him like this forever seemed fabulous.

  When he pulled away from her, she sighed in equal parts frustration and satisfaction.

  “Was that the type of kiss you had in mind?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She laid her head on his chest. “That is exactly the type of kiss I’ve been missing. I wasn’t sure if you still wanted me.”

  He huffed out a breath. “Hello…knight…trying to do the right thing.”

  She laughed. “Stop that. Don’t do the right thing. Kiss me while you still can.” Oh, crap. She hadn’t meant for that to come out.

  “What do you mean?” Valmont asked, his light, happy tone gone.

  Damn it. Back to sucky reality. She put her forehead against his. “My grandmother told me that before I marry Jaxon, I’ll be expected to release you from the bond.”

  Valmont closed his eyes and exhaled. “Without the bond, I will still want to be with you. Is that what you were worried about?”

  “Yes.” She gave a small laugh to try and break the tension which had sprung up between them. “I wasn’t sure you still wanted me now.”

  “And did I reassure you?” he asked.

  “Mostly.” She pressed her lips to the side of his mouth. “Maybe you can show me again.”

  “Just my luck to be bonded to a slow learner,” he deadpanned. And then he pulled her in for another kiss.

  …

  After Mr. Stanton’s class Wednesday morning, Ivy yanked Bryn into the girl’s restroom. “What’s going on with you and Valmont?”

  “Just a minute.” Bryn glanced under the stall doors for feet to make sure they were alone. Once she realized they were, she jumped up and down. “Valmont kissed me and things are complicated but wonderful.”

  “Thank God. For a while there you two were weird around each other and since you weren’t sharing, I didn’t know what was going on.”

  Bryn rolled her eyes. “It’s hard to share when the guy you’re talking about is in the room with you. I wish I still lived in your dorm.”

  “We should have a slumber party. I could stay the night. We could invite Rhianna. It would be fun.”

  That sounded like an awesome idea. “Too bad Jaxon would never go for it.”

  “She doesn’t need his permission.” Ivy headed for the door. “Come on. Clint and I need to go to history class.”

  Bryn headed toward the library with Valmont. He didn’t say much on the walk over. Once they were tucked away at their usual table on the third floor, he winked at Bryn. “You shared, didn’t you?”

  “Maybe.” Her face heated. “Maybe not.”

  “Nope, I’m pretty sure you shared about how fabulous I am.” He ran his hand back through his hair.

  Bryn reached over and mussed up his hair. “It’s sad that you’re so insecure.”

  “You should compliment me more often, to help with my self-esteem.”

  “I’ll get right on that.” She grabbed the Proper Decorum book from her bag. “But first, you’re going to help me memorize what fork is for which course when some idiot decides to put six of them on the table.”

  “Why would you ever need six forks?” Valmont asked.

  “I’ve no idea.”

  They’d been working for twenty minutes when a pair of students who looked to be in their college years came toward them. Both had the freckled skin and auburn hair of Red dragons. Bryn ignored them, expecting them to walk on by to wherever they were going. Valmont closed the book, stood up next to Bryn, and placed his hand on his sword.

  “Hello,” the Red female said, “I’m Eve. This is Adam. We wanted to talk with Bryn.”

  “Adam and Eve?” Valmont’s eyebrows went up. “Did your parents have an odd sense of humor?”

  “She’s not my sister. She’s my girlfriend, and those aren’t our real names.” The boy grinned. In a flash, his hair changed from red to black, and then it changed back. “Those are our hybrid names.”

  Bryn’s mouth fell open for a moment. This was what she’d been searching for. At a loss for words, she pointed at the chairs across from her. “Have a seat.”

  “Not to be rude, but keep your hands flat on the table where I can see them.” Valmont unsheathed his sword and held it at the ready. “You can never be too careful.”

  Eve gave a nervous laugh. “Just so you know, we had nothing to do with the attacks on the school or Dragon’s Bluff.”

  “If you say so.” Valmont didn’t relax his stance.

  “You’re Black and Red?” Bryn said.

  Eve nodded. “We’re trusting you not to turn us over to the Directorate.”

  “I wouldn’t,” Bryn said, “unless you gave me reason to.”

  Adam glanced around. “We have friends watching out for other students, but we shouldn’t talk about this here. We’d like to meet with you somewhere later tonight.”

  “No,” Valmont said.

  Bryn’s knee jerk reaction was to snap at him, but he was only trying to protect her. She glanced at her knight. “What if we picked the place to meet?”

  He frowned. “We still couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t bring reinforcements.”

  Adam leaned forward. “I get it. People tried to kill you, but if anyone outed us, the Directorate would charge us with war crimes we didn’t commit and throw us in jail without a trial. You’re not the only one who needs to be careful.”

  What he said made sense. There had to be a place where dragons of different Clans could meet without raising as much suspicion. And then she had it. “You could help rebuild the theater, and we could talk there. No one would think it was weird to see us together.”

  “That might work,” Eve said. “Especially since Adam is planning to be an architect.”

  “And what area do you study?” Bryn asked.

  “I’m working on my accounting degree.” She reached over and laced her fingers through Adams. “But we’re a couple, so no one would be suspicious if I went with him.”

  “Okay then.” Bryn was dying to ask questions about who their parents were and where they lived, but it wouldn’t be smart to talk here. “We’ll see you at the theater building later this week.”

  After the pair walked off, Valmont re-sheathed his sword. “That was interesting. What do you think they wanted?”

  “I don’t know. But if my grandfather ever finds out I know about them, things will turn ugly.”

  “Is it worth talking to them?”

  “Absolutely.” Discovering there were hybrids that were peaceful made the world seem like a more balanced place.

  It was physically painful not to tell Clint and Ivy about Adam and Eve. Bryn felt like a can of soda someone had shaken up. After their last class she convinced her friends to grab carryout from the dining hall and have dinner in her room.

  Once they were all seated at the study table in her front room, she let loose with the details about the other hybrids. “And of course you can’t tell anyone about this, and you can’t let Adam and Eve know that you know, but what do you think?”

  Clint shook his head. “I don’t like it. How do you kno
w they’re hybrids. How do you know they aren’t just good with Quintessence like you?”

  Bryn slumped in her chair. Should she tell them about the hybrids in Dragon’s Bluff? “Theoretically, let’s say I may have proof other hybrids exist.”

  “You’ve developed a real sharing problem.” Ivy glared at her.

  “If I share with you and someone else finds out you know things you’re not supposed to know, then the Directorate can come after you. So, if I don’t share, it’s to protect you, not to exclude you.”

  “Friends share,” Ivy said. “End of story.”

  Wow. Ivy is mad. “Okay. From now on, I’ll share.”

  “Good.” Ivy opened her carryout container and dug into her chicken and dumplings. “Update us on everything we need to know.”

  She didn’t feel good about this, but she told them about the dead bodies in Dragon’s Bluff. “I swear. Even though I know the Red-Black hybrid boy attacked the town, and that is unforgivable, his face with those dead milky white eyes was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  Ivy looked at the dumpling on her fork and put it back in the container. “Maybe I should have asked you to share after we ate.”

  “Let’s say we believe Adam and Eve. Now we know there are hybrids on campus,” Clint said. “In the big scheme of things, what does that mean?”

  “It means not all hybrids are dangerous,” Bryn said. “And maybe it means Directorate Sanctioned Arranged Marriages aren’t necessary.”

  “I love that idea,” Valmont said, “for obvious reasons, but to play Devil’s Advocate, if the dragons that attacked the campus and Dragon’s Bluff were all hybrids then the bad seems to outweigh the good.”

  “Maybe,” Ivy said, “it’s a certain combination of Clans that creates aggressive or violent hybrids.”

  “No, that doesn’t work,” Bryn said. “If we believe Adam and Eve are good, they are the same hybrid mix, Black and Red, as that boy I saw in Dragon’s Bluff.”

  “Maybe it’s like with the rest of the population,” Valmont said. “Some people are good and some are not.”