Chapter Twenty-Five
“What did you do to her?” Jaxon roared.
“She is merely resting.” The man grinned. “As long as Zane plays his part, we will return her to you unharmed.”
“We only need her to bleed a little,” a man behind him with black hair and golden tan skin said.
If Bryn hadn’t guessed what type of hybrid these two men were at first, her suspicions had been confirmed.
“You’re Blue and Black?” Jaxon blinked like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“What? You thought only the lower classes mingled?” The man holding Rhianna laughed. “You have no idea of the extent of the hybrid population.”
“Let her go,” Bryn said. “Valmont and I can do whatever you need.”
“Actually, little hybrid, you can’t.” The second man stated. “I need a Blue knight to retrieve my treasure. If your friends play nicely, we can all walk away from this unharmed. All I want is what is rightfully mine. Zane, this is where you come in.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“It’s not your turn yet. First I need Bryn and Valmont to open the door to the hidden room.”
There should be a guard stationed in the room. Maybe he could help. “How do you know about the room?” Bryn asked as she moved toward it.
“We have eyes and ears everywhere.”
“Did you attack Dragon’s Bluff?” Valmont asked.
“Me, personally? No. Several of my friends gave their lives that night to prove to the Directorate they were no longer in control of this situation.”
Valmont drew his sword but didn’t move toward the door. “What if I show you that you are not in control of this situation?”
“We did not come alone. If we are not seen exiting the library at the appointed time, a contingency of our friends will destroy the dining hall, killing everyone at the dance. Now open the door.”
Bryn could see the internal war that raged in Valmont’s eyes as he joined her at the door. He placed the sword against the stone. She touched it, slicing her finger on it and watched as the drops rolled down the blade, hitting the stone. The door appeared.
Bryn put her hand on the doorknob.
“Tell the guard inside to stand down,” the second man said.
Crap. Bryn pulled the door open. The Red guard looked at her in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“Please do as these men say and don’t try to fight.” Bryn stepped into the room.
The man holding Rhianna entered the room and set her down in a chair at the table. “Why don’t you wait outside until we complete our task?”
The guard looked at Jaxon. “What do you want me to do?”
“Wait outside,” Jaxon said. “We’ll take care of this.”
“I don’t like this.” The Red stepped outside, and the second man closed the door so anyone on the outside would be unable to open it.
The man who had been carrying Rhianna pulled a vial of clear liquid from his shirt pocket. “We dosed Rhianna with a slow-acting poison. Left untreated she will die by morning. Zane when you give her this antidote she’ll recover. Since you will have saved her life, you’ll become her knight.”
Jaxon growled. “You better pray she makes a full recovery.”
Zane stalked forward. “Give me that.” He opened the vial and held the contents to Rhianna’s lips, slowly pouring the antidote into her mouth.
“How will we know if she is okay?” Valmont asked.
Rhianna sucked in a breath, and her eyes flew open. She blinked in confusion and then coughed until she doubled over.
Jaxon pushed forward to wrap his arms around Rhianna. “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”
“What happened?” Rhianna gasped, like she was fighting to catch her breath.
“You were poisoned, on purpose, so Zane would save you and become your knight,” Jaxon said.
Zane kneeled down in front of Rhianna. “I am so sorry they did this to you. Are you all right?”
Rhianna stared at Zane for a moment. “Who are you?”
“I’m your knight.” Zane spoke the words with such sincerity Bryn knew it was true. Forcing Zane to save Rhianna had activated the latent spell in his blood, turning him into her knight.
“Let’s get started.” The first man studied the wall on the right. “It has to be here somewhere.” He went back to the threshold of the room and counted off five paces before staring at the blank wall.
“You.” He pointed at Zane. “Come put your sword point here.” He touched the wall at doorknob height.
“There’s another door?” Bryn asked.
“We are about to find out.” The second man pulled out a pocket knife and cut the restraints on Rhianna’s wrists, then pointed toward Zane. “Touch the sword.”
Rhianna rubbed her wrists and then Jaxon helped her stand.
“I don’t understand.” Rhianna swayed where she stood.
“Your blood will open the door the same way Bryn’s blood opened the box in Mr. Stanton’s room.” Jaxon helped steady her.
“You don’t need to come any closer.” The second man pointed at Jaxon. “She can walk on her own.”
“No,” Jaxon said.
“It’s okay.” Rhianna grabbed the table for support and stood tall. “I can do this.” Slowly, she made her way over to Zane. Never once did she let any discomfort show on her face.
Zane held his hand out to Rhianna. “The sooner we do this, the sooner it’ll be over.”
She reached for his hand and allowed him to place her pointer finger on the edge of the blade. In a quick motion she slid her finger down the blade. The blade glowed blue as red droplets of blood rolled down the blade to the wall. The outline of a wooden door appeared on the stone wall. The second man sucked in a breath and grasped the handle. The door creaked open on ancient hinges. He stuck his head inside, holding a ball of lightning out so he could see.
Light bounced around creating weird shadows. “This is it, cousin.”
“Zane, look at your dragon,” the first man ordered. “To keep anyone from following us, I need her to release you from the bond.”
Rhianna growled. “I should blast you where you stand.”
Bryn edged closer, ready to bring her elemental sword to life.
“Release him.” The man put his hand on the back of Zane’s neck. “Or I fill him with enough lightning to fry him from the inside out.”
“How do I know you won’t kill him, anyway?” Rhianna asked.
“He has what he wanted,” Zane spoke to Rhianna. “Please release me.”
Rhianna frowned. “I release you.”
A shadow passed over Zane and then he looked at the dragon threatening to electrocute him. “It is done. And you can go to hell.” He twisted and swung his sword upward in an arc, slicing into the man’s stomach and up through his rib cage.
Stunned, the man growled and blasted Zane with enough electricity to make his body spasm before he dropped to the floor where he continued to twitch. The smell of burnt flesh filled the room.
“No.” Rhianna screamed and scrambled to the floor, reaching for Zane.
Jaxon blasted frozen flames, creating a protective barrier between Rhianna and the enemy. Valmont charged, sliding over the table with his sword extended. Bryn lunged forward, turning her elemental sword on as she went. Her fire and ice blade penetrated the man’s chest just as Valmont’s blade slashed into his carotid artery, sending a shower of blood spurting across the room painting the wall where the secret door had now closed.
“Rhianna,” Jaxon yelled.
Bryn performed the releasing motion to turn off her sword. Valmont tugged but his blade must have been stuck in the man’s spine. He put his boot on the man’s stomach, shoving him off of his sword and sending him crashing back into a bookshelf.
“Rhianna?” Bryn placed her hand on the ice barrier melting it with her flames. She sank to the floor where Rhianna cradled Zane’s head on her lap.
Jaxon had his arms around his girlfriend’s shoulders as he felt for a pulse on Zane’s neck. “I’m sorry. He’s gone.”
“Why did Zane do that?” Rhianna sobbed. “I released him.”
“Maybe,” Valmont said, “Zane didn’t believe the man would actually let us all go.”
There was a loud pounding in Bryn’s head.
“Do you hear that?” Valmont asked.
Okay, maybe the noise isn’t in my head. It was coming from the entrance to the room. It sounded like someone was pounding the wall with a battering ram. All she could see was a dead knight. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“We need to open the door,” Jaxon said, “without whoever is outside accidentally killing us.”
“A phone would be handy right now,” Bryn said.
Valmont walked back to the dead man’s body and searched his pockets, retrieving a cell phone.
“Give me that,” Jaxon said.
Valmont tossed the phone to Bryn who handed it to Jaxon. He dialed and spoke to his father. The battering on the door stopped.
“It’s safe to open now.” Jaxon looked at Bryn. “Do you mind?”
“I’ve got it.” Valmont went to the door and pushed it open. Ferrin, Bryn’s grandfather, and a half a dozen other people poured into the room.
“The traitor is over there.” Valmont pointed to the back corner.
Everyone started asking questions.
“We need a moment of silence,” Jaxon shouted loud enough to be heard above the din.
Amazingly, everyone quieted down. Ferrin and her grandfather approached. Ferrin squatted down and touched Jaxon’s shoulder. “Who was he?”
“His name was Zane,” Jaxon said, “and he came here to protect Rhianna’s life.”
“He was my knight.” Rhianna sounded sad and lost.
Ferrin appeared confused, but he didn’t make a rude comment like Bryn expected him to.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Bryn’s grandfather said, “but, we need to know what occurred here, and we need to know if anyone is still in danger.”
Bryn’s head snapped up. “The dance. The man who escaped said they would attack the dance if their people didn’t see them leaving when they were supposed to.”
Ferrin grabbed his phone and started giving orders.
“Bryn, who escaped where?” her grandfather asked.
“A Blue-Black hybrid made Rhianna’s knight open a secret door only Blue knights can access. He went through there.” She pointed at the wall splattered with blood. “And the door shut behind him.”
“Can you open it?” her grandfather asked.
“We can try.” Valmont placed his sword on the wall. Bryn sliced her finger on the blade not feeling a thing. A faint outline of a door glimmered and then disappeared.
“At least we know where it is.” Her grandfather frowned. “Maybe we can find a volunteer to open it for us.”
“I’ll do it,” Rhianna said.
Jaxon opened his mouth to speak and Rhianna cut him off. “I don’t want his death to be in vain.”
“Whoever left by that door is probably long gone,” her grandfather said. “Tonight we’ll concentrate on keeping the other students safe. Tomorrow or the day after, Rhianna, we may ask for your help.”
“Can we go back to the dance to check on our friends?” Bryn asked.
“Ferrin will have deployed our guards. I’d like you to come with me and give a more detailed description of the events.” Her grandfather glanced down at Zane and then back up at Valmont. “Can you help us make the necessary arrangements?”
Valmont nodded.
…
Bryn followed her grandfather up to his office on the top floor of the library. Valmont sat beside her, quietly holding her hand. She could feel rage coming off of his body. Any answers he gave were brief. What was he feeling? Guilt? Anger? Fear?
She filled her grandfather in on the tragic events of the evening.
“We need to find someone to open that door,” Valmont said. “That man could still be in there.”
“The vaults were here long before the library, which currently sits on top of them. There is a series of tunnels connecting them to each other and to access points on and probably off campus. I’m sure he’s made his way back to his friends by now.”
Speaking of friends. “Since I’m not hearing any loud explosions, can I assume the dance was not attacked?”
“We found traces of a few small groups of the enemy across campus, but they appear to be gone now.”
“Except for the traitors living among us,” Valmont said. “Someone at the dance must have watched and waited for Rhianna to go someplace by herself so they could kidnap her.”
“That is a disturbing thought.” Her grandfather steepled his fingers under his chin. “Do you think they targeted her in particular, or do you think they would have kidnapped any Blue they had access to?”
Bryn rubbed her temples trying to make her brain process all this bizarre information. “They must have known we were close to Rhianna and that we’d understand why they wanted someone from Dragon’s Bluff. They mentioned Zane by name.”
“I mean no disrespect toward the young man in question, but do you think he could have been a willing participant in tonight’s treachery?”
“At first, that thought went through my head, too.” And it made her feel like crap. “But he didn’t seem to know about the blood magic. And he’d never met Rhianna.”
“Valmont, how well did you know him?” her grandfather asked.
“Not at all. He started working at Fonzoli’s after I moved here. My father told me good things about him over the phone. He’s a new hire.”
“So you didn’t know him.” Her grandfather mused. “It wouldn’t do to start asking questions right after his death. In a few days, maybe you could ask your parents how his family is doing.”
“I hate doubting him,” Valmont said. “I’d rather do it now, so I know the truth.”
Her grandfather pointed toward a phone on a side table. “As you wish.”
Valmont dialed, and Bryn listened to his end of the conversation. When he got off the phone, he was shaking. “My father was surprised I’d heard of Zane’s death so quickly since they only found his body half an hour ago.”
“What?” That didn’t make any sense.
“Zane was scheduled to work tonight. He loaded up the catering truck at the restaurant and left on schedule. Somewhere between Dragon’s Bluff and the school, someone must have hijacked the truck. They found the real Zane dead in a ditch with a bullet in the back of his head.”
Bryn’s brain spun in circles trying to put the information together. “So that wasn’t Zane who became Rhianna’s knight and gave up his life for her?”
“No.” Valmont paced the office. “Who kills a man so he can impersonate him and then gets himself killed? Who does that?”
“Someone who is insane or desperate,” her grandfather stated in a cold tone.
“Will there be an autopsy to identify the body?” Bryn asked. “Because how can we be sure he wasn’t a dragon? He said he became Rhianna’s knight, but we don’t know if that’s true.”
“If he wasn’t a knight, I don’t think the blood magic would have worked,” Valmont said.
“Right.” She hadn’t thought about that.
“We won’t solve any more mysteries tonight.” Her grandfather stood. “Before you return to your dorm, I do have one bit of good news. The Directorate agreed to appoint you and Jaxon as Student Directorate Council.”
“What does that mean?” Bryn asked.
“Students can come to you with concerns. If their concerns are valid, you can contact me or Ferrin to discuss the issue. That way the students have a more direct line of communication to the Directorate which should help eliminate some of the unrest on campus.”
“Sounds like a good idea.”
He escorted them to the door of his office. “Both of you performed admirably this evening under difficult circumstances. Bryn, I know your grandmother would prefer it if you weren’t in the thick of battle, if at all possible.” He sounded like he was sort of making a joke.
“I try to stay out of the chaos, but weird stuff seems to happen around me.”
“I am aware of that.” Her grandfather put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed like he was giving her a sideways hug. She smiled up at him. He grinned and then pulled her into a real hug. She couldn’t believe it. She hugged him back and then stepped away.
“Don’t tell anyone I did that,” her grandfather joked. “It would ruin my image.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
Bryn and Valmont headed down the stairs and walked across campus holding hands. Guards lined the sidewalks checking out everyone who passed, which was kind of nice.
When she reached her room, she called Clint and Ivy to check on them. Her friends were worried about her, but they were fine. Exhaustion hit her like a tidal wave.
“Go change into your pajamas,” Valmont said. “We’re camping out on the couch.”
Dressed in yoga pants and a T-shirt, she joined Valmont on the couch. In the back of her head, she thought about suggesting they sleep in her bed. It would be more comfortable, and they’d slept there before when she’d been sick, so it wasn’t a big deal. But tonight after everything they’d gone through, it might be easier to stick with something close to normal. Not that her life was ever normal. Despite all the tragedy tonight, the one good thing to come of this mess was she’d become closer to her grandfather.
She seemed to be on a more even keel with Jaxon. That was good. And what had happened with Ferrin tonight? He’d actually acted respectful toward Rhianna and the dead guy who wasn’t really Zane but had still been Rhianna’s knight. She had never imagined Ferrin capable of such kindness. Maybe the expectation of a new baby had softened him up, after all.
The last sound she heard before falling asleep was Valmont talking in his sleep, something about pizza and lasagna. Maybe he was dreaming about working as a waiter. Would he be happy to return to his real job? Seeing Rhianna crying over a knight had taken Bryn’s breath away. If she ever had to stand over Valmont’s body like that… She shuddered… It was too horrifying to imagine. She’d do whatever it took to keep him safe. Even if it meant letting him go.
Wait. Where had that thought come from?
This whole night was messing with her head. She wondered how Rhianna was coping. Of course Rhianna was traumatized, but at least she’d released Zane before he’d died. Not that she would’ve gotten sick and turned to stone over a knight she’d known less than an hour. Right?
…
Jaxon showed up at Bryn’s door way too early the next morning. She opened the door, bedhead and all, because she worried something might have happened with Rhianna. “What’s wrong?”
“We need to talk.” He studied her attire of yoga pants and Munch’s “The Scream” shirt and shook his head, but he held a carryout box and a tray with three cups of coffee.
“Come in.”
Valmont sat up on the couch, bleary-eyed and confused. He pointed at Jaxon. “Why?”
Bryn shrugged and snagged two cups of coffee, downing half of one and passing the other to Valmont. “He had food, so I let him in.”
Jaxon sat at the library table. “I’m here because I don’t know what to do about Rhianna. My father told me about the real Zane being murdered. How do I tell Rhianna she’s grieving an impostor?”
Bryn opened the carryout box and chose a cranberry orange muffin. “Give me a minute.” She ate half the muffin and finished off her coffee. “Okay, my brain is now engaged, but I don’t have an answer for you.”
“Do you remember what impostor-Zane said to Rhianna last night?” Valmont said.
“He apologized for what happened to her,” Jaxon said. “Knowing what we know now, it makes more sense, but why did he try to kill the traitor he was working with?”
“The driver that attacked me earlier this year was actually my grandmother’s driver. He’d worked for her for more than a dozen years. If someone had something powerful enough to blackmail him or threaten him with, I could see the same thing happening with not-Zane.”
“For simplicity sake, let’s call him Zane,” Valmont said. “And say Zane was drafted into this situation against his will and he didn’t want the traitors to get away with it. He could have attacked that guy because he didn’t want him to succeed with whatever he was doing and he believed strongly enough that he gave his life to stop him.”
“That paints him in a better light,” Bryn said.
“Maybe he wasn’t as evil as his counterparts, but he also wasn’t the brave hero that Rhianna is mourning.” Jaxon shoved his hand back through his hair. “How do I fix this?”
“You can’t,” Bryn said. “Even though Rhianna released him and he wasn’t her knight any more, he did save her life, and he died right in front her.”
“That is not the answer I came here for.” Jaxon sipped his coffee.
“Maybe,” Valmont said, “you should tell her the truth. It might help her recover a little bit faster.”
“Maybe.” Jaxon sighed. “Any other knightly logic you’d like to share?”
“Not really,” Valmont said. “Bryn and I have been making it up as we go along.”
“Again,” Jaxon said, “not helping.”
Valmont shrugged and sipped his coffee.
Jaxon frowned like he was considering the situation. “There’s something else. The fact that those hybrids were Black and Blue made me wonder about something. Remember Analise, who supposedly died in a car accident?”
“What’s he talking about?” Valmont asked.
“Alec, the Black Radical Revisionist dragon who died at my grandparents’ estate, had petitioned to marry his girlfriend Analise, but the marriage petition was denied so she took the only other option, which was a Directorate-sanctioned benefactor.”
“How does that work?” Valmont asked.
Anger flared in Bryn’s gut. “If a female is declared unfit to marry, for whatever reason, which the Directorate doesn’t bother to explain, then an older married man will offer to keep her as his mistress after she graduates.”
“And these men’s wives are okay with this?”
“It’s mostly Blues that engage in this behavior, since their marriages are based on money and political alliances.”
“What does this have to do with Alec and Analise?”
“Jaxon and I looked into the whole benefactor situation and discovered all mistresses are required to undergo a procedure which keeps them from having kids.”
“Are you serious?” Valmont stared wide-eyed.
“It gets worse,” Bryn said. “Analise missed her follow-up appointment to make sure the sterilization worked, and not long after, she died in what we assumed was a Directorate-sanctioned car crash.”
Valmont opened his mouth and pointed at Jaxon. No sound came out. He tried again. “I’ll bypass the rant about how the Directorate is insane and go with the obvious reason you’re bringing this up. You think Analise, or another dragon like her, could have faked her own death and given birth to a Blue-Black hybrid dragon.”
Jaxon nodded. “In essence, maybe the Directorate isn’t the only one responsible for car crashes and other mysterious deaths. Maybe women fake their deaths, with or without their benefactor’s knowledge, and then they become a part of a secret community of hybrids.”
“Who would have every reason to despise the Directorate,” Valmont said.
“If someone denied my marriage, tried to sterilize me, and then told me my only choice was to shack up with a guy old enough to be my father, I’d be pretty pissed off at the Directorate, too.” Bryn waited for Jaxon to respond.
Jaxon spoke in a quiet voice. “If the Directorate explained why a couple was not allowed to marry, do you think that might make a difference?”
“It might,” Bryn said. “But it would depend on their reasoning. If the DNA of the two dragons would combine to create a super-evil genius or someone driven insane by lust for gold, that would be understandable. If the Directorate denied marriage based on something ridiculous like one of the people developing a limp…” She didn’t bother finishing her sentence.
Jaxon stared into his coffee cup. “I now see some of the Directorate’s decisions are not…as logical as I would like them to be.”
Wow. For Jaxon, that was a huge confession.
“Maybe, since you’re slated to be on the Directorate,” Bryn said, “you can help change the system.”
“Maybe, I could.” Jaxon stood. “I think I’ll go tell Rhianna the truth, because not knowing won’t help the situation.”
Bryn let Jaxon out and locked the door behind him. She turned to find Valmont smiling at her. “What?”
“You are like a pebble tossed into a pond. Everything you do and say creates ripples in dragon society.” He raised his cup of coffee to her in a silent toast. “Did you ever think you’d get Jaxon to admit the Directorate is less than perfect?”
“No.” She grabbed the box of muffins and carried them to the coffee table. “If only we could convince whoever is attacking the campus that violence isn’t necessary for change, everyone’s lives would be a lot safer.”
Valmont picked up a muffin and peeled off the wrapper. “Agreed. Any ideas on how to do that?”
“It’s not like we can send an invitation to the hybrids to attend a welcome Back to School Gala like we did with the injured students.”
“No, but you could have an open forum where students could share concerns. You could even do it online and keep it anonymous. That way, if anyone, hybrids included, wanted to ask questions or voice opinions, they could do so without fear of retribution.”
“That’s a great idea.” Bryn went to sip her coffee and discovered the cup was empty. She pouted at Valmont.
He laughed. “Do you want to get dressed and go eat in the dining hall?”
A sudden idea had her smiling. “I have a better plan. We’re going to have breakfast at the swanky cafe downstairs. And I’m going to speak to every person we come across, even if they don’t talk back.”
“Just to be obnoxious?” Valmont asked.
“Partly, and partly to reinforce the idea that I’m not going away. I’m a member of the Blue Clan, whether they like it or not. And with Jaxon’s help, maybe we can convince more students it’s time to change the way things are done around here.”
As Bryn changed clothes, she thought about everything that had happened since they’d come back to school after Christmas break. The Back to School Gala had been a success in more ways than one. A good portion of injured students had returned to school and most of them had been accepted by their Clans. The Blue Clan might still be a little rigid, but the Blue females were now talking to Rhianna, and according to Akbar’s experiment, Clan boundaries were definitely softening. She wasn’t sure what her grandfather would think of that, but she enjoyed his company now. Both of her grandparents seemed like people she could depend on. And oddly enough, she now felt like she could depend on Jaxon in a crisis. They might not have the warm fuzzies for each other, but she’d grown to understand and respect him, even if he tended to act like an ass-hat on a regular basis. Then there was Valmont—her rock in these turbulent times. Even if the magic of the bond made them both a little unstable sometimes, she knew he’d always be there for her, not out of obligation, but because he truly cared.
If the Radical hybrids would stop attacking campus, maybe the peaceful hybrids could come out in the open. The Directorate might come to understand not all hybrids were bad. And the good hybrids could help broker some sort of peace between the Directorate and the Radicals. While she was dreaming, she threw in a new law, which would allow Jaxon to marry Rhianna. Who knew, maybe if they all worked together, dragons could be allowed to marry whomever they wanted….even their knights.
“Bryn, are you ready?” Valmont called from the living room.
“In a minute.” She ran a brush through her hair and smiled at her reflection. “Ready or not, here I come.”
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