Chapter Seven
Over the next few days, Bryn found it harder and harder to contain her jealousy. No matter how irrational it was, she hated that Zavien jumped whenever Nola called. During class, when her mind wandered, she daydreamed about sneaking into Nola’s room in the middle of the night and shaving her pretty Barbie head bald.
Zavien appeared at lunch and gave her pie or cookies as part of his extended apology for being a jerk when they’d first met. Whenever they were alone together, he swore Nola was a friend. She so wanted to believe him.
Thursday morning in Elemental Science, Bryn found a yellow mum on her desk. It wasn’t just her. Every student had a small potted plant on their desk and a small cup of dirt beside it.
“Are we planting flowers today?” Clint asked.
“Today,” Mr. Stanton said from behind his desk, “we are working on using your emissaries as tools. In small doses, you can funnel Quintessence from one thing to another. Observe.” He produced a small twister of air in his right hand and directed it toward the fern on his desk. Before their eyes, the twister of air grew while the fern shriveled into a brown husk. Then he directed the twister to the cup of dirt on his desk. A green shoot burst forth from the dirt and grew into a stem with leaves.
Bryn had seen him do this trick before when he’d sucked the life force from a fern and used the Quintessence to change the color of a bird’s feathers. Still, it was impressive.
“You should all produce an emissary and use it to draw on the power of your plant. Feel your life force drawing on the plant’s life force.”
“Makes me feel bad for the plant,” Ivy muttered to Clint.
“Maybe you can resuscitate it afterward,” Clint said.
Bryn focused and produced a small fireball in her right hand. She held her hand above the mum and concentrated on drawing energy from it. A strange tickling sensation made her palm itch as the mum shriveled and died and her fireball grew. She held the enhanced fireball over the cup of dirt and focused on sending energy down into the soil. Poof. Her fireball doubled in size, startling her. Crap.
A strange chemical smell filled the air.
Clint’s Styrofoam cup had melted on his desk. “This is not as easy as it looks.”
Ivy held a ball of lightning in her left hand. With her right hand, she shot tiny sparks into the soil. After a few shocks, a green shoot poked from the soil. “I think I’m doing it.”
Maybe Ivy had the right idea. Bryn held her fireball in one hand and focused on sending Quintessence into the cup with the other. The fireball in her hand shrank as the green stem shot out of the dirt. “Good idea, Ivy.”
“As some of you have noticed, it’s not easy to control how much life force you send to the seed. You can use the two-handed method like Ivy until you achieve better control.”
“He should have told us that in the first place.” Clint zapped the small pile of dirt on his desk with miniature lightning bolts. The seed popped open and sent out a gnarled leaf.
“That’s just sad,” Ivy scooped up the malformed plant and tucked its roots into her cup of dirt. “It’s okay, little guy.” She directed half a dozen sparks into the cup. “I’ll take care of you.” Both plants in Ivy’s cup grew a few inches.
Mr. Stanton came and stood by Ivy’s desk. “You seem to be a natural. There are artists who specialize in creating gardens and topiaries. You might want to consider looking into that as a career.”
Ivy blushed. Clint’s chest puffed out with pride. “That’s my girlfriend. The plant whisperer.”
…
That night at Stagecraft, Bryn rolled primer onto a set. Rhianna helped, but she wasn’t smiling.
“Is something wrong?” Bryn asked.
Rhianna set the roller down. “Rumors are circulating about you and Jaxon.”
Bryn snorted. “You can’t believe Jaxon and I are involved.”
“His behavior toward you has changed.”
If she could explain how she’d saved Jaxon’s life, this would be so much easier. Sticking to the official version of her time away from school tied her hands. She went with the party line. “We learned to tolerate each other when we went before the Directorate.”
“Where did your book bag come from?” Rhianna asked.
That was easier to explain. “It was a gift from Lillith. She bought a similar bag for Jaxon because she liked it so much.”
“Why would his mother buy you a gift?”
Crap. Maybe this wasn’t so easy.
Jaxon showed up at that moment, so she tossed the ball to his court. “Rhianna asked why your mother bought me a book bag. I don’t really know why. Do you?”
Maintaining his cool composure, he ran his hand through his hair. “Either she likes to shop and has a generous nature, or she felt sorry for Bryn because her book bag was subpar.”
Bryn flipped him off.
“What? You asked for an explanation. I gave you two. Pick the one you like most.”
Rhianna frowned but didn’t ask any more questions.
“Those rumors you’ve been listening to have no basis in truth.” Jaxon’s tone was dismissive. “I said I’d be discreet. Seeing Bryn would not be discreet. It would be a nightmare for all involved and would more than likely lead to death and dismemberment.”
Bryn would’ve yelled at him, but he spoke the truth.
Rhianna gave a small smile. “I suppose you’re right. It’s easier to imagine you hacking away at each other with swords rather than being romantically involved.”
“Exactly.” Jaxon reached for the blond girl’s hand.
Rhianna laced her fingers through his. “I think I’m done for the evening. Walk me to my room?”
They walked off together.
Bryn continued painting her section of the set and allowed her mind to drift. What had Jaxon meant when he said he’d promised to be discreet?
Were he and Rhianna seeing other people? More than likely, he was seeing other people and she was putting up with it.
Asshat.
A hand waved in front of her face. Startled, she jerked backward.
Zavien stood next to her. “I was beginning to think you were having an out-of-body experience.”
“Sorry. Lost in thought.”
“Care to share?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“Finish up and we’ll walk back together.”
That would be nice, but she’d bet he wouldn’t hold her hand. And that bothered her. A lot. After she cleaned up, they exited the building and emerged in the cool night air. Did he put his arm around her shoulders? Of course not. Time to think about something else.
“What color tuxedo are you wearing to the dance?”
“Basic black.”
“It would be cool if you could find a bow tie to match my dress.”
He snorted. “Colored bow ties are ridiculous. Basic black is classic.”
“Clint is wearing a scarlet bow tie to match Ivy’s dress.”
“He’s still in the infatuation stage. A year from now he’ll wear a black bow tie.”
Wait a minute. She was infatuated with Zavien. Apparently he didn’t feel the same. And that sucked.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Everything, but she couldn’t say that. If she opened her mouth right now, all her angst would come flying out. That would be bad. She needed to get away from him. She increased her pace to put some distance between them.
He matched her stride and grabbed her arm. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
Her eyes grew hot. Damn it. Why did tears have to come with anger? They made her feel weak. “Not here.”
His hand fell away from her arm and they walked in silence. When they reached her dorm room, she took a deep breath and tried to find a way to voice her concern without sounding whiny.
“Remember what you said about Clint and the matching bow tie?”
He nodded.
“How do you feel about me?”
“You know how I feel.” He leaned in to kiss her.
Whoa. Not this time. She backed up a step. “I need words. If you’re not infatuated, then how do you feel?”
Zavien ran his hand down his face. “I chose my words poorly. Clint and his feelings toward Ivy are different from what’s happening between us.”
Wrong answer. “Why?”
He took her hand in his. “It’s different because we started on an even playing field. We met, there was an attraction, and we acted on it. Clint has been chasing Ivy for years. He finally caught her and he’d probably wear a gorilla suit to the dance if she asked.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “It’s not that you don’t care about me, it’s that you still have a mind of your own.”
“Exactly.” He pulled her close and kissed the tip of her nose. “Better?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” His lips brushed across hers. She blocked out all doubt about his feelings and enjoyed the kiss.
He maneuvered backward toward the couch. She hoped he remembered to avoid the coffee table. The backward motion stopped and they bumped noses.
“Coffee table?” she asked.
“And I was being so smooth.”
She chuckled and walked around the table to reach the couch.
“Pretend that never happened,” he said.
“Right. I’ll sit here, far away from the treacherous coffee table, and you can kiss me.”
“Good plan.”
She laughed against his mouth. He retaliated by tickling her ribs. Laughing, she batted his hands away. He pulled her close and kissed her. For the moment, all was right with her world. She vowed to ignore any nagging doubts about his feelings and enjoy what they had.
…
Saturday was a strange day. Females from every Clan were working themselves into a frenzy about the dance. When she walked into the dining hall for lunch, a girl she’d never met stopped her.
“Which nail polish do you like best?” the girl asked.
All ten of the girl’s nails were painted different colors. “What color is your dress?”
“It’s lilac.”
Bryn pointed at the girl’s index finger, which was painted a dark plum. “I like that one.”
The girl rushed off and shoved her hands in front of someone else. In the buffet line, a redheaded female touched Bryn’s red, blond, and black striped hair. “Did you do this yourself?”
Time to lie. “No.” She piled ravioli on her plate. “I had it done at a salon.”
“I don’t have time to go to a salon,” the girl said. “You’re no help at all.”
“Sorry.” Had everyone gone psycho? It’s not like the girls’ dates hadn’t seen them day in and day out all semester.
After picking two types of pie, Bryn wound her way to their regular table where Clint and Ivy were already sitting. “Have strangers been asking your opinions on their hair and nail polish?”
Ivy nodded. “They need more confidence in their appearance.”
Bryn pointed at Ivy’s short black hair, which stuck out in all directions. “Not everyone can pull off your hairstyle.”
“True.” Ivy reached up and ruffled her hair, making it look wilder. “Yesterday in history class two Blue females were debating how to wear their hair. I said they should wear it the way they normally do. You would’ve thought I suggested they run naked across campus.”
Zavien pulled out the chair next to Bryn and joined them. “Who’s running naked across campus?”
“Bryn is,” Clint responded with a serious face.
Zavien looked at her with raised eyebrows.
“What? I thought you’d be okay with it since it’s a political protest against the Directorate.”
Clint and Ivy laughed.
“Funny. Very funny.” Zavien shook his head.
Bryn gave a dramatic sigh. “I suppose I’ll have to settle for attending the dance with a man in a black bow tie.”
“They have copper ties at the dress shop,” Ivy said.
“Don’t go there,” Bryn said. “Getting him to agree to take me was hard enough. He can wear a zebra-striped tie if he wants.”
“Why don’t we meet at Bryn’s room before the dance?” Zavien said.
“Works for me.” The ravioli on Bryn’s fork fell and landed on her blouse.
“Maybe you shouldn’t eat at the dance,” Zavien said.