Chapter Eleven
After dinner that evening, Bryn sat on her couch, wondering what type of repercussions she was going to have to deal with for going off on Jaxon in front of her classmates. She should have just laughed his holier-than-thou behavior off, but he’d blindsided her. She hadn’t seen his mean side since she’d saved his sorry ass at her grandparents’ house. Maybe she should remind him that he wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for her.
That conversation wouldn’t go well. She’d try to be the better person and just let it drop for now. Per Blue dragon custom, she and Jaxon should fake a civil relationship in public, though that would be difficult for a few days. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to extend the olive branch. He was the one who’d gone nuclear. Maybe she’d make a game out of it. Wait and see how long it would take him to mention their fight. Then again, since he truly didn’t care about her, he might not even be feeling bad about their confrontation. So…where did that leave her? And why was she constantly asking herself that question when it came to males and why did she always react to their baggage? Since she had no answers, she went back to reading her book. The guy in the story was being a jerk because he was possessed by a demon. That she could understand. Funny how fiction made more sense than real life.
A knock on her door made her cringe. “Who is it?” she called out.
“Let me in,” Jaxon said.
“Wrong approach,” Bryn shot back through the door. “Try again.”
“We need to talk,” he said.
“Why?”
“We’re not doing this through the door,” Jaxon said.
She had to bite her tongue to keep from pointing out that they were, in fact, doing this through the door. “If I open the door, you have to be civil,” Bryn said.
“Fine.”
She wasn’t sure she believed him, but she opened the door anyway and stepped aside to let him enter. He scowled at her and headed for the couch where he flopped down in a most un-Jaxon like manner. He loosened his tie, ran his hands back through his golden-blond hair, and then stared up at the ceiling.
She’d seen Jaxon covered in blood after a battle. Somehow a disheveled Jaxon was more disturbing. She sat in a wing-backed chair and waited for him to start the conversation.
“Do you know what day it is?” he asked.
Was this a trick question? “It’s Monday.”
He kept his gaze on the ceiling and spoke in a quiet voice. “It’s Rhianna’s birthday.”
Son of a… Bryn threw her arms out wide. “Damn it. Now I can’t even be mad at you.”
“I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I’m just so angry abou—” His voice broke and he stopped talking.
Double damn it. If he cried she was going to lose it.
He cleared his throat and resumed talking. “It didn’t help that the gift I commissioned for her months ago arrived today.” He sat up and reached into his jacket pocket, removing a blue velvet case…it was long and flat…the kind that would hold a bracelet. “I don’t know what to do with it.” He looked up at Bryn like he hoped she might have an answer.
Damn. Damn. Damn. “Do you want me to hold onto it until you figure it out?”
He turned the blue velvet case over in his hands before leaning forward and setting it on the coffee table. “Perhaps that would be best…for now.” He pushed to his feet and stared at her for a moment. “You’re a good friend, Bryn. I’ll try to be a better friend to you.” He walked to the door and let himself out.
Bryn tried to bat away the fog of sadness Jaxon seemed to leave in his wake. “This totally sucks.” She grabbed the phone, dialed Ivy’s number, and unloaded her newfound knowledge.
“Oh my God,” Ivy said. “That’s so sad. And now you can’t even be angry at him.”
“I know and that pisses me off.” Bryn picked up the blue velvet box. “This whole situation sucks.” She looked at the silver hinges that ran along the side. “Would it be wrong if I opened the box to see what he bought her?”
“You want to open his dead girlfriend’s gift?” Ivy said.
“When you put it that way…” Bryn set the box down.
“I guess you should open it. If you don’t and it ever went missing you wouldn’t be able to help look for it.”
“Way to rationalize,” Bryn said. She popped the lid open. A platinum diamond and sapphire bracelet lay on the blue silk. The stones in the middle of the bracelet were looped back around themselves into an infinity sign. On the lid of the box, in an elegant silver script, it said “Together Forever.”
Bryn closed her eyes and swallowed over the lump in her throat. “I shouldn’t have looked.” She snapped the lid closed and told Ivy about the bracelet.
Ivy sniffled. “Wow. That’s tragic.”
“I gotta go.” Bryn hung up the phone and took the emotional-bomb-of-a-gift into her bedroom. Where should she put it? She could call her grandmother tomorrow and ask to meet her for dinner and then give her the bracelet to take back to Sinclair Estate, but her grandmother wouldn’t be pleased to discover the unbelievably romantic gift that Jaxon had intended for someone else. She opened her armoire and put the blue velvet box on the top shelf underneath her sweaters.
…
Beginning Quintessential Medicine was becoming Bryn’s favorite class for several reasons. First and foremost was her love for the healing arts. The second, and slightly guilt-inducing reason, was because it was the only class she didn’t share with Jaxon. He’d been civil to her for the last couple of days, but he seemed distant and sad and sometimes she just needed a break.
“Who do you think our guinea pig will be today?” Janelle asked.
“I don’t know.” Bryn squirmed in her seat. “I know we need to practice on people and these dragons who volunteer to work with us are over eighteen, but I don’t know why anyone would agree to being poked and prodded by amateur Medic students.”
“I think they get extra credit,” Janelle said.
“All right, class,” Medic Williams said. “Today I’m setting you up with volunteers who have minor scrapes and cuts. I’ll be monitoring your progress. Please respect the volunteer’s privacy.”
Bryn kept her eyes on the stream of older students and adults who entered the classroom. When Zavien walked in and headed straight for her, she was at a loss for words.
“Hello, Bryn.” He sat between her and Janelle, looking more like his old self, minus the spiked hair.
“Zavien? What are you doing here?”
“I’m volunteering for the greater good,” he said. “And for the extra credit.” Amusement flashed in his dark brown eyes. “It was either this, or nude modeling for the art class.”
Bryn’s face heated. “That seriously can’t be an option.”
Zavien grinned. “Ask Clint and Ivy.”
“So how do you two know each other?” Janelle asked.
“Sorry,” Zavien turned on the charm, smiling at Janelle. “Didn’t mean to ignore you.” He held out his hand. “I’m Zavien. Bryn and I met when she first came to school.”
That was one way to put it.
“I’m Janelle.” She shook his hand.
“All right, class, now that you’ve introduced yourselves, please take turns healing your volunteer.”
A nervous feeling settled in Bryn’s stomach. While she’d fantasized about injuring Zavien when he’d ducked out on her during their pseudo-relationship, she had no desire to injure him now. “So…why are you here?” He didn’t appear to be hurt.
He unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and rolled up his sleeves exposing his forearms, which were covered in scrapes.
“What did you do?” Bryn asked.
“I was working on a wooden sculpture last night, but the oak fought back. I kept scraping my forearms.”
“Why didn’t you go to a Medic right after this happened?” Bryn asked.
“I did. She mentioned that I could volunteer today and receive extra credit.” He flexed his forearm. “It’s not like it hurts. It’s more annoying than anything and if there’s any way to graduate early and get out of here, I’m willing to give it a shot.”
“Too many memories?” Bryn asked.
Zavien nodded and stared straight into her eyes. “Too many memories and too many bad decisions.”
Bryn blinked. Was he talking about their failed relationship? No. He was probably thinking about Nola.
She broke eye contact and placed her fingertips on his forearm. “Let me know if this is uncomfortable.” She focused her life force in her chest and then imagined the Quintessence flowing from her fingertips like beams of healing light.
Janelle worked on his right arm while Bryn worked on his left. Time seemed to slow down, and she traced her fingertips over the scratches and scrapes while she imagined the skin mending itself…returning to its unblemished state. The fact that she was touching Zavien made the whole thing disconcerting, and he was smiling at her like they shared some sort of secret. They didn’t. At one time she had fallen for him, but it had been a first crush, not first love. Although it hadn’t felt that way at the time. What she’d felt after Valmont had broken things off with her…that had been far more devastating, but maybe that had to do with the dragon-knight bond they’d shared. At least she’d never have to worry about having her heart broken again. She’d never have the chance because she’d never have the opportunity to fall in love…which was depressing and reassuring at the same time.
It took ten minutes to heal Zavien’s injuries. “There you go.”
He held out his arm and turned it over, looking at it from all angles. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Maybe you should invest in a pair of protective gloves.”
“Not a bad idea. Or I could go back to painting. My paints never fought back.”
“Sounds like a good plan.” The way Zavien was looking at her and talking to her reminded her of how things had been when they’d first met…when they’d been friends, which was kind of nice.
Janelle was still working when Medic Williams came over to check on Bryn’s progress.
“Nice job, Bryn.” She checked the arm Janelle worked on. “Try focusing on one scrape at a time rather than healing the whole arm.”
“Okay.” Janelle frowned and concentrated. Soon the scrapes and cuts began to disappear.
“Much better,” Medic Williams said.
Once Janelle was finished, Zavien stood and rolled his shoulders. “That was oddly relaxing.”
Later, in Basic Movement, Bryn told Clint and Ivy about her experience healing Zavien. “At first it was awkward, and then it felt sort of okay. Is that wrong?” Bryn asked.
“No. He has kind of paid his dues,” Clint said.
And then she remembered something. “Do people really volunteer to pose nude for art classes?”
“Yes,” Clint said. “And most of the time it’s someone our parents’ age, which is disturbing.”
“It’s not sexy,” Ivy said, “if that’s what you’re wondering. It’s more…hellaciously awkward.”
Bryn cringed. “I can’t imagine. Have you ever known any of the people who have volunteered?”
“Not so far,” Clint said. “And that’s a good thing.”
“What are we going to do today?” Bryn asked, gesturing at the joust station, the weight lifting area, and the treadmills.
“That depends,” Ivy said. “Do you want to punch something or whack something with a giant cotton swab?”
The joust featured two platforms raised high in the air where students faced off with jousting sticks which resembled giant foam-tipped cotton swabs. You could push people around with them but not really hurt anyone. It felt like being hit with a couch cushion. Although being knocked off the pedestal into the pit of foam blocks below was still unnerving…especially since she’d once landed on a javelin buried in the pit.
She shook off the remembered sensation of the metal tip driving through her thigh. Jaxon had been the one to help her that day. Funny how that was one of her positive memories of him. “There are days when I feel like my life is a game where people keep changing roles. Jaxon used to be evil, now he’s mostly my ally, with a dose of asshat and sadness thrown in. Zavien used to be my friend, my sort of boyfriend, the guy I most wanted to blast into a cinder, and now he’s an acquaintance I could become friends with again.”
“At least we’ve stayed your friends the whole time,” Ivy said.
“Yes. You have,” Bryn said. “Thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome. Now let’s go see who we can knock off one of the platforms,” Clint said.
…
At lunch Bryn was surprised when Zavien approached their table. He wasn’t carrying a tray, so he probably hadn’t been through the buffet line yet. “Can I ask you a question about what you did to my arms?”
“Sure.”
He sat down, rolled up his sleeves, and held out his arms. “It may just be a difference in skill level, but the arm you fixed feels normal.” He held out the arm Janelle worked on. “My right arm feels weak, and does the skin look strange, or is it just me?”
Bryn traced her fingers over the arm Janelle worked on. “It’s not just you. You almost look dehydrated. Let me try something.” She focused Quintessence through her fingertips into his forearm. His skin returned to a normal color and his muscles flexed and filled out. Once she stopped they compared the two arms. “There you go. You now have a matched set.”
“Thanks.” He rolled his shirt sleeves back down. “What do you think she did wrong?”
“I don’t know. She’s new at this. It’s like she used your own Quintessence to heal your injuries rather than using hers.”
“Maybe you should tutor her before she works on someone else.” He grinned and headed for the buffet line.
Clint cleared his throat. “You’re about to have company.”
Jaxon came to their table and he was carrying a lunch tray. Without asking he sat and said, “I hadn’t planned on eating with you but since you were just seen touching your ex-boyfriend in a strange manner, I thought I’d come say hello.”
“You mean Bryn hasn’t told you about her forearm fetish?” Clint asked.
Jaxon snorted in response.
Bryn laughed. “It’s not like I was groping him. He was one of the guinea pigs in my Quintessential Meds class today. My partner didn’t do such a great job on his arm so he asked me to look at it,” she explained about Janelle.
“Maybe she should change her field of study,” Jaxon said.
“Or maybe she’s a Quintessence-sucking vampire,” Clint said. “A dragon-pire.”
Jaxon paused mid chew and looked at Clint like he’d just said something insane…which he sort of had. After chewing and swallowing Jaxon said, “What are you talking about?”
Clint explained about the Silver dragons and the theory that the Cult might be making a comeback.
Jaxon reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “We just fought off a Rebel uprising. For the first time in the history of the Institute, hybrids and throwbacks have been welcomed onto the campus. I am not mentally prepared to deal with an evil Quintessence sucking cult, so I sincerely hope you’re wrong.”
“But you’re not dismissing the idea completely,” Clint said.
“If this involved anyone but Bryn…” Jaxon didn’t bother finishing his sentence.
“We’ve decided she’s a chaos magnet,” Ivy said.
Jaxon nodded. “Sounds about right.”
“What can I say?” Bryn shrugged. “I lead an interesting life.”