Chapter Six
After classes were finished for the day, Bryn returned to her room. Over the summer, at her grandparents’ estate, she’d adjusted to living in a room by herself. Here back at school, she missed having someone to hang out with in the evenings. Valmont had always been there for her. The pain over his defection had turned into a dull ache, but she missed having someone around. She could call Clint and Ivy, but she’d see them for dinner. Maybe it was time to broaden her circle of friends. Could she talk to Zavien? Part of her wanted to, but she wasn’t sure they could go back to being friends. And Jaxon would have an apocalyptic fit if she started hanging out with an ex-boyfriend who’d been betrothed to one of the key players of the Rebels.
Janelle had been fun, and it wouldn’t hurt to have someone she could study with. Did it ever become less complicated? When you were a little kid the only thing that mattered was that you both liked the same cookies or cartoons. The older you became the harder it seemed to make friends.
It’s not like she could call Janelle and ask her to hang out. They’d just met today, and she didn’t want to look like a creeper. So…where did that leave her?
Maybe she’d go to the library and check out one of the Legends books which told stories of times when dragons were allowed to fall in love by instinct instead of being forced into arranged marriages. That thought gave her pleasure for about thirty seconds and then she realized that the books might not seem as entertaining to her as they once had now that she was involved in her own debacle of an arranged marriage. After witnessing the unstable hybrids who had attacked campus, the books didn’t seem so romantic, either. Maybe Miss Enid could suggest something else.
Rather than walking down the stairs and dealing with the social niceties of nodding and smiling at the other Blue students in her dorm, which she didn’t feel like doing, Bryn decided to fly down. She went through the window which led to her terrace. Standing outside, she took a deep breath of the fresh fall air. There was a hint of wood smoke in the wind, like someone had started a fire, or blasted someone with a fireball.
She shifted with ease to her dragon form and then dove off the terrace into the evening sky. Flying was the best. The cool evening air felt like a caress. Bryn aimed for the green space in front of the library and came in slow. She treaded air for a moment and then tucked her wings, dropping to the ground. Not a bad landing. She shifted and entered the library.
The librarian sat behind the front desk, typing on her computer. When she looked up and saw Bryn, she frowned. What the heck? Miss Enid had always been someone she could count on as a confidant and she’d thought of her as a friend.
“I’m sorry, should I leave you alone?” Bryn asked.
“What?” Miss Enid blinked and then shook her head. “Sorry. I was off in my own little world.”
Thank goodness the frown hadn’t been directed at her. Bryn felt her shoulders relax. “How was your summer?” she asked.
“It was unsettling.”
She knew why her summer had been odd, but she didn’t know what Miss Enid had dealt with. “Feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but what happened?”
“Nothing specific,” Miss Enid said. “It seems like there are several political forces at play, and I’m not sure what their goals are. I know your grandfather is trying to keep the peace, but Ferrin seems bent on crushing anyone he even thinks might be a problem. I had a new student, who happened to be a Green-Red hybrid, organizing an area on the second floor. When she didn’t return in a timely manner I went to check on her and discovered that a guard had grabbed her for questioning. She’d been approved to attend school and had passed another set of approvals to work for me. The guard had no cause to suspect her. He’d just grabbed her because her auburn hair didn’t match her dark complexion.”
“That’s ridiculous.” And it reminded her of something. “Have you heard about the No Loitering rule in Dragon’s Bluff?”
“No.”
Bryn told her about the guards almost arresting Clint.
“That’s absurd.” Miss Enid drummed her nails on the wooden desk. “I don’t understand why someone would go through the trouble of clearing students to return to school if they planned on targeting them afterward, anyway.”
“I have another question.” Bryn glanced around. “Why won’t they let any of the adults leave Sanctuary?”
“Interesting. It’s almost like they’re purposely separating the children from their parents.”
“Why would they do that?” And then Bryn had an odd thought. “What about the students who aren’t old enough to attend the Institute? Where are they going to school?”
“Some of the hybrids were teachers, and they’ve set up a school for the younger students,” Miss Enid said.
“Oh…well that’s good. What are the adults doing all day?”
“I’ve heard that everyone is pitching in to build housing.”
That made sense. “Enough reality for the moment. Can you recommend some books that have nothing to do with dragons?”
“How do you feel about demon hunters?”
“I’m willing to give them a shot,” Bryn said.
…
Bryn was one hundred pages into her book when someone knocked on her door. She’d just seen Clint and Ivy at dinner, so who did that leave? Wait, she knew the answer. She slid a bookmark between the pages and went to see what Jaxon wanted.
She opened the door and sure enough, the blight of her life stood there with a sour expression on his face…and he’d gripe if she tried to talk to him in the hallway. “Come on in.”
He entered and went to lean against the library table. “We need to talk.”
“Here I thought maybe you dropped by to play charades.”
“I’m not going to dignify that poor attempt at humor with a response.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “We should start eating our meals together in the dining hall.”
“Hell no.” She was not giving up her friends.
“I’m just as thrilled about it as you are, but people are talking about us not spending enough time together.”
“What people? And since when does a Westgate care what other people think?”
He opened his mouth to speak and then paused. “Good point, but for the sake of appearances, we should eat together a few times a week.”
This was not a conversation she wanted to have standing up. She walked over and flopped down on the couch, putting her feet up on the coffee table. “Fine. Let’s negotiate. You don’t want to eat at my table and I don’t want to eat at yours, so we should share the awkwardness on some sort of schedule.”
Jaxon came to sit in one of the winged-back chairs and pointed at her feet. “A table is not a footstool.”
“This one is,” Bryn said. “Back to the irritating topic at hand. I’ll join you for dinner on Tuesdays and you’ll join me for dinner on Thursdays.”
“Fine. We should probably eat lunch together, too.”
Nope. “Lunch is for scarfing down food before going to your next class. Let’s stick with dinner. It’s more date-like.”
“I guess you’re right. We’ll start with dinner two nights a week and see if that takes care of the issue. We still need to discuss weekends.”
She was going to regret asking this question. “What about the weekends?”
“Your grandmother and my mother spent all summer throwing us together. Did you think they’d stop just because school started?”
“Son of a bitch.” Bryn slid lower on the couch.
“Agreed. Apparently, they are bringing events to campus rather than dragging us off to other peoples’ estates. My mother claims it’s about helping to unify the student body and making them feel welcome.”
“Good to know other people will be sharing the fun.” On a positive note, at least with students from all Clans and multiple versions of hybrids, she wouldn’t stick out like she normally did at Blue events.
“So…this weekend we’re having a Homecoming Gala where we’re supposed to mingle and be seen.”
“Can we do that in jeans, because the dress code isn’t in force on the weekends?” Girls were required to wear skirts and blouses and archaic panty hose to class everyday and she relished her evening and weekend yoga pants and jeans time.
“I’m sure you know the answer to that question.”
“You’re just the bearer of all sorts of good news,” she said.
“Just sharing the joy that is our inexplicably intertwined lives.” He stared down at his hands. “I understand now why they test bloodlines. There are certain traits you definitely don’t want brought to light. I’d like to see how they determine which bloodlines are compatible. You’d think there would be more than just a few good matches for every dragon.”
“I don’t understand why Mr. Stanton and Miss Enid were denied without a reason.”
Jaxon’s brow wrinkled in confusion before he seemed to understand. “They were denied, and they didn’t accept the Directorate’s alternative partners, which is why they never married.”
“Exactly. They’ve been seeing each other all this time. And honestly, since they’re past the age of having children, what would the harm be in allowing them to marry?”
“As far as I know, something of that nature has never been discussed,” Jaxon said. “Dragons who chose not to marry have always stayed single, but if they are no longer at risk of producing dangerous offspring, they should be allowed to marry.”
“I know it’s not really the Student Directorate’s place to advocate for teachers, but we could say that some students asked,” Bryn said. “Because we’re students and we wondered.”
“Bothering my father with anything other than a life or death situation right now is not advisable. He’s barely home and when he is, he isn’t in a social mood.”
Poor Lillith. “I could ask my grandmother if she thinks we should ask the Directorate about this. My grandfather seems like his normal self, but I have no idea what he’s dealing with right now.”
Jaxon stood. “Let me know what she says.”
“Okay.” Bryn followed him to the door and locked it after he left. While she wasn’t looking forward to eating several meals a week with him, it was nice to have someone to talk to about these Directorate issues. Did he feel the same way?