Bridges Burned (Going Down in Flames #2)(46)

Zavien reached for her. “Bryn?”

“Don’t.” She shoved her plate onto the buffet and backed away from him. She would not do the whole girlie-crying-thing here, in front of everyone. As soon as she cleared the door, she shifted and took to the sky. Pumping her wings, she drove herself upward and broke through the clouds. There was no fire waiting to be released; there was only disillusionment and disappointment. All this time, she’d held out a tiny bit of hope that he’d apologize and come back to her.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. With every downward thrust of her wings, she tried to escape the chant in her head. It wouldn’t go away. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. She was a stupid girl who’d believed what she wanted to believe.

Her grandmother’s warning came screaming back to her. “Only those you love can truly hurt you.”

How right she’d been.





Chapter Nineteen


Escape. She needed to escape this sadness. Taking in great gulps of air, she put as much distance between herself and reality as possible. She pushed her wings harder until her muscles screamed and the sky itself seemed to press down on her. Spots flashed in front of her eyes.

The school was a mere speck below her. She was as high as she could comfortably go. It wasn’t far enough to escape her problems.

What should she do now?

No way in hell was she going back to school. Dragon’s Bluff was off to the right somewhere. Hoping for distraction, she aimed for the town, determined to find the rock formation it was named for.

Would she be punished for leaving school without permission? Probably. Not that it mattered. Right now she just needed some alone time to sort herself out. She descended below the clouds and breathing came easier. It still felt like an elephant sat on her chest, but that had nothing to do with physiology. Off in the distance, the bluffs rose above the town. Pulling her wings in, she dove for the cliffs. From up here, none of the rocks resembled a dragon.

She circled the area and skimmed the ground until she found what she wanted. The pile of rocks took on dragon features the closer she flew. Reducing her speed, she landed, digging her claws into the grass and ripping up sod. She walked around the formation. It did appear to be a dragon turned to stone. When Ivy had told her the tale of a dragon who had mourned the knight she loved and turned to stone by his graveside, she’d thought it a colorful legend.

Shifting to human form, she traced her fingers over the individual scales carved into the rock. The grave marker next to the dragon added to the realism of the tale. Inscribed on the stone were the words, “My knight. My love. My life.”

Could someone die of a broken heart? If the ache in her chest was any indication, it could happen. Angry tears rolled down her face. She attempted to shut down the waterworks. Why bother? If there was ever a good place to cry over love gone wrong, this was it.

She backed up to the stone dragon’s flank and slid to the ground. Pulling her knees to her chest, she gave into grief. Losing Zavien meant more than losing a boyfriend. She’d lost her mentor and her best friend.

“There you are.”

Her head jerked up at the sound of the familiar masculine voice. “Jaxon? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here because your friends are slow, both in their flying and in their thinking skills.” He glanced at the gravestone and pursed his lips. “Why isn’t your knight out here searching for you?”

“I guess because he doesn’t know I left campus. Why are you here?”

“Your friends accosted me and insisted I chase you, since they had no hope of catching you. Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“Back to campus.”

No freaking way. “I don’t want to go back to campus.”

“What you want is irrelevant.” His eyes narrowed.

Inappropriate laughter bubbled out of her throat. “That’s the story of my life.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her like she was a dog who’d peed on the carpet. “I was on my way to see Rhianna when your friends sidetracked me. Unlike you, she has real problems.”

Now she felt like a dog who had peed on the carpet. Standing up, she dusted off her clothes. “Thanks for throwing that in my face. Now I feel much better.”

“I don’t know why you’re upset about Zavien. You should have seen this coming.”

Fire rose in her throat. “Excuse me?”

“You’ve known from the beginning that his contract was in place.”

“He told me they were friends. I believed him when he said he’d work to change the law.”

Jaxon shook his head. “Nice line. Most guys stick to ‘Let’s take a ride in my Lamborghini,’ or ‘We should spend the weekend on my family’s yacht.’”

Zavien wouldn’t do that. “You’re wrong. He cared about me.”

“Not enough, it seems. Come on. Let’s go.”

Smoke shot from her nostrils. She closed her eyes and thought of snow. The flames in her gut died down, but she still wanted to roast Jaxon.

If it weren’t for Rhianna waiting for him, she’d drag out the argument to delay returning.

“Fine.” She shifted and flew back toward school. Where should she go? Would Clint and Ivy still be in the dining hall? She definitely didn’t want to go back there. Maybe she’d just go back to her room.