Bridges Burned (Going Down in Flames #2)(98)

Chapter Thirty-Seven


Now she understood. Squatting down, she focused her life force, like a small sun in her chest. Then, trying not to freak out about what she was doing, she placed her hand on the corpse’s flank. His scales were still warm. Not sure how this worked with someone who wasn’t alive, she pushed a tiny bit of her life force into the creature’s body.

It hurt. Physically and mentally. There was no responding life force, so her Quintessence felt like it was caught in a vise. She held her breath to keep from crying out and forced her way into the cells, coaxing them to return to human form. The cells vibrated. She withdrew her life force and stared down at the boy lying prone on the street. Tears filled her eyes. He was no older than she was. Maybe eighteen at the most. His hair was the auburn color of a Red dragon, but his eyes, which stared unseeing into the night sky, weren’t green as they should have been. They were brown. His skin was missing the trademark freckles of a Red dragon. Instead, he had the ivory skin of a Black dragon.

“Black and Red,” Bryn whispered.

Her grandfather grabbed the boy’s left wrist and ripped open the scorched sleeve of his shirt, revealing a tattoo on his forearm. A circle divided into four parts, each part containing a triangle.

Her grandfather let loose with a string of profanities she didn’t think a man like him would know, much less use. Retreating seemed like a great idea, but he might think she was weak, so she held her ground.

“What did you find?” Ferrin appeared by her grandfather’s side and looked at the boy on the ground. “Another abomination bearing that mark.”

Offended at the abomination part, Bryn bit her tongue because she didn’t want to look like she was siding with the enemy.

“It’s the third one we’ve found tonight,” her grandfather said.

Whoa. “What does that mean?”

“It means there is a secret community of dragons somewhere, breeding and plotting against us,” her grandfather said. “I will give you one chance, and one chance only to answer this question.” His gaze settled on Bryn with a level of fury that made her mouth go dry. “Did you or your parents know of any other runaway dragons?”

“No.” And now he’d pissed her off. “My parents kept to themselves, and I thought I was human until flames shot out of my mouth.”

“Imbecile,” Ferrin muttered loud enough for her to hear.

Bryn moved toward him, sticking her finger in his face. “You needed my help to figure this out. If I’m an imbecile, what does that make you?”

Ferrin growled, and the air around him shimmered.

“We don’t have time for this.” Her grandfather grabbed Bryn’s arm and yanked her out of Ferrin’s personal space. “Go back to your grandmother.” He squeezed her arm, hard enough to leave a mark. “And not a word about what we found here.”

Just when she’d started to like the guy. She pulled her arm from his grip. “Fine. What’s the official Directorate version of events, or do you want me to make up my own lie?”

“I asked if you could ID the bodies as fellow students from school,” her grandfather said. “They were too badly burned for you to recognize.”

Scary how easy the lies rolled off his tongue. She stomped back toward her grandmother. She now knew which of her grandparents to trust and which one to stay away from.

Her grandmother stood next to Rhianna and Jaxon. Where was Valmont? When he’d dismounted and she had shifted back, the missing of him had been a physical ache. Now she was twitchy, like an alcoholic who needed a drink. Where was he? She needed to know he was safe.

“What was that about?” Jaxon asked, pointing back the way she’d come.

“The official truth is my grandfather and your father wanted to see if I recognized any of the bodies. They were too badly charred for them to be sure.”

Jaxon’s eyes narrowed. “That’s a lie.”

“I told you. It’s the official truth. If you have questions, direct them to your father. On to more important things. Where’s Valmont?”

“He went to check on his family,” her grandmother said. “And before you get any ideas, the answer is no. You may not go look for him.”

“No offense, but I’ve about reached my limit of people telling me what to do.”

“But you will listen to me, anyway,” her grandmother said, “because I am trying to keep you safe.”

“Way to play the guilt card.” Bryn crossed her arms over her chest and indulged in a bit of pouting.

“What happens now?” Rhianna asked. “And if you say we wait for the Directorate to give us permission to leave, I’ll start acting like Bryn.”

Her grandmother laughed. Bryn joined in.

“I think it’s safe for us to fly home.” Her grandmother glanced around. “Rhianna, you should return with us. Jaxon, would you like to accompany us back to the estate? I’m sure your father will end up there eventually.”

Was she asking Jaxon to come along as protection, or to keep him from flying home alone?

“I appreciate the invitation, but I need to return home and check on my mother.”

“Of course.”

Jaxon shifted and took flight.

Bryn’s grandmother touched her on the shoulder. “When we return to the house, you will tell me what really happened.”