Going Down in Flames (Going Down in Flames #1)(14)

And now the key didn’t seem quite so shiny. “I don’t want to be the key to anyone’s downfall. I don’t even want to go to that stupid school.”

Onyx gave her an aren’t you cute smile. “Zavien told me you had a Red’s temper.”

Bryn elbowed her dad. “Could you put his head through a wall?”

“There will be no fighting.” Her mom stepped closer and held out her hand. “Thank you for the gift, but it’s time for you to leave.”

Onyx passed it to her mom. “Sorry to disturb you.” He faced Bryn. “Zavien knows how to contact me if you need help.”

Bryn was about to tell him where he could shove his help.

Flash. Lightning lit up the night sky. Bryn rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her vision.

“I forgot how annoying Black dragons were,” her father muttered.

Bryn picked up the key and turned it over, examining the tiny red and blue stones that dotted both sides. “I wonder if it opens anything.”

Zap. A cold, tingling sensation shot up her arm, making her jump. “What was that?”

“Drop the key,” her dad commanded in a voice that left no room for argument. She let the key fall back onto the silk lining.

Her dad snapped the jeweler’s box shut and shoved it in his pocket. “Let’s head inside.”

Bryn followed along behind him. A strange longing swept over her. Once they were back in the kitchen, her palms started to sweat. She watched as her dad headed toward his bedroom.

The farther away he went, the faster her heart beat. “Dad, wait.”

“What’s wrong?” her mom asked. She touched Bryn’s forehead. “You’re cold and clammy.”

“I need the key. Like really need it.”

Her dad retraced his footsteps and sat at the kitchen table. He pulled out the box, opened it, and set it on his placemat. “You can look, but don’t touch.”

Her mom brushed a fingertip across the key and frowned. “It’s charmed.”

“Charmed, seriously? As in magic?”

Her mom nodded.

“Okay, so I’m a shape-shifting dragon, and magic is real. Anything else you want to tell me while my head is spinning?”

“Nothing I can think of. From your reaction, I’m betting it’s an anxiety charm.”

“What kind of crap gift is this? Why would Onyx want me addicted to a key?”

“Maybe it’s spelled to be a tracking device,” her mom said, “and he didn’t want you to lose it.”

Weren’t Onyx and Zavien on the same team? Wouldn’t Onyx know that Zavien had given her the pen? She wanted to bang her head on the table in frustration. Scratch that. She wanted to bang Onyx’s head on the table.

“There’s one way to find out.” Her dad picked up the key. “When your mother and I ran off, we were paranoid about hexes or evil charms. We used discovery spells to make sure our food wasn’t poisoned. That type of thing.”

Good times.

Fire appeared in her father’s palm, surrounding the key. The flames burned bright white and then went out.

“Did you melt my key?”

“No.” Her dad laid the key on the table. “If there was anything life threatening about the charm, my flame would’ve burned dark gray. Since it flashed white, we know the charm isn’t meant to cause damage.”

Good. Because it was shiny and pretty and sparkly and good God, she needed to get this under control before she started muttering, My precioussssss. “Now what?”

“For now, we know it’s safe. Why don’t you wear it on a necklace?” her mom said. “Once you’re at school, Zavien can help you figure out more about it.”

Her dad growled.

“For now, he’s her ally,” her mom chided.

Bryn went to her room and rooted through her jewelry box until she found a long, gold chain. While the pendant was pretty, it wasn’t something she’d normally wear. Once the key was on the chain, she slipped it over her head and slid it inside her shirt where it came to rest between her breasts. Once the key touched her skin, a sense of well-being enveloped her.

She returned to the kitchen in time to hear a forceful knock on the kitchen door. What now?

Her father answered the door. Zavien stood on the landing of the fire escape. He wasn’t alone.

“Hello, Zavien.” Her father sounded annoyed. “What the hell do you want?”

Zavien grinned. “The Directorate asked me to escort Garret to your home.”

“Then I guess you should come in.” Her dad stood back so they could enter.

The dark-complexioned young man accompanying Zavien gave her father an odd look. “The Directorate sent me to negotiate Bryn’s living quarters.”

“Negotiate?” That didn’t give her the warm fuzzies.

Garret stepped into the kitchen and brushed brown, curly hair from his forehead. Intelligent hazel eyes surveyed the room. “Zavien tells me you’d like to stay in our dorm. If we let you stay with us, we’d like to run a few experiments.”

Any good feeling she had toward the newcomer vanished. “Get out.”

Garret stepped toward her. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m not a lab rat.”