Going Down in Flames (Going Down in Flames #1)(15)

“I meant no offense. You’re unique. From a scientific standpoint, it’s exciting. I’m asking for a vial of blood, a hair sample, and a chance to observe you shift.”

“What will she receive in return?” her mom asked.

“We offer her a room in our dorm, and we’ll attempt to make her feel welcome.”

“Why don’t we sit?” Zavien pulled out a kitchen chair. “Talking around a table always seems more civilized.”

Her parents sat at the butcher-block table.

Bryn joined them. “Let me explain how this will work. I’ll give you a hair sample, and you can watch me shift. I won’t give you a blood sample. I’ve watched too many cop shows to hand my blood out to random strangers.”

Garret nodded. “That’s acceptable. You may stay in our dorm. Of course, you won’t have a roommate.”

Of course I won’t.

Zavien touched her arm. His hand felt warm against her skin. “It’ll be all right. Garret and his kin are the tutors and teachers’ assistants on campus. You’ll always have someone to help with homework.”

“Will they expect me to bleed for it?”

Everyone gaped at her.

She reached up to rub her temples. “Sorry. That was rude. My life has recently gone to hell, and I’m still adjusting.”

Garret seemed taken aback. “Do you always curse in front of your parents?”

“No,” her dad answered. “She has a special permit to cuss until she goes to school.”

“Interesting.” Garret turned to Bryn. With barely contained excitement, he said, “I’m dying to know what color you are.”

“We need more room for me to shift. Let’s go down to the studio.”

“Lead the way.”

Bryn trudged toward the stairs. Once they were in the studio, she felt pressured. “It’s like I’m the newest animal at the zoo.”

Zavien chuckled.

She concentrated on shifting, and her body made the transformation with ease.

Both of her parents stared in wonder.

“What?” Bryn turned to the mirrored wall and discovered she had alternating red and blue scales. “How’d that happen?”

“Care to fill us in?” Zavien asked.

“The last two times, she was red with blue-tipped scales,” her mom said.

Bryn shifted back to human form. She pictured herself blue with red-tipped scales. When she shifted again, her appearance matched her vision. “Cool.”

Garret pulled a small notepad from his pocket. “Try changing your human form.”

Bryn imagined blond streaks in her strawberry blond hair. After a quick shift, she opened her eyes and saw striped hair in the mirror. “Awesome.”

“I’ve only heard of things like this in folktales,” Garret said. “Dragons who can shift their appearance are the stuff of legend.”

“The Directorate won’t like it,” Zavien said with a grin. “But I love it.”

“This isn’t a game,” Bryn’s dad said. “You can’t use my daughter as a pawn in your fight.”

“With her help, we can change things,” Zavien said. “Not all of us can afford to run away.”

Her dad growled and stalked toward Zavien. The air shimmered. Bryn smelled smoke.

“Dad, stop. He’s right. You and mom ran away for a good reason, but you did run away. And now the Directorate is trying to tell me how to live my life. I don’t want that, and you shouldn’t want it for me.”





Chapter Six


Her dad walked over to the freestanding bag and punched it so hard it bent back to the floor. She’d never seen him do that before. He was truly pissed off…or scared. She was going away, and he wouldn’t be able to protect her. In a weird role reversal, she felt the need to console him.

“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll be careful.”

“We should keep this a secret,” Garret said. “You shouldn’t be able to change your appearance like this. It’s high-level magic.”

“Really?” Bryn closed her eyes and shifted back to her strawberry blond self.

“I liked the blond streaks.” Zavien winked at her.

Warmth filled her chest. She smiled back.

“Stop flirting with my daughter,” her dad growled, literally.

“What was I thinking with these cinder block walls so close by?” Zavien said.

Bryn chuckled while her father growled louder.

Garret’s face registered confusion.

“He threatened to put my head through a wall the last time I was here,” Zavien explained.

Garret paled. “Mr. McKenna, I have news you’re not going to like. I’d appreciate if we could keep the physical violence to a minimum.”

Her mom walked over and took her dad’s arm. “Go ahead. I’ll keep him in check.”

Garret nodded and continued. “We have orders to bring Bryn back with us tonight.”

“What?” Bryn and her parents shouted in unison.

Zavien pulled an envelope from his pocket. “The Directorate recommended she return with us once her living arrangements were negotiated. Tomorrow is Orientation.”

Nope. Not going to happen. “I’m not ready. I wasn’t going to leave until the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow is my birthday. I planned to go out with my friends.”