Going Down in Flames (Going Down in Flames #1)(7)

“No one will be suspicious.” His look of smug superiority showed he relished his next announcement. “The Directorate informed your school that you were arrested for shoplifting. They believe you’re being transferred to a school for troubled teens.”

Angry tears filled Bryn’s eyes. She was trapped. If she refused to go, her parents would lose their jobs and their home. If she went, everyone would think she was a thief.

“You’re acting out of spite.” Her dad spoke in a tight voice. “I know you’re here on Directorate business tonight, so I can’t touch you. One day, we’ll meet under different circumstances, and I’ll have the pleasure of breaking your nose again.”

“The Directorate didn’t send me.” Ferrin straightened with pride. “I volunteered. While it’s unusual for the Speaker of the Directorate to complete such menial tasks, I felt I had a vested interest in this situation.”

Bryn’s mom paled. “You’re the Speaker?”

“I am.” Ferrin brushed off his coat like he’d come into contact with something dirty. “It was lovely seeing you again, Sara.” And with that creepy compliment, Ferrin left.

Both of her parents looked like they’d been sucker punched.

“What’s a Speaker?” Bryn asked.

“The Speaker is the elected head of the Directorate,” her mom said in a quiet voice. “And he’s the most powerful man in dragon society.”

The fear in her mom’s eyes scared Bryn more than anything Ferrin had said. “It’s not like he’s the king, right?”

“No,” her mom said. “The other Directorate members have a vote in most decisions.”

“Most?” Bryn’s stomach churned. She couldn’t go to a school controlled by the man her mom had dumped. There had to be another option.

“We should run,” her dad said, “and start over someplace else.”

“Ferrin’s family is powerful and well connected.” Her mom sighed. “With the entire Directorate at his disposal, he’d find us wherever we went.”

“You escaped before,” Bryn said.

“Then, we weren’t a threat,” her mom said. “You heard Ferrin. The Directorate thinks you’re a risk to the dragon population. If we run, they’ll treat it as an act of aggression.”

Good God, this was really happening. They were shipping her off to some boarding school. Both of her parents looked miserable. Should she say it wasn’t their fault? But it was. They’d run away from the Directorate, and now she was paying the price.

With nothing to lose, Bryn let loose with a string of curse words she reserved for special occasions.

“You shouldn’t use that kind of language at school.” Her dad smirked. “But for the next week, feel free to cuss like a sailor.”

It wasn’t enough. There had to be something she could do. She didn’t want people to think she shoplifted. She grabbed her cell phone from the charger on the kitchen counter.

“Who are you calling?” her dad asked.

“I may have to go to their stupid school, but I won’t let my friends think I’m a thief. I’m going to call everyone I know and tell them some guy has been stalking me. If I make the guy sound crazy enough, they should believe you’re sending me to private school for my own protection.”

An hour later, she slammed her phone down and gave a tight smile. “The fifth person I called already heard the story.” So that was that. There was nothing left she could do. Damn it. “I’m going to bed.” Bryn stalked into her bedroom and slammed the door. When that didn’t make her feel better, she threw herself onto the bed, screamed into the pillow, and kicked her legs like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

“That’s very mature,” a masculine voice said.

Sitting up so quickly she gave herself a head rush, Bryn spotted someone in the doorway of her closet. She recognized him from the bookstore.

“You,” she bit out. “This is all your fault. If you hadn’t talked to me, Ferrin never would’ve found me.” Her argument was flawed, but right now she needed to vent her frustration on someone, and he was the prime candidate.

“We both know that’s not true.” He leaned against the wall. “I’m Zavien, by the way.”

Bryn studied him. His spiked hair, black muscle shirt, ripped jeans, and motorcycle boots gave him the appearance of a rock star or a biker. He was younger than she’d first thought. His dark brown eyes held more compassion than she remembered. Now that she knew he wasn’t exactly a stalker, she could see he was hot. Though, she’d die before admitting that.

“What do you want?”

“The same thing I wanted before…to talk to you.”

“Did you ever think of knocking on my front door like a normal person?”

He pushed away from the wall and sat on her nightstand. “How was I to know you’d be so skittish?”

“Have you watched the news lately? Teenage girls go missing all the time.”

Leaning closer, he said, “You’re not a teenage girl. You’re a dragon.”

“Yes, but I didn’t know that until after you stalked me.”

“Sorry. I thought your parents would’ve told you.”