Going Down in Flames (Going Down in Flames #1)(9)

The first page congratulated her on being accepted to such an esteemed institution. Right. She crushed it into a ball and threw it at the trash can. The second page touched on where the Institute was located. “The campus is surrounded by forests and bluffs.” It should’ve said the school is located in a secluded place so no one knows we’re dragons.

The rest of the page discussed the ban on student cell phones. Fan-freaking-tastic. She flipped the paper over and read the list of classes she’d take first semester. Elemental Science and Algebra sounded self-explanatory. History of Dragon Culture would be interesting. She assumed Basic Movement meant physical education. The title of the last class confused her. What was Proper Decorum? Didn’t decorum have something to do with manners?

The paragraph underneath her schedule had her growling in frustration. Formal dress code? According to school policy, she’d have to wear skirts, button-down blouses, and panty hose. What kind of time warp was this stupid school stuck in? Panty hose? No one wore panty hose anymore.

“Bryn, come out here,” her dad yelled from the other room.

She stomped into the kitchen, ready to gripe about the stupid dress code. The sight of Zavien, tied to the kitchen chair with his lip swollen and bloodied, brought her up short. She decided to play it cool. Sitting across from him, she said, “What’s going on?”

“I found Zavien lurking by the fire escape.” Her dad said this like he’d caught a terrorist.

“I wasn’t lurking. I was standing in plain sight.” Zavien gave her father a withering look. “These ropes are a joke.”

“Consider them symbolic.”

“Ian,” Bryn’s mom said. “You’ve made your point. Let’s hear what he came to say.”

“It’s not like I gagged him,” her dad said.

Zavien glanced at her mom. “With your permission?”

“Break free, but don’t damage the chair.”

The air around Zavien shimmered as he grew larger. His summer rainstorm scent filled the air. The rope frayed and with a ripping sound, burst apart and landed in shreds on the table and floor. The shimmering stopped, and he returned to normal size.

Cool trick. “How’d you do that?”

“I started to shift and then stopped. The bindings couldn’t take the stress, so they unraveled.”

Impressive. “Why are you here?”

“I’m here to discuss where you’ll live on campus.”

That seemed easy enough. “I’ll live in a dorm like everyone else.”

“Dragons live in dorms with their Clans,” he said. “You are a dragon without a Clan.”

“I thought I had two Clans.” Bryn noticed her dad’s face. “Why are you frowning?”

“I’d like to see you live with the Reds, but I don’t know if they’d take you.”

“Great.” She sighed and slouched in her seat. “I can feel the love already.”

“The Directorate insists you attend, so they have to house you somewhere,” Zavien said. “I’d rather it be a place we picked rather than something they forced on you. The Blues will resent you enough as it is, due to your background.”

“If Ferrin is an example of what most of them are like, I’d rather sleep in a Dumpster.”

“Ferrin is twisted enough to place you with the Blues so they can torment you,” Zavien said, “which is why we need to come up with our own plan.”

So far, the only good part of dragon school was Zavien. Maybe she should focus on that for a minute so she wouldn’t freak out. “How old are you?” No way was he still in high school.

“I’m nineteen.” He chuckled. “I’m not slow. I’m working on my bachelor’s degree.”

Bachelor’s degree? That meant college. So not only was she sentenced to dragon school for her junior and senior years of high school, she was stuck there for college, too? Giving up, she laid her head on the table.

“Please tell me I don’t have to stay at dragon school for six years.”

“Associate degrees take two years,” Zavien said. “You’d be out in four.”

She lifted her head. “If you’re lying to make me feel better, I will hurt you.”

Hand over his heart, he said, “I only lie on three occasions, and this isn’t one of them. Back to the housing issue. I think the Green dragons are our best bet, because they’ll want to study you.”

“I’m not a freaking science experiment.” Should she feel bad about snapping at him? Maybe, but she didn’t.

“My apologies. I meant they’re naturally curious and would want to ask you questions, since you’re the only known crossbred dragon.”

She glowered at him.

One corner of his mouth quirked up. “You do have a Red’s temper.”

His lopsided grin did the trick. Her scowl started to slip, so she slumped in her seat. “Talk to the Green dragons. See if they’ll take me.”

“I’ll make a few calls. There’s something else we need to discuss. You should keep a low profile on campus. Blue dragons are notoriously proud. You don’t want to show off.”

“I’m a solid B student. I doubt I’ll threaten anyone.”