Going Down in Flames (Going Down in Flames #1)(96)

Bryn discovered Merrick and Lillith standing in the doorway. “You didn’t miss anything. It’s back to life as usual. Jaxon lives to irritate me.”

“Yes, that’s it. My entire life revolves around you.” He stood and stalked to the door.

“Coming?” Merrick asked.

Once they reached the library, Bryn wished she’d stayed in her room. The destruction was worse than she imagined. Charred books littered the floor. Soot clung to every surface. The couch and chairs were burned to their steel frames.

Something glimmered on the floor. She waded through ash and scraps of paper to investigate. It was Zavien’s pen. She picked it up and examined it. Did the tracking charm still work?

“What did you find?” Merrick asked.

“My pen… It was inside my book bag.”

“If that’s that case, then I believe your book bag is ash.” Merrick gave an apologetic smile.

Bryn rolled the silver pen over in her hand. It was all she had left. Her books were destroyed. Her book bag was mixed in the ash on the floor. Even the clothes she’d worn were gone.

None of this made sense. She’d never wanted to come here in the first place. If Ferrin and the damn Directorate would’ve left her alone, she’d be at home right now, eating ice cream with her father, and no one would be trying to kill her. Her heart rate increased, and her breath came faster. Why wouldn’t these people leave her alone? She’d done nothing to deserve all this grief. Smoke shot from her nostrils as rage banked the fire in her gut.

Jaxon pulled his mother back toward the door. “We’ll wait in the hall.”

Bryn closed her eyes and reveled in the power of the fire growing inside her.

Merrick’s hand touched her lower back. “Bryn, keep control.”

Control? She had no control. The Directorate had taken everything away from her. She wanted to destroy something, smash it and burn it as badly as they’d smashed and destroyed her life. Letting go of all this anger would feel so good. All she had to do was open her mouth and take a deep breath, and nothing in her path would survive…but she’d be playing right into the Directorate’s hands. The Directorate would claim she was a danger to herself and others. They’d lock her away or something worse.

The fire inside of her tried to claw its way out. She couldn’t let that happen. Closing her eyes, she focused on the red and orange flames and changed them into a pure white stream of Quintessence.

After a few slow breaths, she visualized the white light flowing through her body, healing the remnants of her wounds and calming her mind.

She needed to figure out who was behind this mess and how to stop them. After one more cleansing breath, she opened her eyes and turned to Merrick.

“I need answers.”

“We’re investigating all possible leads. We’ll find the individuals responsible for this.”

She gripped the silver pen tighter. “There’s more to it than that. I need to know why. What would killing me accomplish?”

“I believe the poisoning was fueled by jealousy.”

The ugly truth pressed down on her. “You’re wrong. This is about hatred and fear of the unknown. They don’t know what I’m capable of, and that scares them. It’s time to show them what I can do.”

“What did you have in mind?” Merrick asked.

“The Directorate members, are they still here?”

He checked his watch. “Most of them should be. Do you want me to speak with them?”

“No.” She could handle this on her own. “It’s time I introduced myself.”

She stalked past him into the hall. “Lillith, do you have a pair of shoes I could borrow?”

“Yes.”

“Good. If I’m going to kick ass, I need a proper pair of shoes.”

She left Lillith and Jaxon gaping in her wake as she marched up the stairs. As an afterthought, she yelled back, “Could you bring them to my room, please?”

Back in her bedroom, she searched the armoire until she found a black sheath dress, which made her look like someone who should be taken seriously.

She used Quintessence to color her lips, eyes, and cheeks. In the dresser, she found a package of thigh highs. She’d finished putting them on when Lillith entered the room.

“I hope these are the butt-kicking shoes you wanted. They always made me feel special.”

Bryn took the black pumps with clear and colored rhinestones on the toes. “They’re perfect. Thank you.”

Lillith pulled a blue velvet box from her handbag and popped it open. “I thought you could borrow these.”

The diamond and sapphire earrings sparkled in the light. “They’re gorgeous.” And they must cost a fortune. “Are you sure? If I lost one, I couldn’t replace it.”

“I can, so it doesn’t matter. Put them on.”

She checked her reflection in the mirror. The chic black dress combined with the shoes and earrings gave her an air of sophistication combined with a don’t-mess-with-me-or-I-just-might-kick-your-ass attitude. She shifted her stance, and the stones on her shoes caught the light. An absurd idea invaded her brain. “Lillith, are those diamonds and sapphires on the shoes, too?”

“The earrings and the shoes are a matched set.”

“I’m wearing diamond-encrusted shoes.” Bryn laughed. “My life is bizarre.”