Trial By Fire (Going Down in Flames #3)(17)
Did she care about that? “Maybe.”
He laughed. “Fine. I’ll just use an unflattering description.”
And everyone would know who he was talking about, anyway. She wanted to crawl under her desk.
Valmont strode to the front of the room exuding confidence and way too much sex appeal. He leaned his left hip against Mr. Stanton’s desk and grinned at her.
“Once upon a time—”
Several students laughed.
“What? It really does start like that.” He cleared his throat. “Once upon a time, Bryn and several of her friends came to Fonzoli’s for lunch. We met, and I could tell there was something special about her.”
Bryn felt her face color.
“A few days later, she returned to the restaurant, asking for a gallon of lemon ice and a spoon. Given my experience with females, I knew this meant something wasn’t right in her world. We talked, and then the source of her irritation, who we shall refer to as the spiky-haired moron, showed up and tried to push past me to continue his confrontation.”
Oh, God. Zavien would hear about this. She was sure of it.
“As any good descendant of a knight would do, I blocked his path to protect Bryn from more verbal abuse.” Valmont zeroed in on Bryn. “And in that moment, she became my world, the only thing worth living for, and I knew I would lay down my life or take another’s to protect her.”
A tingling sensation started on Bryn’s scalp and traveled through her core all the way down to her toes. It was like magic pulsed in the air between them. Female students from all Clans whispered among themselves, while the male students muttered under their breath. Not that she could blame the girls for being impressed and the boys for being jealous. Her knight was awesome and hot, and why did these I-must-kiss-him feelings always seem to hit her when they were in a crowd? It was damn inconvenient.
“Thank you for that illuminating explanation, Valmont.” Mr. Stanton shuffled papers on his desk. “You may return to your seat.”
Seeming larger than life, Valmont strode back toward her. More than half the girls tracked his progress across the room, which earned more scowls from the boys. Did Valmont mind? Of course not. Maybe that was the reaction he’d been going for. He did love to stir up trouble, but in her heart she knew he meant every word he’d said.
When he reached her, he moved the chair so he sat beside her, took her hand, and laced his fingers through hers. It was only by sheer willpower that she didn’t crawl onto his lap.
He leaned in and whispered, “I know what you’re thinking.”
Her face grew hot. “No. You don’t.”
“You’re blushing.” He sat back in his seat and gave a self-satisfied grin.
She tried narrowing her eyes at him but ended up laughing instead. “Knock it off.”
“Class, as you just witnessed, the bond between a dragon and a knight is strong. There hasn’t been a knight in our society for more than a hundred years. Normally, dragons and the descendants of knights don’t interact in a way that makes stepping in to protect someone a common occurrence. However, now that there is an outside threat, you need to be aware that every grown human in Dragon’s Bluff has the ability to take on the mantle of a knight. Take care when you’re there, not to bring about the transformation by accident.”
“Could a dragon saving a human bring about the transformation?” Garret asked.
Mr. Stanton frowned. “The history texts are vague on that account. In ancient times, dragons used to adopt entire towns. The people kept their dragon’s identity a secret and the dragon protected people from any invaders. The dragons shared their magic with the humans, imbuing them with extra strength and turning them into knights.”
“This brings about so many interesting theoretical questions.” Garret tapped his desktop with his good hand. “What if a human had a transfusion from a dragon? Would that activate the spell since the magic is literally from the dragon’s blood and the latent spell is in the human’s blood?”
“That is an interesting hypothesis. One you would not be allowed to test.” Mr. Stanton spoke sternly.
“It’s not like I’d kidnap someone,” Garret said, “but maybe someone could volunteer.”
“Can the process be reversed?” Jaxon asked.
An involuntary growl poured from Bryn’s throat.
Jaxon rolled his eyes. “Calm down. I’m not talking about your knight in particular. It’s a theoretical question. If Garret found a volunteer, and he managed to bring out the latent powers of a knight, could he change the person back?”
“Once a bond is forged, it can only be broken by the dragon. Not that I am giving approval of any sort for this experiment, but if Garret was able to change someone, that person could be released. They would go back to their normal life. On the battlefield, if a dragon is mortally wounded, she can release the knight in order to give him peace. If either the dragon or knight dies while still bonded…well, you’ve seen the dragon atop the hill for which the town was named.”
Bryn swallowed hard. “That isn’t a statue?”
“No,” Mr. Stanton said. “Her knight was gravely injured in battle. She could have released him, but instead she chose to stay by his side until he died. He was buried on the bluffs. She sat by his grave every day. Eventually, the magic of the bond turned her to stone so she could watch over him forever.