Trial By Fire (Going Down in Flames #3)(31)

Was that a confirmation? Bryn couldn’t tell. After showing Miss Enid out the front door, she joined Valmont on the couch. “What was your favorite story?”

He thumbed through the pages. “I’ll read it to you.”

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Gray Everscale who lived in a small fishing village. He dreamt of running away to seek adventure and glory. One day, while he sat fishing in his boat in the middle of the lake, he noticed something bright in the water. Curious, he dove in, barely making a splash. No matter how far he swam, the sparkling lights seemed just out of reach. When he finally stopped to look at his surroundings, he could no longer see his boat floating above him. His air was running low, so he swam toward the underground caverns the villagers hid in whenever the village was under attack.

As soon as he surfaced, he saw a beautiful maiden swathed in an iridescent white robe. Parts of the robe darkened, turning reddish brown.

“Have you come to steal more of my treasure?” the young woman spoke in a calm voice, pulling a dagger from her robe.

“I have no use for treasure.” As he spoke, the stains on her robe grew larger. “Are you injured?” He moved toward her but didn’t presume to touch.

She tossed a few sparkling stones at his feet. “Go. Leave me in peace.”

He kicked the jewels aside. “You’re bleeding.” Pulling off his shirt, he said. “Let me bandage your wounds. Then I’ll bring back a healer.”

She laughed. “And why would you go to such trouble for me, human?”

Freezing for a second, he tilted his head and stared. “You’re a dragon?”

In the small village, he’d met a few of the dragons who claimed the forest the villagers lived in as their territory, but they’d always been male.

“Aye.” The woman drew herself up to her full height, even though doing so must have caused her pain. “Do you still wish to help me?”

Common sense dictated he ask why she was here in another dragon’s territory, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that. Instead, he tore his shirt into strips. “I will bind your wounds. What happens after that is up to you—”

“Nyana,” the girl responded. “My name is Nyana.”

Gray bound the lacerations on her arms. Resentment boiled inside of him at the thought of someone hurting such a beautiful creature. “Tell me of your injuries.”

“I was sent here to treatise with Wraith Nightshade, but he did not care to listen. I offered him jewels, which he readily took, but then he set his knights upon me. I escaped to this underwater dwelling where I planned to bide my time while I healed.”

Gray sat next to her on the rocks. “Then I will wait with you.”

While she didn’t send him away, she didn’t seem thrilled with his company. Over the next few hours, she made several demands. She required water, food, and a fire. Each of these tasks he performed without complaint. He’d no idea how many hours had passed when a man emerged from the water.

“There you are.” The man moved toward her with his sword at the ready.

From his belt, Gray grabbed the knife that he used to gut fish. “Who are you?”

“I’m the one who will end your life.” The man spat.

With the practice of a boy who’d grown up playing with his father’s knives, Gray flung the blade, burying it up to the hilt in the man’s right eye. He went down on the spot, sinking back into the water. While he should have felt bad at taking another’s life, all Gray felt was peace, as a warmth of purpose filled his soul. He turned to Nyana and sank down on one knee. “You will never face battle alone again, my lady.”

A day later, once she was able to travel, Nyana and Gray emerged from the lake. She moved in with his family while he brokered a peace with the ruling dragons, and they lived happily ever after.”

Valmont shut the book and looked at her expectantly.

“I get that the knight rescued the dragon, but the whole knife in the eye thing was a bit gruesome. Why is that story your favorite?”

Valmont chuckled. “Don’t you get it? A nobody saved a dragon, and they lived happily ever after. And just so you know, I can hit an apple with a steak knife at sixteen feet.”

“Okay…why do you know the exact measurement?”

Valmont grinned. “That’s how wide the kitchen is. My brother and I measured so we’d know how far we could throw.”

Bryn shook her head. “I’m sure your mother loved that.”

“Growing up around knives and swords, no one seemed to care as long as we didn’t upset the customers.”

“What other knightly things did you do growing up? Did you find any underwater caves in the lakes around Dragons Bluff?”

“No, but not for a lack of trying.” He frowned and flipped pages in the book until he came to a map. He laid the book out flat for Bryn to see. “We did spend time searching for treasure.”

The drawing showed a main street in a small town. Nearby, there was a group of stone buildings fenced off and guarded by knights. “Is that supposed to be a castle, or the Institute?” Bryn pointed at the drawings of the stone buildings.

“I always thought it was a castle.” Valmont traced his finger down a path. “But after being on campus, I can see this resembles the Institute, and that looks like the library.” He tapped the building with the treasure chest drawn on top of it.