Trial By Fire (Going Down in Flames #3)(44)

Bryn reached over and mussed up his hair. “It’s sad that you’re so insecure.”

“You should compliment me more often, to help with my self-esteem.”

“I’ll get right on that.” She grabbed the Proper Decorum book from her bag. “But first, you’re going to help me memorize what fork is for which course when some idiot decides to put six of them on the table.”

“Why would you ever need six forks?” Valmont asked.

“I’ve no idea.”

They’d been working for twenty minutes when a pair of students who looked to be in their college years came toward them. Both had the freckled skin and auburn hair of Red dragons. Bryn ignored them, expecting them to walk on by to wherever they were going. Valmont closed the book, stood up next to Bryn, and placed his hand on his sword.

“Hello,” the Red female said, “I’m Eve. This is Adam. We wanted to talk with Bryn.”

“Adam and Eve?” Valmont’s eyebrows went up. “Did your parents have an odd sense of humor?”

“She’s not my sister. She’s my girlfriend, and those aren’t our real names.” The boy grinned. In a flash, his hair changed from red to black, and then it changed back. “Those are our hybrid names.”

Bryn’s mouth fell open for a moment. This was what she’d been searching for. At a loss for words, she pointed at the chairs across from her. “Have a seat.”

“Not to be rude, but keep your hands flat on the table where I can see them.” Valmont unsheathed his sword and held it at the ready. “You can never be too careful.”

Eve gave a nervous laugh. “Just so you know, we had nothing to do with the attacks on the school or Dragon’s Bluff.”

“If you say so.” Valmont didn’t relax his stance.

“You’re Black and Red?” Bryn said.

Eve nodded. “We’re trusting you not to turn us over to the Directorate.”

“I wouldn’t,” Bryn said, “unless you gave me reason to.”

Adam glanced around. “We have friends watching out for other students, but we shouldn’t talk about this here. We’d like to meet with you somewhere later tonight.”

“No,” Valmont said.

Bryn’s knee jerk reaction was to snap at him, but he was only trying to protect her. She glanced at her knight. “What if we picked the place to meet?”

He frowned. “We still couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t bring reinforcements.”

Adam leaned forward. “I get it. People tried to kill you, but if anyone outed us, the Directorate would charge us with war crimes we didn’t commit and throw us in jail without a trial. You’re not the only one who needs to be careful.”

What he said made sense. There had to be a place where dragons of different Clans could meet without raising as much suspicion. And then she had it. “You could help rebuild the theater, and we could talk there. No one would think it was weird to see us together.”

“That might work,” Eve said. “Especially since Adam is planning to be an architect.”

“And what area do you study?” Bryn asked.

“I’m working on my accounting degree.” She reached over and laced her fingers through Adams. “But we’re a couple, so no one would be suspicious if I went with him.”

“Okay then.” Bryn was dying to ask questions about who their parents were and where they lived, but it wouldn’t be smart to talk here. “We’ll see you at the theater building later this week.”

After the pair walked off, Valmont re-sheathed his sword. “That was interesting. What do you think they wanted?”

“I don’t know. But if my grandfather ever finds out I know about them, things will turn ugly.”

“Is it worth talking to them?”

“Absolutely.” Discovering there were hybrids that were peaceful made the world seem like a more balanced place.

It was physically painful not to tell Clint and Ivy about Adam and Eve. Bryn felt like a can of soda someone had shaken up. After their last class she convinced her friends to grab carryout from the dining hall and have dinner in her room.

Once they were all seated at the study table in her front room, she let loose with the details about the other hybrids. “And of course you can’t tell anyone about this, and you can’t let Adam and Eve know that you know, but what do you think?”

Clint shook his head. “I don’t like it. How do you know they’re hybrids. How do you know they aren’t just good with Quintessence like you?”

Bryn slumped in her chair. Should she tell them about the hybrids in Dragon’s Bluff? “Theoretically, let’s say I may have proof other hybrids exist.”

“You’ve developed a real sharing problem.” Ivy glared at her.

“If I share with you and someone else finds out you know things you’re not supposed to know, then the Directorate can come after you. So, if I don’t share, it’s to protect you, not to exclude you.”

“Friends share,” Ivy said. “End of story.”

Wow. Ivy is mad. “Okay. From now on, I’ll share.”

“Good.” Ivy opened her carryout container and dug into her chicken and dumplings. “Update us on everything we need to know.”