Trial By Fire (Going Down in Flames #3)(81)
They each selected a book. Bryn flipped through the pages, looking for random notes or drawings or doodles or any clue her mother had touched the pages.
Halfway through the sixth chapter, she noticed the page felt oddly loose. Maybe the binding was coming undone. Inspecting the book, she held it up to the light and saw what looked like the shadow of a handwritten note. “That’s strange.” She held the page between her thumb and index finger, rubbing them back and forth to see if she could detect any indentation on the page. Part of the page separated from the binding and opened like a leaflet.
“What’s that?” Valmont asked.
“Good question.” What had seemed to be one page was really a singular piece of paper folded in half. The outside held the typewritten story, but the inside portion, which was hidden, held handwritten notes, which Bryn read out loud.
“I’m not sure how much longer I can wait. Ferrin grows more obnoxious by the day, demanding we share every meal in the dining hall. It grows harder and harder to slip away to see Ian. There is the constant worry someone will discover us and turn Ian over to the Directorate. If that were to happen, I fear my father would have him thrown in jail.”
“Do you think your grandfather would have had him thrown in jail?” Valmont asked.
“Yes.” There was no question in her mind. “I can’t believe my parents were brave enough to run away. Makes me feel like a traitor for working with my grandfather.”
Valmont’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I have a question to ask you, but I’m afraid of what your answer might be.”
She tried to lighten the mood. “Should I repeat my grandfather’s snooty you-can-ask-but-I-may-choose-not-to-answer response?”
He looked down as he spoke. “It’s probably not fair of me to ask this, but if you still had family in the human world, would you choose to return to it, leaving everything behind?”
“No.” The word shot out of her mouth without her even having to think about it. “I could never just walk away from you. Don’t you know that?” She touched his cheek.
He lifted his head meeting here gaze. “Thank you. I was worried you’d run away in a heartbeat if you could have your old life back.”
“Nope.” She leaned closer and pressed her lips against his in a quick kiss and then leaned her forehead against his. “My knight. We’re a package deal.” A funny question popped into her brain. “If I had to leave, to run away, would you go with me?”
“I left Dragon’s Bluff to come stay with you, didn’t I?”
He had, and yet that wasn’t the answer to her question. If war broke out and her grandparents sent her away, not that they’d do that, would he go with her? Of course he would. What am I thinking?
She sat back and smiled at him like her subconscious wasn’t shooting out strange questions meant to drive her crazy. “I think everything that has happened over the past few days is finally catching up with me. My mind seems to be spinning in circles.”
“It’s my experience that most problems in life can be solved by one of three things: good food, good friends, or a good nap. I know you’re always up for food, I’m here for you as your knight and your friend, and this couch happens to be my favorite place to take a nap. So you choose.”
“I want to see if there are any more notes hidden in this book, and then I vote on taking a nap with my knight—with a snack later.”
Bryn flipped through the pages of the book, holding them up to the light. Every other chapter, there was a hidden page which she never would have found if the first one hadn’t been loose. Reading her mother’s journal entries made her heart hurt. Every entry was about how much her mom loved her dad and the rising fear that someone might find out about them. The notes of Ferrin’s obnoxious behavior proved the man had changed little over the years.
Valmont had held the pages of the other books up to the light, but no secret messages were revealed.
“Do you think my mom bought this journal somewhere and hid it among the other books?”
Valmont rubbed his chin. “The books themselves were frowned upon because they go against Directorate-sanctioned marriage. It makes sense the same people who produced them might create a journal where people could write down anti-Directorate thoughts.”
“Maybe I’ll ask Miss Enid if she’s ever heard of any secret journals.” Bryn hugged the book to her chest. “But showing my mother’s secrets to the world doesn’t feel right.”
A sense of sadness rolled over her like a fog. “I think I’m ready for that nap now.”
“Works for me.” Valmont kicked off his boots and lay down on his side.
She lay with her back against his chest so his arm wrapped around her waist. His solid warmth was reassuring. It helped her feel less alone in the world, like he was her family now.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next day in Basic Movement, Bryn noticed several students were missing. “Where is everyone?” she asked Ivy who stood next to her in line for the joust.
“I have no idea.” Ivy pointed at a group of Blues. Her lips moved like she was counting how many students were present. She did this for each Clan and then scratched her head. “We’re low on Greens. What does that mean?”
Was Ivy right? Bryn scanned the room and saw Jaxon doing the same thing. They made eye contact, and he frowned, and then he seemed to check the room one more time before heading in her direction.