Going Down In Flames: Bridges Burned Part 39

"That's our signal that it's safe to shift back," her grandmother said.

Valmont hopped off her back and removed the saddle. A strange sense of loss overcame Bryn, like she'd lost a piece of herself. She shifted and held a hand out toward Valmont. "Do you feel it?"

He dropped the saddle and pulled her into a hug, whispering into her ear, "Being linked to you felt right. Now I miss you."

"Bryn." Her grandfather's tone was like the crack of a whip.

She stepped away, expecting her grandfather to blast her about inappropriate behavior.

"Come with me." He headed down the street.

Hopefully he wasn't taking her somewhere to yell at her in private. But he'd never been shy about yelling at her before, so what the h.e.l.l did he want? Only one way to find out. She followed him down a side street and then wished she hadn't.

Bodies. There were human bodies and dragon bodies lined up on the street. Burned bodies. Bodies with severed wings. Body parts still oozing blood with ragged flesh hanging off broken bones. Coupled with the sickening smell of burned flesh, it was all too much. p.r.i.c.kly heat broke out on her skin. She gagged. Oh G.o.d. She could not throw up. She closed her eyes and focused on not projectile vomiting deer parts all over the road.

"Bryn," her grandfather roared.

"I need a minute." Slow, even breaths. She could do this. Her grandfather was asking for her help. She needed to be up to the task or he'd never take her seriously again. "Okay. I'm good." She jogged over to where he stood by a Red dragon's corpse.

"I want you to use your healing abilities to scan this dragon. Tell me what he is."

What was he talking about? Then she saw it. The red scales weren't charred in places like she'd thought at first sight. The black color was uniform on each scale, like a pattern. Like the way she looked in her natural state when her scales were red with blue tips.

Maybe she wasn't the only crossbred dragon after all.

Chapter Thirty-Seven.

Now she understood. Squatting down, she focused her life force, like a small sun in her chest. Then, trying not to freak out about what she was doing, she placed her hand on the corpse's flank. His scales were still warm. Not sure how this worked with someone who wasn't alive, she pushed a tiny bit of her life force into the creature's body.

It hurt. Physically and mentally. There was no responding life force, so her Quintessence felt like it was caught in a vise. She held her breath to keep from crying out and forced her way into the cells, coaxing them to return to human form. The cells vibrated. She withdrew her life force and stared down at the boy lying p.r.o.ne on the street. Tears filled her eyes. He was no older than she was. Maybe eighteen at the most. His hair was the auburn color of a Red dragon, but his eyes, which stared unseeing into the night sky, weren't green as they should have been. They were brown. His skin was missing the trademark freckles of a Red dragon. Instead, he had the ivory skin of a Black dragon.

"Black and Red," Bryn whispered.

Her grandfather grabbed the boy's left wrist and ripped open the scorched sleeve of his shirt, revealing a tattoo on his forearm. A circle divided into four parts, each part containing a triangle.

Her grandfather let loose with a string of profanities she didn't think a man like him would know, much less use. Retreating seemed like a great idea, but he might think she was weak, so she held her ground.

"What did you find?" Ferrin appeared by her grandfather's side and looked at the boy on the ground. "Another abomination bearing that mark."

Offended at the abomination part, Bryn bit her tongue because she didn't want to look like she was siding with the enemy.

"It's the third one we've found tonight," her grandfather said.

Whoa. "What does that mean?"

"It means there is a secret community of dragons somewhere, breeding and plotting against us," her grandfather said. "I will give you one chance, and one chance only to answer this question." His gaze settled on Bryn with a level of fury that made her mouth go dry. "Did you or your parents know of any other runaway dragons?"

"No." And now he'd p.i.s.sed her off. "My parents kept to themselves, and I thought I was human until flames shot out of my mouth."

"Imbecile," Ferrin muttered loud enough for her to hear.

Bryn moved toward him, sticking her finger in his face. "You needed my help to figure this out. If I'm an imbecile, what does that make you?"

Ferrin growled, and the air around him shimmered.

"We don't have time for this." Her grandfather grabbed Bryn's arm and yanked her out of Ferrin's personal s.p.a.ce. "Go back to your grandmother." He squeezed her arm, hard enough to leave a mark. "And not a word about what we found here."

Just when she'd started to like the guy. She pulled her arm from his grip. "Fine. What's the official Directorate version of events, or do you want me to make up my own lie?"

"I asked if you could ID the bodies as fellow students from school," her grandfather said. "They were too badly burned for you to recognize."

Scary how easy the lies rolled off his tongue. She stomped back toward her grandmother. She now knew which of her grandparents to trust and which one to stay away from.

Her grandmother stood next to Rhianna and Jaxon. Where was Valmont? When he'd dismounted and she had shifted back, the missing of him had been a physical ache. Now she was twitchy, like an alcoholic who needed a drink. Where was he? She needed to know he was safe.

"What was that about?" Jaxon asked, pointing back the way she'd come.

"The official truth is my grandfather and your father wanted to see if I recognized any of the bodies. They were too badly charred for them to be sure."

Jaxon's eyes narrowed. "That's a lie."

"I told you. It's the official truth. If you have questions, direct them to your father. On to more important things. Where's Valmont?"

"He went to check on his family," her grandmother said. "And before you get any ideas, the answer is no. You may not go look for him."

"No offense, but I've about reached my limit of people telling me what to do."

"But you will listen to me, anyway," her grandmother said, "because I am trying to keep you safe."

"Way to play the guilt card." Bryn crossed her arms over her chest and indulged in a bit of pouting.

"What happens now?" Rhianna asked. "And if you say we wait for the Directorate to give us permission to leave, I'll start acting like Bryn."

Her grandmother laughed. Bryn joined in.

"I think it's safe for us to fly home." Her grandmother glanced around. "Rhianna, you should return with us. Jaxon, would you like to accompany us back to the estate? I'm sure your father will end up there eventually."

Was she asking Jaxon to come along as protection, or to keep him from flying home alone?

"I appreciate the invitation, but I need to return home and check on my mother."

"Of course."

Jaxon shifted and took flight.

Bryn's grandmother touched her on the shoulder. "When we return to the house, you will tell me what really happened."

"Don't worry, I planned on it."

Rhianna cleared her throat and gave Bryn puppy-dog eyes. Great. She didn't want to keep secrets from her friend, but what could she do?

"While Bryn speaks to me in private, you may wait in the hall outside my door," her grandmother said. "I trust you won't eavesdrop."

Okay. Her grandmother officially rocked.

"I would never consider such a thing," Rhianna said.

Valmont marched toward Bryn. Soot streaked his handsome face. Resolution showed in his ice-blue eyes. He appeared tired, determined, and unbelievably hot. Wow. So not the time for her hormones to kick in.

Her knight smiled, like he knew what she was thinking. If the connection between them had resulted in some type of mind meld where he could read her thoughts, she was in trouble.

Rather than stopping in front of her, he kept coming and wrapped his arms around her in a protective embrace. She returned the hug and a happy warmth flowed through her veins. Like they belonged together.

"Does this mean you missed me?" She spoke into his chest because she was afraid if she looked up at him, they would be in perfect alignment for a first kiss. A kiss she craved right now, but not in front of her grandmother and the entire town, or what was left of it.

Valmont pressed his lips to the top of her head. "Being away from you made me nervous. Like I was abandoning my post."

This time she did look up at him. "I'm a post? Because that isn't a flattering description."

He laughed. "Sorry. That didn't come out as I intended. I feel like my place is by your side."

"I know what you mean." She reached up and rubbed a streak of soot off his cheek. "Doing battle, facing an enemy together, I think it increased our bond."

He leaned down and whispered, "If we weren't in the middle of the street surrounded by people, and your grandmother who is looking at me like I'm a fly she'd like to swat, I'd investigate other ways we could bond."

Did it matter that they were surrounded by people? Because kissing him sounded like the best idea she'd had in a long time. "You could come back to the estate with us."

He released her and backed up a step. "Any other time, I'd be happy to join you, but I need to see to my family."

"Are they all right?"

His eyes darkened. "My grandparents and parents were lucky. They suffered minor burns. My nephews are still unaccounted for."

Her heart dropped. "Is someone keeping track of who's missing?"

"A few Green dragons who were dining at Fonzoli's figured out a system to take roll, using the town business roster and house numbers."

Good. If anyone could figure this out, the Green dragons could.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Everywhere she looked, buildings smoldered, soot filled the air, and people coughed or cried, hugging their family members close.

"For selfish reasons, I'd like you to stay within arm's reach. As far as the town goes, I'm not sure where to start."

"Me either." Who could she ask? "Come with me." Taking Valmont's hand, because she needed to touch him, she approached her grandmother. "I don't suppose there's a master plan of where to house the people of Dragon's Bluff or how to help them after an attack."

Her grandmother's brow wrinkled. "I'm not sure. If anyone would know, it would be Mr. Stanton."

The head of the Green Clan on campus, Mr. Stanton would be the best person to find. Or maybe Miss Enid, the librarian. "Is there any way to contact him?" Bryn asked.

"None. The phone towers and the power station were disabled before the attack." Valmont gave a bitter laugh. "I wonder if they had Green dragons on their side."

"Whoever did this, we will find them and they will pay," her grandmother said. "Once we return home, I'll call Mr. Stanton and ask if he can be of help. If nothing else, I'm sure he can find a way to restore your phone lines and power."

Chapter Thirty-Eight.

Back at the estate, in her grandmother's rooms, Bryn explained what happened with her grandfather and what she'd seen.

"There are other crossbred dragons?" Her grandmother shook her head. "How is that possible?"

It was on the tip of Bryn's tongue to say other people must have hated the arranged marriage laws as much as she did, but she refrained.

Rhianna, who stood just outside the open doorway, laughed. "I know why your mom ran away from Ferrin. I'm trying to figure out who is as obnoxious as he is, and I can't come up with anyone."

Bryn laughed. Her grandmother didn't.

"Sorry." Time to change the subject. "What did Mr. Stanton say when you called him?"

"He and a dozen of his Clan were going to convene in Dragon's Bluff within the hour to figure out the best way to help everyone."

"That's good." Bone-tired, Bryn yawned. "I'm not sure if I need to eat or go to bed."

"I wouldn't mind some real food." Rhianna grimaced. "I swear I can still taste cow fur."

"You'll adjust to eating in dragon form," her grandmother said. "Rhianna, I think it's best if you stayed the night. I'll inform your parents and have a guest room down the hall from Bryn prepared for you." Her grandmother yawned. "I believe I'll turn in for the evening. Bryn, why don't you have Abigail bring a cart up to your room? I'd rather you weren't wandering around the mansion with your grandfather in the mood he's likely to be in when he returns."

"Good idea."

"And Bryn?"

"Yes."

"The tattoo you saw. Do you know what it means?"

She didn't want to lie to her grandmother. "I thought those were symbols for the elements."

"Alone they are, but together like that they are a symbol for treason. Do you understand why I'm telling you this?"