“Did you and Jaxon set any ground rules for your sort-of relationship?” Clint asked. “Because that looks a little too friendly.”
Okay. It wasn’t just her. “We haven’t really defined our relationship.” It’s not like she expected what was going on between them to be real, but she certainly didn’t expect him to see other people, either. Some students dated discreetly while they were in school even after their marriage contracts were approved. Jaxon had had that sort of arrangement with Rhianna before she was injured. Afterward, he’d spent all his time taking care of her and they’d fallen in love.
Did she really need to talk with Jaxon about not seeing other people? It’s not like they were seeing each other, but still. She leaned in and spoke quietly to her friends. “How in the hell am I supposed to even bring this up to him? Before, I had Valmont and he had Rhianna. Now neither of us has anyone, but the way that girl is touching his shoulder is really pissing me off.”
“He’s not interested,” Clint said. “You can tell by the way he’s backed away from her when she’s tried to come closer. Maybe you should go rescue him.”
That sounded absurd. Jaxon didn’t need rescuing, but maybe she needed to make a point to the other Blue females who might think he was open to some sort of discreet relationship.
Bryn wiped her hands on a napkin. “Okay. I guess I’ll go let him know that we can leave whenever he’s ready.” She headed across the room, trying to figure out why this was annoying her so much. It wasn’t that she wanted him. It was more that if she couldn’t have anyone then neither could he. And that sounded petty but it was the honest truth. They could be miserable together, because she sure as hell wasn’t going to be miserable alone.
When she reached him the other girl barely acknowledged Bryn’s presence. “Enjoying the Gala?” Bryn asked him.
He raised an eyebrow. “Almost as much as I enjoyed the half dozen we attended this summer.”
“I was hoping we could leave,” Bryn said. “What are your thoughts?”
He checked his watch. “If your grandmother or my mother were here I’d say no, but since we’re on our own, I think we can leave in ten minutes.”
“Works for me.” Bryn smiled at the girl. “What were you two talking about before I interrupted?”
The girl gave a tight-lipped smile. “Nothing important. Excuse me.” And then she walked away.
“I don’t think she liked me,” Bryn said.
“She isn’t open-minded to the new students on campus,” Jaxon said. “And she was fishing for information about the Directorate’s approval process.”
Ten minutes later they joined Clint and Ivy and walked back across campus.
“From a Blue Clan point of view,” Ivy said. “What was the purpose of that event?”
Jaxon didn’t respond, so Bryn prompted him. “Excuse me, Son-of-the-Speaker, I believe that question was directed at you.”
“Social gatherings are supposed to improve unity,” Jaxon said, “and shore up alliances.”
“And here I thought I was just eating cookies and drinking coffee,” Clint said.
Bryn and Jaxon headed to the Blue dorm while Ivy and Clint went to the Black dorm. When they reached her dorm room, Bryn felt the need to say something but didn’t know what to say, “Would you come in so we can talk for a minute?”
“Nothing would please me more,” he said, laying on the sarcasm.
“First off, bite me,” she said. “And second, this will only take a minute.”
“Fine.”
Once they were in her living room, Bryn paced back and forth while Jaxon stood staring at her. “This is going to sound strange, but you and I have never discussed certain issues about our situation.” Her face heated. She should just spit it out. “It looked like that girl was flirting with you, and I wouldn’t want other people to think you were open to discreet relationships.”
Jaxon backed up a step like he wanted to put some distance between them while simultaneously looking at her like she was insane. “The entire purpose of all these ridiculous events is for us to present a united front. I can’t imagine anyone being stupid enough to consider that either of us would be open to something like that.”
“As long as we’re on the same page,” Bryn said.
“Of course we are,” he said.
“Good, because like you said, we’re putting a lot of effort into this non-relationship in order to make it appear real.”
Chapter Nine
Sunday after dinner, Clint, Ivy, and Bryn walked across campus, admiring the newly planted landscaping. A couple of adult Orange dragons were walking among the trees, touching them, sending Quintessence into the trunks and making the trees grow. Limbs shot out, reaching for the sky, and leaves popped out as tiny buds blossomed and then tripled in size.
“That is so cool.” Ivy stopped walking.
“It is,” Bryn agreed. Orange dragons had a connection to the earth. Their power of sonic waves could open fissures that would swallow a person whole or create agricultural feats like the forest Jaxon’s parents had commissioned inside Westgate Estate…as in they had a forest in their house…which was weird but amazing.
“I don’t know that I could ever be that skilled,” Ivy said. “I can make plants grow into twisted topiaries, but I can’t make them mature like that.”
“How do you know?” Bryn asked.
“I tried over the summer. I transformed all of our houseplants. I can twist the vines into hearts or corkscrews but I can’t make them grow.”
One of the Orange dragons stopped working and came toward them. She was an older bronze-skinned woman who wore her dark hair in two long braids. “You want to learn how to make plants grow?”
Ivy nodded. “I like doing topiaries, but it doesn’t feel like enough.”
“Given our population’s decline there aren’t enough of us to continue our work. So maybe it’s time we teach those willing to learn. Come.” The woman led Ivy back to the trees. “Let me show you what it feels like. Place your hand on the bark.”
Ivy placed her palm on the tree trunk and the woman placed her hand on top of Ivy’s. “I will direct Quintessence through your hand so you can understand what we do.”
Wide-eyed, Ivy nodded.
The woman closed her eyes and Ivy sucked in a breath. A huge smile lit her face.
After a few moments the woman pulled her hand away from Ivy’s. “Now you try.”
Ivy took a deep breath and then laughed. “It’s silly, but I’m nervous.” Closing her eyes, Ivy furrowed her brow like she was concentrating. Nothing happened. “Maybe I need to keep my eyes open. I’m used to looking at the things I’m working on.” Ivy moved her hand to a low branch and stared at it intently. The branch shook and shot out several new leaves. “I did it,” Ivy exclaimed.
“Yes. You did.” The woman beamed. “Do you want to stay and help us?”
Ivy looked at Bryn questioningly.
“Stay. Have fun,” Bryn said.
“I think I’ll hang around too just in case she tires herself out,” Clint said. “This summer she went overboard with the rose bushes at my house and I had to feed her half a pizza before she was back to herself.”
“No problem. You two enjoy yourselves.”
Garrett was flying around in the stadium when Bryn arrived. The last time she’d seen him he was basically hang-gliding. This new wing moved up and down. The motion was a bit jerky, but it allowed for more realistic flight.
When he spotted her, Garrett came in for a landing. He stutter-stepped, but his landing was no more awkward than hers. “What do you think?”
“It’s amazing,” Bryn said. “You’ve made so much progress.”
“I worked on it during all my waking hours this summer,” Garrett said. “It’s not perfect, but I can take off and land by myself.”
“Show me,” Bryn said.