“That’s me,” Bryn said. “A wild speculator.”
Jaxon snorted. “I believe it’s worth looking into because I can’t think of another explanation.”
“Here’s an interesting fact. Clint said that no Blues had been reported ill.”
“So you think a Blue might be behind this?”
“No. I mean, I hadn’t thought that until you suggested it. I was going more with the idea that you guys aren’t touchy-feely. Someone has to touch you to siphon energy. Blues don’t do casual touches like the other Clans.”
“See, being elitist is better for your health,” he said.
Bryn laughed.
Chapter Seventeen
After lunch Bryn felt antsy. “I don’t want to go back to my room. I wish we could go for a walk.”
“We could walk the stairs,” Jaxon suggested.
That didn’t sound like a fabulous fun time, but it’s not like she had a better idea. “Okay.”
They walked up the three flights of stairs and were about to turn back around when Bryn noticed a side door that said exit. She pointed at it. “Where does that lead?”
“To some sort of attic or roof access would be my guess,” he said.
“Cool.” She headed for the door.
Jaxon caught her arm before she could open the door. “You can’t go out there.”
“Why? Do you think Quintessence-sucking dragon-pires are holding a secret meeting on our roof?”
“No,” he said. “But we’re supposed to stay in the dorm.”
“It’s not like I’m leaving the dorm. I’m just going to walk around on the top of it.” She could tell he was considering the idea. “Come on. You know you want to check it out.”
He frowned. “Only so I can keep an eye on you.”
She pushed the door open and climbed the flight of stairs, which led to a short hallway and what appeared to be storage areas.
“I guess no one lives up here,” Bryn said.
“I guess not.” Jaxon pointed to a door at the end of the hall. It bore a sign that said Roof Access. Emergency exit. There was a fire alarm to the right of the door. “If we open that it will probably set off an alarm.”
Bryn walked closer to the door. “It doesn’t say there is an alarm.”
“Do you want to test that theory?”
“Yes.” Before he could argue, she grabbed the handle and turned. The door opened without a sound. Grinning, she turned back to Jaxon. “You were saying?”
He glared at her.
She laughed and walked through the door and into a stairwell, which led up to yet another landing. Before Jaxon could rain on her parade, she darted up the steps and pushed the door open and then…nothing. No one was on the roof. She inhaled the fresh air and enjoyed the sensation of sunlight on her face. Maybe they could just hang out up here for a while.
She heard Jaxon running up the stairs behind her. He stood by her side and looked around. “This is underwhelming,” he said.
“Yes, but it’s a nice day,” Bryn said.
“We’re not staying up here,” Jaxon said.
“How’d you know that was my next suggestion?” Bryn had just thought of it herself.
“One of the side effects of us spending time together is that I’ve learned how you think.”
“That’s just one of the side effects? What’s another one?” Bryn asked.
“I’ve developed the uncanny ability to find food, because I’ve been around you when you’re hungry and it’s not pretty.”
She laughed. “You speak the truth.” What had she learned about him? “You like everything to be planned out and to follow a schedule.”
“And yet life never seems to work that way,” he said. “Come on. We should go back downstairs before someone notices our absence and sends out a search party.”
“Fine.” She followed him back inside. As she shut the rooftop access door, she said, “Do you think this should have been connected to some sort of alarm?”
“Probably. I’ll send word to my father. He can do what he wants with the information.”
They headed back downstairs to the second floor; when they’d almost reached her dorm room door, Jaxon’s friend Quentin approached from the opposite direction.
“I need to speak to Quentin,” Jaxon said. “So I’ll see you later.”
“Excuse me?” Was he blowing her off?
He stopped walking and turned to look back at her. “We ate lunch and took a walk. I think that’s enough bonding time for one day.”
“Fine by me. This was your idea in the first place.” She continued to her room. Once she was inside, she leaned back against the door. Huh? Why did it feel like she’d been blown off? And why did it bother her? It’s not like she wanted to spend time with Jaxon.
She was, however, annoyed. Why? She headed for the couch, flopped down, and grabbed a throw pillow, playing with the fringed edge. Mentally, she ran over the day’s events in her head. Maybe she was annoyed because she’d had fun with him. They’d talked and joked around. She’d had one of those even-though-my-life-has-been-hijacked-and-I’m-being-forced-to-marry-my-former-frenemy-it’s-okay-because-we’re-in-this-together kind of camaraderie. And then he’d declared his obligation done and headed off to be with his actual friend.
Then again, maybe she was irked because she didn’t want to be alone right now, but none of her friends lived in the same dorm. That had to be it. She was irritated that he had friends while they were on lockdown, and she didn’t.
Bryn’s phone rang at eight thirty that night. Hopefully, it would be good news. She set her book down and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
“Hello, Bryn.” It was her grandmother. “How are you?”
“Feeling a little stir-crazy, but other than that, I’m good.”
“You’ll be happy to know that the restrictions should be lifted tomorrow morning.”
“Did the investigators figure something out?” Bryn asked.
“You must keep this to yourself, but they’ve investigated every lead. They’re going to let students roam about campus again, with heightened security in the hopes of capturing someone in the act.”
“They’re using students as bait?” Bryn asked. That didn’t sound right.
“No. They are using several college students who volunteered as bait. Since one of them is your former friend, Zavien, I wanted to warn you not to speak with him because he’ll be wearing a recording device.”
“So if I said something snarky about Jaxon, his father would hear it,” Bryn said.
“You can interpret my message that way if you like. I just didn’t want you interfering in the investigation since you have a way of ending up in the middle of things.”
“I’m hoping that trend is over,” Bryn said. “Can I tell Clint and Ivy to watch what they say?”
“You can tell them security has been heightened so they should be careful with what they say, but don’t mention the college students.”
“I understand.” While she had her grandmother on the line, she might as well bring up something that had been on her mind. “Do you think we could have lunch with mom at some point in the near future?”
“Well…Ephram is not ready to speak to your mother yet, but I think we could manage a civil lunch on neutral ground…maybe someplace in Dragon’s Bluff, like Suzette’s.”
“I’d love that,” Bryn said.
“How are things going with Jaxon?”
There wasn’t anyone else she could talk to about Jaxon. “Something he did annoyed me.” She told her grandmother about him sort of blowing her off after lunch, but she omitted the part about them heading up to the roof.
“So he asked you to lunch, went for a walk with you, and then went about his day like you were unimportant to him,” her grandmother said.
That summed it up in a not-so-positive nutshell. “Sort of. Maybe I’m just being overly sensitive.”