“Okay, now that I know you can focus your Quintessence, we are going to go over some ground rules. Anyone who injures their friends, even with their permission to practice healing, will be kicked out of the program. The only person you will practice on is yourself and adult volunteers who I will bring to the classroom.”
Who would ask their friends to do that? The irritated expression of some of her classmates told her that her opinion might not be the popular one. Greens were known for being clinical, but she couldn’t picture Garrett purposefully injuring someone just to test his skill.
“You’ve healed real injuries, haven’t you?” a girl next to Bryn asked.
“Yes.” She wasn’t about to go into gory details.
“You’re lucky.”
Bryn blinked. “No. I’m the opposite of lucky. Seeing people I care about wounded and bleeding hardly makes me lucky.”
The girl’s eyes widened. “Of course not. I meant that you are one of the few who’s been able to practice this skill. I wouldn’t wish injury on anyone.”
The girl’s social skills could use some work, but Bryn would like to have a friend in class, so she let it slide. “Right. Sorry I got defensive. I’m Bryn.”
“It’s amusing that you think you need to introduce yourself. I’m Janelle.” The girl smiled. “Can I show you a trick I’ve been working on?”
“Sure.”
Janelle’s dark hair lightened shade by shade all the way to white and then shifted to dark brown again.
“That is so cool,” Bryn said.
“Thank you. I thought it was fun.” She grinned like she’d done something she wasn’t supposed to. “Greens don’t usually do things just for fun, so no one else has appreciated it.”
“I find fun is an important part of life,” Bryn said. “I like to use Quintessence instead of makeup.”
“You can do that?” Janelle asked. “Show me how.”
“I usually need a mirror,” Bryn said.
“Use one of the foil pouches in your kit,” Janelle suggested.
“Good idea.” Bryn held up one of the foil pouches and focused on her lips. She turned her natural pink color to a coral red. “Just focus on the color you want. I’ve used it for blush, too.”
“Awesome.” Janelle held up her own foil pouch and looked at her reflection, changing her lips to a brick red. “Greens don’t normally bother with makeup, but I like it.”
“That color looks great on you.” With her dark complexion and chestnut-colored eyes, Janelle was beautiful without makeup. But the deep color on her lips made her look amazing.
“That’s not what your skills are for,” a girl next to Janelle said.
“If Medic Williams can do her nails, I can play with lip color,” Janelle said.
“I’ve always wondered if I could change someone else’s coloring,” Bryn said. “Like if a certain someone annoys me, can I shift his hair color to electric yellow?”
“That would be fun to try,” Janelle said. “I guess it depends on how annoying the other person is being.” She nodded toward the girl who’d commented on the lip color.
Bryn laughed. Janelle was pretty cool.
Chapter Six
After classes were finished for the day, Bryn returned to her room. Over the summer, at her grandparents’ estate, she’d adjusted to living in a room by herself. Here back at school, she missed having someone to hang out with in the evenings. Valmont had always been there for her. The pain over his defection had turned into a dull ache, but she missed having someone around. She could call Clint and Ivy, but she’d see them for dinner. Maybe it was time to broaden her circle of friends. Could she talk to Zavien? Part of her wanted to, but she wasn’t sure they could go back to being friends. And Jaxon would have an apocalyptic fit if she started hanging out with an ex-boyfriend who’d been betrothed to one of the key players of the Rebels.
Janelle had been fun, and it wouldn’t hurt to have someone she could study with. Did it ever become less complicated? When you were a little kid the only thing that mattered was that you both liked the same cookies or cartoons. The older you became the harder it seemed to make friends.
It’s not like she could call Janelle and ask her to hang out. They’d just met today, and she didn’t want to look like a creeper. So…where did that leave her?
Maybe she’d go to the library and check out one of the Legends books which told stories of times when dragons were allowed to fall in love by instinct instead of being forced into arranged marriages. That thought gave her pleasure for about thirty seconds and then she realized that the books might not seem as entertaining to her as they once had now that she was involved in her own debacle of an arranged marriage. After witnessing the unstable hybrids who had attacked campus, the books didn’t seem so romantic, either. Maybe Miss Enid could suggest something else.
Rather than walking down the stairs and dealing with the social niceties of nodding and smiling at the other Blue students in her dorm, which she didn’t feel like doing, Bryn decided to fly down. She went through the window which led to her terrace. Standing outside, she took a deep breath of the fresh fall air. There was a hint of wood smoke in the wind, like someone had started a fire, or blasted someone with a fireball.
She shifted with ease to her dragon form and then dove off the terrace into the evening sky. Flying was the best. The cool evening air felt like a caress. Bryn aimed for the green space in front of the library and came in slow. She treaded air for a moment and then tucked her wings, dropping to the ground. Not a bad landing. She shifted and entered the library.
The librarian sat behind the front desk, typing on her computer. When she looked up and saw Bryn, she frowned. What the heck? Miss Enid had always been someone she could count on as a confidant and she’d thought of her as a friend.
“I’m sorry, should I leave you alone?” Bryn asked.
“What?” Miss Enid blinked and then shook her head. “Sorry. I was off in my own little world.”
Thank goodness the frown hadn’t been directed at her. Bryn felt her shoulders relax. “How was your summer?” she asked.
“It was unsettling.”
She knew why her summer had been odd, but she didn’t know what Miss Enid had dealt with. “Feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but what happened?”
“Nothing specific,” Miss Enid said. “It seems like there are several political forces at play, and I’m not sure what their goals are. I know your grandfather is trying to keep the peace, but Ferrin seems bent on crushing anyone he even thinks might be a problem. I had a new student, who happened to be a Green-Red hybrid, organizing an area on the second floor. When she didn’t return in a timely manner I went to check on her and discovered that a guard had grabbed her for questioning. She’d been approved to attend school and had passed another set of approvals to work for me. The guard had no cause to suspect her. He’d just grabbed her because her auburn hair didn’t match her dark complexion.”
“That’s ridiculous.” And it reminded her of something. “Have you heard about the No Loitering rule in Dragon’s Bluff?”
“No.”
Bryn told her about the guards almost arresting Clint.
“That’s absurd.” Miss Enid drummed her nails on the wooden desk. “I don’t understand why someone would go through the trouble of clearing students to return to school if they planned on targeting them afterward, anyway.”
“I have another question.” Bryn glanced around. “Why won’t they let any of the adults leave Sanctuary?”
“Interesting. It’s almost like they’re purposely separating the children from their parents.”
“Why would they do that?” And then Bryn had an odd thought. “What about the students who aren’t old enough to attend the Institute? Where are they going to school?”
“Some of the hybrids were teachers, and they’ve set up a school for the younger students,” Miss Enid said.
“Oh…well that’s good. What are the adults doing all day?”
“I’ve heard that everyone is pitching in to build housing.”
That made sense. “Enough reality for the moment. Can you recommend some books that have nothing to do with dragons?”
“How do you feel about demon hunters?”
“I’m willing to give them a shot,” Bryn said.