Going Down in Flames (Going Down in Flames #1)(18)

Had the dragon population dropped? Maybe later she’d ask. Right now, she was grateful there was one less flight of stairs to trudge up. With every step, her legs ached. “Doesn’t this place have an elevator?”

“You’re out of shape,” Zavien said.

“I’m not. My wing muscles were sore when we landed, and now it feels like I walked for miles. How can my legs hurt from flying?”

“That’s an interesting phenomenon.” Garret spoke rapid-fire. “Most dragons interpret wing fatigue as soreness in the lower extremities. For about ten percent of the population, it’s the upper extremities. We haven’t discovered why there’s a variance. Studies have shown the brain interprets fatigue from the dragon form and assigns it to the human body.”

“That’s fascinating.” Zavien rolled his eyes. “Maybe Bryn would like a more detailed report once she’s rested.”

Garret glared at Zavien and continued up the stairs.

On the third floor, the doors they walked past all had message boards, the kind you write on with a dry erase marker. Did those come standard with the room? Then they passed three blank doors in a row. Were the occupants too new to have decorated? Four more doors went by, and she became suspicious.

“Did you stick me at the end of the hall by myself?”

“We weren’t sure how social you’d want to be.”

Right. “Don’t you mean you weren’t sure who’d want to be social with me?”

Garret blushed.

“Did you know he planned on isolating me?” she asked Zavien.

“He wanted to put you on the fourth floor. This was an improvement.”

Bryn inhaled a measured amount of air, concentrated on the burning sensation in her stomach, and shot a small fireball at Garrett’s head. It stopped an inch from his nose, where it hung in midair for a moment before blinking out.

He jerked backward. “That was uncalled for.”

“You said you’d make me feel welcome. Treating me like I have the plague isn’t making me feel welcome.” Turning around, she retraced her steps back to the first blank door, next to one with a memo board. “I’ll take this one.”

“I don’t have the key for that room,” Garret said.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ll wait while you get it.”

Muttering under his breath, Garret stalked off.

Zavien appeared to enjoy the situation. “Smart move on your part. They probably bugged the other room for research.”

“What?”

His lips twitched.

“You better be joking.”

A few minutes later, Garret came back and handed her a set of keys. “The first set is free. After that there’s a fee.” He turned back toward the steps before she could say good-bye.

Whatever. Bryn unlocked the door and stepped across the threshold, expecting to find a generic ten-by-ten room. What she found made her jaw drop.

Zavien moved around her and deposited her luggage to the left of the door. “I’ll give you a tour. All the dorm rooms have the same layout.” He gestured toward two roll-top desks set against opposite walls and the green velvet couch, tan chairs, and coffee table in the front room. “This is your study area and living room.”

She had a living room and real furniture that was nicer than what her parents had back in the apartment. Her gut twisted at the thought of home.

Trying to focus on the here and now, she admired the furniture. The desks were made of ornately carved and polished redwood. The matching wooden chairs appeared hard and uncomfortable. Looks like she’d be doing her homework on the couch.

Zavien opened a door and gestured for her to step through. Inside, Bryn discovered mirror image four-poster beds with cream-colored comforters. Tiffany lamps sat on nightstands on one side of each bed, and small writing desks sat on the other.

Identical dressers and armoires with mirrored doors flanked a large floor-to-ceiling window on the back wall. She ran her fingers over the beveled edge of the mirror. “This furniture is amazing.”

“It’s antique,” Zavien said. “The school’s been in existence for hundreds of years.” He pointed at the door on the right. “There’s your bathroom. It’s self-explanatory. The window between the armoires opens onto a terrace.” He pushed the window up and climbed out onto the terrace. “You can fly to your room in dragon form, shift, and come in the window.” The terrace ran the length of her bedroom and was almost as wide. “Now, I’ll leave you to explore and unpack. The new student meeting is at seven tomorrow morning in the dining hall.”

Maybe living here wouldn’t be so bad. It was like staying at a luxury hotel. “Thanks, for everything.”

“No problem. I’ll check in on you tomorrow.” He shifted and flew away.

Bryn made a quick call to her parents, just to let them know she’d arrived. Hearing their voices made her chest ache. After faking her way through a cheery good-bye, she made a mental note to email them from now on. She picked up the phone again to call Beth and decided to send an email instead. By the time she finished unpacking, she was ready to drop. After setting the alarm function on her laptop, she crawled into bed.

…

The sound of a piano worked its way into Bryn’s morning dream. It started out melodic. The volume increased, and the music became turbulent. Soon, minor chords crashed like waves in a storm. Heart racing, she jerked awake.