“I’m not really in the mood for drama,” Ivy said. “Burgers it is.”
They headed out the window to Bryn’s terrace and shifted into dragon form. She didn’t even have to think her way through the transformation anymore, it was just second nature. She closed her eyes, felt something inside of her unfurl and then her center of gravity shifted. She opened her eyes and stretched her wings.
Ivy and Clint stood next to her with their black scales gleaming in the sunlight. The outline of their human faces flashed across their dragon faces for just a moment, which was how they recognized each other in dragon form.
Clint tilted his head and studied Bryn. “Did you mean to do that?”
“Do what?” Bryn asked.
“You have alternating red and blue scales,” Ivy said. “It’s cool, but that’s not your normal look.”
“Crap. Hold on.” Her grandparents would have a fit if she presented herself as a Red-Blue hybrid rather than a Blue dragon. Closing her eyes, she imagined herself entirely blue.
“You could leave one red scale,” Ivy said. “Like the stripe in your hair.”
“That would be cool, but I’m not sure it’s worth the family issues it would cause.” When she had thought her parents were dead, she’d moved in with her grandparents. Her grandfather Ephram Sinclair was one of the most powerful individuals on the Directorate, the ruling council for the dragon clans. He helped balance out Jaxon’s father’s extremism, but he was supremely proud of his Blue Clan heritage and took Bryn’s habit of coloring her hair as a personal insult. They’d settled on her going blond with a single red stripe. She missed her tri-colored red, black, and blond hair but some things weren’t worth a fight…especially since she liked her new hair color.
Bryn launched herself into the air, soaring up and away from the Institute, leaving it and all the issues it contained far below. She was supposed to head for the back gate, but the lure of flying was too strong. She performed a diving roll and then banked right, enjoying the sensation of sunshine on her wings.
Clint and Ivy joined her in some aerial acrobatics. After ten minutes, Ivy flew alongside Bryn. “Are you ready to go shopping now?”
“Sure.” She didn’t want to come back down to earth, but it was unavoidable. Bryn had practiced her landings over the summer, something she seemed to have more trouble with than the average dragon. She discovered if she hovered above the ground for a moment and tucked her wings to drop into a sort of crouch, she did much better than when she tried to stick a landing.
“Hey,” Clint said, “you didn’t stumble.”
“Thank you for noticing,” Bryn said.
They shifted to human form and headed for the back gate. When she’d first come to the Institute, students had to sign in and out before exiting through a simple gate and flying to Dragon’s Bluff. Now the exit had a reinforced steel fence, a turret with some sort of gun on top, and a small building where several guards were on duty at all times.
When they arrived at the gate, the guards glanced at them like they found their presence irritating.
“We want to go to Dragon’s Bluff,” Bryn said.
“You may go, but you’re required to have an escort,” the closest guard said.
“What does that mean?” Ivy asked.
“All students leaving campus will be escorted and driven by a guard. We’d like to keep flying off-campus to a minimum to ensure students’ safety.” He waved at another Red standing by several parked SUVs.
The Red dragon climbed into the vehicle, drove over to the gate, and rolled the driver’s side window down. “Hello, I’m Manuel, and I’ll be your driver today.”
Guarded transportation to and from campus was new. Not that it was a bad idea, but it did bring up a question. “Once we’re ready to return to the school what do we do?”
Manuel said, “I’ll wait for you and then bring you back.”
That seemed like a lot of manpower for students to leave campus. The Institute probably didn’t want to stop students from visiting Dragon’s Bluff because the town was still recovering from rebel attacks and keeping the businesses prosperous was a step in the right direction of returning to a normal life.
Bryn and her friends climbed into the SUV. “Does everyone get an escort to town,” Clint asked. “Or is this because of Bryn’s grandparents?”
Manuel smiled. “Bryn’s grandmother and the Blue Women’s League came up with the proposal, but it benefits all students. Plus, it gives us something to do rather than stand around waiting for trouble. It’s a win-win situation.”
Bryn was thankful that this hadn’t been something afforded only to her, due to her status as Ephram and Marie Sinclair’s granddaughter. So many aspects of her new life made her feel uncomfortable. “Where to first?” Bryn asked to change the subject.
“I heard that Bath and Beauty expanded their store to include towels and sheets,” Ivy said. “I bet they have comforters, too.”
Clint groaned. “Not the smelly lotion store.”
“I don’t understand your objection to Bath and Beauty,” Ivy said.
“It’s a girl store. When I walk in there my testosterone level probably drops by ten points.”
Manuel the driver chuckled.
“See, he agrees with me,” Clint said.
Too bad Clint didn’t have a guy to hang out with while she and Ivy went into the store. In times past, he would have waited for them while he talked to Valmont. It was weird to realize that there would never be a fourth person added to their group again because she’d never be able to have a boyfriend again. She’d have Jaxon, but he wouldn’t hang out with them. And she was pretty sure that Clint wouldn’t want to pal around with him, either.
“Why do you have that look on your face?” Ivy asked.
“What look?” Bryn asked.
“You look sad. Are you sure you’re okay with going to Dragon’s Bluff?”
“It’s not like I can avoid it forever.” There wasn’t any other place they could go while they were in school. She just needed to face the sad memories head-on. “And I do want to go shopping, so I’m just going to have to deal with it.”
When they reached town, the driver parked in a covered lot that hadn’t been there a month ago. The Directorate had done their best to make it blend into the rest of the town. The lot had a roof that matched the shops, which made it look like a strange house that had lost its walls. There were steel beams holding the roof in place and what looked like a small office off to one side where a Red sat at a desk. “There are several lots like this throughout town,” Manuel said. “If you are near a different lot and want to return to school you can ask someone there to take you. Just make sure you have them call me so I know you’ve gone back.”
“Okay,” Bryn said. “Thanks for the ride.” She climbed out of the SUV, feeling like she should pay him or give him a tip.
They headed down the street. When Bryn had first seen Dragon’s Bluff it had looked like a town out of a fairy tale, with its matching red brick buildings, bright yellow awnings, and yellow flowers in the planters that lined the sidewalks. Most of the awnings had been burned in the battle and whoever had been in charge of replacing them had chosen black instead. It shouldn’t have made a difference since they all matched, but somehow it made the town feel more somber. Maybe that was the point…to remind people that there had been an attack and to keep their guard up.
When they reached Bath and Beauty, Clint opted to go across the street to a bookstore. “I’ll be over there reading manly books while you shop for girly stuff.”
Ivy chuckled and gave him a quick kiss. “Have fun.”
Inside the store, there were more changes. The entire area had once been devoted to scented lotions and shampoos and any other body care product you could think of. Now half of the space offered sheets and towels and shower curtains.
A navy comforter with a gray stripe caught Bryn’s eye. She wandered over to look at it. “I like this one.”