Page 9 of Taste of Thorns (The Firestone Academy #3)

Chapter Seven

B riony

I’m definitely not as brave as I just made out because, once I’m away from the Madame, I’m forced to stop on the path, pinching the bridge of my nose between my finger and thumb and taking several deep breaths just to center myself again.

Then, once I’ve changed my clothes back in my room, I set off, not in search of the Princes, but my two best friends.

As predicted, I find them in the warmest of their two rooms – Clare’s.

Fly’s coat and boots are positioned to dry in front of the fire and they are both sitting up in Clare’s bed, the cover pulled up to their chests like an old married couple.

“Erm,” I say as I step inside the room. “This looks mighty cozy. Am I interrupting something?”

“Ewww,” they say in unison.

“He’s like a brother to me,” Clare adds as Fly says,

“She doesn’t have nearly enough muscles and absolutely no dick. Although,” he says, turning his head towards Clare, “if we’re still lonely and single, in say thirty years’ time, I’d happily live with you in platonic bliss.”

“If things don’t work out with Damian, you’re on,” Clare says, smiling at him. “It’s much warmer in here,” she then tells me.

“Get in,” Fly instructs, pointing to the bottom of the bed. “I’m sure you have lots to tell.”

“Just a little,” I say, kicking off my boots and climbing in too. It really is cozy and warm under the covers, even if we squabble for the next few minutes to get comfortable.

“So,” I say, when Fly finally agrees to move his legs over and give me some space, “how did the trial go?”

“Urgh,” Clare says, shuddering, “it was a million times worse than the last one. I don’t think I got anywhere near even starting, let alone completing it.”

“Huh?”

“My parents were there, and they were crying and shaking their heads at me and the stupid trial was right behind them, but I couldn’t even get past to start the thing.

” She rests her head on Fly’s shoulder. “I ended up in a ball, sobbing my eyes out. It wasn’t very dignified. I dread to think how few points I got.”

“You haven’t been to look yet?”

“Have you seen the weather out there, Cupcake? It’s prehistoric.”

“Just a bit of snow,” I point out.

Fly chatters his teeth together and rubs his hands up and down his arms. “I think I did a little better in the trial. There were people dressed in white coats, chasing me around with needles. But I never let them catch me.”

“It’s so weird,” Clare says. “I don’t get it at all.”

Clare is super smart. There is no way she isn’t going back to Granite Quarter where she came from. I’m surprised she hasn’t worked it out.

“Our greatest fears,” I tell them.

“Ahhh, right,” comprehension dawns across Fly’s face, “I really do hate needles – that was why I was running so fast. Do you think that means I got any points?”

I shrug. I have no idea how the points system works, except that I think it is most definitely rigged. The last two times I got no points, and this time maximum. It makes no sense.

“I don’t get it,” Clares says, blinking behind her glasses. “I never even got to face my greatest fear.”

“Yes, you did,” I say, smiling at her, “disappointing your parents.”

“Oh,” she says. “Oooooooh. I guess I never even realized that was my greatest fear.” She glances at Fly. “Yours is really needles?”

“Hey, I already disappointed my parents.” He pats her shoulder. “How about you, Briony? Was yours full of several handsome men chasing after you with arms full of flowers professing undying love to you?”

“No!” I say, narrowing my eyes at him and giving him the finger. “It was my stepmom. But I don’t think she is my greatest fear anymore. I’m certainly not afraid of her anymore. Which is weird because she used to terrify me.”

“That’s really great, Briony,” Clare says genuinely. “I guess I should try to stop worrying about what my parents think.”

“Definitely,” Fly tells her, “especially as you’re hanging about with disreputable characters like us.”

“I think they’d be impressed I’m hanging about with the Princes’ thrall. You, not so much,” Clare says without a hint of humor.

Fly looks a little hurt. Clare can be blunt sometimes without realizing it.

“Did you see the points board?” I ask him.

“No, I came straight here this morning – despite not being wanted,” he adds sniffly. “I didn’t fancy being lost in an avalanche.”

“I do want you here,” Clare says. “You provide quite a lot of body heat.”

“At least I’m good for something.”

“I haven’t seen it either,” I say, fidgeting with the cover. “But I did just see Madame Bardin.” I pause.

“When you say saw her,” Fly leans forward, “do you mean, you spotted her in a window or hurtling along the path?”

“She was looking to grill me,” I glance from one friend to the other, “because I earned maximum points in that trial. I beat the shadow weavers. And she wanted to know how I did it.”

“Whaaaat?” Fly squeals leaping across the bed towards me.

“I beat the sh–”

“I heard you the first time, Cupcake. But how is that even possible?”

“What? You don’t trust in my natural talents and amazing abilities?”

“No,” he says flatly. “Unless all those big strong shadow weavers are actually big fat babies after all.”

“I think it’s way more complicated than that.”

“It always is,” Clare chimes in.

I tell my friends about what happened in yesterday’s trial, how I banished Muriel and then ended up with Thorne. I tell them about how I saved him, about the crazy light wielding and for once both my friends are stunned into silence.

“You’re sure about that?” Fly says.

“Yes, Fox saw me do it.”

“Wow,” Clare says, staring down at my hands like any minute now sunlight itself might start radiating from my palms.

“That’s not all.”

I tell them about my conversation with Beaufort and Dray in the kitchen and about my meeting with Madame.

Then, because I’m on a roll and I’ve come clean about an awful lot, I go the whole hog, filling in Clare about Blaze’s existence and the fact that the Princes and Professor Fox all claim I’m their fated mate.

I tell them everything, except that Thorne helped me in the maze.

I don’t want them implicated in that mess.

When I’m finished, Clare looks physically sick, lying back against the cushions and breathing deeply with her eyes closed.

“Are you okay?” I ask her.

She raises her hand. “I … just need a minute.”

I peer at my other friend. “Fly?”

“This is all true? You didn’t hit your skull in the trial yesterday and craft all these crazy stories in your messed-up head?”

“Fly, you’ve met Blaze. You know how weird the Princes have been acting – way more obsessed than three guys our age should be about a girl.”

“And can you do that,” he waves his hand about, “light thing now?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know how I did it in the first place. I didn’t know I could do it. And I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do it again.”

“My head hurts,” Fly says, rubbing his forehead.

“Yeah,” I say.

Clare lifts her head from the pillow. “There’s really a dragon flying about in the forest?”

“Yep.”

“Jeez,” she says, knocking her head back against the pillow. After a few moments of quiet she lifts her head a second time. “But what are you going to do about all this, Briony?”

“The dragon?”

“All of it.”

“I don’t know. What do you think? Is Beaufort right? Do you think Bardin is working with the Hardies? Do you think they are behind everything?”

“Most definitely,” Fly says, nodding his head violently as Clare says,

“I think that would be unlikely.”

Clare swings her head innocently between me and Fly.

“Madame may be scary, but she’s the deputy head of this academy. She’s esteemed, revered, respected in this realm. Why would she risk all that by siding with usurpers? You should tell her what happened in the trial, Briony. You should tell her about your powers.”

“Are you kidding? She already attacked Briony.”

“That must have been some kind of misunderstanding.”

“It didn’t feel like one,” I mutter.

“We should work out what’s going on before broadcasting around the entire realm that Briony has weird-ass powers,” Fly says. “Especially as someone else has been manipulating the trials.”

“That might have nothing to do with Briony. We’re assuming causation, when it could be correlation.”

I sigh and sink down into the covers.

I was hoping discussing this with my friends would help me achieve clarity. Instead, I’m even more confused.

It looks like I’m going to have to go talk to Fox after all.

Whether Beaufort likes it or not.