In the morning, I was up early. I hurried to Byron's office who surprisingly wasn't there. It was another half an hour or so before he appeared.
"What are you doing up so early?" he looked so confused because he looked around.
"We need to talk" I answered in a low voice so he could only hear. He nodded once. We stepped into his office. Once he gave me a nod to talk I told him what Henri had told me. There weren't certain details that were left out.
"Can we trust him?" Byron asked, concerned. His eyebrows were furrowed downward.
"I don't know what to think" I admitted to him. The feel of Henri's lips were still in my head. "Why would he warn me though? It doesn't make sense"
"Nothing makes sense" he lifted Henri's report up. "He said you don't need to be trained anymore, you just have to practice for your Rank. He will be around if we need him"
"Of course he will." I sighed pacing around Byron's office. His eyes were following me around.
"Maybe he knows things can't outright say. Well we should follow his advice and make sure Ezra and Thomas stay safe. Did he mention anything about you?" Byron got to his feet. He slowly walked around his desk buttoning his jacket.
"Nope, probably because I'm not a concern. I'm a girl" I snapped. I was annoyed that I didn't know what was going on. I was turning into Ezra.
"Hard to forget" Byron replied. He took my hand to make me stop pacing. "Calm down, everything will be okay"
"That's easy for you to say- my mind just keeps working all the time" I sighed heavily. "Especially if the Guard students are now being watched" he tried to make me take a seat but I settled on leaning against his desk.
"We just have to keep our eyes peeled, I will have a word with Ezra and Thomas to keep their eyes open especially in the male dormitories. It is weird enough that we had that fight between Guard students and now Henri tells you that. Something is going on." He patted my shoulder.
"Yeah but what" My eyes snapped up at his green ones. I had forgotten what it was like to be close to him. His favorite cologne filled my nostrils. It was the only men's cologne I had ever favored. "You smell good" I replied hazily. My brain was clouding up.
It was annoying to have him so close to me because my brain stopped functioning normally.
"Thanks" he adjusted his jacket with a grin. "I have a date later tonight. I wasn't going to have time to get ready throughout the day."
I couldn't help scowling at him.
"Who is it?" I tried to keep myself from sounding too interested.
"Samantha Young" he replied. He hadn't removed his hand from my arm or stepped back away from me.
"Figures you would date her. She has the highest GPA besides yours in your year" I grumbled adverting my eyes.
"Jealous?" he laughed with an eyeroll.
"Never" I rolled my eyes back at him.
"You know it really surprised me that you and Henri broke up. I always thought you would be the one that would end up cheating" he took a step forward.
"Maybe I am over you" I shrugged.
Move legs, I told myself. Stop letting him get close to you.
"Really?" Byron smiled. "You are turning green with jealousy. The mention of me going on a date turned your eyes into slits." He was enjoying himself right now.
"Or maybe it is because I just broke up with my boyfriend and I need a rebound" I grasped his jacket.
His eyes turned to slits this time and he stopped smiling. I grinned up at him in response.
"Besides Byron, don't flatter yourself. I would have never cheated on Henri, he is a much better kisser than you are" I stood up. There was a dumbstruck look on his face. "So I need to get to class. You'll talk to Ezra and Thomas?"
He was still shocked because he hadn't moved. I patted his shoulder and gleefully left his office. As soon as I was out of his office, I sighed with relief.
This time I had managed to turn the tables on him. Thankfully, I had kept my composure around him. He was just probably trying to annoy me now. There was no way I was going to fall for his games.
Later that afternoon, Ezra and Thomas were called to Byron's office. Hopefully Ezra and Thomas listened to him.
I was in the dining hall serving myself lunch. My stomach had been growling during my morning classes. Breakfast was something I never skipped.
"Hey"
I turned with my mouthful to find Alec standing beside me. Instead of lifting my hand to him, I tried to talk.
I covered my mouth trying to finish chewing. My face started to turn red.
"Sorry" I apologized. "You took me by surprise. I thought it was Ezra and Thomas"
"Don't worry about it" he took a seat. "Where are your friends? You guys are always together"
"They had to meet with Byron" I took a quick gulp of water. I cleared my throat a couple of times. He patted my back. "So how's it going? Are you training again?"
"Yeah, I came over to see if you wanted to attend the game. You would get to sit with us" he smiled nervously. He had an easy going smile. It wasn't cocky like Henri's or broad and proud like Byrons. He was different from both of them.
He sounded and looked nervous. He kept shifting in his seat and he could barely look at me in the eyes.
"You can bring your friends. They are fans of ours right?" he added quickly.
"Yes they are fans" I laughed. At that moment Ezra and Thomas walked in. They stopped short when they saw Alec. Ezra pointed at Alec with an dropped jaw.
Thomas looked confused.
"Speaking of them" I pointed behind him. Ezra and Thomas composed themselves. "Ezra and Thomas this is Alec"
"How's it going" Alec lifted his hand at them. He took each of their hands with a nervous smile. It was strange to me that he was nervous since he was a Dragon Trainer. He probably spent a lot of his time around admirers and fans.
"Great and you?" Ezra stared between us. There was a teasing smile on his face.
"Good..good. So I invited the three of you to join us for the game on Saturday"
"Heck yes" Ezra caught him off. "We would love to attend. So would Iris" he grinned at me. "Right, Iris?"
"Yeah it will be fun. Thanks Alec." I wanted to kick Ezra. He needed to stop giving me a goofy smile. I knew what he was thinking.
"Great, I will see you guys Saturday. I'll make sure you get your field passes" he smiled directly at me. I returned a brief polite smile.
"He likes you" Ezra leaned in as soon as Alec was gone. "Iris you just attract your ex-boyfriend's enemies like flies. You got more game than I ever credited you for. An instructor, a Counsel Advisor and now a Dragon Trainer...not bad" he nodded with a smile. "That's good for us. Date him."
"I am not going to date him" I kicked him under the table. Thomas laughed. "I just broke up with Henri."
"So what?" Thomas and Ezra replied at the same time.
"He is a Dragon Trainer" Ezra reached across the table across from me. He shook me slightly. "The guy travels all over the world. He is being heavily recruited and he is one of the best."
"There is no way that I'm dating Alec. I miss Henri" I replied sadly. The boys only looked at each other.
"He cheated" Thomas reminded me. Luckily it was getting busier so I leaned in closer. I told them what had happened between Henri and I.
"So what?" Ezra shrugged. "Doesn't mean you cheat. I have never cheated on any of my girlfriends"
I lifted my eyebrows. Noone would believe that lie.
"I never have" Ezra raised his hand. He looked completely serious "When I'm not in a relationship, I just sleep around. That is not considered cheating."
I could only shake my head at him.
"You've only been in two serious relationships" Thomas laughed at him.
"Which is why I sleep around" he didn't see a problem with it.
"A lot" Thomas and I ganged up on him.
"We've had this discussion before. All your problems would stop if you would stopped over-thinking everything and if you acted amorally. I do and i'm okay with it."
"I don't know about you but I want a serious relationship and so does Iris. I like having a girlfriend" At that moment his girlfriend appeared. She sat down next to him. She was a really nice girl with long wavy blonde hair. She always had a flower headband on. They had been dating for about a month now.
"Hey I" she smiled at me. "Ezra, Adrienne is asking about you?"
"Oooh Adrienne" Ezra's eyes popped open. "What is she asking about?"
"She asked me if I knew if you had a girlfriend or were seeing anybody"
"Nope, nothing serious." Ezra winked at me. I rolled my eyes at him. "Single as can be."
"I'll pass on the message" Ayla laughed. She knew what Ezra was like by now. "So do you have training later tonight?" she turned to Thomas.
Ezra and I left them to talk.
"What if Henri intentionally cheated? Maybe Lindsay knows some things" I crossed my arms across my chest. We went out the back door.
"I don't know Iris" Ezra replied with a shrug. He put his arm around my shoulders. "It could be he is trustworthy and he is really trying to help us OR he is toying you around."
"I know" I put arms around his waist. "It was just weird. It was like he didn't want to be overheard. He told me to only tell Byron."
"Well Thomas and I are keeping our eyes open. There have been lots of things on. Some have been complaining that their things like things being moved around like if someone is searching rooms."
"What about the cloaks?" I looked up at his blue eyes. My cloak was neatly founded at the bottom of my trunk.
"We left those at home. We don't have anything that is incriminating so we are fine. I'm sure our room is coming up next. I hexed my room to find the intruder so we will know in a couple of days."
"Did you tell Byron?"
"Of course" Ezra squeezed me tightly. "We have until December and after that things will get better"
"Hopefully get better. We just have four months left of school and we are going to be busy in the summer"
"True, I had forgotten about that. It will be fun" Ezra lifted me up and twirled me around. I laughed. He put me back on my feet. We headed for the back building.
Byron was waiting for us.
"Where is Thomas?" he asked. He was putting up our work out on the board. I let out a groan.
"With his girlfriend, he was going to join us in a bit."
"Iris, Jude wanted you to do at 30 minutes of practice with your knives every other day." Byron didn't look at me. He was irritated about earlier today.
I rolled my eyes at Ezra who was staring between us.
What happened?, Ezra mouthed to me.
I only shrugged at him.
As soon as Thomas arrived, we started the workout. It was absolutely brutal, as soon as it was over. Byron made me stay behind to practice.
He stood in front of the target.
"Are you sure you want to stand there?" I lifted my favorite knife for him to see. He only shrugged at me. "What if I rip your really nice suit, accidently?"
"You'll pay for it" he answered with an eyeroll. His face had hardened slightly. I threw three knives at him before he could even tell me he was ready.
He let out a loud sigh of relief.
"You should at least tell me to prepare myself?" He gulped.
"It is better this way" I smiled at him. He shook his head. He glanced up at the ceiling quickly.
"Could you do this faster?" he closed his eyes tightly. I could tell he was holding his breath.
"At what time is your date?" I lifted two more knives.
"Dinnertime" his lips barely moved. "We are going to a restaurant"
"How come you are allowed off campus?" I grumbled annoyed that our restrictions hadn't been lifted "And we aren't"
"Because you are too valuable" he quipped. I pretended to laugh. "Anyway, I should be back early enough" he opened one eye. "You have early morning training with me"
"I hope you are in a good mood, Byron" I shook my head at him. He met my eyes there was an amused look on his face.
"You really are over me" he didn't look upset by the idea, on the other hand he seemed surprised. It was like a sudden realization to him.
I didn't know what to say.
"Did you really like Henri?" Byron asked. He seemed confused which was something I was not the reaction I was expecting. Maybe he was over me too.
"Yeah" I answered in a small voice. The playful mood was gone. I put the knife back down.
I blinked away tears.
"What he did hurt a lot" I cleared my throat. I started to put the knives away. Byron would look at my face and he would know what I wanted to cry.
"Even if he did it because he cared?" Byron was standing behind me.
I nodded without looking at him. The tears started to flow and I wiped my face. He couldn't see me cry.
"There are other ways to break up with me" I took a deep breath. I felt Byron's hand on my back. I stiffened in response.
"Its okay, Iris" he put both his hands on my shoulders. The tears wouldn't stop now. I turned and he pulled me in for a hug.
The gesture was shocking. I clung onto his jacket, crying.
"I don't know why I feel so miserable over him" I sobbed into his chest. "I feel stupid and pathetic for wanting him back even if did it to help or...maybe even if he did it on purpose. I'm confused"
I was confused. Being his arms was messing things up for me right now.
"Have you spoken to him?" Byron rubbed my back.
"No" I released him, wiping my face. I didn't want him to see me with puffy eyes and a red face. "He disappeared again. I haven't seen Lindsay either." There were stains on his jacket from my crying. I rubbed the jacket. "Sorry"
"Its okay. Just be patient maybe he will tell us what is going on." Byron gave me a gentle smile. His green eyes were comforting. "I don't think I have ever seen you cry. You always hold it in."
"My face swells up when I cry" I laughed. He brushed back my hair. "and I look ridiculous"
"No you don't" he rubbed my cheek with his thumb. My hold on his jacket tightened. "and I do think you are confused." His face was inching its way towards mine. "Confused about what you feel or don't still feel for me"
"You have a date later tonight?" I reminded him.
"It isn't a date, it is a gathering with other professors. I just wanted to know your reactions especially since you are single"
My lips twitched. I pressed my hand against his chest.
I leaned on my toes, our lips were only a few inches apart.
"If I kissed you right now? Would you miss me back?" Byron whispered. His voice was so low almost like if we could be overheard.
"What do you think?" my eyes were on his lips. His perfectly shaped lips. My favorite smile was on his face.
"I don't know what to think anymore." Byron replied. He released his hold on me. I had to step away from him.
"Neither do I" I admitted to him.
"I think you should try to get back with Henri" Byron answered. I met his green eyes. There was nothing. For once, I wished he would just be truthful with me. "Tell him how you feel."
I nodded instead of arguing with him.
He brushed my hair away from my face. His fingers gently brushed my face.
"Thanks, Byron."
"Only trying to help" he leaned forward. I thought he was going to kiss me but he kissed my forehead. "You deserve happiness. Stop crying over Henri. I'm sure whatever his going on will be cleared up soon."