by Julie Kagawa
I wondered how much St. George really knew about their ancient enemies. Were they truly ignorant of the rogues and the dragons outside of Talon? Or did our superiors choose to hide certain things from the rest of us?
“My old trainer, she was teaching me to be just like her,” Ember continued, interrupting my dark thoughts. “Ruthless and completely unmerciful. Someone who would kill a defenseless hatchling in cold blood if Talon gave the word. She wanted me to strike fast and never question why, to execute people without thinking about it. She wanted me to become a killer.” A shudder racked her body, and she gripped the railing, her voice a low rasp. “And now, I am.”
I moved beside her and rested an arm on the railing. She didn’t look at me, continuing to gaze at the streets below. Her posture was stiff, but I saw the grief, the helpless anger, the fear that she was becoming what she hated. The Perfect Soldier scoffed in disgust; this was a war. It was either kill or be killed. Pull the trigger before your enemy did, that was the only way to survive.
Before Crescent Beach, I would’ve agreed. Second-guessing yourself was dangerous. I had killed because the Order told me to, and I hadn’t thought twice about it. But this summer, I’d met a daring, cheerful, fiery dragon girl who had turned my world upside down. Who showed me things I’d never seen, imagined or experienced. And it might’ve been selfish, dangerous even, considering where we were now, but I didn’t want her to ever change.
“I know about the Vipers,” I said, which made Ember glance at me sharply, perhaps surprised that I knew the name of Talon’s infamous assassins. “I know what they do. I’ve seen what they’re capable of.”
“You have?” She blinked rapidly, her voice surprised and a little awed. “I mean, you actually saw one? And…lived?”
I gave a solemn nod. “Yes, but everyone in the Order has seen this particular Viper,” I said. “Not firsthand,” I added quickly, as her eyes got huge. “No one who was there that night survived. But we’ve all seen the footage. It’s from a security camera the Order managed to recover from the area. They make us watch it as part of our training. To fully realize what we’re dealing with.”
Ember wrinkled her nose. “That’s morbid.”
“Yes.” I paused, remembering the fuzzy, black-and-white images: a warehouse aisle, a flickering overhead light, four soldiers creeping forward with guns raised. A blur of shadow as something dropped from the ceiling, into their midst. Screams. Gunfire. The light swinging wildly back and forth.
And then silence, as the lamp swayed over a blood-streaked floor and the sprawl of blackened, shredded bodies, the killer nowhere to be found. “They didn’t have a chance,” I said, remembering the horror I’d felt when I first saw the footage. I was eleven years old, and for weeks afterward, I couldn’t walk into a dark room without scouring the ceiling for dragons. “There was no hesitation on the Viper’s part. It knew exactly what it was doing.”
Ember was still watching me as if she could see the scene play out in my eyes. “That dragon from the video,” I went on, my voice just a breath between us, “the assassin, the killer…you’re not like that, Ember.” I paused, then said, very softly, “You’re not like any dragon I’ve seen before.”
“What am I, then?” she whispered.
My heart was pounding again. Slowly, I reached for her arm, turning her to face me. If she stiffened or pulled back in disgust, I would let her go. But her gaze rose to mine, direct and unafraid, and my breath caught.
“You’re the girl who taught me to surf,” I said, holding her stare. “And shoot zombies. And dance. And to never make you angry, even in human form, or risk being kicked where the sun don’t shine.” She snorted, not quite smiling, but her eyes lightened a shade at the memory. I smiled and eased closer, feeling the heat pulse between us, even in the stifling Vegas air.
“You’re the dragon who chose not to kill a soldier of St. George when you had the chance,” I went on in a softer voice. “You risked your life to break into a compound full of enemies who would slaughter you on sight, to rescue someone you should hate.” Unbidden, my other hand rose, brushing a fiery strand of hair from her eyes, and she shivered. “I don’t know what that makes you, exactly, but from where I’m standing, I’d say it’s pretty amazing.”
Her eyes gleamed, and a smile finally tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Okay, now I am worried,” she murmured in a teasing voice. “Who is this smooth-talking, nonuptight normal person and what did you do with the real Garret?”
I shrugged. “I’ve been told I need to loosen up,” I said, and kissed her.
She made a tiny noise of surprise, and then her hands were in my hair, holding me close, and my arms were around her waist, pressing us together. I closed my eyes, feeling my stomach twist, feeling her lips against mine, eager and insistent, her arms wrapping around my neck. She tugged on my bottom lip, and a groan escaped me as I let her in, clutching her tighter. There was no disgust. No regret. I stood on this roof, openly kissing a girl who was really a dragon, and I wasn’t sorry at all.
“Ember!”
The shout cut through the quiet, and my nerves leaped in warning. I jerked back to see the rogue dragon striding across the roof toward us, a murderous gleam in his eyes.
Riley
I’m going to kill her.
I stood in the center of the casino floor, surrounded by surging, babbling, oblivious mortals, and tried to ignore the temptation to turn the whole place into an inferno. Where was she? I’d already gone upstairs and pounded on the door to her room but, as Wes had said, she was gone. She and the soldier both. I’d called the throwaway phone Wes had given her and had been sent to voice mail both times, which meant she had either left it in her room or was deliberately ignoring me.
The urge to blast something to a smoldering ash pile grew stronger, and I started moving again, scanning the throngs for bright red hair and green eyes. Normally, Ember was impossible to miss, even in a crowd. But a Vegas casino, with its blinking lights, aimlessly wandering humans and deliberately confusing floor plans, was one of the worst places to pick someone out of a crowd. That was why we’d come here, to hide from Talon and the Order, but now that ploy was working against me. Which was ironic, annoying as hell and doing a great job of pissing me off.
Dammit, Ember. Where are you?
With a growl, I circled the casino once more before heading upstairs. I didn’t have time for this. I had to get to that abandoned hotel to look for runaway hatchlings before St. George got wind of them. For every minute I wasted here, the Order could be drawing closer. There didn’t seem to be any St. George activity around the casino, so I doubted Ember and the soldier were in trouble. I suspected the defiant red hatchling had gotten bored and had either bullied or convinced the human to come with her. That she was missing annoyed me. That she was missing and alone with the soldier pushed me a little closer to murderous rage, which I knew was unreasonable. She wasn’t mine. I didn’t want this attachment, despite every instinct telling me otherwise. I had more important things to focus on; my hatchlings, my underground, keeping everyone in my network safe from Talon and St. George. Wes was right; ever since Ember had come into my life, I’d been distracted. There was something about the fiery red dragon that I couldn’t ignore, and that was stupid and dangerous and could very well get us all killed, but I couldn’t help it. Like it or not, Ember had buried her claws in deep, and I was either going to have to accept it and give in, or find a way to live with it, because I’d be damned if I pushed her away now.
After searching the casino, the restaurants and the myriad stores with no success, I finally made my way to the roof. There were a couple humans floating around a brightly lit pool, but no Ember. I circled the edge and made my way toward the far wall, where the tops of the Vegas skyscrapers loomed against the night sky.
And there they were, both of them, by the railing. I saw Ember mutte
r something, her eyes downcast, saw the soldier turn her to face him. He said something that made her smile…
…and then he kissed her.
Something inside me snapped. My dragon gave a shriek of outrage and reared up, filling me with fire and hatred, tinting everything with a red haze. I felt myself moving across the roof, heard myself shout something just before I reached them. The soldier glanced up, and I threw a savage right hook at his face.
He dodged, jerking his head back, my fist missing him by inches. Ember yelped in shock. St. George swiftly backed away and raised his fists, a clear invitation to fight, and the dragon roared acceptance.
Snarling, I tensed to lunge, but before I could go for him again, something grabbed my arm from behind.
“Riley, what the hell are you doing? Stop!”
I seethed, wanting to attack, to Shift to my true form and rend the human to little pieces, then char those pieces to ash. My dragon howled, violent and enraged, wanting to set something on fire. The soldier was now too far away, and on guard for an attack. I turned my anger on Ember, instead.
“What am I doing?” Spinning around, I yanked my arm from her grasp and glared down furiously. “What the hell are you doing, Firebrand? I leave for an hour, one hour, and come back to find you…” My voice caught on the words, and I curled my lip in disgust. “He’s a human,” I spat. “And not only that, a soldier of St. George. A dragon killer! I thought you were done with this idiocy when we left Crescent Beach.”
Her eyes flashed, and she lifted her chin to face me. “You have no right, Riley—”
“You’re a dragon,” I interrupted, making her scowl. “Have you forgotten that part? Never mind that he was part of St. George. Let’s ignore the fact that he’s killed who knows how many dragons before his miraculous change of heart. Let’s not ask how many hatchlings he’s shot in the back, while they were running away.” I sneered at the human before turning on Ember again. She stared me down, defiant; I growled and turned us away from the soldier, lowering my voice.
“Listen to me, Firebrand,” I said, attempting to calm my anger, though my dragon still raged up and down my veins, wanting retribution. “You’re not thinking straight. He’s a human, with a human life span. How long do you think he’s going to stick around? Where do you think you’ll be sixty years from now? A hundred years from now? Have you even thought about that?”
“Of course not!” Ember snarled. “Right now I’m still trying to keep up with the present. Right now, staying alive and getting Dante out of Talon is keeping me pretty occupied. What about you?” Ember challenged, glaring up at me. “Have you thought about the future at all?”
“Every single day,” I retorted, making her blink. “Every day, I wake up thinking about my safe houses, if they’re secure, if the hatchlings I get out of Talon will survive another year. What will happen to them if I bite the dust, because I don’t know how long I can keep getting lucky. But this isn’t about me.” I shot another glance at the human, wondering if he could hear us, then deciding I didn’t care if he did. “Humans and dragons aren’t supposed to be together,” I insisted. “Their lives are a heartbeat compared to ours. What kind of future do you think you could ever have?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t give me that, Riley,” she growled. “That’s BS. Admit it—you don’t want me with Garret because he was part of St. George.”
I ground my teeth at her stubbornness. “I have no problem admitting that, Firebrand,” I snarled. “What I don’t understand is how you can let that murdering dragon killer anywhere near you without wanting to rip his head off!”
“Hey.” The soldier had come forward again, eyes narrowed, his body tense and ready for a fight. “Leave her alone,” he said evenly, as I gave him a dangerous look. “It’s not her fault. I started this. Take it up with me if you have a problem.”
I would love to, St. George, I thought viciously, but Ember beat me to it.
“Don’t, Garret,” she snapped, and I didn’t know if the anger in her voice was directed at me, the soldier or us both. “I’m not afraid of jealous rogue dragons, and you don’t have to step in front of him for me.” She turned from the human then, looking me right in the eye. “I can take care of myself.”
Jealous? I took a deep, cooling breath and stepped back, shaking my head at them both. “I don’t have time for this,” I said, which was true. The runaway hatchlings were still a question, and I’d wasted enough time already. “I’m supposed to be somewhere else right now,” I went on, “and I’m done talking to the pair of you. Might as well beat my head against a wall.”
“You’re leaving?” Ember narrowed her eyes. “Again? Where are you going this time?”
“Out,” I retorted, feeling mulish and immature. “Somewhere important, if you have to know.” Her expression darkened, and I knew she was on the verge of demanding to come along. I took a step back. “Come or stay,” I growled, “it makes no difference to me. I’m done here.”
I spun on a heel, then strode across the roof without looking back. I heard them start after me, and controlled the urge to spin back around and lay the soldier flat on his back. It was my dragon talking, but what troubled me wasn’t the anger, or the disgust, that Ember had forgotten everything St. George had done. She was still young. She didn’t know the Order like I did, hadn’t seen the true face of St. George, not yet.
No, what bothered me most was that, even after everything, my fiery red hatchling had still chosen the human…instead of me.
Dante
The meeting room was frigid.
I didn’t like the cold. Maybe it was growing up in deserts and sunny beach communities, where much of my free time was spent outside. I liked the feel of the sun on my skin, the heat blazing down on me, seeping into my bones. I didn’t know what it was with Talon’s executives, but all their office buildings had the AC cranked up so high you could almost see your breath. Even in Reign’s opulent hotel, where the carpets were thick and gold and the leather chairs probably cost over a thousand dollars each, it was still cold enough to make my skin prickle. It certainly wasn’t my place to tell Talon how to run things, but a few degrees of warmth would make things less uncomfortable. I hoped I could get through this without my teeth clacking together. I was already nervous enough.
Beside me, Mr. Smith leaned back and rested a foot on his knee, looking perfectly comfortable and at ease. As if reading my thoughts, my trainer shot me a glance, dark eyes appraising. “Breathe, Dante,” he ordered. “It’s a good plan. It will work.”
I smiled. “I know it will.”
“Good.” Mr. Smith narrowed his gaze. “Don’t hope. Know. Hope will not bring your sister back. Hope will not impress Mr. Roth, or anyone in the organization. You must be confident of this plan, you must believe that it will work, otherwise you have wasted everyone’s time.”
“I’m aware of that, sir,” I replied, still smiling. “And Ember will return to the organization before the night is out, I swear it.”
Mr. Smith nodded and turned away, breaking eye contact as the door opened and Mr. Roth entered, followed by two more dragons. One, a slender man with slick dark hair and a goatee, I didn’t recognize. He took a seat across from me and nodded, and I ducked my head in respect, but it was the second dragon that caught my attention. Lilith seated herself beside him, crossing long legs beneath the table, and smiled at me.
“I’m looking forward to seeing your plan in action, Mr. Hill,” she said.
Her words were almost a threat. As if she, too, needed this plan to succeed, and there would be terrible repercussions if it did not. My blood chilled, but at that moment, Mr. Roth took the seat at the head of the table, facing us all.
“It is almost time,” he stated, glancing at his watch. “Mr. Hill, have your agents contacted you?”
I breathed deep and nodded, putting my phone on the ta
ble in front of me. “Yes, sir. Everything has been set up. They’re ready to move forward with the mission.”
“Excellent.” Mr. Roth leaned back, watching me with those cold dark eyes. “Then all we have to do now is wait. I look forward to seeing your success, Mr. Hill. Good luck.”
I swallowed, glancing at the phone lying innocently on the table, and my heart began pounding against my will. Ember, I thought, staring at the device as if I could sense her on the other side. Please, don’t do anything stupid. This is your last chance to choose the right thing.
Folding my hands on the table, I waited for the phone to ring.
PART III
Leap of Faith
Ember
You could cut the tension in the cab with a knife and serve it on a plate.
No one, of course, wanted to sit up front. Riley refused to have me and Garret in the back by ourselves, Garret wouldn’t leave me alone with Riley, and I certainly wasn’t going to sit up front so the boys could murder each other in the backseat. So we sat there, the three of us, myself in the middle, Garret and Riley flanking me on either side. And the silence was deafening.
Riley still looked murderous. He didn’t look at me or Garret, but stared out the window, one arm on the sill. I could feel his anger radiating from every part of him, as if the dragon hissed and raged just below the surface. It prodded at my own dragon, riling her up, making me twitchy and restless. I felt guilty, and at the same time, I was angry about feeling guilty. Riley was way out of line; we hadn’t done anything wrong. But his words still echoed in my mind, harsh and accusing, as if I’d betrayed not only him, but my entire race.
How long do you think he’s going to stick around? Where do you think you’ll be sixty years from now? A hundred years from now? Have you even thought about that?
