“I love him,” I said, and felt Tristan’s astonishment. Whether from my admission, or that I, a dragon and a monster, could feel such a thing. Glancing at the other soldier, I smiled at him sadly. “Hard to believe, isn’t it? I had trouble believing it myself.”
“I…” For the first time since I’d known him, Tristan seemed at a loss for words. “I didn’t realize,” he finally said. “I didn’t think dragons could…”
Love. “Yeah, well.” I sighed, raking my hair back. “Until recently, I didn’t think we could, either.” And now I can’t imagine being without him. “The organization… Talon, they told us a lot of lies,” I went on. “Lies that we believed, as an entire race, for a long time.”
“And that’s why you left?”
I nodded. “Among other reasons.” Freedom, happiness, the ability to make my own choices, to name a few. Oh, and not being forced to murder my own kind when they disagree. “We just want a normal life,” I said, seeing Tristan from the corner of my eye, watching me. “One that Talon doesn’t control. Where we don’t have to fight a war we didn’t want in the first place.”
Tristan pondered this. I could sense him gearing up to ask more questions, but at that moment, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out and stared at the new text message that flashed across the screen.
Meeting is about to start. You okay?
Garret. I smiled and texted back: Yeah. On my way, before glancing at Tristan. “I have to go,” I told him. “They’re waiting for me in the command room.”
“For both of us,” Tristan replied with a wry grin, and indicated the way forward. “After you.”
*
Garret and Lieutenant Martin were waiting patiently at the large table in the center of the floor when I came in with Tristan. Lieutenant Ward, standing across from Martin with his arms crossed, gave us both a look of blatant contempt that I did my best to ignore. The dragon half of my team was present, as well; Riley loomed over Wes in a corner chair, both staring intently at his laptop, while Mist hovered in a corner, watching everything in silence.
Garret blinked, looking surprised as I entered the room with Tristan. His gaze sought mine, gray eyes questioning, as I circled around to his side of the table.
“Everything all right?” he murmured as I slid in beside him.
There was no suspicion in his tone. No jealousy, just puzzled concern. I realized I was still radiating heat; the anger and adrenaline from the encounter with Peter Matthews hadn’t dissipated. For a moment, I considered not telling Garret what had happened with the soldiers in the hall. Given his history with Peter, I wondered if it wouldn’t be better that he didn’t know. Garret wasn’t the vengeful type, not like Riley, but he just might make an exception for his old rival. Perhaps it was better to keep this hidden for now.
I decided against it. No secrets, Ember. This wasn’t a case of playground bullying. This was a war, and these were the soldiers who would be aiding us on our mission. Garret needed to know, in case Peter Matthews did decide to shoot us in the back.
“I’m fine,” I whispered back, and gave his arm a brief squeeze. “I’ll tell you everything after the meeting.” He nodded, and I turned my attention to the table, where the map of the island facility was laid out in the center. “What’s going on?”
“We think,” Garret began, “we have a way to get the breeders off the island.”
PART II
SMOLDER
DANTE
I had never climbed so many steps in my life.
This is ridiculous. Why didn’t anyone tell me that this council was held at the very top of a mountain, and the only way you could get there was climb or fly? With a groan, I pushed myself to my feet, secretly wishing, for perhaps the first time, that I could make this journey in my real form. Around me, the rocky cliffs rose straight into the air, soaring to jagged, impossible heights. The winding trail up the side of the mountain was narrow at the best of times and completely treacherous otherwise. The stone steps were slick, crumbling with age, and there were no railings, handholds or barriers of any kind between me and a sheer drop down the side of the mountain. The temple was isolated, as far from civilization as you could get. If I had known I would be climbing what felt like a few thousand steps to reach my objective, I might’ve saved myself the trouble and flown there. Sadly, I had only the one suit, and I wasn’t inclined to ruin it by Shifting. Besides, though I had no way of knowing, I suspected this was a test of some sort, that they were watching to see what the impatient hatchling would do. If I showed up at the council of ancient Eastern dragons in my real form, they would know I had failed, and I hated failing.
Overhead, the sky was mottled with clouds, and some of the peaks had vanished into the blanket of gray and white. The temple, I hoped, would be just beyond the cloud bank.
Checking my watch, I took a deep breath and continued climbing.
The clouds closed around me, a solid wall of white that muffled everything, and the trail shrank to a sliver of stone between the side of the cliff and open air. Setting my jaw, I pushed upward, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other and not losing my balance.
And then, the steps ended, the clouds disappeared and I was staring at a magnificent temple perched at the very top of the mountain. Weathered gray walls and a sweeping, clay-tiled roof stood against the blue of the sky, with one of the balconies overlooking a sheer drop down the side of the cliff face. The temple looked as ancient as the mountain itself; I wondered how old it really was…if it had been built with the intent to house a dragon.
A single monk, bald and dressed in somber black robes, stood beside the doors as I approached. I hoped he wouldn’t try to speak with me—my Mandarin was all but nonexistent—but he silently bowed and stepped aside for me to pass. I walked down a very long corridor, lit only with flickering candles in nooks or atop brass stands, until deep, ancient voices began vibrating the stones at my feet.
Outside a pair of enormous wooden doors trimmed in gold, I paused, taking a moment to breathe, to calm the emotions fluttering inside. You are not just a hatchling, I told myself. You are the heir to Talon, the Voice of the Elder Wyrm herself, and they will respect that position or face the wrath of the organization.
Opening my eyes, I raised my head, pushed back the doors and strode into the chamber, smiling as I did.
Six pairs of ancient, all-knowing eyes turned on me. A round stone table stood in the center of the room, surrounded by pillars, candle stands and a half-dozen Adult Eastern dragons, all in human form. They wore long flowing robes of various colors and billowing sleeves, and the weight of their combined stares nearly knocked the air from my lungs.
As the doors groaned shut behind me, I faced the roomful of dragons and bowed, feeling their gazes on the back of my neck. “Please forgive my tardiness,” I said, holding the bow. “The climb up the mountain was…steeper than I first imagined. I hope I have not kept you long.”
“You,” one of the females said, her smooth voice tinged with anger. She was an older woman, smaller than me by several inches, with silver-gray hair braided down her back and piercing dark eyes. “How dare you come here, demanding an audience with the council, mere days after Talon brutally attacks our kind for no reason? You slaughter our people, burn our temples to the ground, send those… abominations to destroy us, and now you have the audacity to stand before us in the name of peace and cooperation.” Her eyes started to glow an ominous yellow as the outline of her true form—a massive red dragon with a golden mane and horns—flickered overhead for a split second. “Tell me, hatchling, why shouldn’t we kill you here and now? What can you possibly do to stop us?”