And yet… I knew that was a lie. I wasn’t so naive as to think that the Elder Wyrm, the oldest, most powerful dragon in the world, would share all her secrets with me. And if this was true, what then? I couldn’t defy Talon, and I certainly couldn’t challenge the Elder Wyrm, not if I wanted to keep my position. Or even my life. I’d come too far, worked too hard, to give up everything now.
The door to the room opened with a creak and the monk stepped inside. “The council is ready for you,” he announced. “Please follow me.”
My mind spun as I walked the long hallway into the inner chamber again. Six ancient dragons waited for me with their answer for the Elder Wyrm, but I could barely focus. Besides, I knew what they were going say even before I set foot in the chamber.
“Dante Hill.” The oldest-looking dragon rose from his seat, observing me over the table. “Blood of the Elder Wyrm. You can return to Talon with this message—the Eastern council has come to a decision, and the answer is no. We will not be joining Talon, now or anytime in the future. If this results in our destruction, then so be it. Your organization will have to survive without us.”
“Very well.” I bowed to them all and stepped away, suddenly eager to leave. “I will return to the Elder Wyrm with your answer. I am sorry that we could not come to an accord, that we could not change the world together.”
The old dragon’s eyes glittered. “The world the Elder Wyrm envisions is not a world for us,” he said, and his last words followed me out of the chamber, haunting my steps. “I wonder if you yourself realize what type of world you are helping to bring about.”
EMBER
I stood on deck of a large container ship, the wind snapping at my hair as the vessel plowed through the waves, and watched the moon rise over the edge of the world. The sky was clear, the moon an enormous yellow eye hovering over the water, seeming to watch us as we sailed straight into the Bermuda Triangle.
It had been nearly two days since we’d shoved off from the Florida coastline and headed due east into the North Atlantic Ocean. I didn’t know what resources Lieutenant Martin had called upon, but they appeared to have come through, for this empty, midsize container ship had been waiting for us off the coast. It was inconspicuous, able to traverse vast ocean distances at a fairly good speed—Garret told me the average cargo vessel could average fourteen to seventeen kilometers per hour—and, best of all, it was perfect for holding a large number of pregnant Shifted dragons.
“I thought I might find you here.”
I turned as Garret came up the steps, his boots making almost no sound on the metal rungs. He was dressed head to toe in black combat gear, and had pulled a dark ski cap over his pale hair, leaving only his face uncovered. He looked, as always, like a soldier, but one with a slightly different mission than normal. Infiltration, rather than assault. For the first part, anyway.
“We’re about twenty minutes from the island,” Garret said, joining me at the rail. I felt his hand brush my arm as he gazed down at me. “Are you ready for this?”
I nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” We’d be stopping about a kilometer from the island, whereupon we would take two pairs of Zodiacs—low-slung, fast-moving rubber rafts—the rest of the way. I gazed over the water, trying to spot our destination in the darkness and moonlight, but we were still too far out. And even though I hated to ask, I felt I had to know. “What about the rest of St. George?”
“This is a mission,” Garret replied. “It’s what we’ve trained for. The target is different, but the trappings are the same. The soldiers have been conditioned to follow orders, even if it conflicts with what they believe. Even if their mission is to save a group of dragons and not slaughter them.”
“And Lieutenant Ward?” He, unfortunately, was coming with us, as well. In fact, it was a fairly sizable force we were talking to the island: three dragons and two dozen soldiers of St. George, not to mention the lieutenants of the Order. Wes was staying behind with the ship, but would be in radio contact the whole time, providing support in navigating the island. We all knew what we were doing.
But a lot could go wrong, and I was trying not to think about it. I hoped Garret was right about the soldiers of the Order. We had enough to worry about without Peter Matthews, or Lieutenant Ward for that matter, going crazy in the presence of so many dragons and opening fire.
Garret eased closer, his warmth melting away the chill of the wind. “Ward is still a soldier,” he reminded me in a soft voice. “He’ll follow the mission, and he’ll be able to keep the others in line. But if he can’t…” His eyes glittered under the moonlight, filled with dark promise. “We’ll do what we have to do.”
I shivered, remembering his face when I’d told him about my encounter with Peter Matthews. For the first time since I’d known him, I’d been afraid Garret would lose it, that he would stalk out of the room, hunt down the other soldier and calmly break all his limbs. Thankfully, he’d controlled himself, and we’d both avoided the soldiers of the Eastern Chapterhouse until now, but I knew he was worried about Ward and his men.
I leaned into him for a moment, hearing his heartbeat echo mine. His arms slid around my waist, drawing me closer, and I sighed. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Hey.”
Footsteps echoed on the stairs, and Riley appeared, walking across the deck to join us. Garret didn’t release me, but Riley barely gave us a second glance as he leaned his elbows against the railing and stared over the waves. The wind tossed his loose hair and jacket, and his eyes glowed a subtle yellow in the darkness. As I often did, I could see Cobalt there, long neck raised to the sky, wings fluttering behind him in the wind.
“Gotta hand it to you, St. George,” Riley murmured, his gaze still on the distant horizon. “I didn’t think your Order would actually come through, but here we are. On a ship in the middle of the freaking Bermuda Triangle.” He shook his head, but it wasn’t in anger or disgust; he seemed truly amazed. “After all this time, the facilities are within reach. I can finally get those kids out of there, and then burn that whole place to the ground.”
“We haven’t rescued anyone yet,” Garret said quietly. His arms were still around my waist, and he seemed content to leave them there. And strangely, I sensed no jealousy from Cobalt; it was like he didn’t even notice.
“Yeah, I know.” Riley gave the soldier a sideways look, then returned his attention to the sea. “Point is… I know when I’m outmatched,” he muttered. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this on my own. Not way out here. I wouldn’t even be able to get close.” He snorted and shook his head again, this time in wry disgust. “It’s hilarious to think that the only way I have a chance of rescuing these dragons is with the fucking Order of St. George backing me up. If you’d told me that a year ago, I would’ve laughed in your face or thought you’d sailed right into crazy town. But now…” He paused, as if he couldn’t believe he was saying this. “We might actually pull this crazy thing off. If the Order remembers which side they’re supposed to shoot, anyway.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. And that was the problem; we couldn’t fully trust half our team in a mission where trust was vital. For Riley’s sake, and for the sake of the breeders he’d fought so hard to find, I hoped this mission would not end in tragedy.
A rumble went through the ship, the shudder of engines as the vessel slowed. Not stopping, but cutting through the waves at about half our former speed.
Garret raised his head, a flash of steely determination crossing his face as he gazed over the ocean. “There it is,” he whispered, making my stomach do a couple backflips before settling. I followed his gaze and saw a distant silhouette against the blue-black of the sky.
“Yup.” Riley pushed himself off the railing, that defiant smirk mirroring the gleam in his eyes. “It’s showtime.”
RILEY