“And how long is this going to take? Weeks? Months?”
“I do not know,” Jade said. “Hopefully, it will not be that long.” I gave a sigh of frustration, and her eyes narrowed. “I have watched over your underground, Cobalt,” she reminded me. “I have fought with you in battle, time and time again. And I have always returned when I said I would. Can you not give me the benefit of the doubt in this? Do you think that I do not understand what is at stake, what will happen to us all if Talon wins?”
“I know.” I held up a hand. “I’m sorry. You’re right—you’ve always come back. It’s just…” I shrugged helplessly. “This is the big one, I think. If we don’t succeed here, the world is going to burn when that army wakes up. And you’re our heavy hitter, Jade. Against Talon, we’re going to need all the help we can get.”
“Which is why I am going,” the Eastern dragon returned. “The dragons of the East cannot remain neutral in this war any longer. I hope to bring back a few of my kin, at the very least. Even if I must drag them here by their overly elegant whiskers.” Her eyes glittered, and the statement would’ve been funny if Jade herself wasn’t so terrifying. “But you are wrong in saying that I am your ‘heaviest hitter,’ Cobalt,” she went on. “Physical strength is not the most important aspect in this war. If you want the true warriors, look to those whose hearts burn with passion, loyalty, justice and courage, for they will be the ones who will lead us to victory. You won’t have to look far.”
I gave a resigned nod. “Do the others know you’re leaving?”
“I’ve told the soldier. He has already wished me luck.” She stepped back and hovered in the doorway. “I’ll return as soon as I can,” she said. “Don’t wait for me here—I will find you again. Oh, and if you would, please tell Mist to lead the morning meditations in my absence. I don’t want the hatchlings to neglect their inner reflections, especially now.”
“Right.” I dredged up a smirk. “I’ll do that. Well, good luck to you. Hopefully, we’ll see you soon, with a giant army of Eastern dragons behind you.”
“I will try.” Jade nodded as she stepped away. “We will see who can be more stubborn but, as you Americans would put it, do not hold your breath. Until we meet again, Cobalt. Wesley.” She nodded to the human at the desk. “Keep him out of trouble.”
Wes snorted. “Right. Don’t ask the impossible or anything.”
Jade smiled. Then, as she had done several times before, she turned and walked away, vanishing from our lives for a little while. I hoped we would see her again. If she could convince the Eastern dragons to fight, if they would stand with us against Talon, I’d lead those morning meditations myself.
Mist entered the room, her footsteps silent as always. I felt that weird twist in my stomach again, my senses perking to life when she was around. “Is Jade going somewhere?”
“Only back to bloody China,” Wes answered. “Again. Says she going to try to rally the Eastern dragons to fight, but bloody good luck with that. You know what those old wankers are going to say, right?” He raised a hand like he was holding a teacup, lifting his pinky finger into the air. “Let us now meditate upon the world going to hell.”
“Don’t be an ass, Wesley.” I sighed. “Jade knows what she’s doing.”
“Oh, well, pardon me. I was just a wee bit worried that we’re all going to fucking die in the next few days, that’s all. That some wanker is going to aim the whole bloody lot of us at Talon and get us all killed.” Wes was in rare form this evening, and my own anger stirred in response, fed by the fear and stress and exhaustion of the past few days. “Hey, remember the island? Remember the bloody Adult dragon they had guarding the place? Know what would’ve been nice to fight that thing? Another bloody Adult dragon.”
I reached down, grabbed him by the front of the shirt and yanked him out of the chair. “There was another Adult dragon on that island!” I snarled in his face. “Her name was Scarlett, and she died to make sure we got out safely. So don’t bitch at me like I have no clue as to what’s going on. Like I don’t know what this really is, that it’s a fucking suicide mission. I already know, better than anyone.” I released his shirt and pushed him back to the chair, glowering down at him. “My underground is probably going to die,” I said, voicing the words that had been haunting me ever since that video came to light. “Everything I’ve worked for, everyone I’ve protected, those kids I promised to save from Talon…they’re going to be marching straight into their jaws. Same with the dragonells. We rescued them from the island only to throw them right back at the organization. So yes, Wesley, I realize that having an Adult around would be nice. I realize that our numbers right now aren’t going to be enough to take on the organization. I know everyone is terrified but trying really hard not to show it. Because there’s no one else who can do this. It’s just us. We are the resistance, and if we can’t stop this, the world is screwed.”
Wes stared at me with hooded eyes. “You done, mate?” he finally asked. I resisted the urge to yank him to his feet again and throw him through the window.
“Yeah,” I growled shortly. “Something more you wanted to add?”
“After that little scene? Fuck, no.”
“Good.” Raking a hand over my scalp, I stepped away from him, feeling that if I didn’t get some air I might start putting holes through walls. Mist was watching me from just inside the door, her expression carefully neutral. For some reason, I was suddenly embarrassed that she had seen me lose control, and then I was annoyed about being embarrassed. “Keep researching the laboratory,” I told the sulking human. “I’ll…be back in a second.”
I swept out of the room before either of them could say anything.
The living room and kitchen were full of young dragons, sitting at the counter talking, playing cards, reading or gathered around the one television in the house. Phones, tablets and personal computers had been strictly forbidden for security reasons; the only computer allowed on the property was Wes’s laptop, and it was probably more secure than the Pentagon. This did make for some very bored hatchlings—how did kids ever function before smartphones?—so we had to come up with other ways to keep them entertained. Nettle, perched cross-legged on the sofa, looked up from a hand of UNO cards and waved as I stalked by. I paused a moment to watch her and four others, including a pair of hatchlings from the facility, toss cards into the pile in the center amid much laughing and good-natured taunting. The game ended with one of the dragonells shouting “UNO!” as she threw down her final card, and the rest of the table exploded into loud groans and laughter. Nettle looked back and grinned at me.
“Hey, Cobalt,” she called, and waved a hand at the table. “Wanna play? We have room for one more, and someone has to stop Sera’s four-game winning streak.”
“Maybe some other time,” I said, and the girl bobbed her head before returning to the game. I watched them a moment longer, glad to see the grin back on Nettle’s face as she began shuffling the deck. After Remy’s death, she had become angry at the world, making snarky, acidic remarks to anyone who tried talking to her. After this resulted in a near-fight with one of the boys, Jade had stepped in and taken the furious, grieving hatchling into another room. Two hours later, Nettle had emerged wet-faced and puffy-eyed, but gradually began acting like herself again. And after that, morning meditations became a regular thing.
I gazed around the room, taking in every dragon there. Realizing that it would never be like this again.