“Dante.” Mr. Ramsey’s attention shifted to me, as I’d known it would. “What is your real objective while in Crescent Beach?”
I pulled the buds out of my ear and hit Pause on my iPhone to give the human my full attention. Ember might be so distracted that she could barely think, but I hadn’t forgotten the real reason we were here. “Observe and blend in,” I answered calmly. “Learn how to engage with humans, how to be human. Assimilate into their social structure and make them believe we are one of them.”
Ember rolled her eyes, mocking my perfect dedication as she usually did. I gave a small shrug. I didn’t mind; one of us had to keep us grounded.
The rest of the ride passed in silence, and we were soon pulling into a small subdivision of neat white villas and tidy yards. I watched the houses roll by, seeing the many humans walking, jogging or riding their bikes down the sidewalk. They looked so...carefree, I thought. Carefree and ignorant. Completely unaware that two dragons were watching them from the backseat of a car.
Ember was going to love it here.
We pulled into the driveway of one of the many villas along the road, and after a brief introduction to our guardians, Mr. Ramsey left, and our appointed “aunt” showed us to our rooms.
After closing the door, I set my suitcase on the bed and gazed around, taking everything in. This was it. Assimilation had officially begun. From here on out, everything I’d learned, all my training, would come into play. When Talon called for me at the end of the summer, I would be ready for whatever they required of me.
If I could keep my reckless, impulsive twin from doing anything crazy.
Easier said than done, Dante.
Quickly, I changed, then headed toward Ember’s room, knowing she would be leaving the house as soon as she could. I hadn’t even knocked on her door when it swung open and my twin slammed into me from the other side.
“Oof.” I staggered back, wincing. “Ow. Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to go check out the beach—” ...together. Where I can keep an eye on you, make sure you don’t Shift and fly off into the sunset, or lose your temper around a human and char them to ash... “—but it looks like you beat me to it.”
Ember grinned, that same wicked, defiant grin she’d challenged me with when we’d still competed with each other in everything. Not realizing she was always the favored one, and that I competed because winning was the only way I could make them see me. “Race you to the water,” she challenged.
“Come on, sis. We’re not in training any—” But she was already past me, flying down the stairs, and I scrambled to catch up.
Later, after dunking each other in the ocean and getting it out of our systems, Ember and I wandered down the beach, checking out our new home. Ember seemed especially fascinated by the surfers farther out in deep water, gliding down the waves on their colorful boards, and that was mildly concerning, knowing she would want to try it sometime. Swimming was one lesson we hadn’t gotten a lot of in the Mohave Desert. As we continued down the strip, Ember’s eyes were huge, looking at everything, but I was searching for something specific.
I found it a couple minutes later—a group of human teens, playing volleyball in the sand. I observed them carefully as we approached; most of them were attractive—for humans—athletic, obviously well-off.
Perfect.
I nudged Ember’s shoulder. “Come on,” I said, and began walking toward the group. She followed hesitantly, frowning.
“Um. What are we doing?”
I gave her a wink. “Fitting in.”
“What, right now?” She eyed the humans. “I mean, you’re just going to walk up to a bunch of mortals and talk to them? What are you going to say?”
I grinned at her and ambled toward the net. My sister, who had never backed down a day in her life, was shy. “I figured I’d start with ‘hi.’”
Warily, she followed. As if on cue, one of the human’s dove wildly for the ball and sent it bouncing right for me. Instinctively, I caught it, and five pairs of eyes turned in my direction.
“Hey.” I looked at one of the girls and offered my most charming smile, the one that could make my teachers believe whatever I wanted. “Need a couple extra players?”
The girl nearly fell over from staring at me, but one of the guys gave me a shrug. “Sure, dude.” He was, I noticed, looking at Ember even as he spoke to me. “The more, the merrier. Come on in and pick a side.”
I smiled and joined them, even as I bit down a snort. Too easy.
*
Lexi and Calvin were pretty cool for humans, despite Calvin’s promise that he would teach Ember to surf when she asked about it. And Lexi talked...a lot. Even more than Ember, which was saying something.
And then, I saw him.
We were hanging out at the Smoothie Hut, a place that sold what our teachers referred to as “junk food,” when a weird shiver went up my spine. I turned from Calvin and gazed at the parking lot, just as a guy pulled up on a motorcycle and stared at us for a few seconds. He wore a leather jacket, and his black hair was messy and windblown. He met my stare, and one corner of his mouth curled up in a smirk, even as his eyes glinted yellow. Definitely not human.
Another dragon.
A rogue.
I didn’t know how I knew he was a rogue. Maybe because no dragon from Talon would randomly show up in a place where there were already two hatchlings. Maybe it was his eyes, gleaming and dangerous, or that defiant smirk that said he knew exactly what we were...and pitied us for it.
“Gorgeous Biker Boy.” Lexi sighed in response to something Ember said.
I felt a kick to my shins from below and jumped. Ember was giving me a worried look, and I realized that I’d been staring back at the rogue, the echo of a growl rumbling in my chest.
What are you doing, Dante? Get ahold of yourself.
Quickly, I excused the both of us, saying that our guardians wanted us home early tonight. I expected Ember to protest, but she only nodded and followed me back down the beach. When we were out of sight of the two humans, however, she jogged up and lightly smacked my arm.
“Hey,” she demanded. “What’s with you? You nearly went psychopathic lizard on me, right in front of two very normal humans. What’s the deal?”
“I know,” I rasped. “I’m sorry. It’s just...” I raked a hand through my hair, still keyed up. “Do you know what that was, in the parking lot just now?”
“You mean the other dragon? Yeah, I kinda noticed.”
“Ember.” I gave her a solemn look, willing her to understand. “That wasn’t anyone from Talon. That was a rogue. I’d bet my life on it.”
She blinked at me. I saw nervousness and alarm cross her face at the realization, but also something that raised the hairs on my neck. Curiosity. And...anticipation. The rogue intrigued her. And that, more than anything, made me realize I had to act. Before my twin did something unforgivable, something Talon could not overlook, and ruined the future for us both.