“How do you know?” I challenged. “You haven’t even met any rogues besides me. All you know is what Talon preaches at you.” He gave me an exasperated look, as if I were the unreasonable one, and it made me want to pull my hair out. “Dammit, open your eyes, Dante. Talon doesn’t have our best interests at heart. They’re not who they say they are.”
“Ugh, we’re having the same argument we had in Crescent Beach,” Dante said, making a hopeless gesture. “And nothing has changed. Look, sis, just...come with me, all right?” His expression became hopeful, pleading. “There’s someone you have to meet. When you do, you’ll see why we belong with Talon. You’ll see why we’re special.” He took a step back, holding out a hand. “No more arguing. Just come with me. Please.”
“Do I have a choice?”
I thought that might irritate him, but he only shook his head. “No,” he murmured, almost sadly. “You don’t.” He took a short breath, as if he were nervous on my behalf. “The Elder Wyrm has called for you, Ember. It’s time you met the leader of Talon, face-to-face.”
*
The elevator came to a stop, and the doors slid open.
Dante stepped out, followed by his bodyguards, and glanced back at me. “Come on, sis,” he urged as I hung back in the box. The elevator had opened onto a short hall with a pair of massive wooden doors at the end. “We’re expected. You don’t want to keep the Elder Wyrm waiting.”
I took a furtive breath and stepped through the frame to join Dante in the hallway. Another pair of guards stood at the entrance, and they gave Dante short nods as they pulled back the doors. I followed my brother into a massive office, stark and cold for all its elegance, everything colored in black, white and gray. A chill hung in the air that had nothing to do with the air-conditioning, and I shivered.
The desk was empty, but a figure stood at the windows, gazing out on the city below. When she turned, it was like watching a giant—a mountain—turn to stare at you, crushing you under the weight of its gaze. The breath left my lungs in a rush, and I suddenly couldn’t move, frozen like a mouse under the stare of the most powerful dragon in the world.
“Ember Hill.” The Elder Wyrm smiled, and it was somehow even more terrifying than if she’d roared and spit fire at me. “We meet at last.
“Nothing to say?” the Elder Wyrm asked after a moment of silence as I tried to convince myself not to cringe in terror. My hands were shaking, my eyes fixed to a spot on the carpet, unwilling to stare directly at the woman in front of me. The Elder Wyrm’s voice was quietly amused as I stood there, trembling. “Your brother says you are opinionated and quite verbose, especially when it comes to my organization. Well, speak, then, Ember Hill. Do not fear—there will be no repercussions for speaking your mind. I simply wish to know your thoughts.”
I had to force myself to breathe. In and out, Ember, in and out. She’s not going to kill you, at least not yet. “I don’t...really know why I’m here,” I managed.
The Elder Wyrm gave me a puzzled look, raising her brows. I swallowed the fear screaming at me to be silent, and continued. “I mean, I don’t know what you think you’re going to convince me of,” I went on. “You went through a lot of trouble to bring me back, so you must want something from me. But I’ve seen what Talon does, both to the humans and our own kind. And I know you’re hoping that I’ll just fall in line like everyone else, but... I’m not going to change.”
“That is where you are mistaken, I’m afraid.”
I stared at her, heart pounding. Her voice was calm, certain. As if she had complete confidence in what she was saying. The Elder Wyrm smiled again, those hard green eyes appraising me like a sculptor would a block of marble, seeing how he would have to break it down to achieve the final masterpiece.
“You don’t know who you are, Ember Hill,” the Elder Wyrm stated. “You have no idea why you are so important to Talon. You must have wondered why we would go through all this trouble to bring you back, instead of simply letting Lilith deal with you. To ‘correct her mistake,’ as she wanted.”
A shiver went through me at the mention of my old trainer. “I thought it was because of Dante,” I said, deliberately not looking at my brother, who still stood motionless behind the Elder Wyrm with his hands clasped in front of him.
The Elder Wyrm chuckled. “Dante has no sway over the organization. Not yet. Soon, perhaps.” She spared him a brief glance over her shoulder, a chilling glint of satisfaction in her eyes. Dante gazed straight ahead, statue-like, as the Elder Wyrm turned back to me. “Which is why you are so important to Talon, Ember,” she continued. “You and your brother both. You see, twenty years ago, I made a decision. This organization, this empire, has been my whole life. I have watched it grow, flourish, even in the face of St. George and everything they do to rip it apart. For hundreds of years, I have guided Talon, and I have watched our numbers grow from a mere dozen dragons to the global power we are now. And yet, it is not enough. I have seen nations rise and fall, lived through countless wars, watched the birth of many new and wonderful things. I have built this empire from nothing, and I intend for it to endure until the end of time. But I know I cannot live forever.”
The Elder Wyrm turned from me to stare out the window again. Her expression, reflected in the glass, was solemn. “Twenty years ago,” she continued, her voice becoming distant, “I decided I needed an heir. I built Talon from nothing—I refused to leave it in the hands of a stranger. Even the best-intentioned dragons would not concede to my wishes. They would try to make Talon their own. They would change everything and destroy my vision in the process. I did not want to leave my company to someone not of my blood.”
My heart had started pounding again as I realized where this was going. You’ll understand soon, Dante had whispered to me, right before we came here. You’ll see why we’re special.
I clenched my fists. No, I thought, disbelieving. It can’t be true. The Elder Wyrm turned from the window, her eyes piercing as they stared at me.
“So you see, Ember,” she said. “You are more important to Talon than you know. You and your brother were destined from the beginning. You are my blood, the true heirs of the organization, and I need you to continue my work after I am gone. Dante has already accepted his role.” She gestured to my brother, though her gaze stayed on me. “It is time to stop playing these foolish games and take your place in Talon, where you belong.”
I swallowed hard, still staggered from the revelation. I was the daughter of the Elder Wyrm, the most powerful dragon in the world. The heir to Talon, and everything it offered.