“I told you, sis.” Dante’s voice was low, triumphant. “This is where we belong. Think of what we could do together.” He stepped forward, smiling in a way I’d never seen before, chilling and intense. “You always wanted a family,” he said. “But you’ve always had one right here. And now, we can be the most powerful family in the world.”
For just a moment, I hesitated. The organization was right at my fingertips. Talon could be mine in the future; what could I do with that much power?
My stomach turned, and I staggered away from him. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I don’t want this. I won’t be a part of Talon, whether it’s at the bottom or the top. All the power in the world isn’t worth what I would have to pay.”
“What are you talking about?” Dante glared at me, anger and disbelief written across his face. “Ember, you don’t get it, do you? No one will challenge us at the top. We can finally be free. True freedom, without having to run from anything. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”
“At what price?” I snapped back at him. “What will I have to do, to stay at the top? Massacre another town? Slaughter a group of hatchlings in cold blood?” I shook my head, feeling my stomach roil. “There was a time when you wouldn’t even think of doing that. And now you’ll commit whatever atrocity they want.”
“Enough, both of you.” The Elder Wyrm’s expression was calm as she raised her hand, and two guards stepped forward to flank me. Dante fell silent, stepping back to glower at me, as the Elder Wyrm shook her head. “Well, I am disappointed that you feel that way,” she said as the guards took my arms. “But no matter. There are other avenues for negotiation that we haven’t explored. I’m sure we can find something we agree on.”
“Don’t waste your time,” I told her. “I won’t be a part of this, of whatever you’re planning. I’d rather die than be enslaved to Talon forever.”
“Such dramatics.” The Elder Wyrm smiled in a way that chilled my blood. My legs shook, and I had to fight to remain upright, to not sink to the floor under the weight of her stare. “And you have much to learn in the way of business. You see, everything has a price. Even the most stubborn, passionate souls have a breaking point. And we have millennia of experience in finding that one thing someone can’t live without.” She gestured, and as the guards turned me away, her final words became an echo of dread in my ears. “Make no mistake. You will serve Talon, one way or another. We just have to find that breaking point.”
DANTE
I watched as the guards led Ember away, a furious, roaring buzz in my ears. Had she really just done that? Stood before the Elder Wyrm, the oldest, most powerful dragon in the world, and defied her? Told her flat out that she wouldn’t cooperate? That she wouldn’t take her destined place in Talon, because the rogue had showed her differently?
Dammit, Ember. I clenched my fists. How could she be so pointlessly stubborn? She was the Elder Wyrm’s heir. We both were. I’d really believed that, once she knew who she was, she would realize the enormous potential staring her in the face. Together, we could change Talon and the whole world, but she didn’t see that. She saw only what she wanted, what Cobalt had told her. He had blinded her with his lies, turned her against me. Everything she’d done, everything that had come between us, began the moment she had met the rogue in Crescent Beach.
“Well,” the Elder Wyrm mused as the doors to the office closed once more. Her voice wasn’t angry or surprised or remotely disturbed. “That could have gone better.”
I took a breath to calm the fear and anger roiling within. My sister refused to bend. What would happen to her now? You did not defy the Elder Wyrm without consequences. I desperately wanted to ask, but at the same time, I knew that would be a breach of protocol. The Elder Wyrm was not to be questioned. Her word was law. If she thought you needed to know something, she would tell you.
“Dante,” the Elder Wyrm said, making everything inside me go still. I turned out of habit, the calm, blank mask hiding the turmoil within. The CEO of Talon wasn’t looking at me, however. She was still gazing at the door through which Ember had disappeared.
“You will leave tomorrow,” she said, and my stomach dropped to my toes. “Go to our main laboratory and prepare the vessels and their handlers for the upcoming mission. The first stage of the plan is nearly upon us. I want you to lead it.”
“Of course,” I said, though my voice came out a little choked. “Right away. But...”
The but was out of my mouth before I could stop it, and I winced. It was a tremendous honor to be chosen for this assignment. This was the most important task I had ever been given, the first step in finally ending the war with St. George, and the Elder Wyrm was entrusting it to me. I knew I should be grateful, excited, terrified. But if I left now, would I ever see my sister alive again?
The Elder Wyrm turned then, raising an elegant silver eyebrow. “But?” she repeated, her voice lethally soft. I shivered, but there was no going back now.
“What of Ember?” I asked, almost dreading the answer. “I mean...what does Talon plan to do with her, now that she refuses to cooperate?”
“You needn’t worry, Dante.” The Elder Wyrm gave a faint smile, not fooled in the slightest. “She may be uncooperative now, but we have ways of making even the most stubborn see reason. Often, all it takes is time. Now that she is here, back where she belongs, I am positive that she will come to accept her place in Talon.” She met my eyes, solemn and terrifying, and I instantly dropped my gaze. “Rest assured. I have no intention of killing your sister. You have my word on that. Now, go.” She turned and walked back to her desk, brusque and businesslike again. “You are no longer needed here. Ember is home, and now we must turn our sights to the future.” The Elder Wyrm sat down and folded her hands on the surface of the desk, her eyes piercing. “Our greatest moment is at hand, Dante,” she said, her voice sending shivers up my spine. “All the pieces are in place, poised for that final move. The final checkmate. And you are the one who will bring it to pass. I await word of your success.”
I left the Elder Wyrm’s office, feeling torn in several directions at once. Of course I had to obey the Elder Wyrm. There was no doubt in my mind. Once the leader of Talon gave you an order, you had to carry it through. And this was our most important project to date. Our entire future hung in the balance. I knew it was a great honor, being chosen to carry it out.