A flicker of emotion went through her cold blue eyes. Was it worry? Irritation? Defiance? I wasn’t sure, for it was gone in the space of a blink. “Of course, sir,” Mist said, coolly polite as always. “If that is what you desire.”
“Dante,” the soldier of St. George called before we could step out. I gave him a look of amused surprise. I expected Cobalt to throw out a few parting insults, but the human, from the little I remembered of him in Crescent Beach, had always seemed reserved. Of course, he was still a soldier of St. George, a human who hated our kind and who, very likely, had been in Crescent Beach to kill us both. “Where is Ember?” the soldier asked. “Is she all right? What have you done to her?”
“I’m afraid you don’t get to know that, St. George,” I stated, though the genuine concern in his voice surprised me. “I am certainly not going to share my sister’s whereabouts with you. Ember is too important to Talon to risk. Rest assured, she is safe, and she is out of your reach. Neither of you will ever see her again.”
The door opened again, and another dragon stepped through, a young adult with slicked-back hair and beady black eyes. Mist saw him, and a fleeting look of disgust crossed her face before it was neutral once more.
“Mr. Luther will take over the interrogation,” I said, nodding to the other Basilisk. “I understand he has a knack for this type of procedure, so you needn’t worry about your orders, Miss Anderson. They have been taken care of.”
Luther glanced at the prisoners, then back at Mist, smiling. “Have the subjects been prepared?” he asked in a thin, high-pitched voice.
“Yes,” Mist replied with cool disdain. “They’ve been given the truth serum, though I must warn you. I’ve dealt with Cobalt before—he is highly resistant to questioning, even if he has been drugged. I think you’re going to find this task challenging.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Miss Anderson,” Luther said, rubbing his hands together. “I enjoy a challenge. And forgive me for saying so, but you are far too nice for this. If the drugs won’t do it, there are other ways of making them talk.”
Mist’s gaze hardened at the other dragon’s words, but she simply nodded. “Of course,” she replied, gesturing toward the prisoners with a distinct have at it motion. “They’re all yours.”
“Well,” I said, a strange sense of guilt stealing over me. This was Cobalt, I reminded myself. The rogue who had stolen Ember away and turned her against me. He was getting exactly what he deserved for all the trouble he’d caused Talon and myself. “We’ll leave you to it, Mr. Luther. Miss Anderson, if you would come with me, please.”
She followed me out of the room, down several hallways where guards and humans in white coats nodded to us respectfully, until we stepped into the elevator and the doors closed behind us.
“I suppose you are going to inform me why you pulled me away from my job, Mr. Hill?” Mist asked as the box began to ascend.
“I am.”
“And I suppose the reason could not wait until after I had completed my interrogation of Cobalt and the soldier?”
“No.” I gave her a hard look. Mist had never openly challenged me. Though I had often caught hints of skepticism or disapproval whenever we spoke, she had always been coolly professional. Now she seemed almost irritated that I had stopped her from questioning the rogue and the soldier. I remembered that Cobalt had bested her before, in a very similar situation. Mist had tried to get information out of him and had not only failed to do so but had let him escape in the process. I knew she had returned to the organization and had been reassigned; I didn’t know if she had been disgraced by her failure, or if Talon had blamed the rogue.
Maybe her attitude was about revenge, I mused. Or, perhaps, her wish to redeem herself for that past failure. In any case, it didn’t matter. I needed her for something else.
“I’m leaving today,” I told her. “By order of the Elder Wyrm. My car is on its way now. But, before I go, I need you to do something for me, Mist.”
She raised an elegant silver eyebrow. “And what is that, Mr. Hill?” she asked coolly.
“I want you to keep an eye on Ember,” I said, making her blink. “Make sure nothing happens to her, and that she doesn’t try to escape.” I paused, then shook my head. “Actually, I’m sure she’ll try. But make sure she doesn’t succeed. I need to know she’ll be safe, and there’s no one else I trust to do this. You don’t need to guard her door 24/7, just know where she is and what she’s doing. I’ll feel a lot better about leaving if I know you are looking out for her.”
“I see.” Mist’s voice was flat. “And if Ms. Hill does get into some kind of trouble, what am I supposed to do?”
“Stop her,” I said. “However you can, without doing permanent harm. And inform me right away. Just remember, Ember is very important to the Elder Wyrm. Stop her from doing anything foolish—but if she comes to any harm, I’m not the one you need to worry about.”
The Basilisk sighed. “As you wish, Mr. Hill. I will keep an eye on your sister for you, and inform you if anything is amiss. Is there anything else you need me to do?”
“One more thing,” I said as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. “The Elder Wyrm has decreed that we do not need Cobalt or the soldier anymore. When Luther is finished with the interrogation, no matter the outcome, kill them both.”
EMBER
The door to my room clicked and swung open.
I looked up warily from the bed as three armed guards entered the room flanking a human in a white coat. Dante was not among them this time.
“Where are Garret and Riley?” I asked, sliding off the bed. I didn’t know how long it had been since I’d seen the rogue and the soldier, and my worry for them was a constant gnawing ache in my stomach. I knew Talon would never let me see them, and it was driving me insane. “I don’t need to know exactly where they are,” I told the human. “Just tell me if they’re all right.”
“They’re alive,” the human said in a slightly threatening voice. “And they will continue to remain so, as long—”
“As I cooperate. Yeah, you’ve told me that before. I get it.”
His lips thinned. “Hold her still,” he told the guards, who walked forward and took my arms. The scientist reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a syringe, the needle glinting ominously under the lights, and my heart sank.