“Not...exactly.” The Elder Wyrm stepped forward, her eyes glowing green in the shadows, making me want to sink into the mattress. “That is what the rest of Talon thinks. They know I would never leave my organization in the hands of just any dragon, even one that is loyal to the organization. An older dragon would ignore my wishes and attempt to make Talon their own, to tear down my ideals and replace them with their own desires, and I have worked too hard to relinquish that control. I wanted someone of my blood, someone I could shape, and mold, who would continue my work should I fall. Dante is exactly what I need in an heir. I have no doubt he will do exactly as I wish and honor my will, if I am ever gone. But that is not why I created you.
“You are the perfect replica of me,” the Elder Wyrm went on. “We share the same blood, the same DNA, but it is more than that. You were specifically engineered to house my memories, my essence, if you will.” In the shadow cast by the overhead lights, her eyes glinted. “You are my vessel, Ember Hill,” she told me. “The envelope of my soul. Once I am ‘programmed’ into your brain, I will live for another thousand years. I have not come this far, and built so much, to abandon it to something as trivial as death.”
“But...” I was having trouble breathing; this felt like a nightmare. A paralyzing, horrific nightmare, something that couldn’t be real. “What about the other vessels?” I asked, my voice coming out small and desperate. “Can’t you use one of them?”
“No. The vessels were created for one purpose only, and that is war. Because their growth rate was so rapidly accelerated, their brains did not develop fully. They are able to accept simple programming. Anything more complex, and there are...complications.” The Elder Wyrm made a vague, disgusted gesture. “For a time, we experimented with implanting the memories of a runaway hatchling or rogue into a vessel. But something always happened—the vessels went mad or became catatonic, and we would have to destroy them and the donor dragon.” She said this calmly, like she was discussing a TV sitcom, not casually admitting the experimental mind rape and murder of numerous dragons.
“The vessels are unsuitable for memory transfer,” the Elder Wyrm continued. “They excel at what they were bred for, which is obeying orders and dying for our cause. But they cannot imprint memories or personality. For my objective to work, I needed a daughter, someone who shared my blood and my DNA. Who had the chance to grow up, to learn and develop normally, even as she rebelled against everything we stand for.” One elegant white hand rose to frame my face. Her nails lightly scraped my cheek before I flinched away. The Elder Wyrm smiled. “You will be my vessel, Ember Hill,” she said, and though her touch was light, her eyes were cold. As if she was inspecting an outfit for flaws. “My new body, in which I will live forever.”
“But...” I scrambled for a response, a way out, anything to stop this horrific reality from going forward. “You don’t know if this procedure will work, you just said so yourself. The vessels can’t imprint memories or personality. What if you get into my head and we both go nuts?”
“Oh, my dear.” The Elder Wyrm chuckled again and shook her head. “What makes you think you and Dante are the only children I created?”
My heart seemed to stop. “But you said—”
“I said the vessels are unsuited for memory transfer. Of course I would not risk myself if the procedure had not been perfected.” The Elder Wyrm shook her head at me, smiling. “You are not the first daughter of mine, Ember Hill. Nor the second, nor the third. You are simply the oldest. There were others, many others, before you. The first experiments were quite dismal—many were lost to madness, deformities or other failures. But we kept trying, knowing that with every clone we put down, we learned something new. We learned that the brain must have the chance to fully develop, to experience memory, emotion, personality and all the things that cannot be artificially emulated. So you see, daughter...” The Elder Wyrm smiled her coldest, most terrifying smile yet. “The secret of immortality is within my grasp, and it will be mine alone.”
“And...what happened to all the other clones?” I whispered. My sisters, the siblings I had never known. The Elder Wyrm’s terrifying expression didn’t change.
“They were destroyed.”
Straightening, she took a step back. “Unfortunately, before my memories can be implanted, we will have to remove yours,” she said. “Two personalities in one mind will certainly cause complications. I will no doubt have my hands full trying to adjust to my new body without having to fight your presence for control. Better that no trace of your personality remains when I settle in.”
Horror threatened to choke me. “You can’t do that,” I whispered.
“Of course we can,” the Elder Wyrm said. “Humans have been doing similar things for years, even without old magic. Brainwashing, hypnotism, forced amnesia...the mind is a curious thing.” She stepped back, watching as I forced myself to breathe, to not panic, though I felt that, if I opened my mouth, I would start screaming and not be able to stop. “Sacrifice has always been necessary for the survival of our race, Ember,” the Elder Wyrm said. “I know it means little now, but this will ensure that Talon never falls, and dragons are one step closer to ruling the world, as it should be.”
“Why now?” I asked desperately. “If this was what you were planning all along, why the charade? What was all that about having me take my place in Talon with Dante?”
“That was for Dante’s benefit,” the Elder Wyrm replied. “He is still disturbingly loyal to you and would not take the truth of your creation well. I allowed him to think he could save you, because a willing heir is much easier to work with. Which is why I sent him away for a time. I knew you would never agree to conform to Talon. From what I have seen and heard, you have been corrupted thoroughly by Cobalt. There are ways to get you to do what we want, of course, ways to leverage your cooperation. For instance, it is hard to be willful when your friends are screaming in pain on the other side of the glass.”
I closed my eyes, feeling my stomach turn inside out with the realization. I’d never had a chance here. Talon knew exactly what to do to get me to cooperate. If I saw Garret and Riley in pain, if the choice was between killing for Talon and letting either of them die... I would probably agree to whatever they wanted.
“But that is unnecessary,” the Elder Wyrm went on. “Your cooperation is not needed, Ember Hill. The timing is perfect. I have my army. I have my heir. Everything is in place. The only thing I require now is immortality.”
A human in a white coat appeared, his head bowed in respect as he approached the Elder Wyrm. “Ma’am? We’re ready to begin.”
“Excellent.” The Elder Wyrm’s predatory stare settled on the human. “And you are certain the procedure will be complete before the night of Fang and Fire?”