I winced. She was right; seeing that army of vicious, mindless dragon clones would not help our cause to convince St. George that the creatures they were fighting didn’t deserve to die. “One step at a time,” I muttered. “We’ll take care of the Order first, and then we’ll worry about Talon.”
She nodded, falling silent. And for a few heartbeats, we sat quietly against each other, lost in our own dark thoughts, yet unwilling to move. Realizing this could be the last time we saw each other. Again. As Ember had said, it seemed that we were forever being forced apart, by the war, by our enemies, even by each other. Reluctance battled a weary sense of resignation. It would always be like this, I realized. Fearing for each other’s lives, knowing that each moment together could be our final one.
“You have to go, don’t you?” Ember murmured at last. I nodded.
“Yeah,” I husked out, reluctant to pull away, knowing I had to. “Martin is waiting for me. He’ll be impatient to get back.” Back to St. George. Back to the Order and the brothers I had betrayed. If I didn’t know Martin so well, I might think he was setting me up, attempting to trap me behind enemy lines. But Gabriel Martin, in all the time I had known him, had always been a man of his word, even when it came to his enemies. I wondered what the other soldiers would say, how they would react, when I came through those gates. Not as a prisoner or a hostage, but as a soldier once more. One who was loyal to dragons.
I guessed I would find out soon enough.
“If Riley doesn’t come,” I told Ember, “if he decides not to risk his underground, tell him I understand. And...tell him thank you. He’ll know what for.”
“I will.” Ember drew back, blinking rapidly. “And we’ll see each other again,” she said, her eyes shadowed but determined. “I’ll be there soon, with or without a rogue army.” She pressed a hand to my cheek, her gaze fierce, as if she was memorizing my face. “Just promise me you’ll stay alive until I can get there, soldier boy. If I’m going to die fighting Talon, I’m going to do it beside you.”
I gave a half smile. “That sounds tragically noble,” I joked, trying to ease some of the shadows in her eyes. To fool myself into thinking this wasn’t quite as serious as I knew it was. That it wouldn’t end as I suspected. “The soldier of St. George and the dragon, killed together on the field of battle.”
“Fighting on the other side of the war,” Ember added. “Even though they’re supposed to be mortal enemies who hate each other. Like the Montagues and Capulets.”
“If Romeo didn’t die from poison,” I finished. “And Juliet was a fire-breathing dragon.”
She chuckled, tilting her head. “That’s an interesting thought,” she mused. “If she was, do you think the story would’ve ended like it did?”
I gave a weary smile. “I think we’re going to find out,” I murmured, and kissed her. She leaned close, one hand gripping the front of my shirt, the other sliding into my hair. I closed my eyes and breathed her in, searing this moment into my brain, in case it really was the final one.
Ember pulled back very slightly, her gaze finding mine. “I love you, soldier boy,” she whispered. “I know you’ve heard it before, but I’m going to keep saying it...just in case I don’t get another chance. And I wish we had more time. We didn’t have a lot to begin with.” A shadow of anguish crossed her face before she blinked it away. “But I’ll take whatever we have. And Martin is probably getting impatient. So go on.” She gave my chest a little push, drawing back. “Before this gets any harder. I’ll find you again, I promise.” Though her eyes remained dark, she gave a tiny, wicked smile. “Don’t start the fight without me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Leaning forward, I kissed her once more. “I love you, too, Ember,” I murmured. “We’ll see each other soon.” And, even though it was one of the hardest things I’d ever made myself do, I slid out of the booth and walked away. Out of the bar, and into the dimly lit parking lot.
Martin was waiting for me outside the door in the flickering light of a broken streetlamp. His arms were crossed, and his gaze was scrutinizing as I approached. “That took longer than I thought it would,” he said as I stopped in front of him. “The Sebastian I knew once could barely hold a conversation with a civilian, let alone a girl.” His eyes narrowed. “What were you and that dragon talking about that was so interesting? You know what...never mind.” He held up a hand. “I don’t want to know. Do you have everything you need with you?”
Everything except the girl in question. “Yes, sir,” I replied simply.
“You are armed, I take it?”
“Yes, sir,” I said again.
He nodded, unsurprised. “All right. Before we go, let me make one thing clear, Sebastian,” he said gravely. “The only reason I’m even considering this is because the Order is so fractured, and the hierarchy within St. George is nearly nonexistent. If what you say is true, then my duty is to defend my chapterhouse and the soldiers who live there at all costs. That said, I would watch your back when we get there. I can protect you from the soldiers when we arrive, but don’t think you’re going to be welcomed back with open arms. You’re still a traitor and a dragonlover, and everyone in St. George knows what you’ve done. This is a temporary truce at best. And if your dragon friends do show up, I won’t order them shot on sight, but they should stay as far away from the soldiers as they can. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied once more. It wasn’t ideal; I knew my former brothers despised me just as much as the dragons they fought. I knew I was still a traitor, still the enemy in their eyes. Much like Kain, there were several soldiers I could think of who would want retribution and might try to take it out of me themselves. Those same soldiers would be enraged if a group of dragons showed up at the chapterhouse, even ones who were supposed to be allies. I would have to be careful, to protect both myself and my “scaly friends” from my former brothers. If they hurt Ember, or any hatchling in Riley’s network, I would never forgive myself.
Still, though I would have to be cautious and tread very lightly, it was a huge first step. Martin had listened to us. He’d spoken to Ember without trying to kill her. And for the first time in history, a group of dragons would be allowed inside St. George. This would change everything.
If Riley decided to show, that was. And any of us were still alive after the Night of Fang and Fire.
Martin nodded and gestured to a black jeep a few spaces down. “All right,” he said grimly. “Let’s move out.”
As I followed him into the vehicle and closed the door, I was struck by a vague sense of déjà vu. I’d been in this jeep with Martin only once before, but I remembered it as clearly as if had been yesterday. Six years ago, when he’d picked me up from the Academy of St. George, and we’d driven to attend Lucas Benedict’s funeral.