“How is he?” she asked, her voice very soft.
I swallowed. “Tristan has always been a fighter,” I said numbly. “If he can survive the next twenty-four hours, they think he has a good chance of pulling through.” I gave her the words the medic told me that morning, but we both knew what it really meant. Ember paused, and then her hand came to rest over mine, fingers curling around my palm. I squeezed her hand as all the fear and uncertainties I’d suppressed rose up like a flood, threatening to drown me. I’d protected this chapterhouse, kept it safe as best I could, and Talon had still managed to nearly destroy it and everything I cared for.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen now,” I admitted. “The Order is gone. There’s no one left to stop Talon from doing whatever it is they’re planning.”
“Yes, there is,” Ember said quietly. “There’s us. We’re still alive, Garret.” She glanced down at our clasped fingers, her expression darkening. “I don’t know what will happen, either,” she said. “I don’t know what Talon has planned, or what Dante and the Elder Wyrm are doing now. But whatever comes, we face it together. Nothing is over yet.”
I met her gaze, feeling the heat rise up in my veins, letting it burn away the fear and uncertainty for now. Ember was here. I had lost a great deal—we all had—but at least the dragon I loved was still beside me. And I knew she would be there until the final battle with Talon loomed on the horizon. It was closer than ever. For better or worse, tonight the countdown had begun, and we were all rushing toward that final confrontation.
“Talon made a mistake last night,” Ember murmured. “They didn’t manage to kill us. And now we know what we’re up against.” Her eyes gleamed, fiery and determined, and for a moment, I could see the dragon, beautiful and terrible, overlaid like a second skin. “I think it’s time that we took the fight to them.”
EPILOGUE
DANTE
You failed, Dante.
Standing outside the doors to the Elder Wyrm’s office, my hands shook as I reached for the gold handles, hearing the echo of her words in my head, making my stomach turn over.
Failure. I had failed. Talon, the Elder Wyrm herself, had entrusted me with this assignment, and I hadn’t been able to complete it. It didn’t matter that we had decimated St. George. It didn’t matter that their numbers had been reduced to a handful. Almost was not success. My mission was the complete and utter destruction of the base and every living thing in it. If even one soldier survived, that was a failure in the eyes of Talon. Worse, nearly all the vessels in my command had been destroyed, including the Adult that was supposed to have ensured our victory. I didn’t know what had gone wrong. But somehow, Ember and Cobalt’s arrival had thrown everything into chaos, and they had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
Ember, I thought furiously. I won’t forgive this. Next time, you can expect no mercy from me.
If there was a next time. With a deep breath, I turned the handle and walked into the office of the Elder Wyrm.
Like many other times, she was standing at the windows, gazing down at the city far below, and she didn’t turn when I walked into the room. Heart pounding, I crossed the floor until I was a few feet behind her and clasped my hands together, waiting for her to acknowledge me.
“The Western chapterhouse still stands, Dante.”
I swallowed the dryness in my throat. “Yes, ma’am,” I replied simply. “Ember and Cobalt arrived at the last minute with a group of rogues and were able to rout the attack.”
The Elder Wyrm was silent for a moment, then gave a dry chuckle.
“And so you continue to defy me, daughter,” she said, sounding more amused than angry. “Very well. Play your games, if you like. It will make no difference in the end.”
She turned from the window then, and I cast my gaze to the floor as those piercing eyes fixed on me. “Do not worry, Dante,” she said, and my legs nearly gave out in relief. “The survival of a single Order chapterhouse is a minor thing. St. George is truly broken now. They have scattered to the winds, and it will take a miracle to bring them back together.” She smiled, and it held the weight of a thousand years behind it. “Our last opposition is no more. The Order of St. George was the final obstacle that needed to be removed. Now, nothing stands between us and our day of triumph. It is time to move on to the final phase.”
*