“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.
But at the same time, I was loath to leave. Ember was finally home. I wanted to talk to her, if not to convince her to join us, then to attempt to understand why she was being so stubborn. How could she not see the huge potential staring her in the face? We were the offspring of the Elder Wyrm. Why couldn’t she think about what we could do together, once we both ruled Talon?
I needed someone to keep an eye on her while I was gone, to make sure she was all right, and that she wouldn’t somehow sneak off again. The guards were competent, I supposed, but they didn’t have a vested interest in my sister. And Ember, as I’d seen time and time again, was just stubborn and crafty enough to be dangerous. Even if she couldn’t Shift, she might be too much for them to handle. I didn’t trust any of the humans in this place to keep my sister safe, to be competent enough to deal with her.
But...there was someone who could.
Making my decision, I headed for the elevator.
GARRET
“Well,” Riley sighed at my back, “today is going to be loads of fun. Ready for this, St. George?”
“Don’t have much of a choice, do I?” I muttered, mentally steeling myself for what I knew was coming. I sat in a chair with my hands cuffed behind the metal back, a spotlight shining in my face. To my left sat a table laid out with instruments and needles that glinted under the light; it wasn’t hard to guess what they would be used for.
Behind me, Riley snorted. “Try not to scream like a little girl too much,” he said. “My perception of you isn’t that great to begin with.”
The door opened, and a girl entered the room, followed by two men in white suits. Riley turned his head, and I felt his smirk even without seeing it.
“Mist,” he drawled. “We just keep meeting like this. What’s the matter, didn’t get enough of me last time?”
The girl ignored him, but the men picked up a pair of syringes from the table, walked over and smoothly sank the needle into my neck. It burned as it entered my skin, and I clenched my jaw. Some sort of truth serum, if I had to guess. That would make resisting difficult, but I could not break and tell them what they wanted to know. Too many people depended on us. If Talon discovered them, they would all be in danger. Everyone I knew—Wes, Jade, Tristan, all the dragons in Riley’s underground—Talon wouldn’t spare any of them. And somewhere in this place, maybe close by, Ember was being held against her will.
Ember, I thought, and closed my eyes. Where are you? Are you going through the same hell we are? The thought of her strapped to a chair with a spotlight in her eyes, being prodded and tortured for information, was more painful than anything they could do to me. I’ll find you, somehow, I promise. Please, hang on.
“Are we ready?” Mist’s soft, cool voice made my heart pound, and I took a furtive breath, cementing my determination. I’m ready, I told myself, opening my eyes. Let’s get this over with.
“I’m surprised Talon let you do this again, Mist,” Riley said behind me. “It went so well for you last time. Though I am a little hurt. I thought we had something special.” His voice, though starting to slur, was heavy with sarcasm. He shifted in his chair, jerking his head back toward me. “But I don’t know why you decided to drag this poor bast
ard into it. If you think you’re going to get more out of him because he’s human, you’re sadly mistaken. You think I’d share my network secrets with a weak-willed mortal?” Riley sneered, his tone cutting. “You’re wasting your breath. He doesn’t know anything.”
Why are you protecting me? I wondered, but then I realized. No, he’s trying to protect his underground. He doesn’t think I can take this, that I might talk.
Mist walked around to observe me with appraising blue eyes. I met her stare, careful to give nothing away. To not let on that my eyelids were growing heavy, and the room was starting to ripple at the edges. “Or perhaps the opposite is true,” she said, watching my face intently. “Perhaps, against all your better judgment, you have let a soldier of St. George into your inner sanctum, and now he knows far too much. About you, and your underground, and all of Talon.” Her eyes narrowed, shrewd and calculating. “There are rumors that the Patriarch, the leader of the Order, is deceased. And that a single soldier was able to defeat him.” My gut knotted, but I kept my expression vacant. Mist raised an eyebrow and smiled. “I think there is more to this human than you’re letting on, Cobalt. And you are trying to protect both him and what he knows.”
“Hey.” The sneer in Riley’s voice sounded completely legitimate. “If you want to browbeat the kid until he wets himself and confesses that he still sucks his thumb at night, you go right ahead. I’ll be happy to share the attention.”
“No matter. You will both talk soon enough.” The faint smile lingered on the girl’s face as she walked back to the table. “Leave us,” she told the two men, who straightened quickly. “You’re not needed. I’ll take it from here.”
They nodded, but before they could go, the door swung open again, and a figure walked into the room. This time, it was Mist who straightened quickly. “Mr. Hill,” she exclaimed as Dante walked across the floor to stand before us. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
DANTE
“Do we need to stop the procedure?” Mist asked as I walked into the room. A few feet from her, Cobalt and the soldier of St. George sat back-to-back, hands cuffed behind them, a spotlight shining into their faces. I would admit, I felt a flicker of both relief and vindictive satisfaction to see Cobalt like that; Talon’s most infamous criminal would finally be brought to justice. And I was the one who had captured him.
“No, Miss Anderson,” I said. “I apologize for the interruption, but there is something I need you to do for me.”
“Come to finally take your shots, Dante?” the rogue asked, his expression twisted into a smirk. “It’s a lot easier to be brave when the guy can’t hit you back.”
“I am not here for you, traitor,” I said calmly, refusing to glance at him. “You are no longer of any consequence. Miss Anderson, if you would please come with me. I need to speak to you in private.”
Her brow furrowed. “But what of the prisoners?” she asked. “I have orders to question both Cobalt and the soldier, and the truth serum should be taking effect now.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Anderson.” I spared a quick glance at the rogue, keeping my voice professional, not letting the satisfaction leak into my tone. “I’ve assigned someone to take over. They should be here any moment now.”
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 t
o 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.
Another dose of Dractylpromazine. Fear and despair rose up, threatening to crush me. I forced them down. How were we going to get out of this? I’d been racking my brain to come up with an escape plan that didn’t leave one or more of us dead, but it seemed that Talon had countered our every move. I thought about attacking and fighting my way out. But I couldn’t Shift yet, and I had no doubt that Talon would happily kill Riley and Garret if they felt they no longer needed them. And Talon was counting on that. They knew I wouldn’t risk the lives of the rogue and the soldier. My attachments, as Lilith would say, were my greatest weakness.