by Julie Kagawa
But I knew the real reason we’d failed. And I knew something no one else did.
Ember Hill was the sleeper.
Ember, the girl I’d kissed in my bedroom, who’d made me wonder what a normal life was like, who had been on my mind every single day from the time we met, was the enemy.
And now, I had to kill her.
I wasn’t sure what I’d been thinking, calling her so many times, hoping and dreading she’d pick up. What I should have done was tell the captain immediately, reveal her identity, where she lived, where we could find her. If Ember was the sleeper, that meant her brother was likely a dragon, as well. There might be numerous dragons in Crescent Beach, not just the pair they’d been tracking. It was my duty to tell the Order everything I knew.
But I couldn’t do it. Not yet. Though I didn’t know what I was going to do. Especially when she called me back. Hearing her voice, familiar and strange at the same time, I’d frozen up. What did I want? To talk? To demand she explain what I already knew? She was a dragon. I was St. George. What was left to discuss?
“Meet me at Lover’s Bluff in twenty minutes,” I heard myself saying. It was a good spot to do what had to be done—isolated yet fairly close to where we were now. No one would hear the gunshots, or the screams of a dying dragon. And she agreed, though it was fairly obvious she was in a hurry. Planning to leave town, most likely. But when she promised to meet me there, alone, I believed her.
After we hung up, I stood there for a moment, debating with myself. The smart thing would be to tell Tristan, have him back me up. The smarter thing would be to inform my captain where this meeting would take place, and have the whole squad ready to take down a known dragon when she finally showed.
I went alone. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going, not even Tristan. He would have stopped me if he knew. Going after a dragon yourself, with no partner and no backup, was strictly forbidden by the Order. It was crazy, risky and stupid, but I wasn’t thinking rationally at that moment. I just took the Jeep and drove away. To a lonely bluff in the middle of nowhere, to meet a dragon, alone.
* * *
“Garret?”
At the sight of the gun, Ember’s eyes went huge. Frozen, she stared at me over the muzzle of the Glock, more confused than fearful, pleading for an explanation. I ignored her questioning look, ignored the trembling in my other arm, and kept the pistol aimed right between her eyes.
Pull the trigger, Garret.
The Perfect Soldier’s voice echoed coldly in my head. Kill her. She’s a dragon, and this is your duty. This is what you were sent to do.
“Garret, what are you doing?” Ember stared at me, her eyes glimmering with hurt, betrayal. “Why...”
She trailed off, the blood draining from her face. I saw the moment where everything clicked in her head, the confusion shifting to horror as she realized. The broken whisper that followed made my stomach clench. It was an accusation, a cry of despair and a plea that this was a terrible mistake, all at once.
“You...you’re St. George.”
She took one staggering step away from me, stopping as I pressed forward, her face going blank. I forced myself to speak, my voice soft and cold, a sharp contrast to the swirling chaos inside. “Where are the others?”
Green eyes flashed, and she raised her chin. I followed the tiny movement with the gun, keeping the muzzle level with her face. She set her jaw and remained silent. “Tell me,” I insisted. “Now. I will shoot you if you don’t.”
“You’ll shoot me, anyway,” Ember retorted, and now I heard the rage in her voice, the furious betrayal. “That’s what you’ve been after all this time, isn’t it? You’re with St. George, and you came here to kill us.” Her voice trembled, and she swallowed hard. “That’s why you were so interested. That’s why you hung around. Everything we did, everything you told me—it was all a lie.”
Not everything. My other hand was shaking violently, and I clenched my fist, trying to calm myself. This was it, the end of the mission. I had to focus. I couldn’t let myself think of those “everything” moments. Slow dancing, surfing on one board, riding the Ferris wheel with her beside me, not wanting to be anywhere else.
Kissing her in the ocean and feeling my entire world stop. Wishing I could be normal, if only to be with her. Because she hadn’t just taught me how to surf and shoot zombies and to scream while plunging down a roller-coaster drop. She had shown me how to live.
Ember was still staring at me over the pistol, her gaze defiant. “Go on, then,” she whispered, and I saw she was shaking, as well. “Shoot me. I’m not telling you where the others are so you can kill them, too.”
Do it. The soldier’s voice returned, and I took a deep breath, straightening my arm. The gun sight hovered at her forehead; it would take only one tiny motion to end this. She’s a dragon, and this is what you were sent for. Why are you hesitating? Kill her now!
I set my jaw, my finger tightening around the trigger. Ember still watched me, unwavering, but for the first time since I’d known her, I saw a tear slip from her eye, crawling down her face. It gleamed in the moonlight, punching a hole right through my stomach, and the hand that held the gun started to shake.
I...I can’t.
I relaxed, not lowering the pistol, but everything inside me slumped in defeat. I can’t do it. I can’t kill her. Stunned, I stared at her over the weapon, at the girl I knew was a dragon, knew was the enemy.
And I couldn’t kill her.
Dazed, I let my gaze drop, my focus wavering for just a moment.
As Ember moved.
In the split second before I would’ve lowered my arm, the girl lunged, crossing the space between us in a blink. My attention jerked immediately to the danger, but by that time, Ember hit my arm from below, forcing my wrist and the pistol skyward, wrenching it from my grip. Stunned, my body still reacted on instinct, even when my mind was elsewhere. As the weapon was stripped from my grasp, I lashed out with a kick, striking the hand that held the gun as Ember drew back. The pistol was hurled away, skittering over the rocks, and came to rest a few feet from the edge of the cliff.
Unarmed, Ember backed up, eyes glowing with an eerie, ominous light. I saw the air around her ripple, felt the shift of energy between us, and spun, hurling myself at my weapon. Behind me, there was a soundless explosion, an enraged snarl rang out, turning my blood to ice. Diving for the edge of the cliff, I snatched up the gun, whirled around—
—and felt the breath explode from my lungs as something big and red slammed into me, knocking me off my feet. I hit the ground on my back, seeing snarling fangs, wings and crimson scales fill my vision, and brought the gun up for one last, desperate shot.
A clawed foot hit my elbow, forcing it to the ground. Another struck my chest, sinking curved talons into my shirt, as five hundred pounds of hissing, furious red dragon landed on me, pinning me down. Hot wind blasted me, whipping at my hair, as the monster bared its fangs and roared in my face.
I slumped, the gun dropping from my nerveless fingers. I couldn’t move; the dragon had my weapon arm pinned, its whole weight pressing me down. I could feel its claws pricking my chest through my shirt, though they hadn’t sunk in all the way. Its breath fanned over my face, smelling of smoke and ash, and the narrow jaw, filled with lethal, razor-sharp teeth, hovered inches from my throat. Briefly, I wondered how it would kill me. Would it rip me apart, sink those claws into my chest, tear out my throat? Or would those jaws open all the way and blast me with dragonfire?
But the dragon didn’t do any of those things. I’d been holding my breath, waiting for the pain of being torn apart or incinerated, but it only stood there, front claws pinning me down, just watching. As if it couldn’t decide what to do with me. I looked up, past the jaws and teeth and flaring nostrils, and met its gaze.
Its eyes were the same emerald green, bright and intense, though
they were slitted and reptilian now. Very inhuman. Its wings were flared to either side for balance, leathery membranes casting a dark shadow over us both.
“What are you waiting for?” I gritted out, making the dragon blink. I sucked in a breath, my lungs flattened and abused from the huge creature on top of them. I wanted this done. I’d lost this battle, and the price for failure was death, like everyone in the Order. Fate, it seemed, had finally caught up. “Stop toying with me,” I panted, glaring at the creature overhead. “Just get it over with.”
The dragon’s eyes narrowed. Shifting its weight, it drew its muzzle back, nostrils flaring, and I turned my head, bracing myself for the sheet of dragonfire, hoping it would be quick.
The dragon’s head snaked forward, and I flinched despite myself. But those deadly jaws went for my arm, for the hand that once held the gun, and closed over the muzzle of the pistol. Raising its head, the dragon gave an almost disgusted snort and hurled the gun away, where it sailed over the railing, glinted once in the moonlight and dropped into the ocean far below.
As I watched my weapon vanish over the edge of the cliff, the weight on my chest and arm disappeared. The dragon reared onto its hindquarters, flaring its wings, and backed away. Stunned, I levered myself to my elbows, watching it retreat, wondering if this was some sort of trick. If it was just toying with me further.
The dragon closed its eyes. Its form shimmered, rippled like a mirage and began to shrink. It grew smaller and smaller, wings disappearing, scales and claws melting away, until I was staring at Ember once more. She wore a dark suit that hugged her body like a second skin, outlining her deceitfully slender form. Her green eyes shone as she gazed down at me.
I didn’t move. I was unarmed, and the slight girl standing over me was just as dangerous as she had been a moment ago. It would take half a second for her to pounce on me again and tear me apart. But she didn’t move, either, just continued to watch me with sad, angry green eyes, and slowly, my muscles began to unclench. The thought was ludicrous but...it seemed this dragon, the target I’d been sent to kill, the girl I’d pursued with the intent to destroy, was going to let me go.
No, the Perfect Soldier protested. Don’t believe it. That’s insane. Dragons don’t show mercy, not to us. But what else could I believe? I’d been helpless a second ago, pinned under a creature three times my weight. One breath, one slash, would’ve ended my life. I didn’t know why it hadn’t. I was a soldier of St. George. It should have killed me just for that.
Looking up, I met the gaze of my enemy and muttered a single word, my voice coming out raspy and harsh. “Why?”
She took a deep, shaky breath. “If you have to ask that,” she whispered, glaring at me, “then you don’t know me as well as you think.” She paused, then added in an even softer voice, “You don’t know us as well as you think.”
“Ember...”
“Goodbye, Garret.” Ember stepped back, her eyes hard. “Don’t follow me. Don’t come near me. If I see you or anyone else from St. George again, I won’t hold back. Stay the hell away from us.”
Turning, she fled barefoot across the rock without looking back, reached the stairs on the other side and was gone.
* * *
Alone, I dragged myself to my feet, feeling like I’d been sucker-punched in the head, and leaned against the railing. The ocean breeze tugged at my hair, cooling my heated skin, as I closed my eyes and tried to make sense of what had just happened.
I was still alive. I’d met a dragon, alone, fought it without any backup, lost and...I was still alive. I put a hand to my chest, feeling something warm seep through my shirt. My fingers came away red and sticky from where the dragon had dug its claws into my skin, but it could’ve done worse. It could’ve ripped me open like a paper sack. Charred the skin from my bones with a single blast of flame. But it hadn’t. It—she—had let me go.
You don’t know us as well as you think.
“We’ve been wrong,” I whispered. It killed me to say it, to finally realize, after years of believing dragons were evil, could only be evil, but tonight’s encounter left no room for doubt. Dragons, at least some dragons, weren’t the vicious, calculating monsters we’d thought. Not all dragons hated mankind. If they did, I wouldn’t be standing here, feeling like the world had been tipped on its head. I’d been wrong, and the Order had been wrong. Ember had known I was St. George, that I was her greatest enemy, and she’d spared my life.
In a daze, I stumbled back to the parking lot, my mind spinning. What did I do now? Return to the Order? Rejoin the war as if nothing had happened? As if hunting down and killing more dragons wouldn’t remind me of her, and what I learned here tonight?
As I reached my Jeep, still unsure of my next move, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out, wincing as Tristan’s number blinked across the screen. I’d already ignored one call from him, but I couldn’t ignore him forever.
Sighing, I put the phone to my ear. “Where are you, Tristan?”
“Where am I?” the furious voice on the other side answered. “Where the fuck are you? What the hell do you think you’re doing? If the captain finds out you ran out like that, you’ll be lucky to get fifty lashes in front of the whole squad.”
“I...had to think.”
“Well, get your damn head back in the game, partner. We’ve got orders. Where are you?”
“I’m coming back now.”
“No, I’m already moving. Meet me at the corner of Palm and Main. I’ll explain everything then. St. Anthony, out.”
Seconds after I arrived at the rendezvous point, a white van screeched to a stop at the curb, and Tristan flung open the door. “Come on,” he ordered, and I obeyed, sliding into the passenger seat. Tristan hit the gas almost before I closed the door, and we sped out of the lot.
“What’s going on?” I asked, snapping the seat belt into place. Tristan flashed me an exasperated glare and shook his head.
“New orders,” he said, gunning the engine and speeding through an aging yellow light. “Headquarters wasn’t pleased when they heard about the raid. There’s not much time before the targets leave town and drop off the grid again. But we know one of them is injured, and will probably have to hole up for a few hours, at least. They’re sending out all available soldiers to search every potential bug-out spot, cave or abandoned building. Any place these dragons could hide.”
“Is that what we’re doing?” I asked, clenching my fist against my leg. Tristan shook his head.
“No. We have a special mission.” He nodded to the dashboard, where his laptop lay open between us. On the computer screen, a blinking red dot was moving through a grid of streets, toward the ocean. “That’s our target. Ember Hill.”
My stomach twisted violently. I forced myself to speak, to remain calm. “Why her?”
“We don’t have any idea where the other targets could be,” Tristan said, glancing at the computer screen, following the dot as it moved swiftly across the map. “Right now, she’s our best and only suspect. When you were at the carnival with her that day, I went to her house and put a tracking device on her car, so we could follow her if she went anywhere suspicious. When I received orders tonight, I knew exactly how to find her.” He tapped the computer screen with a grim smile. “It sure looks like she’s on the run, doesn’t it? If we’re lucky, she’ll lead us right to the other targets.”
The walls of the vehicle were closing in, and the seat belt felt suffocatingly tight. I stared at the red blip on the screen, willing it to stop, to turn around and head back home. It didn’t. It sped unerringly toward the ocean and the edge of town, driving me closer to a looming, inevitable choice.
Riley
Where was she?
I stood on the beach facing the ocean, the cliff wall at my back, waiting for her. My ribs throbbed; Wes had patched me up as best he could, the bandages tight around my wa
ist, but it was still painful as hell. Remy and Nettle were hunkered down in the cave behind me, and I’d told them not to leave, not to show themselves, until I gave the word to move out. Wes had already taken the car to a safe location, and was waiting for my call to return and pick us up. It was better that way, in case there was trouble. I was taking a huge risk myself, standing in the open like this, wounded and knowing St. George was still out there, searching for us. But I couldn’t risk not seeing Ember when she came. If she came. From our last phone call, she should’ve been here by now.
What if she doesn’t come?
She’ll be here, I told myself. I had to believe that. St. George was probably scouring Crescent Beach for dragons, that twin of hers would be reluctant to turn rogue and Ember herself had grown to love this town and everything in it, but I had to believe that my fiery hatchling would keep her promise and return. Because I was one hundred percent positive I couldn’t leave without her.
This is stupid, Cobalt. What’s happened to you? You’re acting like those weak-willed humans you always made fun of. You’re acting like a sap who’s fallen in love.
I snorted. Love. That was ridiculous. Dragons didn’t love. Living things, anyway. Gold, wealth, power, influence—those we loved. Even dragons out of Talon were drawn to shiny things and treasure. It wasn’t the same. I’d seen plenty of humans “in love.” It was messy and annoying and complicated. What I felt toward Ember...that was pure instinct, something as natural as flying or breathing fire. I didn’t know what this was quite yet, but I knew it was something far purer than the mortal’s definition of love. Muddled human emotions had nothing to do with it.
“Riley!”
My heart didn’t jump as much as it sagged in utter relief. All my senses came to life again, sending heat through my veins, as Ember sprinted over the sand in her black Viper suit and threw herself against me.
I grunted, the impact sending a sharp twinge through my middle, but it was almost instantly forgotten. Ember was shaking, gasping for breath, her hands clenched in my shirt. Alarmed, my arms tightened around her. “Firebrand? You okay?”