“There’s no reason for me to stay.” Garret’s voice was calm as he swung the pack to his shoulder. “I’ve paid my debt, to you and Riley at least. And it’s not safe for me to stick around. Sooner or later, St. George will come after me again. Better if I’m far away when that happens.”
“Where will you go?”
“I don’t know yet.” He glanced back at me, eyes shadowed. “England, maybe, if I can get there. Something is wrong in the Order—that ambush with Mist and Faith wasn’t a coincidence. St. George knew we were coming, and I don’t like what that implies.” His gaze narrowed, expression going dark. “If there is a connection between Talon and the Order, it will change everything St. George has believed for hundreds of years. Everything we thought we knew will be a deception. Now that I’ve seen both sides, I need to know if there’s something more to this war than either faction is letting on.” He sighed, and for the first time a shadow of doubt crossed his face. “I hope I’m wrong,” he murmured. “But I have to be sure.” One last pause, barely a heartbeat, one last chance to tell him to stay, before he stepped back. “Goodbye, Ember,” he said, as something shattered inside me. “Thank you…for everything.” And he walked away.
“Garret, wait.”
He turned around, eyes widening with surprise, as I flung myself against him, wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. His arms circled my waist, pressing us together, as I buried my fingers in his hair. He groaned, backing me into a pillar, his mouth at my jaw, my neck, searing a path down my skin. Our lips met again, hungry and eager, sending the pit of my stomach into a wild swirl. A low growl escaped me as I locked my body to his, wanting to feel him with my entire being.
Abruptly, Garret pulled back, breaking the kiss, and set me gently on my feet. I glanced into his eyes and saw the confusion, the uncertainty and the wary hope shining through, and my heart stuttered. The soldier watched me a moment longer, then closed his eyes.
“Tell me to stay,” he whispered, his voice a low, husky rasp, “and I will.”
Cold flooded my body. I took a breath to answer…and nothing came out. I knew the words that would convince him…but I couldn’t say them, even now. Especially now. That would be even more cruel on my part, telling him what he needed to hear, just to get him to stay with me, when I wasn’t certain myself.
Sickened, I drew back, sliding from Garret’s arms. He opened his eyes but didn’t move, watching as I backed away from him. The look on his face was devastating, but only for a moment. Then that blank, remote soldier’s mask slipped into place, his eyes turning cold and flat.
Spinning on a heel, he walked away again, and this time his stride was confident and sure. I watched, heart in my throat, until he hit the stairs on the other side and started down, not looking back once.
And then he was gone.
I swallowed, blinked rapidly until the stinging in my eyes went away and went back into the room.
Riley and Wes were still at the computer, but they had moved to the table now, with Riley standing behind the chair as the human hunched over the screen. Wes didn’t move, but Riley looked up as I came in and leaned against the door, still coming to grips with the fact that Garret was really gone forever.
“Firebrand? You okay?” Riley stepped toward me, frowning in concern. “Where’s St. George?”
“He…left,” I answered, making Riley’s brows shoot up. “Just now. He said he was going to check up on the Order or something. He’s…not coming back.”
“Huh.” As expected, Riley didn’t seem terribly heartbroken at the news. “Well, I’d say that’s too bad, but then I’d just be lying. Don’t glare at me, Firebrand,” he went on, crossing the room. “You knew this was coming as much as I did. He’s a human and a soldier of St. George. Did you really expect him to stick around a bunch of dragons for the rest of his life?”
“No,” I whispered, my voice breaking a little bit. Of course not. Garret was human. He belonged out there, with the rest of humanity. Maybe now he could finally live a normal life. “I knew he had to leave sooner or later,” I admitted. “I just… I’ll miss him, that’s all.”
Riley stepped forward and, without hesitation, pulled me close. My pulse skipped, and warmth bloomed through my stomach, burning away the grief, at least for now.
“Forget him,” Cobalt murmured, bending his head to mine. “You don’t need the human. You have me. And when you’re ready, when we reach a spot where we can both be ourselves, I’ll show you exactly what that means.”
Yes, my dragon agreed, as I closed my eyes, basking in the warmth. This was right. This was what I wanted. I didn’t need humans or their tangle of confusing emotions. I was a dragon; it was time I finally accepted that.
Pulling back, I looked up at Riley, saw myself in that bright gold gaze and tried to smile. “So,” I asked, as Cobalt peered back at me, eyes glimmering, “where to now?”
“Now?” Riley said, his voice full of dark promise as he turned away. “Now we’re going to hunt down a traitor.”
EPILOGUE
Dante
I stood in another small, cold elevator, Mr. Smith and another Talon agent flanking me, as the tiny box descended into what felt like the bowels of the earth. Gazing at my blurry reflection in the metal door, I thought back to the past two days and allowed myself a small smile.
After the disastrous meeting and phone call with Ember, Mr. Roth had escorted me into his office and closed the door, inviting me to take a seat. I had obeyed with a numb sense of dread, knowing I had failed, both the organization and my sister. Sinking into the seat before the desk, I waited for the ax to fall, to be reamed out for my failure.
“First off, Mr. Hill, I’d like to congratulate you.”
I had stared, unsure I’d heard him right. Why was he congratulating me? Surely this was a joke, though I hadn’t known any of the senior executives to kid around. “Sir?”
Mr. Roth smiled. “This operation with your sister was a test, Mr. Hill. It was the reason we put you in charge of returning Ember Hill to Talon. We wanted to gauge your loyalty to the organization, as well as your ingenuity and commitment to doing the right thing.”
“But…I failed, sir. I didn’t bring Ember back.”
“No, that failure was not yours, Mr. Hill.” Roth’s eyes glittered, though it wasn’t directed at me. “You performed exactly as we hoped, and suffice to say the company is pleased with the results. There will be…repercussions. Reign is not going to be happy with the loss of his people, but that is