And now she was dead. Faith was dead. Because I had sent her after my wayward twin, and Ember had let her be killed rather than return to the organization. How had this happened? How could she have resorted to that, after everything we’d gone through together? Apparently, I didn’t know my sister at all.
And now, because of her, I had failed. I had failed Talon.
My hands shook, and I flattened them on the tabletop, trying to steady myself. Above me, Mr. Roth continued with polite coolness. “I’m afraid I cannot tell you that, Ms. Hill,” he said evenly. “If you wish that information, you must return to the organization.” Pause. “No, Mr. Hill is in no danger. He is a valued member of Talon, and we appreciate his cooperation.” Pause. “No, our policy on rogues is very clear. Cobalt is a criminal who has caused irreversible harm to the organization. We must protect ourselves from his extremist views.” One last, lengthy pause, and Mr. Roth’s voice grew hard. “I’m sorry you feel that way. But if you would only agree to return and speak with us, you would see that…”
He trailed off, lowering his arm. “Well. It appears Ms. Hill will not be joining us tonight.” Turning, he rested his fingertips against the table and spoke to the rest of the room. “We will adjourn for now, until we can come up with a new strategy to retrieve Ms. Hill and deal with Cobalt. As Ms. Anderson has not yet reported in, perhaps she will give us better news. But it can wait until tomorrow.” He looked over the table with cold black eyes. “Dismissed.”
Everyone rose at once, keeping their eyes downcast as they began to exit the room. I stood as well, but suddenly Mr. Roth’s long steely fingers gripped my shoulder, making me freeze.
“Mr. Hill. You will come with me.”
Ember
“Only you, Firebrand.” Riley sighed.
I grimaced at him over the table, where an open first-aid kit, bandages, burn cream and disinfectant wipes sat scattered between us. My Viper suit lay discarded on the bathroom floor of the hotel room, replaced with shorts and a loose top that didn’t rub against my skin. Riley leaned forward in his chair, winding the last of the gauze around my arm. His long fingers occasionally brushed my hand, sending a pulse of heat up my arm every single time. Garret had left the room a few minutes ago, saying nothing as he slipped out the door, presumably to stand guard or check the parking lot for “suspicious people,” leaving me and Riley alone.
Well, alone except for Wes.
“There.” Fastening the gauze, Riley looked up with a rueful smile, shaking his head. A bandage square covered my left cheek, right below my eye, and it felt weird and tight against my skin. “Don’t pick at the bandages, Firebrand,” Riley ordered. “Hopefully those will heal in a day or two, though this is the first time I’ve had to treat another dragon for burns. Like I said, you are one of a kind.”
“Thank God,” Wes muttered from the bed, laptop perched on his knees. I ignored him, which was getting harder to do in the tiny room. After meeting Riley and Wes in front of the rail yard, we’d fled downtown Vegas and the Strip, putting as much distance between us and the massive glittering casinos as we could. This tiny hotel on the outskirts of town had more roaches than slot machines, and the four of us were currently packed into one room like sardines in a can, but Riley wasn’t planning to stay long. According to Wes, there was a used-car lot two blocks down that would sell you anything, no credit history, no questions asked, and Riley planned to be there as soon as it opened in a few hours. I had no idea where we were going, but I knew Riley was in a hurry to leave Vegas. And after tonight, I was more than happy to say goodbye, too. Goodbye to the City of Sin. Goodbye to Talon and the Order…and Dante.
A lump caught in my throat, and I swallowed it with a growl. I refused to mourn my traitor brother, no matter how sick it made me feel. Dante was part of Talon now. Part of the organization that wanted me dead. He’d sent a Viper after me and a Basilisk after Riley, with orders to kill us both. I didn’t know him anymore. Riley had been right all along.
“There.” Wes tapped a final key and looked up. “I’ve sent instructions to all our nests, telling them to relocate immediately and not contact anyone until they’ve heard from you. They’re on emergency evacuation until further notice.”
“Good.” Riley stood up, wiping his hands. “Hopefully that will buy us, and them, some time until we can figure this out. See if we can’t find who the hell is leaking information to the organization and shut them up for good. If Talon wants to kill us, I’m not going to make it easy for them.”
I was only half listening, still brooding over Talon and Dante and the whole screwed-up situation, so a gentle touch on my shoulder surprised me. I glanced up into Riley’s intense golden eyes.
“Firebrand? You okay? Are you in any pain?”
“No,” I whispered, as the now-familiar heat surged up again, pushing me toward him. Gingerly, I stood, testing my range of motion. My various cuts and burns throbbed, but they were slowly going numb with salve and painkillers. The real hurt wasn’t physical, and no amount of aspirin would make it go away. “Just…thinking about Talon,” I told Riley, who hadn’t taken his eyes from me, “and St. George and what a bastard my brother is. You can go ahead and say I told you so—”
Riley stepped close and very carefully pulled me into his arms, making me freeze in shock.
“I’m sorry about Dante,” he murmured, keeping one hand on my waist, the other in my hair, avoiding my many bandages. My cheek was pressed to his shirt; I could feel the heat of his skin through the fabric, his voice rumbling in my ear. “I wish we could have taken him, too. But he made his choice, Firebrand. And now you have to make yours. Are you still going to stand with me, against Talon? Even though you might be fighting your brother again one day?”
Putting my hands on his arms, I pulled back to face not Riley but Cobalt peering down at me. The human veneer was still there, still in place, but the dark blue dragon stared out through human eyes, ghostly wings outstretched, casting us both in their shadow. I swallowed hard to keep my own wings from breaking free. “Why now?” I whispered.
“I told you, I’m done fighting this,” Cobalt rumbled, and one hand was suddenly against my cheek, hot and searing. “I almost lost you today. I won’t make that mistake again.” His fingers traced my skin, brushing my hair back, and I shivered. “You don’t have to make a decision tonight,” Cobalt said. “I have time.” The corner of his mouth quirked, and he stepped back, looking more like Riley. “I’m a dragon, after all.”