Shots rang out behind me, sparking off the wall. Ember snarled, flinching back, and I spun, raising my weapon. A patrol of two was rushing at us, guns drawn and firing on the dragons pinned in the spotlight. They hadn’t seen me, or rather, their attention was riveted to the creatures behind me. I raised my gun, silently asking forgiveness, and fired at their legs. The soldiers cried out and pitched forward, crashing to the ground, but I could see more running toward us. The whole base was alerted now and knew dragons were inside the compound.

“Garret!”

A metallic red body lunged to my side, and I had to force myself not to leap away as a narrow, reptilian face peered at me. “Get on,” the dragon said, lowering her wings. “Hurry! We have to fly.”

Get on? Ride a dragon? For a split second, I balked. Talking with dragons was one thing. Accepting their help was another. But riding one? Especially if I knew the dragon was also a slender, green-eyed girl I had kissed on more than one occasion?

With a roar, the blue dragon reared up and blasted a cone of fire at a patrol that came around the corner, guns raised. The soldiers fell back with cries and screams, and Ember snarled, baring her fangs at me.

“Garret, come on!”

I shook myself and vaulted onto her back. Her spines poked at me as I wrapped my arms around her neck and settled between the leathery wings. I could feel heat radiating from the scales, the muscles shifting and coiling beneath me, and I repressed a shiver. This was not the Ember I knew. The girl had vanished, any hints of humanity disappearing as the dragon moved, savage, majestic and terrifying at the same time. She craned her neck to look back at me, long muzzle close enough to show rows of fangs, the scent of ash and smoke curling from her jaws.

“Hang on.”

More gunshots rang out, and the blue dragon snarled something in Draconic, the guttural, native language of dragons. Ember spun, making me tighten my grip, took three bounding leaps forward and launched herself into the air. Her wing muscles strained beneath me like steel cables pulsing beneath her skin, and we rose into the sky. The spotlight followed, keeping us brightly illuminated even as we left the base behind. Gunshots roared; I heard a howl of rage from the blue dragon, and gritted my teeth, hunched low over Ember’s back. She jolted suddenly, then her wings flapped furiously as we picked up speed, racing to get away from the spotlight and out of range of the compound. Very gradually, the spotlight disappeared, and the gunshots faded away, as we fled St. George and escaped into the desert.

* * *

We were out. We’d actually escaped St. George.

The wind whipped at my hair and clothes as I shifted on Ember’s back and cautiously sat up, gazing around in amazement. The desert stretched out before me, vast and endless, looking like an ocean of sand in the predawn light. Where it met the sky, a faint smear of pink was peeking over the horizon, though the land was still dark and shadowed. From this height, I could just make out the distant highway and the tiny glimmers of cars that followed it.

I drew in a quiet breath, wondering if all dragons felt this exhilaration. I’d gone surfing with Ember before, had felt that addictive rush of excitement and adrenaline while coursing down a huge wave.

It was nothing compared to this.

On impulse, I glanced behind me, at the compound I was leaving behind, and my blood chilled. Headlights speared the darkness from several vehicles, following us across the open desert. I counted three SUVs and at least one Jeep with a spotlight fixed to the roof, all straining to close the distance. There was no place to hide out here. If those vehicles got much closer they would start shooting, and we wouldn’t stand a chance.

“There’s the van!”

I looked at the blue dragon, then at the ground, where a large white van was speeding across the flat plain, trailing a billow of dust. Instantly, the blue dragon folded his wings and dropped from the sky, plunging toward the ground. I felt the subtle shift of muscles beneath me as Ember did the same, though a ragged shudder went through her as she glided after the blue. She was panting hard, sides heaving, and I hoped carrying me away from the base hadn’t put too much of a strain on her.

The blue dragon plunged low to skim the ground, then wheeled hard so that he passed in front of the van, in full view of the driver. Instantly, the van slammed on its brakes, coming to a skidding halt in a writhing cloud of dust. As the blue dragon landed, the front door opened and a human jumped out, wild haired and skinny, shouting something at the dragon as he hurried forward.

I realized with a start that Ember had dropped low to the ground and was gliding toward the van at top speed. Alarmed, I tensed, wondering when she would slow, but another shudder went through her, and she abruptly dropped from the air like a stone.

At the last second, she flapped her wings and pulled up enough to slow her momentum, before we crashed headfirst into the ground. I was thrown clear, striking the earth and rolling several yards, the world spinning around me, before I finally came to a halt several yards from where Ember had fallen.

Wincing, I staggered upright. My head throbbed, my arms were bloody and the world was still spinning, but nothing seemed broken. I ignored the stab of pain from a bruised or cracked rib and stumbled toward the dragon.

“Ember…”

My stomach twisted. She lay on her side a few yards away, heaving in great, shuddering gasps. One wing was crumpled beneath her, the other lay limp on the ground. Her legs moved feebly, clawing at the loose sand and rock, and her tail twitched a weak rhythm in the dirt. But in the time it took me to reach her, she slumped and went motionless. Her wing gave one final spasm and was still.

“Ember!”

A dark-haired, naked human raced up to her, dropping to his knees beside the scaly neck. “Ember,” Riley said again, putting a hand on her side. “Can you hear me? What happened? Are you—?”

He stopped, his face going pale. I limped up beside him just as he pulled his hand back, the palm and fingers covered in red, and my heart stood still.

“Oh, no.” His voice was a whisper, and he surged to his feet, glaring back at the van. “Wes!” he yelled. “Ember’s been shot. Help me get her in the van before St. George catches up.”

“Bloody hell.” The shaggy-haired human raced around the van, pausing to throw open the back doors. “I knew this was a bad idea, Riley. I knew the stubborn brat was going to get us all killed.”

“Shut up and help before I rip off your legs and leave you for St. George.”

“I’ll help,” I broke in, and he turned to glare daggers at me. Without waiting for an answer, I stepped around the unconscious dragon and knelt beside her, sliding my arm beneath a scaly foreleg. Ember stirred weakly, her claws raking the sand once, but she didn’t wake up. Riley hesitated, then crouched on the opposite side, taking her leg.