Grabbing a bag of peanut M&M’s for myself, I hopped onto the bed and crossed my legs, motioning Faith to the other side of the mattress. She sat carefully, like she was afraid of wrinkling the covers. I leaned against the headboard and watched her, feeling a weird prickle of déjà vu. It was strange, having another dragon in my room, especially another female. It reminded me a bit of the sleepovers at Lexi’s house in Crescent Beach, where the two of us would stay up all night, eating junk food and talking about various human things, usually surfing and boys. I’d missed that, and her.

I missed a lot of things, actually.

“So, how do you know Ava?” I asked, before those memories got too painful. Faith gave me a wary look, and I shrugged. “You can tell me. It’s not like I’m gonna report you for treason or anything. If you want to know why I left, it’s because they had me slotted to be a Viper.” Faith’s eyes widened; she knew what a Viper was, apparently. “Yeah. And I had a small problem with hunting down and killing my own kind. So I ran. Left town with Riley, and I haven’t looked back since.”

“Just like that?” Faith asked, as if she couldn’t quite believe it. “No hesitation? Nothing you regretted leaving behind?”

“Well, yeah, of course there was. I had friends, and family, and…” A lump caught in my throat, and I looked down at my fingers. “Dante,” I muttered. “My brother. I miss him the most. When I left, he decided to stay with the organization. He doesn’t know…what they’re really like.” I squeezed the M&M’s bag, clenching my jaw. “I’ll get him out, soon,” I whispered, more of a promise to myself than Faith. “Stupid twin. I’ll make him see, even if I have to tear down Talon’s walls to reach him.”

“You’re braver than I am,” Faith whispered, picking at the wrapper on her candy bar. “If it wasn’t for Ava, I’d still be there, even though I hated it.”

I shook myself from my sudden dark mood. “How’d you get out?”

She hesitated a moment longer, then sighed, as if she was tired of holding back. “I knew Ava from way back,” Faith said, nibbling at the bar. “We were in a clutch that grew up together, until they separated us for Human Training. I didn’t see her face-to-face afterward, but somehow we always kept in touch. Even though it was frowned upon. Talon didn’t want us to have any previous attachments once we entered Human Training.”

My insides curled, remembering the long years of schooling out in the desert, and how it was just barely tolerable only because I had Dante. Growing up, he was my best friend; we had each other’s backs, and no matter how miserable things got, Dante was always there. I couldn’t imagine going through that by myself, how lonely it had to be. Maybe that’s why I didn’t fit into the organization. Maybe I’d formed too many “attachments,” when my only loyalty was supposed to be to Talon.

“Ava…had been planning to run for months,” Faith went on, unaware of my musings. “She’d heard rumors about Cobalt, that there was a dragon who would help those wanting to leave the organization. Her first real assignment was coming up, and she told me she was planning to go rogue then. I was too scared to tell her I wanted to leave, too.”

“Was that before you found out what Talon had planned for you?”

“Yes.” Faith nodded. “And when Ava found out, she offered to take me with her, even though that would make her escape even more dangerous. I almost backed out, but she convinced me to run. That it was better to be hunted and free than a slave the rest of my life.” She sniffed, curling into herself on the bed. “She was the brave one, the one who was trained for anything. I was only going to slow her down. And now she’s out there, being hunted by St. George and Talon, maybe dead, and it’s all my fault.”

“Hey.” I crumpled the empty M&M’s bag, making her startle and look at me. “Beating yourself up isn’t going to help her,” I said firmly. “She made the choice to go rogue. She had to know the dangers. Besides—” I shrugged, feigning a confidence I didn’t feel “—she’s with Riley, and he’s been doing this for a long time. If anyone can get away from St. George, it’ll be him. Don’t give up on them just yet.”

She cocked her head. “You think so?”

“Yeah. So try not to worry. We don’t know anything yet.” I felt like a hypocrite, telling her not to worry when there was a yawning hole in the pit my stomach, threatening to devour me.

I slid from the bed, managing a smile as I headed toward the bathroom. “Be right back,” I told Faith as she looked up. “Feel free to grab more food, or use the bed, or whatever. I don’t know what we’ll end up doing after this. You should rest while you have the chance.”

She nodded but didn’t say anything, fiddling with the wrapper of her candy bar, and I slipped into the bathroom.

Alone, I sat on the edge of the tub and dropped my head into my hands, breathing deep to keep the fear from swallowing me whole. Riley was out there, with Talon and St. George. What if he wasn’t all right? What if he was dead? I didn’t know what I’d do if the cocky, infuriating rogue was really gone, but my dragon was torn between curling into a ball and keening her loss and ripping something’s head off.

Pushing myself upright, I splashed cold water on my face and ran wet fingers through my hair, making it stand on end. I was hot, sticky, and I desperately wanted a shower. But there was no time, and besides, if Garret or Wes burst into the room, I did not want either of them to catch me naked. I did, however, find my Viper suit where I’d tossed it on the floor. I pulled it on, then yanked my regular clothes over it. The outfit sucked greedily at my skin like it was eager to have me back, making me squirm. But if we were going to head back out for Riley and face St. George, at least, this time, I’d be prepared.

Faith had fallen asleep on the bed when I emerged from the bathroom, her breathing deep and steady. I smiled, tiptoed around the bed and shut off the lamp, plunging the room into shadow. The girl didn’t even stir, soft snores coming from her open mouth. I watched her sadly for a moment, wondering if she would be all right. If anyone needed to get out of Talon, it was her, but I hoped she could handle being a rogue. It wasn’t the easiest life, that was for certain. Come to think of it, I wasn’t doing such a stellar job, myself.