“But,” he went on, as my insides twisted painfully at his words, “I know what Talon is capable of. I know what the Vipers are capable of, even their hatchlings. Ember might be too softhearted to destroy one of her own, but I know that Faith wouldn’t have hesitated to kill her. If you put that Viper down, much as I hate you for it, then you probably saved Ember’s life. And for that…” He sighed. “You’re not as much of a bastard as I thought.”

“Thanks,” I said drily, knowing that was the closest to gratitude I’d ever get from the rogue.

He snorted. “Don’t get me wrong. If the Viper had ripped your throat out instead, I wouldn’t lose any sleep tonight. Where is Ember now?”

Soft footsteps made me whirl around, just as a slight figure in a black suit emerged from the maze. Ember had, of course, followed me, her jaw clenched in pain and determination as she limped doggedly across the floor.

“Riley?” she asked as I hurried over, catching her by the arm just as she staggered. Four angry red gashes scored her cheek, making me grimace. But her eyes shone with hope, even through the pain. “Is that Riley?”

For just a moment, I considered lying, turning off the phone and claiming it was Wes. For a moment, I hated the fact that Riley had lived, that he could make her face light up like that. It cast a dark uncertainty over my thoughts, and all the confusion and doubt I had pushed down rose to the surface once more. Was I just fooling myself? Would Ember ever see me in the same way as the rogue dragon?

“Garret?” She looked up at me, eager and confused, her eyes searching. “Did you hang up? Who were you talking to?”

Wordlessly, I handed her the phone.

Riley

“Riley?”

Heat flared through me at the sound of her voice, nearly making my breath catch. The dragon rose up, shaking off the grogginess, burning away the tranquilizer. And maybe I was still under the influence of the truth drug, but suddenly everything became a lot clearer. Ember was mine. I needed her. She was impulsive, reckless, infuriating…and I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

“Hey, Firebrand.” I sighed. “Good to hear your voice. You okay?”

“Oh, you know.” I heard the tremor that went through her, the breathless relief. “A little burned, a little sore. Nearly died a couple times. The usual. You?”

“The same.” I staggered through a metal door and paused outside the building to get my bearings. Some old warehouse district on the edge of town, isolated and unremarkable, as I expected. Still, I scanned the area carefully, not putting it past Talon to be watching this place, via satellite or something else. I had to get out of the area quickly. Now that my phone was back on, Wes would be able to find me; he was supposedly on his way now. “Though I am a tad confused by one part,” I went on, hurrying across the dusty yard toward a chain-link fence surrounding it. “Did you just say you were burned? You’re a dragon. How does that happen?”

“Um, I might’ve set myself on fire.”

I closed my eyes. “Ember…”

“But look on the bright side, I managed to avoid being shot this time.”

“I need you.”

A very long silence followed. Long enough for me to slip through the fence and step onto the sidewalk. Gazing up and down the street, I picked a direction and started walking, toward the glow of distant lights that, hopefully, marked the edge of the city. A warm breeze blew against my face, smelling of dust and pavement; I breathed it in and smiled to myself. It was good to be free.

“Riley.” Ember’s voice trembled slightly, though I couldn’t tell what she was feeling. “What…what are you talking about?”

“I think you know what I’m talking about.” I raked a hand through my hair, feeling dangerously light and uncaring. “However, I’m probably still under the effects of a truth drug,” I went on, with the same easy nonchalance I’d felt while talking to Mist. “And it made me realize something, about us. But, if you don’t want to hear what I’m really thinking, I’d hang up right now.”

“Do you want me to?”

Yes. Say yes, Riley. “No.”

Ember took a deep, shaky breath. “Tell me, then.”

No turning back now. Ah, screw it. I officially don’t care anymore. “I realized something while I was in that session with Mist,” I began, hoping to tell her everything before Wes showed up. “She’s a Basilisk, you know. Talon wanted the locations of my safe houses, and they sent her to retrieve them. She was supposed to kill me after she got the information.”

“Bitch,” Ember growled.

“Wasn’t her fault,” I said, feeling a small twinge of regret that I couldn’t save her, too. “You know what Talon is like. You know what they’re capable of. I would’ve brought her with us if I could.”

“Is…is she…?”

“No,” I murmured. “I didn’t kill her. She’s sleeping off a tranquilizer that would put down an elephant, so she won’t bat an eyelash for at least a couple hours. But that’s not the point.” I paused as a taxi cruised toward my corner but then sped by without slowing.

“I would’ve told her everything,” I continued, feeling my stomach twist at how close I’d actually come to revealing my entire network. “I almost betrayed my entire underground. All my hatchlings, all the humans I got out. But something stopped me, kept me from spilling my guts and telling Mist everything she wanted to know.”

“What was it?”

“You, Firebrand.” I stopped at an intersection and leaned against a crosswalk sign. “I saw your face, and I knew I had to keep it together.” A human passed by, giving me a smirk as he crossed the street, and I didn’t even care. “You kept me grounded, Ember,” I said quietly, resting my head against the metal pole. “You’re the reason I was able to resist. I just kept thinking about you.

“I don’t know what you want from me,” I hurried on, knowing this would be the only time I’d have the guts to actually say it, “or what you feel for the soldier, but I’m letting you know right now… I’m done fighting this. From now on, I’ll be fighting for both of us.”

“Riley,” Ember said again, her voice almost a whisper, “I can’t… I mean. This isn’t…” She broke off, and her voice dropped even further, becoming nearly inaudible. “I can’t promise anything,” she whispered. “I don’t know what I feel.”