Ember was watching me, green eyes bright in the shadows of the room. She crouched against the wall with her wings pressed close and her tail curled around herself. Even with her fangs slightly bared and her sides heaving with fear, she was still beautiful, elegant, fiery, everything my dragon wanted. And she was probably going to die here with me.

I gave her a weary smile.

“Well, looks like you got your wish, Firebrand,” I whispered, feeling the heat in my veins rise up, growing hotter by the second. “Screw this waiting around. If we survive this, I swear you will have my full attention from now on.”

Her eyes flashed, and I released the hold on my true self, letting Cobalt surge to the surface. My wings unfurled, brushing the countertop, and my talons clicked on the tile floor as I sank down and made myself small, folding my wings tight to my body. The soldiers reached the first of the countertops and began filing down the rows, guns and flashlights leading the way.

I nudged Ember’s shoulder and we slunk away, staying low like stalking cats, darting behind counters and avoiding the beams of light sliding over the walls and floor. The soldiers fanned out as they moved through the aisles, never far from each other. I glanced back at the exit and saw a pair guarding the door, blocking escape. My heart sank. Too many of them. We could keep pressing farther into the lab, knowing we’d eventually run out of space, or we could go forward and risk running through a bullet storm.

Ember pressed close, brushing my shoulder with hers, and my pulse spiked. I looked over, saw the fierce determination in her gaze and felt a defiant growl rumble in my throat as a hot, vicious rage spread through my veins. Ember was mine. The other half of me. And I would fight Talon, St. George and the entire damned world to keep her safe.

I jerked my head toward the back room and we crept toward it, my best hope being to avoid St. George for a few minutes while I figured out a plan to save our hides. Ember followed, perfectly silent, not even her talons clicking on the tile to give us away. But the soldiers were closer than I thought. As we moved from one counter to another, a flashlight beam sliced over us and someone gave a shout.

Gunfire exploded, making me cringe. Ember snarled, hunkering down, as bullets peppered the countertop and shattered the glass vials overhead. The din was deafening, and I hissed a curse, trying to think. I knew the soldiers would be converging on this spot, weaving between aisles and continuing to fire as they advanced, but we couldn’t move without risking a few bullets to the back.

“Here!” Ember hissed, darting to the counter opposite us and lashing out with her claws. A pair of cabinet doors slid back, revealing cleaning solutions and aerosol cans, the opening just big enough for a dragon to slip through, and she gestured at me frantically. “Come on!”

I followed her, peeling back doors beneath the countertops as we crossed the room, shattering glass vials and knocking aside plastic bottles as we went. We fled the main floor through the door with the glass wall, and took cover behind the broken glass cylinder, breathing hard. Flashlights scuttled over the door frame, footsteps echoed down the hall and shadows appeared through the frame. I hunkered down, heart pounding, as St. George drew closer to our hiding place.

Dammit. Still no way out.

“We’re not going to make it this time, are we?” Ember’s voice was eerily calm. The red dragon crouched beside me, observing the soldiers’ approach with glittering green eyes. A few entered the room, M4s leading the way, while others formed a line in front of the door, blocking the way out. “There’s too many of them. No flying, no back door, nowhere to go but through St. George.”

“Ember.” I unfurled a wing, draping it over her and pulling her close. She shivered, pressing into my ribs, and heat roared through my insides. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I never wanted this for you. This life... I knew it was going to kill me in the end. I wish you didn’t have to be here when it finally caught up.”

Ember’s tail coiled with mine. “I wouldn’t have changed it.”

The soldiers were almost to our hiding spot, flashlight beams crawling on the walls overhead, booted feet stomping against the tile. They were coming slower now, being cautious, knowing we were close. It was dangerous to continue speaking, though I had so much I wanted to say. A white beam sliced past, illuminating the shattered glass, and I ducked my head, heart racing, until it passed.

Ember gave a throaty, defiant growl, and for a moment, I closed my eyes, just feeling her against me. This would be the last time I saw her like this, in her beautiful true form. Unless Wes came charging in with a bazooka—very unlikely—or all of St. George had a sudden, miraculous change of heart, luck wasn’t going to help us, not this time. So, that left me. To save my hatchlings and my underground, even if I couldn’t be there anymore. “Wait for them to start chasing me,” I told Ember, ignoring her frown of confusion. I heard shots outside the door, probably more St. George soldiers on the way, and I tensed for a final, desperate lunge. “I’ll take as many of them down as I can. You just go for the door. If you see Wes again, do me a favor and tell him thanks, for everything.”