Cobalt padded toward me like a cat, curved talons scraping against the floor, his eyes glowing yellow in the dim light. Puzzled, I watched as he circled around, then abruptly lay down next to me, curling his lean body around mine. My heart jumped as he pressed close, one wing draped over my back, long tail coiling around us both. Warmth spread through me, soothing and wonderful, and I suddenly felt completely safe.

But my gaze still couldn’t help but stray to the soldier, still slumped against the wall with one knee to his chest, watching us with a bleak look of resignation. Part of me resented him being there, watching us; a human who could never fully understand me, not like Cobalt. And part of me longed to Shift, to sit beside him as a human and talk, perhaps ease some of the terrible sorrow in his eyes. To feel the warmth of his skin when we kissed, or that feeling of rightness when his arms slid around me and I pressed close, just listening to his heartbeat.

With an inner growl, I laid my head on my tail and closed my eyes. I am a dragon, I reminded myself. Garret left for a reason.

“Dammit,” Cobalt muttered. “I left my jacket back at the lab.”

RILEY

Well, this sucked donkey balls.

I was grateful to the soldier. I was. His timing had been impeccable, and I was trying not to let my baser instincts get in the way of reason. To not give in to the urge to snarl a challenge every time he looked at Ember. Without him, I had no doubt I’d be a holey lump of meat and scales lying on the laboratory floor. A trophy for some St. George bastard to take home and hang above his fireplace. I knew the human had come back for us, that he was the sole reason Ember and I were still alive.

But, at the same time, he was back, his very presence making things problematic. And here I thought I’d gotten rid of him for good. Maybe that was shortsighted of me. We had the same enemies; the Order hated him just as much as they hated us now. If he’d known St. George had laid a trap for us—because that was a very obvious trap that I’d walked into like a moron, damn Griffin to hell and back—I would expect him to return and help. If for no other reason than to save Ember.

But knowing how he felt about my fiery hatchling, seeing the way he looked at her, made me want to stalk over and sink my claws into his face.

I bit back a growl. That was instinct talking, my jealous, overprotective male dragon genes coming out, made worse by the fact that I was angry, sickened, confused and sore as hell. Injured, cranky dragons were not known for being reasonable. The base of my tail throbbed from where I’d taken a bullet, and the slug was probably still in there somewhere. Still, better to be shot in the butt than through the heart, and once the slug came out the wound would heal quickly. Though sitting down was going to be obnoxiously painful the next few days.

Dammit. What is Talon up to? I thought back to the laboratory, the glass tubes, the way my skin had crawled when I’d realized they were for living creatures. For dragons. What are they doing to us? How can they justify experimenting on their own kind? My stomach turned in rage, and I swallowed the flames wanting to crawl up my throat. I knew they were corrupt; I never thought they would stoop to this.

Ember stirred against me, a soft whimper escaping her clenched jaws, though she tried to hide it. My worry and protectiveness spiked, and I lowered my head, laying my chin against her neck.

“Hang in there, Firebrand,” I murmured, watching her talons curl, digging into the floor. “I know it sucks, but try not to think about it. You’re okay. I’m right here.”

She relaxed a bit. “I’m mad at you, you know,” she whispered, making me blink in surprise. Her green gaze rose to mine, fierce and indignant, her pupils razor thin with pain and anger. “What was that, back there? Throwing yourself at the soldiers for me? You don’t think I would’ve followed?”

“Ah. I was hoping you might forget that. Not so much, huh?” I offered a small grin that didn’t appease her in the slightest, and sighed. “I need you to survive, Firebrand,” I told her softly. “If I die, I’m counting on you and Wes to keep going for me. To take care of my hatchlings and my network, everyone I’ve gotten out of Talon. Without some sort of guidance, without someone fighting for them, the underground will fall apart. Talon will kill or take them all back, maybe to a laboratory like the one we saw tonight.” She shivered, and I eased closer, seeing my solemn reflection in those emerald eyes.

“You promised to help me fight,” I said. “But I need more than that, Ember. You can’t stop just because I’m gone. Promise me you’ll take care of my underground even if I’m not there anymore. I need to know that my hatchlings will be safe, that I’m leaving them in good hands.”