“Oh, Garret.” The girl knelt at my side, placing one warm hand on my knee. “That’s... I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right.” I looked away from her, telling myself to be detached, to feel nothing. “It’s not him anymore. We...the Order believes that when soldiers die in battle, our souls continue on to our reward. The bodies here aren’t the people I used to know. These are just the shells they left behind.”

Abruptly, I wondered where the rest of my classmates were. We had been sent to different chapterhouses after graduation, and I’d seen only a couple of them since that time, though never long enough for more than a hello. Peter Matthews, my old tormenter, had been stationed at the St. George Eastern Chapterhouse on the other side of the country, and I hadn’t seen or heard him since graduation. I wondered if he was still alive. And if he was, I wondered what he would say to me, if our paths ever crossed again.

A scraping sound interrupted us. Ember and I turned to see Riley dragging one of the soldiers across the road by the ankle, before tossing him to the foot of the truck. He flopped limply, arms and legs splayed ungracefully on the pavement. The blue dragon curled his lip and turned to stalk after another. I winced, and Ember leaped down with a scowl.

“What are you doing, Cobalt?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” the blue dragon shot back. Hooking a body by the armor, he clawed it out of the bushes onto the road. “Figured I’d help out, or we’ll be here forever. If you’re not too squeamish, grab a leg or something, would you? These bastards are deadweight.”

EMBER

It took us a half hour to drag the bodies out of the road and load them into the trucks. Garret wouldn’t let Riley just toss them inside to land where they would. He carefully laid them out side by side, folding arms and laying their hands over their chests when he could. There were over a dozen of them, and the stench of blood, smoke, and charred flesh and armor burned my nose as I pulled the bodies over to the truck. My stomach churned, but I made myself continue. I had done this. I was responsible for the deaths of these humans. The least I could do was not leave them in the sun to rot.

“Hey.” Cobalt brushed alongside me, peering down with worried golden eyes. “You okay, Firebrand?” he asked, nudging my shoulder in concern. “You’re looking a little green.”

I flinched, even as part of me wanted to lean into him. To curl against him and bury my face in his side and forget the rest of the world. He’s your Sallith’tahn, something inside me whispered. You’re supposed to be together.

“I’m okay,” I said, and stepped away from him. “Just...lots of dead humans. Trying not to think about it.”

“You’re the one who wanted us to fight, Firebrand.”

“I know!” I scowled at him a moment, then slumped. “I know.”

“If we didn’t kill them, they would have slaughtered us. And everyone at that temple. Just for associating with dragons.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “But...” I glanced at the truck, where Garret was laying out the last of the bodies. “They were his friends once. He was one of them. And now, he’s fighting on our side.” A thought entered my head, one that had been plaguing me for a while now, but I hesitated in voicing out loud. “Could they...could more of them...be like him?”

Cobalt gave a very dubious snort, so emphatic that smoke curled out of his nose. “Don’t go down that road, Ember,” he warned, making me scowl at him. “That way lies madness, and you’ll very quickly get yourself killed. The soldier is a special, and very rare, exception. I’m still trying to figure out how you actually pulled that off, because getting any of the Order to change their mind is like convincing the Elder Wyrm that money is bad. It just can’t be done.”

“Maybe we should try.”

He growled. “A little late, I’m afraid. After today, do you think any of St. George will want to talk to dragons?” My heart sank, and Cobalt tossed his head, gesturing at the scene before us with his horns. “Look around you, Firebrand. This was a massacre. Granted, we’re usually the ones on the other end, but the Order won’t think of it like that. You saw how they reacted when we dared sneak into their compound to rescue one soldier, and we didn’t kill anyone on our way out. What do you think they’re going to do after this? How do you think they’re going to react?”

I swallowed hard. “There’s no right answer, is there?”

“There never is in war.”