Lexi snorted, clearly unconvinced. “Whatever. Be the queen of denial, if you want. But I think you know it’s the truth. And you know what?” She leaned across the table again, like she was divulging the world’s greatest secret. “I think he likes you, too.”

Garret

“There you are,” Tristan said as I came through the front door, tossing the keys onto the counter. “If you’re going to be pulling stunts like that, we’re going to need a second vehicle. I had to walk several miles down the beach to find this girl’s house. It looked pretty normal from what I could see, but we won’t know anything unless we can get inside.” He eyed my still damp hair and clothes, arching an eyebrow. “The ‘lesson’ went well, I assume?”

I stifled a grin, remembering the thrill of the afternoon, the surge of adrenaline the second I caught the wave exactly right and rode it all the way to shore. “You could say that.”

“Uh huh. Well, it must’ve gone swimmingly, because you’re grinning like a moron. The only times I’ve seen you this happy is when your team wins a month of no K.P.”

I shrugged, not bothering to deny it, and Tristan shook his head.

“So, what did you find out? Is this Ember girl our sleeper?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know. You spent the whole day with her, what do you mean you don’t know?”

“We didn’t really talk much.”

“You had the whole afternoon! What were you doing for six hours?”

“Sorry.” I crossed my arms. “Next time, I’ll try to hold a conversation while balancing on a plank down a ten-foot wall of water.”

Tristan blinked. “Oh wow, and smart-ass Garret comes out. you must’ve had a good time.” I didn’t answer, and he sighed, sitting up on the couch to face me. “Look, partner. I’m glad you had fun. God knows you, of all people, deserve it. But this isn’t a vacation. We’re here for one thing, and that’s to find and kill a dragon. You know that. Fitting in and hanging out with these people and learning to surf, that’s all acceptable, as long as it gets us closer to the sleeper. If not, then it’s a waste of time and we should be focusing our efforts on something else.”

“I know.” Slumping, I turned away. He was right, of course. this wasn’t like me, forgetting the assignment for a fleeing distraction.

“Sorry. I’ll stay focused next time.”

Tristan nodded, leaning back on the couch. “I assume there will be a next time? You did make plans to meet with her again, correct?”

“Tomorrow,” I replied, determined to see the mission through.

Find the sleeper. Kill the sleeper. Simple as that. “I’m meeting her and the others at the mall.”

Ember

“Ember, you’re not eating. Are you sick?”

I looked up from where I was poking half-heartedly at my boiled lobster. As a whole, I didn’t like seafood. Dragons were carnivores; seventy percent of our diet had to consist of meat, and Sarah made sure we were fed appropriately, but, in my opinion, lobsters weren’t food. They were big bugs that lived underwater, and ugly ones at that.

Although, this evening, my lack of appetite had nothing to do with giant mutant water bugs. “Um,” I said, picking at one of the large claws still attached to the lobster’s armored corpse. Ugh, seriously, they expected me to eat this thing? “I do feel a little tired,” I hedged, because saying that I wasn’t hungry would be a monster red flag, at least to Dante, who would immediately suspect that I was up to something. Stupid twin radar. “It’s nothing. I went surfing today and got pounded a few times, that’s all.”

Liam put down his fork and lowered his eyebrows at me. “You know we don’t like it when you put yourself in danger, Ember,” he said in a tight voice. “We’re your guardians, and I cannot risk you getting hurt or injured on my watch. I’ve allowed you to continue because you promised you would not pull any more crazy stunts, but if you keep putting yourself at risk, I’ll forbid you from surfing entirely.”

“What?” I bristled, resisting the urge to bare my teeth at him across the table. “You can’t do that!”

“I can’t, but Talon can.” Liam glowered and pointed at me with his fork. “Don’t give me that look, girl. You may be a dragon, and I may be a lowly human, but until Talon deems otherwise, I am responsible for you. All it would take is one phone call explaining that you are a danger to yourself and to others, and Talon would be here the next morning to take you back.” He gave me a challenging stare.

“You aren’t the first reckless hatchling I’ve had to ship back to the organization. Don’t think I won’t do it again.”

I swelled with fury, ready to tell Liam what he could do with his phone call, but caught Dante’s eye across the table. Don’t cause trouble, his gaze pleaded. Don’t do anything that will get us sent back. Keep it together and follow the rules.

I slumped, then pushed myself back from the table. “I’m not hungry anymore,” I muttered, not caring what anyone thought right then.

“I’m turning in early. Don’t wait up.”

“You still have training tomorrow, Ember,” Liam called as I retreated from the kitchen, heading up to my room. “I’ll be at your door at 5 AM to make sure you’re awake.”