But, if she wasn’t. If Ember was our target, the sleeper we’d been sent to kill, then the Order hadn’t told me everything. They never told me that dragons could be kind, that they could be daring, and funny, and beautiful. That they loved surfing and arcade games and hanging out with their friends. None of that had been counterfeit.

The Order taught that dragons could only imitate emotions, that they had no real concept of humanity. If Ember was the sleeper, then she had proven them wrong at every turn.

What else had we been wrong about?

“Garret.”

I flicked my gaze to Tristan, who regarded me through the press of bodies and laughing soldiers, his dark eyes appraising. “You okay?

You’ve been even broodier than normal lately.” His tone was light, but his expression was hard and suspicious. “Don’t tell me the perfect soldier has a sudden case of nerves.”

Thankfully, before I could answer, the truck pulled to a stop and the driver craned his neck to look back at us through a small mesh window. “We’re two hundred yards out,” he told Tristan, who nodded and rose to his feet, clutching his rifle.

“That’s my cue.” Glancing at me, he offered a devil-may-care grin.

“Good luck in there. See you on the flip side, partner.”

I nodded. Maneuvering through soldiers, he edged to the back of the truck, opened the doors, and hopped out. I knew he would quickly find himself a good vantage point and be watching the house through the scope of his rifle when the raid began. If any of our targets slipped past us and tried to run, they wouldn’t get past the driveway. Not with Tristan guarding the front.

The truck rumbled and began to move again, and I took a deep breath, trying to calm my mind. Two hundred yards out. Two hundred yards from the enemy nest. I couldn’t have any doubts, not at this stage in the mission. Uncertainties would get me and my brothers killed. I was a soldier of St. George; when the time came and we faced our enemies again, I would do what I’d been trained to do, what I knew I must.

Kill every dragon in sight.

Riley

Ember followed me down the stairs, where the crack of billiard balls told me exactly how the two hatchlings were getting ready to leave, which was not at all.

“I’m so glad you two are taking this threat seriously,” I stated as I swept into the game room. At the head of the table, Remy jerked up with a guilty expression, raking sandy hair out of his eyes. Nettle quickly put her pool stick on the table, trying to look innocent and failing. I shook my head.

“I thought Wes told you we were leaving tonight. You’re supposed to be getting ready to go. Call me crazy, but I don’t think this qualifies.”

“We are ready!” Nettle protested. Her dreadlocks bounced as she did, vehemently stating her case. “We came here with nothing, remember? We don’t have anything to pack. We are ready to go.”

“Really?” I crossed my arms. “And what about the whole ‘leaving the house as we found it’ bit? Are the rooms clean, or do they look like a hurricane went through?” They both dropped their gaze, and I nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. You’re both going to take care of that, but right now, I want you to meet someone.”

I turned, motioning Ember forward. Her eyes were wide as she stepped around me, staring curiously at the other hatchlings, who stared back. “This is Ember,” I told them as the three hatchlings eyed each other over the table. “She might be joining us when we leave town tonight. Firebrand,” I continued, as Ember glanced at me sharply, “meet two of mine. That’s Nettle, and Remy. I got them both out of Talon a year ago.”

“S’up,” Remy greeted, raising a hand. “Welcome aboard. So, our fearless leader convinced you to join our cause too, huh?”

“I…uh, haven’t decided yet,” Ember said, and Nettle’s mouth fell open.

“What? Why not?” The other hatchling gaped at Ember, shocked.

“Are you stupid? Don’t you know what they’ll do to you?”

“Nettle,” I warned, and the girl backed off. Ember bristled, and I stepped between them before I had a full on chick fight in the game room. And when those chicks were dragons, it could get ugly real fast. I didn’t feel like calling the fire department right now.

“You’ll have to excuse Nettle,” I told Ember, who gave me a skeptical look. “She has more reason to hate Talon than most.”

“Oh?” Ember turned back to the other hatchling, more curious than angry now. Nettle watched her with a sullen expression, and the other girl frowned. “Why?”

Nettle glanced at me, and I nodded. Better to let her tell her story; as one who had lived through the worst facet of Talon, she knew the organization’s darkest secret better than most. As awful as her story was, I couldn’t imagine what it had been like for her.

“I failed assimilation,” Nettle began, bitterness still coloring her voice when she spoke of her past. “My guardian was a real bastard who like to piss me off, just to remind me that if I ever changed, I’d be sent back to the organization. One day he pushed too far. I lost my temper and snapped at him…in my real form.” Her tone became even harsher, as she subconsciously rubbed her arm. “I expected to be shipped back to Talon for retraining. That’s what everyone tells you, right? Only, it’s a big fat lie. Talon doesn’t call hatchlings back for retraining. You get one shot, and that’s it. According to Talon, if you fail assimilation, you’ve been ‘corrupted by humanity.’ You’ve proven you can’t be trusted among humans, ever.”