Page 24 of Legion

I gave her a wink. “Fitting in.”

“What, right now?” She eyed the humans. “I mean, you’re just going to walk up to a bunch of mortals and talk to them? What are you going to say?”

I grinned at her and ambled toward the net. My sister, who had never backed down a day in her life, was shy. “I figured I’d start with ‘hi.’”

Warily, she followed. As if on cue, one of the human’s dove wildly for the ball and sent it bouncing right for me. Instinctively, I caught it, and five pairs of eyes turned in my direction.

“Hey.” I looked at one of the girls and offered my most charming smile, the one that could make my teachers believe whatever I wanted. “Need a couple extra players?”

The girl nearly fell over from staring at me, but one of the guys gave me a shrug. “Sure, dude.” He was, I noticed, looking at Ember even as he spoke to me. “The more, the merrier. Come on in and pick a side.”

I smiled and joined them, even as I bit down a snort.Too easy.

* * *

Lexi and Calvin were pretty cool for humans, despite Calvin’s promise that he would teach Ember to surf when she asked about it. And Lexi talked...a lot. Even more than Ember, which was saying something.

And then, I saw him.

We were hanging out at the Smoothie Hut, a place that sold what our teachers referred to as “junk food,” when a weird shiver went up my spine. I turned from Calvin and gazed at the parking lot, just as a guy pulled up on a motorcycle and stared at us for a few seconds. He wore a leather jacket, and his black hair was messy and windblown. He met my stare, and one corner of his mouth curled up in a smirk, even as his eyes glinted yellow. Definitely not human.

Another dragon.

Arogue.

I didn’t know how I knew he was a rogue. Maybe because no dragon from Talon would randomly show up in a place where there were already two hatchlings. Maybe it was his eyes, gleaming and dangerous, or that defiant smirk that said he knew exactly what we were...and pitied us for it.

“Gorgeous Biker Boy.” Lexi sighed in response to something Ember said.

I felt a kick to my shins from below and jumped. Ember was giving me a worried look, and I realized that I’d been staring back at the rogue, the echo of a growl rumbling in my chest.

What are you doing, Dante? Get ahold of yourself.

Quickly, I excused the both of us, saying that our guardians wanted us home early tonight. I expected Ember to protest, but she only nodded and followed me back down the beach. When we were out of sight of the two humans, however, she jogged up and lightly smacked my arm.

“Hey,” she demanded. “What’s with you? You nearly went psychopathic lizard on me, right in front of two very normal humans. What’s the deal?”

“I know,” I rasped. “I’m sorry. It’s just...” I raked a hand through my hair, still keyed up. “Do you know what that was, in the parking lot just now?”

“You mean the other dragon? Yeah, I kinda noticed.”

“Ember.” I gave her a solemn look, willing her to understand. “That wasn’t anyone from Talon. That was a rogue. I’d bet my life on it.”

She blinked at me. I saw nervousness and alarm cross her face at the realization, but also something that raised the hairs on my neck. Curiosity. And...anticipation. The rogue intrigued her. And that, more than anything, made me realize I had to act. Before my twin did something unforgivable, something Talon could not overlook, and ruined the future for us both.

* * *

Back in my room, I turned on my computer and went into my email account. The cursor blinked in the address bar, waiting, as I sat there, trying to decide what to do. Finally, I put my fingers on the keys and typed in the one address I was supposed to use only in an emergency. The one my teachers had given me, and only me, because they knew I would inform Talon if anything was amiss in the area. Because they knew I would take my mission seriously.

Even if it meant we might be pulled out.

I hesitated a moment more, typedRogue in Crescent Beachinto the subject line, then began composing a brief, to-the-point message. I didn’t know what this meant for us once Talon received the information. I knew what would happen to the rogue, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in town when the Vipers came for him. I did know this was my duty, not only to Talon but to my sister. I would protect her, and our future with the organization, from any and all threats.

Even if the greatest threat was from Ember herself.

EMBER

Dante froze, his eyes going wide as he stared at me. As soon as the door closed and the locks engaged, a shout came through the tinted windows as something slammed into his bodyguard outside. Dante jumped, his attention going to the window, where Garret had just hit the guard from behind. There were brief scuffles on both sides of the car as Riley emerged from the darkness and tackled the second guard, making the vehicle rock as the dragon slammed into it. It didn’t last long; we had the element of surprise on our side, and the guards had been caught with their figurative pants down. After a few more grunts, shouts and bodies being slammed into metal and glass, the fight was over, and silence descended once more.

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