Page 34 of Legion

“Nothing to say?” the Elder Wyrm asked after a moment of silence as I tried to convince myself not to cringe in terror. My hands were shaking, my eyes fixed to a spot on the carpet, unwilling to stare directly at the woman in front of me. The Elder Wyrm’s voice was quietly amused as I stood there, trembling. “Your brother says you are opinionated and quite verbose, especially when it comes to my organization. Well, speak, then, Ember Hill. Do not fear—there will be no repercussions for speaking your mind. I simply wish to know your thoughts.”

I had to force myself to breathe.In and out, Ember, in and out. She’s not going to kill you, at least not yet.“I don’t...really know why I’m here,” I managed.

The Elder Wyrm gave me a puzzled look, raising her brows. I swallowed the fear screaming at me to be silent, and continued. “I mean, I don’t know what you think you’re going to convince me of,” I went on. “You went through a lot of trouble to bring me back, so you must want something from me. But I’ve seen what Talon does, both to the humans and our own kind. And I know you’re hoping that I’ll just fall in line like everyone else, but... I’m not going to change.”

“That is where you are mistaken, I’m afraid.”

I stared at her, heart pounding. Her voice was calm, certain. As if she had complete confidence in what she was saying. The Elder Wyrm smiled again, those hard green eyes appraising me like a sculptor would a block of marble, seeing how he would have to break it down to achieve the final masterpiece.

“You don’t know who you are, Ember Hill,” the Elder Wyrm stated. “You have no idea why you are so important to Talon. You must have wondered why we would go through all this trouble to bring you back, instead of simply letting Lilith deal with you. To ‘correct her mistake,’ as she wanted.”

A shiver went through me at the mention of my old trainer. “I thought it was because of Dante,” I said, deliberately not looking at my brother, who still stood motionless behind the Elder Wyrm with his hands clasped in front of him.

The Elder Wyrm chuckled. “Dante has no sway over the organization. Not yet. Soon, perhaps.” She spared him a brief glance over her shoulder, a chilling glint of satisfaction in her eyes. Dante gazed straight ahead, statue-like, as the Elder Wyrm turned back to me. “Which is why you are so important to Talon, Ember,” she continued. “You and your brother both. You see, twenty years ago, I made a decision. This organization, this empire, has been my whole life. I have watched it grow, flourish, even in the face of St. George and everything they do to rip it apart. For hundreds of years, I have guided Talon, and I have watched our numbers grow from a mere dozen dragons to the global power we are now. And yet, it is not enough. I have seen nations rise and fall, lived through countless wars, watched the birth of many new and wonderful things. I have built this empire from nothing, and I intend for it to endure until the end of time. But I know I cannot live forever.”

The Elder Wyrm turned from me to stare out the window again. Her expression, reflected in the glass, was solemn. “Twenty years ago,” she continued, her voice becoming distant, “I decided I needed an heir. I built Talon from nothing—I refused to leave it in the hands of a stranger. Even the best-intentioned dragons would not concede to my wishes. They would try to make Talon their own. They would change everything and destroy my vision in the process. I did not want to leave my company to someone not of my blood.”

My heart had started pounding again as I realized where this was going.You’ll understand soon, Dante had whispered to me, right before we came here.You’ll see why we’re special.

I clenched my fists.No, I thought, disbelieving.It can’t be true.The Elder Wyrm turned from the window, her eyes piercing as they stared at me.

“So you see, Ember,” she said. “You are more important to Talon than you know. You and your brother were destined from the beginning. You are my blood, the true heirs of the organization, and I need you to continue my work after I am gone. Dante has already accepted his role.” She gestured to my brother, though her gaze stayed on me. “It is time to stop playing these foolish games and take your place in Talon, where you belong.”

I swallowed hard, still staggered from the revelation. I was the daughter of the Elder Wyrm, the most powerful dragon in the world. The heir to Talon, and everything it offered.

“I told you, sis.” Dante’s voice was low, triumphant. “This is where we belong. Think of what we could do together.” He stepped forward, smiling in a way I’d never seen before, chilling and intense. “You always wanted a family,” he said. “But you’ve always had one right here. And now, we can be the most powerful family in the world.”

For just a moment, I hesitated. The organization was right at my fingertips. Talon could be mine in the future; what could I do with that much power?

My stomach turned, and I staggered away from him. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I don’t want this. I won’t be a part of Talon, whether it’s at the bottom or the top. All the power in the world isn’t worth what I would have to pay.”

“What are you talking about?” Dante glared at me, anger and disbelief written across his face. “Ember, you don’t get it, do you? No one will challenge us at the top. We can finally be free. True freedom, without having to run from anything. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”

“At what price?” I snapped back at him. “What will I have to do, to stay at the top? Massacre another town? Slaughter a group of hatchlings in cold blood?” I shook my head, feeling my stomach roil. “There was a time when you wouldn’t eventhinkof doing that. And now you’ll commit whatever atrocity they want.”

“Enough, both of you.” The Elder Wyrm’s expression was calm as she raised her hand, and two guards stepped forward to flank me. Dante fell silent, stepping back to glower at me, as the Elder Wyrm shook her head. “Well, I am disappointed that you feel that way,” she said as the guards took my arms. “But no matter. There are other avenues for negotiation that we haven’t explored. I’m sure we can find something we agree on.”

“Don’t waste your time,” I told her. “I won’t be a part of this, of whatever you’re planning. I’d rather die than be enslaved to Talon forever.”

“Such dramatics.” The Elder Wyrm smiled in a way that chilled my blood. My legs shook, and I had to fight to remain upright, to not sink to the floor under the weight of her stare. “And you have much to learn in the way of business. You see, everything has a price. Even the most stubborn, passionate souls have a breaking point. And we have millennia of experience in finding that one thing someone can’t live without.” She gestured, and as the guards turned me away, her final words became an echo of dread in my ears. “Make no mistake. Youwillserve Talon, one way or another. We just have to find that breaking point.”

DANTE

I watched as the guards led Ember away, a furious, roaring buzz in my ears. Had she really just done that? Stood before the Elder Wyrm, the oldest, most powerful dragon in the world, anddefiedher? Told her flat out that she wouldn’t cooperate? That she wouldn’t take her destined place in Talon, because the rogue had showed her differently?

Dammit, Ember.I clenched my fists. How could she be so pointlessly stubborn? She was the Elder Wyrm’sheir. We both were. I’d really believed that, once she knew who she was, she would realize the enormous potential staring her in the face. Together, we could change Talon and the whole world, but she didn’t see that. She saw only whatshewanted, what Cobalt had told her. He had blinded her with his lies, turned her against me. Everything she’d done, everything that had come between us, began the moment she had met the rogue in Crescent Beach.

“Well,” the Elder Wyrm mused as the doors to the office closed once more. Her voice wasn’t angry or surprised or remotely disturbed. “That could have gone better.”

I took a breath to calm the fear and anger roiling within. My sister refused to bend. What would happen to her now? You did not defy the Elder Wyrm without consequences. I desperately wanted to ask, but at the same time, I knew that would be a breach of protocol. The Elder Wyrm was not to be questioned. Her word was law. If she thought you needed to know something, she would tell you.

“Dante,” the Elder Wyrm said, making everything inside me go still. I turned out of habit, the calm, blank mask hiding the turmoil within. The CEO of Talon wasn’t looking at me, however. She was still gazing at the door through which Ember had disappeared.

“You will leave tomorrow,” she said, and my stomach dropped to my toes. “Go to our main laboratory and prepare the vessels and their handlers for the upcoming mission. The first stage of the plan is nearly upon us. I want you to lead it.”

“Of course,” I said, though my voice came out a little choked. “Right away. But...”

Thebutwas out of my mouth before I could stop it, and I winced. It was a tremendous honor to be chosen for this assignment. This was the most important task I had ever been given, the first step in finally ending the war with St. George, and the Elder Wyrm was entrusting it to me. I knew I should be grateful, excited, terrified. But if I left now, would I ever see my sister alive again?

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