Page 52 of Legion

Garret stepped closer, his gaze holding mine. “If I was, would you think any less of me?”

“I...no.”

“And what if I wasn’t entirely human anymore? What if I had some sort of strange blood that turned me into something unnatural? Would that affect anything between us?”

I sighed. “No, and I’m starting to realize how unnatural our relationship really is.”

He chuckled, looking thoughtful. “Vesselis a good term,” he said softly as I blinked in confusion. “I get now why they’re called that.”

“Really? I don’t.”

He sobered. “The Order believes that our bodies are just shells, containers for the soul. It’s what’s inside that’s important—our memories, our consciousness, what makes us who we are. That’s what I was afraid of losing, Ember. You, not your body. Outer appearances aren’t important. Though you are beautiful, you know that, right?” I think I blushed, and he smiled, leaning closer. “I didn’t fall in love with how you looked,” he murmured as his hand rose, gently brushing my cheek. “I fell in love withyou.”

My eyes watered, and everything inside me melted into molten goo. “You are getting entirely too good at making a dragon cry,” I said, and kissed him.

His arms slid around me, drawing me close as a soft exhale escaped him. I closed my eyes, letting the horror, stress and fear of the past few days fade away, momentarily forgotten. Garret’s kisses were gentle, unhurried, though they were laced with passion and relief. Heat flickered between us, and for the very first time, there were no feelings of reluctance. No anger, disgust or snarling protests from the dragon. No confusion or doubt. Just acceptance. And something so powerful it felt like my insides were going to erupt into flame and consume me from within.

I am in love with this human,I thought, and it felt completely right.

The soft creak of the door opening interrupted us. We pulled back as a girl entered the room with an armful of sheets and blankets.

She jumped when she saw us, her eyes widening. I gasped in surprise. “Nettle?” I exclaimed as the other hatchling gaped at me. Dark and willowy, her dreadlocks bristling atop her head like spines, she looked unchanged from the day I’d met her in Crescent Beach. “What are you doing here?”

“Um, duh. Emergency recall signal.” Apparently, Nettle could recover quickly enough for a smart comeback. “Every nest and safe house in the system has been ordered to clear out and come here. Remy and I just arrived a few minutes ago, and there’s a whole heap of hatchlings wandering around downstairs. Where haveyoubeen?”

“Sleeping,” I muttered as Garret gave a quiet chuckle and released me. “Besides, that’s not what I meant. Why are youhere?” I gestured around us. “In my room?”

“Because all the other rooms have been taken.” Nettle looked annoyed at having to explain this. “And everyone has to double up. Your room was the last one to go.” She glanced at Garret and arched an eyebrow. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you werebusy. Do you two need a moment?”

I frowned, but Garret touched the back of my arm before I could say anything. “No, it’s all right,” he stated. “Riley wanted us to find him as soon as Ember woke up. And Wes arrived a couple hours ago. We should go see what they’re planning.”

“Oh,” I said. “Right.” Back to reality. Much as I wanted to close the door and have Garret all to myself, we couldn’t relax. Talon was still out there. The Night of Fang and Fire was still coming. If I knew Riley, he was doing everything he could to prepare and hunker down. “Any idea where they are?”

“Riley is outside somewhere,” Nettle answered, moving to the twin bed opposite mine and tossing her sheets to the mattress. “I heard Remy say he’s in the tornado shelter out back. I guess he’s expecting a storm or something.”

Oh, you could say that.“Come on,” I told Garret. “We need to find him. I’m sure he’s come up with some sort of plan by now.”

Garret nodded, and we walked out of the room and down the hall, where a cacophony of voices had replaced the previous silence of the farmhouse. They grew louder as we walked downstairs, and my eyes widened in astonishment.

The living room and kitchen were filled with dragons. Hatchling dragons, all of them; teens and young adults lounged on the sofas and chairs and were seated on stools along the counter. Most of them sat clustered together, talking in furtive voices. A few had sought out isolated corners to sit by themselves, watching the other dragons with wary eyes. There were two adult humans in the room who seemed to be watching over the group, along with one older dragon that, if not a Juvenile, was pretty darn close.

For a moment, I could only stare. There were more hatchlings in this one room than I had ever seen in my life. All of them rogues who had rejected Talon, who had seen through the organization’s lies and wanted to live free. And that made me both very happy and very, very nervous. I suddenly understood why Riley kept his network so scattered and isolated from each other, and why there were only a couple dragons per safe house. If St. George was to kick in the door and storm the room right now, there would be alotof dead dragons before the fight was over.

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” Garret murmured beside me, apparently thinking the same. “So this is Riley’s underground. I’ve never seen so many rogues in one place. If the Order ever saw this...” He shook his head. “Let’s hope thatneverhappens.”

We wove through the living room toward the front door. I spotted Remy sitting in an armchair, surrounded by a group of older teens, and waved. But the usually cheerful hatchling didn’t smile back and quickly averted his eyes as we passed. I wondered whatthatmeant but had no time to dwell on it as Garret pushed open the screen door and we stepped onto the porch.

“Okay,” I said, gazing around. It was quieter out here than in the farmhouse. A warm breeze tugged at my hair, swirling the leaves into tiny dust devils in the yard. I was struck again by the lack of noise; it reminded me of my old school in the middle of the desert where Dante and I had grown up. Though the scenery was more interesting at least.

A chill ran up my back. I could remember the school—the cluster of long cement buildings in the center of an eternal wasteland. I remembered my brother and myself growing up: the isolation, the long hours of study, the endless boredom. But...there were blanks in my memory, places in time that skipped, entire interactions and scenes I was missing. How much had been taken from me? Weeks of memories?

Years?

I shuddered and pushed those thoughts away. My brain was still too fractured to deal with them now. Later, when everything died down and I had a chance to think, I’d try to piece together what was gone and what I remembered. “All right,” I said, turning to Garret. “So, now we need to find a tornado shelter. Any idea where that would be? Maybe around the back of the house?”

“Wait.” Garret stepped close and took my hand. “Before we look for Riley,” he said, “I need to talk to you about something. In private.”

GARRET

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