Page 62 of Legion

I gave a half smile. “That sounds tragically noble,” I joked, trying to ease some of the shadows in her eyes. To fool myself into thinking this wasn’t quite as serious as I knew it was. That it wouldn’t end as I suspected. “The soldier of St. George and the dragon, killed together on the field of battle.”

“Fighting on the other side of the war,” Ember added. “Even though they’re supposed to be mortal enemies who hate each other. Like the Montagues and Capulets.”

“If Romeo didn’t die from poison,” I finished. “And Juliet was a fire-breathing dragon.”

She chuckled, tilting her head. “That’s an interesting thought,” she mused. “If she was, do you think the story would’ve ended like it did?”

I gave a weary smile. “I think we’re going to find out,” I murmured, and kissed her. She leaned close, one hand gripping the front of my shirt, the other sliding into my hair. I closed my eyes and breathed her in, searing this moment into my brain, in case it really was the final one.

Ember pulled back very slightly, her gaze finding mine. “I love you, soldier boy,” she whispered. “I know you’ve heard it before, but I’m going to keep saying it...just in case I don’t get another chance. And I wish we had more time. We didn’t have a lot to begin with.” A shadow of anguish crossed her face before she blinked it away. “But I’ll take whatever we have. And Martin is probably getting impatient. So go on.” She gave my chest a little push, drawing back. “Before this gets any harder. I’ll find you again, I promise.” Though her eyes remained dark, she gave a tiny, wicked smile. “Don’t start the fight without me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Leaning forward, I kissed her once more. “I love you, too, Ember,” I murmured. “We’ll see each other soon.” And, even though it was one of the hardest things I’d ever made myself do, I slid out of the booth and walked away. Out of the bar, and into the dimly lit parking lot.

Martin was waiting for me outside the door in the flickering light of a broken streetlamp. His arms were crossed, and his gaze was scrutinizing as I approached. “That took longer than I thought it would,” he said as I stopped in front of him. “The Sebastian I knew once could barely hold a conversation with a civilian, let alone a girl.” His eyes narrowed. “What were you and that dragon talking about that was so interesting? You know what...never mind.” He held up a hand. “I don’t want to know. Do you have everything you need with you?”

Everything except the girl in question.“Yes, sir,” I replied simply.

“You are armed, I take it?”

“Yes, sir,” I said again.

He nodded, unsurprised. “All right. Before we go, let me make one thing clear, Sebastian,” he said gravely. “The only reason I’m even considering this is because the Order is so fractured, and the hierarchy within St. George is nearly nonexistent. If what you say is true, then my duty is to defend my chapterhouse and the soldiers who live there at all costs. That said, I would watch your back when we get there. I can protect you from the soldiers when we arrive, but don’t think you’re going to be welcomed back with open arms. You’re still a traitor and a dragonlover, and everyone in St. George knows what you’ve done. This is a temporary truce at best. And if your dragon friends do show up, I won’t order them shot on sight, but they should stay as far away from the soldiers as they can. Is that understood?”

“Yes, sir,” I replied once more. It wasn’t ideal; I knew my former brothers despised me just as much as the dragons they fought. I knew I was still a traitor, still the enemy in their eyes. Much like Kain, there were several soldiers I could think of who would want retribution and might try to take it out of me themselves. Those same soldiers would be enraged if a group of dragons showed up at the chapterhouse, even ones who were supposed to be allies. I would have to be careful, to protect both myself and my “scaly friends” from my former brothers. If they hurt Ember, or any hatchling in Riley’s network, I would never forgive myself.

Still, though I would have to be cautious and tread very lightly, it was a huge first step. Martin had listened to us. He’d spoken to Ember without trying to kill her. And for the first time in history, a group of dragons would be allowed inside St. George. This would change everything.

If Riley decided to show, that was. And any of us were still alive after the Night of Fang and Fire.

Martin nodded and gestured to a black jeep a few spaces down. “All right,” he said grimly. “Let’s move out.”

As I followed him into the vehicle and closed the door, I was struck by a vague sense of déjà vu. I’d been in this jeep with Martin only once before, but I remembered it as clearly as if had been yesterday. Six years ago, when he’d picked me up from the Academy of St. George, and we’d driven to attend Lucas Benedict’s funeral.

Martin didn’t look at me, but I wondered if he remembered, too.

As he pulled out of the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of a red-haired girl in the rearview mirror, watching us drive away, and my stomach twisted. I would see her again, I told myself. Riley detested the Order and was dangerously protective of his underground. He would be understandably appalled at the very notion of helping the people who had killed so many of his kind. The hatchlings weren’t soldiers; they were teens who had been persecuted by Talon and the Order and had every right to fear and hate them both. But if anyone could convince them to come out of hiding and stand with their ancient enemies, it would be Ember. Once she put her mind to something, there was very little that could stop her. She had changed so much from the girl I’d met in Crescent Beach; she had become a true soldier who understood what was at stake and was willing to make sacrifices for what had to be done.

I just prayed that, when this was over, the sacrifices were ones we could live with.

RILEY

“Well, that’s everything,” Wes muttered. “All the safe houses have been evacuated. And all communications have been severed. The network is officially dead.”

“Good,” I said shortly. “That should make us harder to track down. And when Talon comes for the safe houses, there’ll be nothing left for them to find.” I stood in the small bedroom Wes and I shared, the human sitting at the desk with his open computer, myself standing behind him. A pair of twin beds sat on opposite ends of the wall behind us, but I hadn’t so much as lain down since we’d arrived. Every moment of my time had been spent securing my underground, making sure the hatchlings were settled in, going over emergency escape plans with Wes should an army of soulless dragon clones appear in the middle of the night.

“Everyone accounted for?” I asked.

“As far as I can tell.” Wes leaned back in the chair, rubbing his eyes. He, too, was exhausted, having worked all night tracking everyone in the underground, contacting all our people, shutting down networks and communications behind them. “We lost several this year, Riley,” he muttered, shaking his head. “More than we’ve ever lost in the past. The Order has been bloody relentless.”

I nodded wearily. Seventeen hatchlings had made it. Seventeen, out of what had been twenty-five a year ago. It made me sick. I remembered their names, their faces, their stories and backgrounds. I knew each and every death, and it ate at me like a cancer, making me furious with myself. I was supposed to keep them safe. They’d come to me for protection, and I had let them down.

No more.I couldn’t let any more die. There were still seventeen dragons down there who were counting on me, who looked to me to defend them from Talon and the Order. I was still the leader of this underground, and I couldn’t let past failures or personal shortcomings stop me from what I had to do.

Even though, in the darkest, blackest corners of my soul, a tiny part of me didn’t care what happened next.Let everyone die, it whispered.Let the world burn and everything be charred to ashes by dragonfire. What do we care, now that she’s gone?

“Cobalt.”

I turned almost guiltily. Mist stood in the door frame peering in at us, long silvery hair glowing softly in the dim light. I hadn’t seen the ex–Talon agent much since we’d arrived, having been distracted with Wes, the hatchlings, the underground...and Ember. Truthfully I had almost forgotten about Mist. But it occurred to me that I had no idea what she had been doing since we got here, and that was a little disconcerting. She had been a Basilisk, and she had worked for Talon. Both were reasons to treat her with caution, to watch her closely.

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