I glanced at her. “Yes, but isn’t it customary to start small and work your way up to the big waves?” She continued to flash me that slightly evil grin, and I raised an eyebrow. “Or is this free ‘lesson’ just to watch me make a fool of myself?”
“No, it’s to see if you really want to do this,” she answered, abruptly serious. “Surfing isn’t for the faint of heart. You’re going to wipe out, and you’re going to get your ass kicked by the ocean a few times. But don’t worry.” She smiled, and her green eyes sparkled as she looked up at me. “I’ll be gentle.”
“I look forward to it.”
She grinned, but then a shadow crossed her face and she pointed to the sidewalk. “Um, you can let me off at that corner,” she directed, looking nervously up the road. “No need to drive me all the way to the house. I can make it home from here.”
I was puzzled but didn’t argue. Pulling to a stop at the corner, I hopped out and grabbed the bike from the backseat, then set it before her on the sidewalk.
“Thanks.” She reached for the handlebars, but one of her hands came to rest over mine before I could pull back, sending a jolt racing up my arm. “I owe you one. You’re a lifesaver. Really.”
My heart pounded, and I swiftly drew my arm back, all my senses buzzing like crazy. Ember didn’t seem to notice and started pushing the bike down the sidewalk. “I’ll see you this afternoon at three,” she called over her shoulder. “And if you don’t show, I’ll just assume you got scared of the big bad waves and chickened out.”
“I’ll be there,” I replied. Waves didn’t scare me. They were big, they were violent, and if you made one wrong move they could easily crush you. Very much like a dragon. I wasn’t afraid of dragons. I respected them, and I knew that, one day, one of the savage creatures would probably kill me, but I wasn’t afraid of them. Ancient reptiles, fighting, killing and death, odd as it might seem, were familiar and comfortable.
Whatwasn’tfamiliar was the way my skin prickled when Ember smiled at me, the odd pulling sensation in my stomach when her gaze met mine. The way my throat was suddenly dry as she walked away, her lithe body swaying as she broke into an easy jog, loping down the sidewalk. I watched her, unable to tear my eyes away, until she turned a corner and was gone.
With a mental shake, I hopped back in the Jeep and wrenched the key in the ignition, trying to gather my thoughts. Dammit, what was wrong with me? That was twice now I’d lost my focus around that girl. It had to stop. This was a mission, and Ember was part of the objective. I could not lower my guard. I wasn’t here to surf, or go to parties, or talk to an intriguing red-haired girl who didn’t hesitate to kick bullies in the crotch or tackle giant waves. I was here to find a dragon, flush it into the open and kill it.
And if Ember was the sleeper...
Remember your mission, soldier. Do not lose sight of it again.
Putting the Jeep in Drive, I headed home.
* * *
“That took longer than expected,” Tristan said as I walked through the door of the apartment, tossing the keys on the counter. “Did you get lost on your way back? Maybe take a detour to the Smoothie Hut?”
“No,” I muttered, though mention of the Smoothie Hut made my stomach clench with nerves...and anticipation. “But I think I have a lead.”
Ember
Made it.
The house was still dark as I ditched the bike, unlocked the front door and crept down the silent hallway, sparing a quick glance at the clock on the wall: 4:52 a.m. Close, but I was home free. Liam and Sarah weren’t up yet; all I had to do was climb the stairs, slip into bed, and they would never know what had happened.
At the edge of the kitchen, however, I stopped. The basement door was just a few feet away, taunting me. The secret room was down there, hiding any number of secrets about Talon, my trainer, maybe even me.
I slipped across the linoleum to the basement door, hesitated and put a hand on the knob.
Just as something grabbed my arm.
I jumped a foot in the air and whirled around. “Dante!” I squeaked as my twin stared back at me, a grave look on his face. “Jeez, give me a heart attack, why don’t you?” My heart pounded, but I forced myself not to panic. “What are you doing up?” I whispered. “You’re supposed to be asleep, stalker.”
“Come on, sis. It’s me.” Dante’s voice was low, angry. “You’ve never been able to hide anything from me. I don’t know why you thought you’d be able to sneak out unnoticed. I just hope your illegal midnight flight was worth it.” His eyes flicked to the basement door and narrowed to green slits. “Shouldn’t you be trying to get upstairs right now, before Liam comes out and sees you?”
I hesitated. Should I tell him about the secret room and the code to open it? I’d never hidden anything from my brother before. But if I did tell him, he’d want to know where I’d gotten that information, and I wasn’t ready to admit my association with a rogue dragon just yet. Getting caught sneaking out was bad enough.
“That’s what I was doing, before you shaved a couple years off my life,” I whispered, moving away from the door, back toward the stairs. I kept my head down as we climbed the steps so he wouldn’t see I was lying. “Are you going to tell Liam?”
I heard the irritation in his voice as he answered. “You know I wouldn’t do that. You’re an idiot, but you’re still my sister. We stick together, no matter what.” I relaxed, and his tone sharpened. “Even when I think you did something completely stupid and dangerous tonight, just because you wanted to fly.”
I stopped outside the door to my room. “It isn’t that bad.”
“Ember. It’s the one thing that can get us called back to Talon. Or getyoucalled back to Talon. I don’t want us to be separated, and I sure as hell don’t want to go back.” Dante shook his head with a frustrated sigh, before giving me a half angry, half pleading look. “You can’t do that anymore, okay, sis? This one time, I understand. But we have to follow the rules or risk losing everything we’ve worked so hard for. Sixteen years of preparing for this, all gone in an instant. Am I making any sense to you?”
I slumped. “Yeah,” I whispered. He was right; I’d been stupid and stubborn and had taken a huge risk tonight. I’d endangered not only my time here but Dante’s, too. My actions affected both of us, and I’d forgotten that. I might be okay with risking my own neck, but I wouldn’t risk my brother’s. “Okay, fine,” I said. “I was a moron. No more flying around after midnight, I promise.”