Page 24 of Talon

Even though something inside me shriveled a bit in misery. My dragon, perhaps, mourning the loss of her wings, and knowing she would never see Cobalt again. She already missed him.

Dante nodded. “Good,” he said, and gave me a lopsided little grin. “Because I’m going to be a zombie today, thanks to you. Next time, at least have the courtesy to sneak out on a weekend when I don’t have to be up in an hour.”

I snorted. “Good night, Tweedledum.”

He smirked and turned down the hall, and I went through my own door, letting it click shut behind me. Walking to my bed, I did a face-plant into the mattress, replaying the events of the day.

Busy night.And it wasn’t done yet. I still had to meet Garret later this afternoon for surf lessons. The thought sent a little thrill through me; the human was gorgeous, mysterious, and those metallic gray eyes made my tummy squirm. I was definitely looking forward to seeing him again. Though, I had to admit, flying the waves with Cobalt, feeling that surge of pure adrenaline as we soared the wind together, was just bliss. The rogue was cocky, arrogant and exasperating, but he certainly knew how to live.

And, if what Cobalt said was true, there was still the matter of the hidden room in the basement. There was no time to search for it now, of course, but Iwouldget down there soon and see if the rogue knew what he was talking about. If Talon was keeping secrets, I wanted to know why.

My eyes flickered shut, the tired contentment of soaring the wind stealing over me. No matter what I promised my brother, tonight had been amazing. And I knew I wouldn’t forget it—or the mysterious rogue—anytime soon.

Worth it,my dragon side whispered smugly.

Just as the alarm buzzed.

* * *

“You look tired, hatchling.” Scary Talon Lady eyed me critically across the desk, arms crossed as she looked me up and down. “Did you not get enough sleep? I told your guardians I wanted you here early today.”

“It’s five-thirty in the morning,” I said, knowing how I must look—eyes bloodshot, hair spiky with wind and salt. “The sun isn’t even up yet.”

“Well, this should perk you right up.” My instructor smiled in that way that chilled my blood. “We’re doing something a little different this morning. Follow me.”

Nervously, I trailed her down to the storage room, then blinked in surprise when she opened the door. The normally vast, empty space was filled wall-to-wall with crates, pallets, steel drums and ladders. Some were stacked nearly to the ceiling, creating a labyrinth of shadowy aisles, hallways and corridors, a gigantic maze inside the room.

“What’s this for?” I asked, just as something small and fast streaked from the darkness and hit me right in the chest. With a yelp, I staggered back, clutching my shoulder. Thick liquid spread over my clothes, and my hand came away smeared with red. “What the hell?” I gasped.

“It’s paint,” my trainer said calmly, easing my panicked confusion. “But, make no mistake, had that been a real bullet, you would most assuredly be dead.” She waved an arm toward the labyrinth of boxes looming before me in the darkness. “There are a dozen ‘St. George soldiers’ hiding in that maze,” she continued, smiling down at me. “All hunting you. All looking to kill you. Welcome to phase two of your training, hatchling. I want you to go in there and survive as long as you can.”

I stared into the room, trying to catch glimpses of my attackers, these “soldiers” of St. George. I couldn’t see anything, but I was quite certain they could see me and were probably watching us right now. “How long is long enough?” I asked quietly.

“Until I say so.”

Of course. With a sigh, I began walking toward the maze, but Scary Talon Lady’s voice stopped me before I took three steps.

“What do you think you’re doing, hatchling?”

Annoyed, I turned back, wondering what I’d done wrong this time. “I’m doing what you told me to. Go into maze, get shot at, survive. Isn’t that what you want?”

My instructor gave me a blatant look of disgust and shook her head. “You’re not taking this seriously. If you are trapped in a warehouse with a team of well-trained, heavily armed St. George soldiers, do you really think you are going to survive as a human?”

I stared at her, frowning, before I got what she was really saying. “You...you mean I can do this in my real form?”

She rolled her eyes. “I do hope your brother catches on faster than you. It would be a shame to lose you both to stupidity.”

“Yes!” I whispered, clenching my fist. I barely heard the insult. I could finally be a dragon without breaking the rules. That almost made this whole crazy exercise worth it.

My trainer snapped her fingers and pointed to a large stack of crates in the corner.

“If you are concerned about modesty, or your clothes, you may change over there,” she ordered in a flat voice. “Though you are eventually going to have to get over that. There will be no time to find a bathroom if you are being chased by snipers in helicopters.”

I hurried over and ducked behind the boxes, then shrugged out of my clothes as fast as I could. My body rippled as the dragon burst free again, wings brushing against the wooden crates as they unfurled for the second time that morning. It was still liberating, still completely freeing, even after a whole night of flying around.

My talons clicked over the concrete as I stalked back to the maze, feeling comfortable and confident in my dragon skin. Even Scary Talon Lady didn’t look quite so scary anymore, though she eyed my dragon self with as much bored disdain as she did my human self.

“Hold still,” she ordered, and pressed something into my ear hole, right behind my horns. I snorted and reared back, shaking my head, and she cuffed me under the chin. “Stop that. It’s just an earbud. It will allow me to communicate with you in the maze, and to hear everything that is going on around you. So stop twitching.”

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