Page 46 of Talon

“Hey, Garret! Itisyou!”

Lexi Thompson emerged from the swirling crowd, grinning down at me. I smiled and nodded, but flicked a casual glance behind her, looking to see ifshewas following.

“Fancy meeting you here, stranger,” Lexi continued, raising her voice to be heard over the music. “We just keep running into each other, it seems.” The smile grew wider, as if she had just proven a point I wasn’t aware of. “Or are you here for someone else?”

I ignored that question. If anyone knew Ember’s whereabouts or state of mind, it would be Lexi, but I didn’t want to be that obvious. “Lexi,” I greeted calmly. “Did you come here alone?”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, then. I’ll pretend not to know who you’re talking about and just tell you that Emberissupposed to be here tonight, though I haven’t seen her yet.But...” She fixed me with a surprisingly fierce glare. “This is a warning for you. Ember is my friend, and I’ve seen too many jerkwads blow through town, thinking they can have a fun little fling and be gone the next day. If that’s what you’re after, then you should leave right now and not come back. Ember doesn’t want that, and she deserves better. If you hurt her, you’ll have me to deal with.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, secretly thinking that one teenage girl wasn’t nearly the threat a twelve-ton raging dragon or even a single armed Talon servant was, but she sounded serious, and I admired that she would stand up for her friend. Also, hearing her threats, irrational as they were, gave me a bit of hope. She wasn’t warning meawayfrom Ember, she was telling me not to hurt her friend if I did pursue her. Which meant that Ember hadn’t written me off just yet.

At least, that’s what I hoped it meant.

Lexi nodded.

“Good. Just remember that. Now, one last important thing.” She glanced around, then tossed me something small. I caught it—a tiny square of blue plastic that crinkled when I held it up. My face felt suddenly warm, and Lexi grinned. “Just in case.”

“Alexis Thompson!” snapped a voice behind us, making my heart leap. Ember emerged from the crowd, giving the other girl a murderous glare as she stalked around the sofa. Lexieeped and fled, vanishing into the mob, as I quickly stuffed the item between the layers of the couch.

“You are in so much trouble, Lex!” Ember called, scowling at the other girl’s retreating back. “And you can forget about that deal we made—I amnottelling you anything now! Hey, Garret.” Ember shook her head and looked down at me, her expression caught somewhere between a smile and a grimace. “Tell me my psychotic, soon-to-be-dead friend didn’t just give you what I think she did.”

I forced a somewhat pained smile. “I don’t think I can answer that without crawling into a dark hole for the rest of the evening.”

She laughed, and suddenly everything was okay between us. “Come on.” Without hesitation, she reached down, grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. “Let’s go dance.”

Dance?I felt a twinge of panic as she tugged me forward, but I forced it down. I’d never done this before—dancing, drinking, letting others touch me. I would just have to adapt. Ember dragged me through a mass of writhing, twisting bodies to the center of the floor, but just as she stopped and let me go, the song faded, and the DJ’s voice cracked over the speakers.

“All right, let’s slow it down,” he crooned, and another song began, slower and much less frantic than the last. Around us, the wild bouncing and twisting calmed, as couples wrapped their arms around each other and began swaying to the music.

Swallowing, I looked down at Ember. She met my gaze, green eyes shining beneath her hair, stepped close and slipped her arms around my neck. My breath caught, and every muscle tensed as she pressed against me, still holding my gaze.

“Is this all right?”

I forced myself to breathe, relax. “Yes.” Carefully, not really knowing what to do with my hands, I placed them around her waist, feeling her shiver, as well. She began swaying back and forth with the music, and I followed her lead.

“I’m sorry for yesterday,” she murmured after a quiet moment, as we circled in the center of the floor. “I didn’t mean to spring that on you. And I didn’t mean to take off like I did, either.”

“I thought I might’ve done something wrong,” I said quietly.

She shook her head. “No, it wasn’t you. I just...” She sighed. “I’ve never kissed anyone...or dated anyone. I was pretty sheltered growing up, there weren’t many boys around. Well, except Dante, and he didn’t count. I mean, he’s a boy, of course, but he’s my brother so I don’t really think of him as a boy, not like you... And now I’m rambling, aren’t I?” She grimaced, ducking her head to hide her face. “I’m just new at this,” she muttered into my shirt. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”

She was so warm. Her body shifted against me, and I closed my eyes. “That makes two of us,” I murmured.

“But it can’t be that scary, right?” She looked up, cocking her head at me. “I mean, compared to surfing twelve-foot waves and shooting rabid zombie hordes, this should be easy.”

That coaxed a tiny smile. “You would think so.” I recalled all the battles I’d faced over the years—the fighting, the chaos, dodging bullets and claws and dragonfire. None of it held a candle to what was happening now. “At least I don’t have to worry about you wanting to eat my brains,” I said, then wondered where that had come from.

She laughed softly, the sound making my heart skip a beat.Pull back,the soldier warned.Don’t let her in. This is a mission, and you’re getting way too comfortable. Pull back now.

I ignored it. Having Ember so close, her skin warm on mine, I could feel my resistance melting away, vanishing like a paper held to a flame. It should have been terrifying, made me retreat behind the wall I’d built up over long years of training. That barrier between myself and pain, of watching brothers and comrades killed, torn to pieces before my eyes. The mask I donned, blank and indifferent, when a superior officer was screaming in my face. I should’ve pulled back, but right now, I was more content than I’d been in a long, long time. I could get used to this, I decided, tightening my hold on the girl. I could, very easily, close my eyes, lower all my defenses and lose myself in her arms.

Ember leaned close, resting her head on my shoulder, making my heart skip. “I don’t know what I’m trying to say,” she muttered, sounding frustrated. Her breath feathered across my neck, raising goose bumps. “I like spending time with you. I don’t want to lose that. I don’t...I don’t want you to leave.” One hand fiddled with the front of my shirt, tracing patterns and sending little pulses through me. “Of course, if I’ve read too much into things, go ahead and point out that dark hole so I can get comfortable, ’cause I’m never coming out again.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” I said, my voice coming out rather husky.

She looked up at me, her face inches from mine. Time froze around us, the other dancers fading away, until it was just us in the center of the music and the darkness. Her arms slipped behind my neck and tightened, pulling faintly. But she didn’t move from there, just continued to watch me with solemn green eyes, her fingers brushing the nape of my neck. This time, she would let me decide.

Raising a hand to her cheek, I leaned forward.

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