Page 70 of Talon

“Firebrand.” Riley gave me a very solemn look, one that sent chills up my spine. “You still don’t know what Lilith is, what the Vipers actually do. If your lovely trainer does come for us, what do you think will happen? She’s not going to swat our wrists with a ruler and scold us for leaving Talon, that’s for damn sure. If someone like Lilith is sent after you, she only has one thing in mind.”

I swallowed as everything—the secrecy, Lilith’s training, Dante’s reaction to the news that I was put with the Vipers—suddenly became very clear. “No way.”

He nodded. “Afraid so, Firebrand. The Vipers are Talon’sassassins.That’s their purpose for the organization. They’re sent to kill whoever Talon points them at. Usually, they go after high-ranking officials of St. George, getting behind the lines and into enemy territory where no one else can. But they don’t just knock off genocidal maniacs.” Riley’s lip curled in an expression of pure contempt. “Ever wonder why there are no ex-rogues or deserters in Talon, and why no one ever seems to have a disloyal thought in their heads? Do you think it’s because Talon is such a shiny happy place that no one in their right mind would ever leave?” He snorted. “No, it’s because Talon uses the Vipers to silence anyone who isn’t loyal. Humans and dragons alike, it doesn’t matter. They’ll take out their own kind if Talon gives the word. That’s why the Vipers are so feared.” His eyes narrowed. “And that’s why I’m determined to get as many dragons out of Talon as I can.”

I was still reeling from the news that Talon wanted me to become an assassin, so his last statement took a few seconds to seep into my brain. But then, it did, and I gaped at him.

“Get them out? But you just said the Vipers kill anyone who goes rogue! Why would you want to put their lives in danger?”

“Because it shouldn’t be a choice,” Riley snapped. “We shouldn’t have to choose Talon or freedom. Because I refuse to be part of anything that tries tokillme for not wanting what they want.” He stabbed a hand through his hair, then gestured at the ceiling in disgust. “They’re brainwashed, Firebrand, every one of them. From the very beginning, every hatchling is trained to Talon’s standards. They’re brought up to want what Talon wants—power, wealth, influence, control. Talon preaches that it’s all in the interest of preserving our race, and that’s true, but only by maintaining a stranglehold on everything they own. Dragons that have no use in the organization, or who break away and forge their own path, are put down by the Vipers. They might spare a hatchling—it depends on how old they are, how long they’ve been out of Talon and if they feel the hatchling can still be useful. But rogues like me and Wes, who have been on the inside, who know what Talon is really like...” Riley shook his head. “They’d kill us, no questions asked.”

I felt ill and had to sink onto one of the sofa cushions as my legs were no longer supporting me. “I can’t do that,” I whispered. “I’m not a killer. I can’t hunt down and slaughter myown kind.How could they expect me to do that?”

“Technically, they wouldn’t give you that bit of information,” Riley said. “Not yet. Not until you’re fully trained to believe whatever Talon says and not question orders. But once your training is complete, there’s usually a final exam required to become a full Viper. One that tests not only your skill, but your loyalty to the organization. You might be sent out after another hatchling, or a human deserter. Or you could be sent to deal with a rogue.” He smirked then, completely without humor. “Who knows, Firebrand? If you stay with Talon, somewhere down the road, we might meet again. Only you’d be trying to kill me. Or maybe even sooner than that. Maybe that’s why Lilith hasn’t come for me yet. Maybe I’m your final exam.”

“I would never do that,” I protested, and Riley shook his head.

“You wouldn’t have a choice. Not if Talon orders it. And by that time, you’d be so indoctrinated, you might actually believe you’re doing the right thing.” He shivered suddenly, a haunted look crossing his face as he stared out the window. “It’s insidious, Firebrand,” he almost whispered. “You don’t realize how much you’re changing, how much of yourself you’re losing, until it’s too late. I fought St. George for years. Never face-to-face, but my actions were responsible for countless deaths. Until one day...I couldn’t do it anymore.”

“What happened?”

He sank onto the cushion beside me, his face and eyes dark. “I was ordered to rig a building to explode, one of their supposed chapterhouses. Risky stuff—get in, wire the explosives and get out before it went off. Probably the craziest stunt they ever had me do, but I’d been so brainwashed to blindly follow orders, I didn’t even realize that it was a suicide mission.”

I watched him, engrossed with what he was telling me. His brow was furrowed, his face solemn and grave, different from the smirking, confident rogue I’d met before. I wondered which was the real Riley, the real Cobalt. Or did he have a different identity for every occasion?

“I got into the compound, no hiccups,” Riley continued, unaware of my thoughts. “But then, while I was sneaking around inside, I was caught by this little human kid. One of the commander’s daughters most likely, couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old. We sort of surprised each other.” Riley gave a short, bitter chuckle and hung his head. “I knew I should kill her, or at least make it so she wouldn’t give away my position, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was in the middle of a freaking St. George chapterhouse—I knew if anyone found me, I was dead, but I couldn’t stomach the thought of hurting a kid, even a human one.”

“What did you do?”

“I...told her I was playing hide-and-seek. It was the only thing I could think of.” He sounded embarrassed, and I bit my lip to stifle a grin. “Yeah,” Riley snorted. “Not one of my more brilliant moments. But that little kid believed me. She even swore not to tell anyone I was there. And then, she just walked out.” Riley sounded amazed, even now. “I could’ve been killed that day. I was completely alone, in enemy territory, surrounded by armed soldiers who hated my kind. If I was caught, my hide would probably be hanging over some lieutenant’s fireplace. But she let me go.”

“You didn’t blow up the chapterhouse, did you.” It was a statement, not a question. Riley made a helpless gesture and shook his head.

“I couldn’t do it. I kept seeing that girl’s face and thinking there could be more like her, innocent kids wandering around. They weren’t part of our war, they shouldn’t have to die because of us. But I knew Talon wouldn’t accept that. The deaths of a few innocents are nothing to them, not if it benefits the organization. And I couldn’t return not having completed the mission.” Riley sighed, his face shadowed by memory. “So...I ran. I left Talon, dropped off their grid and I haven’t looked back since.”

“And they didn’t send the Vipers after you?”

“Oh, they did.” He grinned humorlessly. “Turns out, I’m a lucky SOB. Dodged a couple Viper attacks before I found Wes, who was looking for an excuse to jump ship, as well. Wasn’t long before we realized that there were others like us in the organization. Humans and dragons who wanted to be free of Talon. So now, we do whatever we can to break our kind out of the organization and show them how to live as rogues. How to avoid Viper attacks, how to stay off Talon’s radar, how to be free.”

Freedom.It sounded so appealing now. This was what I’d always wanted, right? Living away from Talon, not having to follow anyone’s rules or laws or restrictions. Not becoming a Viper, an assassin who hunted her own kind for wanting to be free.

But the thought of going rogue, much as I hated myself for admitting it, was terrifying, as well. I would be hunted. I would be branded a traitor, a criminal, and the Vipers would come for me. I hated the rules, and I wished my trainer would jump off a cliff—in human form—but Talon was all I’d ever known.

And there was also one other problem.

Dante. I didn’t think my straitlaced, perfect-student brother would turn rogue, even if I did. And if Ididmanage to convince him to run away, he would be branded a traitor and hunted, as well. I wasn’t sure I could do that to him.

As if reading my thoughts, Riley paused, and then his near-golden eyes rose to mine, serious and intense. The dragon stared out at me, fierce and primal and beautiful, sending a lance of heat through my insides. “I could show you how to be free, Firebrand,” he whispered, a dangerous, alluring croon, “if you want me to.”

I stared at him. Riley held my gaze. His nearness was overwhelming; I could feel his dragon watching me, barely contained in his fragile human shell. I felt my own dragon rising to meet his, a surge of heat erupting from the pit of my stomach, spreading to all parts of my body.

“Come with me,” Riley urged, shifting closer on the couch. “You don’t have to live by their rules. You don’t have to become a Viper. You can live your own life, away from Talon and the Vipers and everything they stand for. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” He didn’t move any closer, but I could feel his presence, the dragon, sitting beside me as if he was really there, wings, scales and all. “Wes and I are taking the hatchlings and leaving Crescent Beach tonight. I want you to come with us.”

“Leave? With you?” I blinked. “Where would we go? How would we live?”

“Don’t worry about that.” Riley gave me a careless grin, looking more like himself. “I’ve been doing this for a while. It’s not like we’ll be hobos on the street. I have places we can go, where we’ll be invisible, where the Vipers will never find us. Trust me.”

“I...I don’t know, Riley.”

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