“Ember.” He hesitated, as if trying to find the right words. “Are you in trouble?” he finally asked. “Do you want me to come in and explain what happened?”

“Um.” I cringed inside. Definitely no, and especially not today.

Liam and Sarah had made it very clear that they didn’t want our friends in the house, for any reason. I always met everyone at the beach, or we’d hang at Kristin’s huge sprawling beach house, or head down to the Smoothie Hut. No one seemed to care that Dante and I never invited anyone inside. Lexi and Kristin had never been past the front door, and neither had any of Dante’s friends. We’d told everyone that our uncle was an eccentric writer who needed absolute quiet to work, and that was that.

Under normal circumstances, Liam would blow a gasket if I invited some strange boy into the house. Today, with Talon visiting, it was out of the question.

“You don’t have to do that,” I told him. “I’ll be all right. See you around, Garret.”

He looked faintly disappointed, which struck me as a little strange.

I couldn’t think of any boy who wanted to come in and take the heat for me. Dante’s friends, Calvin and Tyler especially, didn’t even knock on the door when they picked him up. They sat in the driveway and honked.

“You still owe me a surf lesson,” he said as I reached for the door handle. I looked back, and he smiled. “Tomorrow, if you’re up for it,” he offered quietly, those metallic eyes never leaving my face. “No Lexi or Calvin or anyone else this time. Just you and me.”

“Garret…” I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know if Talon would still be here tomorrow, if I would still be here tomorrow. Maybe Talon had come to whisk me back to the organization, proclaiming I was rebellious and disobedient, unfit for a life among humans. I didn’t want to promise him tomorrow when I wasn’t sure I would ever see him again.

But, a day with Garret, alone…How could I say no? I liked being with him. I liked his quiet confidence and subtle sense of humor, the way having fun seemed like such a novelty to him. He challenged me, he was easy to talk to, and he wasn’t bad on the eyes, either. (Okay, so that was a lie; he was super cute, even my dragon side agreed with that). I felt he was hiding so much, that I wasn’t even seeing the real Garret at all, and the more I hung out with him, the more I would learn.

Also, being with him did strange, twisty things to my insides. my dragon instincts did not approve; they still didn’t like this human with his amazing reflexes and bright, intense eyes. The eyes of a predator. But there was another part of me that couldn’t resist. And the thought of never seeing him again was unfathomable. Even if I knew it was probably for the best.

“Tomorrow,” I said, and nodded. “Meet me at the cove at noon. do you remember where it is? I can give you directions if you need it.”

He shook his head. “I remember.” One side of his mouth quirked up in that faint, wry smile. “I’ll see you then.”

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I would meet Garret alone on a secluded beach, and we would ride the waves and have fun until evening, and then we might head down to the main beach to hang out with Lexi and Dante and everyone. Just like always. Nothing would be different. I would not let myself think that I’d be gone.

He was still watching me with those bright metallic eyes, and the intensity was back, making my insides squirm. Tearing my gaze from his, I opened the jeep door and slid out. “See you tomorrow,” I replied, a promise to us both, and turned away. I deliberately did not look back, but I could feel his gaze on me as I made my way up the walk, until the front door closed behind me.

As I walked into the entryway, something grabbed my upper arm, steely fingers digging into my skin, hard enough to make me gasp.

Wincing, I turned and stared into the furious eyes of my trainer, who glared down like she wanted to bite my head off.

“Where have you been?” she whispered harshly, giving me a shake.

I bit my lip to keep from crying out in pain. “I’ve been trying to contact you for hours. Why didn’t you answer?”

Too late, I remembered all the missed calls on my phone. The unknown number was probably hers. But she had never called me before; it was just assumed I’d see her again the next morning. “I was at the mall,” I whispered back. “I didn’t hear my phone ring.”

“Get in there,” Scary Talon Lady snapped, shoving me toward the living room. “Mind your manners, if you have any.” Her poisonous green eyes narrowed to slits. “I swear, hatchling, if you embarrass me, you’ll pay for it tomorrow.”

Rubbing my bruised arm, I walked into the living room.

As I crossed the threshold, five people turned to stare at me. Uncle Liam and Aunt Sarah stood in the kitchen, glaring at me over the counter, but they weren’t important. Dante, sitting alone in the middle of the couch, shot me a relieved, almost frightened look as the pair of strangers in the room turned their attention to me.

A man rose from the armchair, a smile stretching across his narrow face. The smile looked forced, somehow, not real. As if he had seen pictures of a smile and was imitating them, but didn’t understand the meaning. My dragon hissed and cringed back as two pale blue eyes settled on me, ancient and terrifying. An adult, and a really old one at that, the way my instincts were screaming at me to run.

He wore a plain gray business suit, and his dark hair was cut close, as was the neatly trimmed goatee.

“Ah, Ember Hill.” When he spoke, the entire room fell silent. not that anyone had been speaking before, but my trainer, Dante’s trainer, our guardians, and the well-muscled man in a black suit standing beside his chair all went completely motionless, their attention solely on him. His voice was low, confident, similar to the one I’d heard in the secret room that night, and I wondered if this was the same dragon. He gestured to the sofa where Dante sat, rigid and unmoving. “Please, have a seat.”

Warily, I sat, giving my brother a quick, nervous glance. “What’s going on?” I said, gazing around at the ring of somber adults, all still watching the man in the suit. “Are we in trouble?”

“Trouble? No, of course not.” Another blank, empty smile. “Why would you be in trouble?”

“Um…” I decided not to answer that. “No reason. I was just…curious.”

“This is a routine visit,” the man continued, his pale blue eyes watching me with the unblinking stare of a hawk. “There is no reason to be alarmed. My superiors sent me to check on your progress, see how you are coming along in your new home. So…” He laced his fingers under his chin, regarding us intently. “Have you settled in all right? Are you happy here?”