She hopped from the railings and gazed up at me, concerned.

“Problems at home?”

Dammit, I was so close. “Yeah,” I growled, resisting the urge to kick something. “I have to go. But, this isn’t over, okay?” I stepped close, putting a hand on her arm. Inside, something flared, a rush of heat through my veins, nearly making me jump back. The same reaction my dragon instincts had had at the party, roaring to life. “I still want to talk to you,” I said, as Ember’s cheeks flushed as well, making me suspect she felt the same. “I have more information on Talon, and I think you’ll want to hear it. Promise you’ll meet me again.”

She stared back, unafraid. “When?”

“Soon.” It was more a promise to myself than to Ember, a claim that whatever this dire problem was, it wouldn’t keep me from her.

I squeezed her arm and backed away, forcing a grin as I retreated.

“Don’t worry, Firebrand. I’ll be around. See you soon.”

Ember

I watched Riley jog to his motorcycle, swing aboard, and roar off down the street. Part of me wished I could go with him, longed to Shift and fly after the rogue, apocalyptic consequences be damned.

My skin still surged from where he’d touched me, the dragon dancing all up and down my veins. It wanted Riley. Not in the way I missed Garret, or thought about him constantly. This was more…primal?

Instinctive? I didn’t know the exact word, really, but one thing was for certain. My dragon wanted Riley; it almost ached for him. and it would not be ignored.

No, that wasn’t entirely true. It wanted Cobalt. Which was ridiculous, because Riley and Cobalt were the same. The boy with the lopsided smirk, messy black hair, and almost gold eyes was the same being as the proud blue dragon who had soared the waves with me that night. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand how my instincts, once a seamless part of me, could be so alien now. almost like I was two different creatures: dragon and human.

I shook myself and started down the pier, back toward the beach.

Inner turmoil aside, I did know a little more about Talon now. None of it was really bad, though. Not yet. Even the war with St. George wasn’t a surprise. The dragon slayers wanted our extinction. Why shouldn’t we fight back and defend ourselves?

It wasn’t a shock and it just confirmed what I’d always suspected.

Talon was training me to be a part of that war. Soldiers, guns, tactical maneuvers, showing no mercy to my prey; I certainly wasn’t going to be sitting at a table with high-ranking diplomats. No, I was destined to become one of their elite operatives, maybe a Basilisk like Riley, fighting an endless battle with St. George.

Reaching the end of the boardwalk, I turned and stared out over the water, shivering a little in the warm breeze. So, this was truly my last hurrah. Talon already had my life planned out, where I would go, what I would be. Never mind that I wasn’t certain I could do this. Never mind that I hated my trainer and everything she made me do, what she wanted me to become. Talon’s decision was law; I didn’t have any say in my own future.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out, I clicked it on and saw a new text message across the screen.

We still on for tonight? Smoothie Hut at 5pm, yes?

Garret. I smiled, feeling my crushed spirits rise a little. Screw Talon. Screw their war, their trainers, their plans, all of it. The summer was still mine. I wasn’t theirs yet.

Definitely, I texted back. See you then.

Garret

For once, Ember arrived and was waiting at our meeting place ahead of me.

I spotted the red-haired girl sitting on the curb in the parking lot, legs crossed, Styrofoam cup in hand. She looked deep in thought, chewing on her plastic straw, but when I pulled the Jeep into the spot next to her, she bounced up instantly with a smile.

“Hey, Garret!” she exclaimed as I reached over and opened the door, letting her into the cab. She slid into the passenger seat and beamed, and my skin prickled under that smile. “You must be rubbing off on me. Look, I’m on time and everything.”

“I see that.” I took advantage of the moment just to watch her, noting the dark jeans and top she wore instead of her usual shorts and T-shirt, and the way the afternoon sun fell into her hair and eyes, making them glow.

Focus, soldier. I shook myself and put the Jeep in reverse, pulling out of the parking spot. Ember leaned back and stared out the side window, her gaze troubled. I remembered her earlier call, the warning not to come to the house, and wondered what was happening at her home. If I could get her talking about her family, the twin brother especially, maybe I could discern something useful. Maybe I would discover she was just a normal teenager, after all.

“I apologize if I got you in trouble this weekend,” I offered as we pulled onto the main road. “I didn’t mean to make things difficult with your family. I can talk to your brother, if you want me to.”

“What? Oh, no it wasn’t you, Garret.” Ember shrugged and shook her head in disgust. “Dante is just being a neurotic freak. He gets carried away with the whole overprotective big brother thing sometimes.

And with what happened at the party…” Her eyes darkened a little. “I figured I’d give him some time to cool off before I told him about us.”

“You and your brother are close?”

“Well, yeah.” She turned back, cocking her head. “He’s my twin, after all. We used to do everything together.”

“But not now.”

“No.” Sighing, she looked down at her hands, twisting them in her lap. “He’s…different now. It’s like he’s pulling away from me, and I don’t know why. I wish he’d talk to me like he used to.”

I knew I should continue asking questions, find out as much as I could about this twin. But Ember looked distressed, and I found that I hated the sight of her unhappy. When we paused at a stoplight, my hand moved of its own accord to gently brush her hair back, tucking it behind her ear.

“I’m sorry,” I said, as she turned in surprise. “I don’t have any siblings, but Tristan is the closest to a brother I have. I know how…distracting it can be, when you don’t see eye-to-eye.” She blinked at me, and I pulled my hand back. “Just keep talking to him. He’ll come around eventually.”

“Yeah,” she murmured, as the light changed and we moved forward again. “I hope so.” She brooded a moment more, than shook herself, perking up as we turned onto the highway ramp. “Hey, where are we going, anyway?”