“Garret.” Confused, I tried again, wanting him to talk, to tell me what was going on. We didn’t have a lot of time. Seeing him now, even though he was acting so strange, made my throat ache with longing.

He could never come with us; he could never be part of my world.

And no matter my feelings, I knew better than to bring him into it.

He would return to Chicago and live a normal life, free of genocidal dragon killers, shady organizations, and Viper assassins hunting him down. The best thing I could do for him…was to let him go.

I just wished he would tell me what was going on.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I offered, feeling time slip farther away from us. “I’m glad we could meet like this, because I have something to tell you, and I wanted to do it face-to-face.” He continued to watch me, metallic eyes glimmering in the darkness, still giving nothing away.

“I’m leaving,” I said, and a tiny furrow creased his brow. Well, at least that got through to him. “Something came up,” I continued, “and I have to get out of town. Tonight. Please don’t ask what’s going on, I can’t tell you that. I just…I wanted to say goodbye.”

Garret’s expression went hard and cold. Without warning, raised his arm, and pointed a dull black pistol at my face. The click of metal echoed loudly in the looming silence.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Garret

The raid that evening had been disastrous.

Not only had our targets escaped, they had left chaos behind them.

By the time the fire department arrived, the mansion had burned nearly to the ground, billowing black smoke into the evening sky.

Of course, we’d vacated the premises long before anyone knew something was wrong, and no one had seen us enter or leave. But now, a smoldering ruin sat where a multi-million dollar house once stood, three of my teammates had suffered major burns, and there were two escaped dragons who could be anywhere at the moment.

And all of it could have been avoided, if I had done my job.

Because I’d hesitated. I’d seen Ember in the lair of my enemy, and I’d faltered, instead of gunning her down like I’d been taught. I’d seen her change and Shift before my eyes, turn from the girl I’d known into one of the monsters. And, like all her kind, she was at her most dangerous cornered and trapped, and responded as all dragons would.

With fire and savagery, giving her and her companion time to escape. Surprise was always our best weapon; now that the dragons knew we were here, they would become even harder to track down.

We could lose our quarry forever.

And it was all on me.

No one said anything about my failure on the ride back. Stunned, wounded, furious soldiers filled the van, smelling of smoke and burned armor, but no one blamed me. When our livid commander demanded to know what had happened, we took the blame and the dressing down as a unit. Not even Tristan, whom we met back at the safehouse, could guess the truth.

But I knew the real reason we’d failed. And I knew something no one else did.

Ember Hill was the sleeper.

Ember, the girl I’d kissed in my bedroom, who’d made me wonder what a normal life was like, who had been on my mind every single day from the time we met, was the enemy.

And now, I had to kill her.

I wasn’t sure what I’d been thinking, calling her so many times, hoping and dreading she’d pick up. What I should have done was tell the captain immediately, reveal her identity, where she lived, where we could find her. If Ember was the sleeper, that meant her brother was likely a dragon as well. There might be numerous dragons in Crescent Beach, not just the pair they’d been tracking. It was my duty to tell the Order everything I knew.

But, I couldn’t do it. Not yet. Though I didn’t know what I was going to do. Especially when she called me back. Hearing her voice, familiar and strange at the same time, I’d frozen up. What did I want?

To talk? To demand she explain what I already knew? She was a dragon. I was St. George. What was left to discuss?

“Meet me at Lover’s Bluff in twenty minutes,” I heard myself saying. It was a good spot to do what had to be done; isolated and fairly close to where we were now. No one would hear the gunshots, or the screams of a dying dragon. And she agreed, though it was fairly obvious she was in a hurry. Planning to leave town, most likely. But, when she promised to meet me there, alone, I believed her.

After we hung up, I stood there for several moments, debating with myself. The smart thing would be to tell Tristan, have him back me up. The smarter thing would be to inform my captain where this meeting would take place, and have the whole squad ready to take down a known dragon when she finally showed.

I went alone. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going, not even Tristan. He would have stopped me if he knew. Going after a dragon yourself, with no partner and no backup, was strictly forbidden by the Order. It was crazy, risky, and stupid, but I wasn’t thinking rationally at that moment. I just took the jeep and drove away. To a lonely bluff in the middle of nowhere, to meet a dragon, alone.

“Garret?”

At the sight of the gun, Ember’s eyes went huge. Frozen, she stared at me over the muzzle of the Glock, more confused than fearful, pleading for an explanation. I ignored her questioning look, ignored the trembling in my other arm, and kept the pistol aimed right between her eyes.

Pull the trigger, Garret.

The perfect soldier’s voice echoed coldly in my head. Kill her. She’s a dragon, and this is your duty. This is what you were sent to do.

“Garret, what are you doing?” Ember stared at me, her eyes glimmering with hurt, betrayal. “Why…”

She trailed off, the blood draining from her face. I saw the moment where everything clicked in her head, the confusion shifting to horror as she realized. The broken whisper that followed made my stomach clench. It was an accusation, a cry of despair, and a plea that this was a terrible mistake, all at once.

“You…you’re St. George.”

She took one staggering step away from me, stopping as I pressed forward, her face going blank. I forced myself to speak, my voice soft and cold, a sharp contrast to the swirling chaos inside. “Where are the others?”

Green eyes flashed, and she raised her chin. I followed the tiny movement with the gun, keeping the muzzle level with her face. she set her jaw and remained silent. “Tell me,” I insisted. “Now. I will shoot you if you don’t.”

“You’ll shoot me anyway,” Ember retorted, and now I heard the rage in her voice, the furious betrayal. “That’s what you’ve been after all this time, isn’t it? You’re with St. George, and you came here to kill us.” Her voice trembled, and she swallowed hard. “That’s why you were so interested. That’s why you hung around. Everything we did, everything you told me—It was all a lie.”