I sprinted back to the place we’d first been ambushed, passing the bodies of several Talon agents, slumped in corners or behind crates. The majority of the group lay sprawled on the cement where the line had been, torched with dragonfire or shot with the gun Ember had tossed me.

The weapon she was supposed to kill me with.

My jaw clenched. For a bleak moment, I’d really thought she would. I knew she and Dante were close, that they shared a bond unheard of between their kind. Dante was a dragon, her brother and her only family; I was a human soldier she had known only a few weeks. She’d told me herself, she would do anything to get him out of Talon.

Why had she chosen me over her twin?

The ringing had stopped by the time I reached the area, but after only a few seconds of searching, it sounded again. I discovered the phone lying beside a pallet and snatched it up, bringing it to my ear.

“Wes?”

“Oh, goodie.” The voice on the other end, though heavy with sarcasm, was not Wes. “You’re still alive.”

“Riley.” I felt a strange mix of both relief and disappointment. Relief because, no matter what his feelings toward me, the rogue dragon was a competent leader and strategist, a soldier in his own right. And he obviously cared about the rogues in his underground, the hatchlings he got out of Talon, something I hadn’t thought dragons capable of a month ago. I hadn’t wanted him dead; I was glad he survived.

But at the same time, I’d seen how Ember looked at him sometimes, and I’d caught the protectiveness on his face whenever they were close. He was a dragon; long-lived, intelligent, and able to understand Ember in a way I never would. Jealousy was not something I’d experienced before. I despised how it made me feel. But it was there all the same.

“Where’s Ember?” Riley asked, making resentment flare up again, stronger than ever. I stifled my anger, knowing it was unreasonable right now, and answered calmly.

“She’s fine. She’s wounded, but she’ll be okay. We…ran into some trouble with Talon.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Riley sighed, sounding angry and weary all at once. “I guess you know by now that Faith is a Viper,” he continued, sounding like he really didn’t want to know the answer.

“Yes,” I answered simply.

“Is she…?”

“She’s dead,” I replied, making him sigh again.

“I figured. Fucking Talon.” The pain in his voice surprised me. “They were just kids. Sending Vipers after us is one thing, but they weren’t even juveniles yet. Dammit.” There was a muffled thud, as if he’d slammed his fist into something. “Sending dragons to kill dragons. It makes no sense.”

“Where are you?” I asked.

“Heading your way now. Old rail yard, right? I was there when Mist gave you that false information.” Riley paused, then asked in a quieter voice, “How is she?”

Of course, he could mean only one person. “She sustained a few surface injuries when she was fighting the Viper,” I answered, making him mutter another curse. “The wounds themselves don’t look too deep, but the edges are burned fairly severely. Third-degree if I had to guess.” I stifled a wince, knowing from personal experience just how painful third-degree burns were. Though I continued to hear myself speak with clinical detachment. “Other than that, from what I can tell, her injuries are minor.”

“Dammit, Ember,” Riley growled. “Taking on a Viper yourself, you idiot hatchling. Where is Faith now?” he went on, sounding faintly hesitant now. “Did Ember…kill her?”

“No. I did.”

“Good.” He hesitated again, longer this time, as if struggling to make himself speak. “Look, let’s make one thing clear,” he finally muttered. “I don’t like you. I think you’re a murdering bastard, and the fact that you’ve recently had a change of heart doesn’t erase all the blood on your hands, and it never will. I also think you’re an idiot for believing Ember would ever choose a human over her own kind. She’s a dragon, and even if she hasn’t figured it out yet, dragons and humans don’t belong together. You should know that, St. George. And if you truly care for her, you’ll let her be with her own kind. For both your sakes.

“But,” he went on, as my insides twisted painfully at his words, “I know what Talon is capable of. I know what the Vipers are capable of, even their hatchlings. Ember might be too softhearted to destroy one of her own, but I know that Faith wouldn’t have hesitated to kill her. If you put that Viper down, much as I hate you for it, then you probably saved Ember’s life. And for that…” He sighed. “You’re not as much of a bastard as I thought.”

“Thanks,” I said drily, knowing that was the closest to gratitude I’d ever get from the rogue.

He snorted. “Don’t get me wrong. If the Viper had ripped your throat out instead, I wouldn’t lose any sleep tonight. Where is Ember now?”

Soft footsteps made me whirl around, just as a slight figure in a black suit emerged from the maze. Ember had, of course, followed me, her jaw clenched in pain and determination as she limped doggedly across the floor.

“Riley?” she asked as I hurried over, catching her by the arm just as she staggered. Four angry red gashes scored her cheek, making me grimace. But her eyes shone with hope, even through the pain. “Is that Riley?”

For just a moment, I considered lying, turning off the phone and claiming it was Wes. For a moment, I hated the fact that Riley had lived, that he could make her face light up like that. It cast a dark uncertainty over my thoughts, and all the confusion and doubt I had pushed down rose to the surface once more. Was I just fooling myself? Would Ember ever see me in the same way as the rogue dragon?