“Garret,” Ember interrupted. Her voice was a warning as she turned around. “Not to sound rude, but I am a dragon who hasn’t eaten for the past three days. Unless you’re about to reveal a stash of doughnuts hidden somewhere in this room, I would steer clear right now.”

He blinked, and I snickered at his shocked expression as Ember moved past us, heading toward the counter. “Number one rule when dealing with dragons, St. George,” I said, as the girl hopped onto a stool and opened up the box. “Don’t get between a hungry hatchling and its food. You might lose a finger.”

Ember glared at me, looking like she might growl something in return, but then decided food was more important and devoured half a slice in one bite. I went to the fridge for a soda, and St. George settled quietly against the wall, as the starving dragon went through an entire pepperoni pizza by herself. Two minutes later, Ember trashed the box, dusted off her hands and finally turned to look at us.

“So.” She drummed her fingers on her arm, looking back and forth at each of us. “What now?”

Good question. “I guess that depends, Firebrand.”

“On what?”

“You.” She frowned at me, confused. Crushing the empty can, I put it in the sink and went to the fridge for another. “Let me ask you something,” I said as I closed the door. “What did you think was going to happen, Firebrand? After you left Talon? After you went rogue?”

She cocked her head. “I…don’t know,” she stammered. “Isn’t that where you come in? I thought you had this whole rogue thing worked out.”

“Normally, I do. But my plans don’t usually involve sneaking into highly guarded St. George compounds to rescue the enemy.” I didn’t look at the soldier as I said this, and St. George didn’t give any indication that he cared. “This whole situation is a bit abnormal for me, Firebrand. Frankly, I didn’t expect to have you around this long.”

Anger flashed across her face and she raised her chin. “Well, if I knew you were just going to get rid of me, I would’ve saved you the trouble.”

“Don’t be thick. That’s not what I meant.” I shook my head, giving her an exasperated look. She glared back, and I sighed. “What did you think I was going to do after taking you away from Crescent Beach?” I demanded. “Toss you out on the streets and say, ‘Good luck, have a nice life’? Give me some credit. I’m a little more organized than that.”

She frowned. “Then…what was going to happen to me?”

I started to answer, then paused. I didn’t like talking about my network so openly, especially with the human still in the room with us. Not that I was afraid he could go running back to the Order, but I trusted him about as far as I could throw him. Hunted or not, he had dragon blood on his hands, and that would never change.

As if reading my thoughts, the soldier raised his head and met my glare. “You can tell her,” he said in a low voice. “It’s not like I can take your secrets back to the Order.”

I smirked. “If I thought you could, you’d already be a pile of bones in the desert, St. George,” I stated. “That’s not what concerns me.”

“Riley!” Ember scowled. “You don’t have to be a jerk. He’s not with the Order anymore.”

“Firebrand. You don’t get it.” I turned on her, narrowing my eyes. “It’s not about me. This isn’t just my life I’m risking, it’s all the dragons I’ve freed from Talon. They look to me to keep them safe, keep them off Talon’s radar and away from the Vipers. Not only do I have to worry about the organization, I have to worry about St. George, too, because the bastards don’t know there’s a difference between rogue dragons and Talon, and they wouldn’t care if they did.”

I shot another piercing glare at the soldier, who didn’t reply. Though by the look on his face, he knew I was right.

“So, yes, Firebrand, I’m a little paranoid that there’s an ex-soldier of St. George in the same room as us,” I finished. “I believe the last time there was a soldier of St. George in the room with us, we were being shot at.” I put a fist to my chest, glaring at her. “This is my network, my underground. I’ve spent too many years getting dragons out of Talon to put their lives in danger now.”

Ember stared at me, surprise and amazement reflected in her eyes. “How many dragons are we talking about?” she asked. “How many rogues do you have?”

I sighed again, feeling my shoulders slump in defeat. Too late to hold back now. “Over twenty this year,” I admitted, and her mouth fell open. “And that’s just counting dragons, not the humans working for me. The hatchlings I steal from the organization are all green and starry-eyed, so they have to have a human agent looking after them until they’re ready to set out on their own.”

“I had no idea.”

I smirked. “When I said I’d take care of you, Firebrand, I wasn’t joking. I already have a place set up and waiting. A quiet little town near the mountains. You’ll be living with your ‘grandfather’ on a couple private acres of forest that butts up against a national park. No beaches, sadly, but it’s green and peaceful and isolated enough that Talon or the Order will never find you. You’ll be safe there, I promise.”

“And what will you do?”

“What I’ve always been doing. Fighting Talon. Getting hatchlings away from the organization. Helping them disappear.” I shrugged, feeling suddenly tired. “Maybe if I do this long enough, there’ll be enough free dragons someday to take a stand against Talon,” I muttered. “That’s my pipe dream, anyway.” Impossible, unattainable, but I had to hope for something.