And of course, anyone caught in the blast would be nothing but a smoking, blackened skeleton when they were found, an image that made my gut clench. More killing. More deaths. But at least this target was a heavily armed St. George chapterhouse, filled with active soldiers dedicated to making my race extinct. They understood their part in this war; they knew exactly who they were fighting.

Whatever you have to tell yourself, Cobalt. Let’s get this over with.

As smoothly as I could, I placed the bomb on the tile floor and slid it beneath one of the towers. It glimmered dully in the shadows, silent and deadly, and for a moment, I hesitated, staring at the device. Press a button; that was all I had to do. Press a button, and get out. The most dangerous mission of my life was nearly done. I was almost home free.

I shook myself, then reached down and firmly pressed the small red button on the side of the case. There was a faint click, and glowing numbers flashed across the tiny black screen on top. They blinked for a moment, then began counting down.

15:00

14:59

14:58

Swiftly, I rose, my steps heavy as I headed toward the door. Fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes before this place exploded in a hellish firestorm and turned everyone inside to ashes.

These are soldiers, I reminded myself again as my hand closed on the knob. They’ve accepted the risks. For every one of them you kill, more dragon lives will be saved. This is for the good of us all.

So why did I feel like I might puke if I thought too hard about it?

I opened the door, stepped out of the room…

…and came face-to-face with a girl.

I froze. The human looked up at me, green eyes appraising in a round, pale face. She wore a simple yellow dress, and curls of white-blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. She seemed completely unafraid, and for a split second, we stared at one another.

Then the girl blinked her somber green eyes. “You’re not supposed to be in there,” she said softly.

Instinctively, my muscles tensed, ready to spring forward, cover the human’s mouth and yank her back into the room. I knew I couldn’t let her run away and alert the rest of the base to my presence. But as she gazed up at me, bold yet curious, I faltered. She was a kid, no more than six or seven in human years. Not a soldier, not even an adult. If I grabbed her now…I’d probably have to kill her.

The girl cocked her head as I struggled with my decision. “What are you doing?” she whispered, her voice furtive, as if she was in on the conspiracy. “Are you hiding from someone?”

“Uh…yeah.” I had no idea what the hell I would even say to her after that. If the kid screamed, my chances of survival were basically zero. But the thought of killing her, feeling her small neck snap under my fingers, made my insides curl. Even though I knew she would grow up to hate my kind and want us extinct. Because she was part of St. George, and that’s what they did. Took people as normal and innocent as this girl and turned them into dragon-hating zealots.

The little human blinked again. “Why?” she asked, still keeping her voice soft. “Who’s looking for you? Are you in trouble?”

Oh, definitely. “No,” I whispered, giving her what I hoped was a careless grin and shrug. “I’m…uh…playing hide-and-seek with some of the soldiers.” Even as I said it, I winced inside at how stupid that sounded. But I couldn’t stop now. “It’s…a…a new exercise,” I went on, as she frowned. “They have to find me before time runs out, or I win. But if I’m caught, I have to wash everyone’s dishes for a month.”

The girl’s frown deepened, bordering on outrage. “That’s not fair!” she whispered indignantly. “There’s a lot of them, and only one of you. Not fair.” She put her hands on her hips, and I shrugged again, giving her a “what can you do?” look. Her nose wrinkled, lips pursing in annoyance. “Do they have to wash dishes if you win?”

“Um…no,” I said, wondering how I had been drawn into this crazy conversation, and how I could leave it without being discovered.

“Why not?”

“Because…ah…”

“Madison?”

A new voice drifted from another hallway, and I cringed. This was it. I was going to be caught, because I’d been stupid and softhearted, and hadn’t silenced this kid when I had the chance. But the girl turned her head, eyes widening, then glanced back at me.

“You better go,” she whispered. “Before they see you.”

I stared at her, stunned, and she made shooing motions as she backed away. “Go,” she whispered again. “Hurry up and hide! I won’t tell anyone where you are, I promise.”

“Madison!” The voice sounded annoyed, and closer. The girl grinned and, before I could do or say anything, turned and scurried off, vanishing around a corner as quickly as she had appeared.

Just like that, I was alone.

“There you are,” said the man’s voice, as I pressed against the door frame, listening with a kind of numb anticipation. “I thought I might find you down here. What do I keep telling you about wandering off? Who were you talking to?”

“Nobody,” Madison drawled, way too sweetly I thought. “I wanted to see if Peter was down here. He promised he’d show me the server room if I was good.” My heart pounded, but the man, whoever he was, simply grunted.

“You and your computer fascination. Well, come on. I have to finish one last report, and then we’ll go get breakfast.”