“Where’s Riley?” I snarled, making the men surrounding us raise their weapons higher. “You know where he is, don’t you? Tell me!”

“He’s dead,” Faith replied offhandedly. “Or he will be soon. Mist should be nearly done.”

“Mist?”

“Oh, sorry. That’s Ava to you.”

The floor dropped out from under me, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. Not only was Faith a Talon operative, Ava was one, too. This whole thing was an elaborate plot by the organization. If they had sent a Viper, Lilith’s other student, of all people, I must have really pissed them off. And Riley…might already be gone.

I clenched my fists as my dragon snarled in defiance. “No,” I said, as Faith’s eyebrows rose. “You’re wrong. You don’t know Riley. He’s more than a match for any Talon agent.” He had to be; I refused to believe anything else. If he was dead…I would know. My dragon would know. “It’s Mist you should be worried about,” I told Faith.

Faith shrugged. “Regardless,” she said, seemingly unconcerned about her partner, “he’s not here. And he isn’t the one you should be worried about right now.”

Her gaze shifted away from me, turning calculating and cruel as it fixed on Garret. “A soldier of St. George,” she mused, and my blood chilled. “How very…interesting. You have fallen quite far, haven’t you?” She shook her head and glanced at me with obvious contempt. “Consorting with the enemy? Allying yourself with a soldier of St. George?” She tsked, a mock-sorrowful look crossing her face. “For shame, really. What would Lilith say? What would Talon say?”

My throat felt tight with panic. I didn’t know what was happening with Riley, what Mist was doing to him, but I did know what would happen to Garret. Talon would kill him, right now, for no other reason than he had been part of St. George. It didn’t matter that he was on our side now. It didn’t matter that the Order itself was hunting him. They would show a soldier of St. George no mercy, unless I could somehow change their mind. Fighting right now would be suicide. With half a dozen guns trained on us, even if I survived, that first volley would kill the soldier.

We were trapped. Riley was gone, we were outnumbered and outgunned, and the Viper had us right where she wanted. This was checkmate for us, but I had to save Garret, at least. I could endure going back if I knew the soldier was still alive out there. And then, when I had returned to Talon and discovered who was responsible for this, I would take my revenge. For Riley, Dante, Garret and all the rogues Talon had crushed. If I couldn’t be free, I would make them suffer for it.

But keeping Faith from putting a bullet through Garret’s skull was the important thing right now.

“Let him go,” I told Faith, who raised her eyebrows. “He’s not part of the Order anymore. You’ve been around us. You know he’s not one of them.” Her lip twisted nastily, and my voice hardened. “He saved your life from St. George, remember that? They would’ve killed us all if he hadn’t been there.”

“Ember,” Garret said quietly, a motionless presence at my back. “You don’t have to do this.”

I ignored that, continuing to stare at Faith. “Let him go,” I said once more. “I’m the one you want, right? Trust me, you don’t want to kill him.”

“And why is that, exactly?” Faith smiled, eyes gleaming. I wondered how I’d ever thought of her as some innocent kid. “I’ve seen the war,” she continued. “I know what St. George does to our kind. Who cares if the human doesn’t hunt dragons now? He was still part of the Order, which means he’s killed before. As a loyal member of Talon, I’m not only expected but required to take out their enemies whenever I get the opportunity. Why should I let him go?”

I swallowed hard. “Because,” I whispered. “If you let him go, I’ll come back to Talon willingly. I’ll become a Viper, or whatever they want from me. Let him live and I…I won’t try to leave again, I swear.”

“No,” Garret said, stepping forward. “Ember, don’t—”

Two men closed on him, weapons raised. Garret stopped, lifting his arms again, but his gaze sought mine. “Don’t bargain for me,” he said in a low voice. “Not with Talon. They don’t accept compromise. It’s either all or nothing…and my life isn’t worth your freedom.”

I met his gaze. “Yes, it is.”

“Ember—”

“Don’t argue with me, Garret,” I almost hissed, feeling my throat tighten. “There is no way I’m going to stand here and watch them shoot you. Just shut up and let me do this, okay?” My voice was starting to tremble; I swallowed hard and took a quick breath to steady it. “I already lost Riley,” I whispered. “If I have to go back, at least I’ll know you’re still alive.”

“Well, this is all very interesting.” Faith’s cool, amused voice made me bristle. I turned back to find her watching me, that chilling smile on her face. “You are correct,” she told me. “We do want you to return to Talon, that’s why they sent me, of course. But there is a small problem with your proposal. You see, you’ve already confirmed your disloyalty to the organization, and they are somewhat reluctant to take you at your word. If you want to come back, you’re going to have to prove that we can trust you again.”