“Tomorrow,” I said, and nodded. “Meet me at the cove at noon. do you remember where it is? I can give you directions if you need it.”

He shook his head. “I remember.” One side of his mouth quirked up in that faint, wry smile. “I’ll see you then.”

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I would meet Garret alone on a secluded beach, and we would ride the waves and have fun until evening, and then we might head down to the main beach to hang out with Lexi and Dante and everyone. Just like always. Nothing would be different. I would not let myself think that I’d be gone.

He was still watching me with those bright metallic eyes, and the intensity was back, making my insides squirm. Tearing my gaze from his, I opened the jeep door and slid out. “See you tomorrow,” I replied, a promise to us both, and turned away. I deliberately did not look back, but I could feel his gaze on me as I made my way up the walk, until the front door closed behind me.

As I walked into the entryway, something grabbed my upper arm, steely fingers digging into my skin, hard enough to make me gasp.

Wincing, I turned and stared into the furious eyes of my trainer, who glared down like she wanted to bite my head off.

“Where have you been?” she whispered harshly, giving me a shake.

I bit my lip to keep from crying out in pain. “I’ve been trying to contact you for hours. Why didn’t you answer?”

Too late, I remembered all the missed calls on my phone. The unknown number was probably hers. But she had never called me before; it was just assumed I’d see her again the next morning. “I was at the mall,” I whispered back. “I didn’t hear my phone ring.”

“Get in there,” Scary Talon Lady snapped, shoving me toward the living room. “Mind your manners, if you have any.” Her poisonous green eyes narrowed to slits. “I swear, hatchling, if you embarrass me, you’ll pay for it tomorrow.”

Rubbing my bruised arm, I walked into the living room.

As I crossed the threshold, five people turned to stare at me. Uncle Liam and Aunt Sarah stood in the kitchen, glaring at me over the counter, but they weren’t important. Dante, sitting alone in the middle of the couch, shot me a relieved, almost frightened look as the pair of strangers in the room turned their attention to me.

A man rose from the armchair, a smile stretching across his narrow face. The smile looked forced, somehow, not real. As if he had seen pictures of a smile and was imitating them, but didn’t understand the meaning. My dragon hissed and cringed back as two pale blue eyes settled on me, ancient and terrifying. An adult, and a really old one at that, the way my instincts were screaming at me to run.

He wore a plain gray business suit, and his dark hair was cut close, as was the neatly trimmed goatee.

“Ah, Ember Hill.” When he spoke, the entire room fell silent. not that anyone had been speaking before, but my trainer, Dante’s trainer, our guardians, and the well-muscled man in a black suit standing beside his chair all went completely motionless, their attention solely on him. His voice was low, confident, similar to the one I’d heard in the secret room that night, and I wondered if this was the same dragon. He gestured to the sofa where Dante sat, rigid and unmoving. “Please, have a seat.”

Warily, I sat, giving my brother a quick, nervous glance. “What’s going on?” I said, gazing around at the ring of somber adults, all still watching the man in the suit. “Are we in trouble?”

“Trouble? No, of course not.” Another blank, empty smile. “Why would you be in trouble?”

“Um…” I decided not to answer that. “No reason. I was just…curious.”

“This is a routine visit,” the man continued, his pale blue eyes watching me with the unblinking stare of a hawk. “There is no reason to be alarmed. My superiors sent me to check on your progress, see how you are coming along in your new home. So…” He laced his fingers under his chin, regarding us intently. “Have you settled in all right? Are you happy here?”

All attention shifted to us. Scary Talon Lady watched me from across the room, her eyes gleaming dangerously. It wouldn’t matter what I said, I realized. I was expected to be happy, settled in, and doing fine. Admitting I was anything but would be useless, and probably result in a lot of pain for me tomorrow morning. Talon didn’t care about our happiness; they just wanted to make sure we were following the rules. The discussion I’d overheard with Liam and Sarah in the secret room only confirmed that.

“Yeah,” I muttered, as Dante stated a polite “Yes sir” at the same time. “Everything’s peachy.”

As expected, the man in the suit didn’t notice my flat tone of voice, and if he did, he didn’t care. But my trainer’s eyes grew hard and cold and terrifying, making me cringe inside. Oh, I was going to pay for this tomorrow.

“Good!” the man in the suit exclaimed with a brisk nod. “ Talon will be pleased to hear it.” His gaze shifted off us and went to Dante’s trainer and Scary Talon Lady, standing by the far wall. “And their education? How are they progressing?”

“The boy is doing well, sir,” said Dante’s teacher, standing rigid with his hands clasped in front of him. I noticed he didn’t even look at the other man but stared straight ahead, averting his eyes. I shivered. In Talon society, looking directly into a dragon’s eyes and holding its gaze was considered a challenge or a threat. Of course, living among humans with their sloppy glances and wandering eyes, we’d learned to adapt, but you still didn’t want to hold a staring contest with an older, more powerful dragon. At best, it was considered extremely rude and asking for trouble. At worst, you’d get your head bitten off.