With a start, Ember hissed and pulled back, breaking from my embrace and the cocoon of wings. Her entire stance—wings flared, pupils dilated, nostrils flaring—spoke of desire and alarm. Shaking her head, she backed away, looking like she might launch herself into the air and flee.

“Cobalt, I don’t—”

“No,” I interrupted, half rising. “Don’t say anything. Don’t fight it, Firebrand. We belong together, you know it as well as me. Say you’ll come with me. Tonight.”

“We just met.” Ember sounded very human then, like she was trying to convince herself. “I don’t even know you, really.”

“So what? We’re not human. We don’t play by the same rules.” I switched to Draconic, my voice low and soothing. “This is instinct, plain and simple. Human emotion has nothing to do with it. stop fighting it. Stop fighting me.”

She wavered, still wary and uncertain, and I growled, clenching my talons in the sand. The moment was gone, but I still needed her to leave with us. I’d have all the time in the world to convince her, then. “Firebrand,” I nodded toward the ocean and the sun, sinking into the horizon, “you can’t stay here, not with St. George sniffing around. They’ll be looking for us, and the bastards are stupidly per-sistent. You’ll be in danger if you stay here, and so will that twin of yours.”

Ember blinked, her gaze darkening at the mention of St. George and Dante, and backed away. “Dante,” she muttered, as if just remembering. “He still doesn’t know St. George is in the area. I have to go.” She looked at me, pleading. “I have to go home and convince him to come with us. I can’t leave him, not now.”

I sighed out a curl of smoke and nodded. She was still planning to leave with us, that was all that mattered. “Go on, then,” I murmured, jerking my head toward the ocean. “Do what you have to. Get your brother, meet us at the rendezvous point later tonight, and let’s get the hell out of Dodge.”

“Where will we meet you?”

“I’ll call you later with the location.” At her betrayed look, I softened my voice. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Firebrand. But if I’m caught, I don’t want them surprising you at the meeting place. It’s safer if you don’t know where it is. I promise I’ll call you when the time comes. Just focus on being ready to go when I do.”

“What about you?”

“Don’t worry.” I smirked and flicked my tail at the crate that held the burner phone. “I’ll call Wes, and he’ll come and pick me up, provided he and the hatchlings got to the bolt hole safely.”

“You’re still hurt.” Ember’s gaze went to my still oozing ribs. “I don’t want to leave you.”

I ignored the way my heart leaped at that statement. “Firebrand, I’ll be fine. Trust me, this isn’t the worst situation I’ve been in. My surly hacker friend has patched me up many times before. Only bad part is listening to him bitch the whole time he’s doing it.” I clenched my jaw and struggled to my feet with a grimace, splaying my legs to remain upright, panting. “But we need to leave, and we need to leave soon. I’ll wait for you both as long as I can, but if you and Dante don’t meet us by midnight…we’ll have to go without you.”

Ember nodded. “We’ll be there.” Looking at the sun, she nodded grimly, nostrils flaring. “I’ll see you in a couple hours, at most. Be careful, Riley.”

I staggered forward and pressed my muzzle beneath her chin, closing my eyes. “You too,” I whispered.

She gave me an unreadable look as I pulled back, then turned and padded gracefully away. I watched her go, feeling a part of myself leave with her, until she paused at the edge of the ocean, silhouetted against the sun. Her wings cast a dark shadow over the beach as they unfurled, and I felt an almost painful longing to go with her, to spring forward and follow the red hatchling into the sunset, but I kept myself grounded and under control. Ember’s wings flapped twice, sending up whirlwinds of sand and foam, as she launched herself skyward. Still, I watched, as the crimson dragon climbed rapidly into the air, scales glinting in the evening sun, until she soared over the cliff face and disappeared into the blue.

Ember

I didn’t fly far. Just to the top of the cliff, where I found the road back to town, and quickly Shifted back to human form behind a pile of large rocks. I was barefoot, phoneless, penniless, dressed in what appeared to be a black wetsuit and nothing else, and several miles from any place familiar. I wished I could just fly home, but of course that wasn’t an option. Especially now that St. George was in town and on the warpath. I couldn’t linger in any place for long. At least one of those soldiers had seen me right before I’d changed, and knew what I looked like in human form. If they spotted me now, I was dead meat.

A car came down the road, a white Camry with tinted windows and music blasting from inside. Halfheartedly, I stuck out a thumb, and the vehicle cruised right on by without slowing down, giving me a honk as they zipped away. I stuck my tongue out as it passed, tossing dust in its wake, and fantasized about meeting them with a flat tire on the side of the road. Glancing at the last sliver of red peeking over the ocean, I sighed.

Wel , looks like I’m hoofing it.

With limited options, I began jogging down the road toward home.

Away from the cliff, and the beach, and Cobalt.