“Nothing to say?” the Elder Wyrm asked after a moment of silence as I tried to convince myself not to cringe in terror. My hands were shaking, my eyes fixed to a spot on the carpet, unwilling to stare directly at the woman in front of me. The Elder Wyrm’s voice was quietly amused as I stood there, trembling. “Your brother says you are opinionated and quite verbose, especially when it comes to my organization. Well, speak, then, Ember Hill. Do not fear—there will be no repercussions for speaking your mind. I simply wish to know your thoughts.”

I had to force myself to breathe. In and out, Ember, in and out. She’s not going to kill you, at least not yet. “I don’t...really know why I’m here,” I managed.

The Elder Wyrm gave me a puzzled look, raising her brows. I swallowed the fear screaming at me to be silent, and continued. “I mean, I don’t know what you think you’re going to convince me of,” I went on. “You went through a lot of trouble to bring me back, so you must want something from me. But I’ve seen what Talon does, both to the humans and our own kind. And I know you’re hoping that I’ll just fall in line like everyone else, but... I’m not going to change.”

“That is where you are mistaken, I’m afraid.”

I stared at her, heart pounding. Her voice was calm, certain. As if she had complete confidence in what she was saying. The Elder Wyrm smiled again, those hard green eyes appraising me like a sculptor would a block of marble, seeing how he would have to break it down to achieve the final masterpiece.

“You don’t know who you are, Ember Hill,” the Elder Wyrm stated. “You have no idea why you are so important to Talon. You must have wondered why we would go through all this trouble to bring you back, instead of simply letting Lilith deal with you. To ‘correct her mistake,’ as she wanted.”

A shiver went through me at the mention of my old trainer. “I thought it was because of Dante,” I said, deliberately not looking at my brother, who still stood motionless behind the Elder Wyrm with his hands clasped in front of him.