“I told you, sis.” Dante’s voice was low, triumphant. “This is where we belong. Think of what we could do together.” He stepped forward, smiling in a way I’d never seen before, chilling and intense. “You always wanted a family,” he said. “But you’ve always had one right here. And now, we can be the most powerful family in the world.”

For just a moment, I hesitated. The organization was right at my fingertips. Talon could be mine in the future; what could I do with that much power?

My stomach turned, and I staggered away from him. “No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I don’t want this. I won’t be a part of Talon, whether it’s at the bottom or the top. All the power in the world isn’t worth what I would have to pay.”

“What are you talking about?” Dante glared at me, anger and disbelief written across his face. “Ember, you don’t get it, do you? No one will challenge us at the top. We can finally be free. True freedom, without having to run from anything. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”

“At what price?” I snapped back at him. “What will I have to do, to stay at the top? Massacre another town? Slaughter a group of hatchlings in cold blood?” I shook my head, feeling my stomach roil. “There was a time when you wouldn’t even think of doing that. And now you’ll commit whatever atrocity they want.”

“Enough, both of you.” The Elder Wyrm’s expression was calm as she raised her hand, and two guards stepped forward to flank me. Dante fell silent, stepping back to glower at me, as the Elder Wyrm shook her head. “Well, I am disappointed that you feel that way,” she said as the guards took my arms. “But no matter. There are other avenues for negotiation that we haven’t explored. I’m sure we can find something we agree on.”

“Don’t waste your time,” I told her. “I won’t be a part of this, of whatever you’re planning. I’d rather die than be enslaved to Talon forever.”

“Such dramatics.” The Elder Wyrm smiled in a way that chilled my blood. My legs shook, and I had to fight to remain upright, to not sink to the floor under the weight of her stare. “And you have much to learn in the way of business. You see, everything has a price. Even the most stubborn, passionate souls have a breaking point. And we have millennia of experience in finding that one thing someone can’t live without.” She gestured, and as the guards turned me away, her final words became an echo of dread in my ears. “Make no mistake. You will serve Talon, one way or another. We just have to find that breaking point.”

Chapter 19: DANTE

DANTE