“Well,” Riley sighed at my back, “today is going to be loads of fun. Ready for this, St. George?”

“Don’t have much of a choice, do I?” I muttered, mentally steeling myself for what I knew was coming. I sat in a chair with my hands cuffed behind the metal back, a spotlight shining in my face. To my left sat a table laid out with instruments and needles that glinted under the light; it wasn’t hard to guess what they would be used for.

Behind me, Riley snorted. “Try not to scream like a little girl too much,” he said. “My perception of you isn’t that great to begin with.”

The door opened, and a girl entered the room, followed by two men in white suits. Riley turned his head, and I felt his smirk even without seeing it.

“Mist,” he drawled. “We just keep meeting like this. What’s the matter, didn’t get enough of me last time?”

The girl ignored him, but the men picked up a pair of syringes from the table, walked over and smoothly sank the needle into my neck. It burned as it entered my skin, and I clenched my jaw. Some sort of truth serum, if I had to guess. That would make resisting difficult, but I could not break and tell them what they wanted to know. Too many people depended on us. If Talon discovered them, they would all be in danger. Everyone I knew—Wes, Jade, Tristan, all the dragons in Riley’s underground—Talon wouldn’t spare any of them. And somewhere in this place, maybe close by, Ember was being held against her will.

Ember, I thought, and closed my eyes. Where are you? Are you going through the same hell we are? The thought of her strapped to a chair with a spotlight in her eyes, being prodded and tortured for information, was more painful than anything they could do to me. I’ll find you, somehow, I promise. Please, hang on.

“Are we ready?” Mist’s soft, cool voice made my heart pound, and I took a furtive breath, cementing my determination. I’m ready, I told myself, opening my eyes. Let’s get this over with.

“I’m surprised Talon let you do this again, Mist,” Riley said behind me. “It went so well for you last time. Though I am a little hurt. I thought we had something special.” His voice, though starting to slur, was heavy with sarcasm. He shifted in his chair, jerking his head back toward me. “But I don’t know why you decided to drag this poor bastard into it. If you think you’re going to get more out of him because he’s human, you’re sadly mistaken. You think I’d share my network secrets with a weak-willed mortal?” Riley sneered, his tone cutting. “You’re wasting your breath. He doesn’t know anything.”