“You do have a very high opinion of yourself, don’t you?” Mist gave me a look that was both subtly amused and disgusted at the same time. “I wasn’t expecting Dante to show up, or for Luther to take over,” she admitted. “As for what I stuck you with, it was estazolam.”

I frowned. “Estazolam? But that’s—”

“A mild sedative. That made you feel slightly drowsy.” Mist made a vague gesture toward my face. “I had to drug you with something to make it seem like a standard interrogation, in case anyone was watching. In fact, I was about to share that bit of information with you in the interrogation room when Dante came in and interrupted us.”

“Why would you do that?” St. George asked, echoing my confusion. He hadn’t moved from where he sat against the wall, and I didn’t blame him. He was, after all, just a human. A tough human, granted, but not quite as resistant to pain and injury as a dragon.

Mist sighed.

“I would think it was obvious,” she said, and before I could reply that no, it really was not, she added, “I’m here to help you escape, of course. But we’ll have to move fast. There’s not a lot of time.”

In the moment of stunned silence that followed, my heart gave a violent leap. Escape. I had nearly given up hope a few minutes ago. I’d known that no one would be coming for us. There was no way out of Talon. I’d expected another interrogation session or two and then, when they’d gotten everything they could from me and the soldier, they would kill us both. That was how Talon worked. Even if they were keeping us alive to ensure Ember’s cooperation, as soon as they got what they wanted, they would get rid of us. We were disposable. Unimportant.

But if Mist was offering to help us escape...

Ruthlessly, I stifled those thoughts, refusing to believe. This was Mist, the Basilisk who, not three months ago, had lured me into trusting her only to betray that trust. She hadn’t given any indication of wanting to go rogue before; in her own words that night: I am what Talon requires. The organization entrusted me with this task, and I will not fail them. She wouldn’t throw everything away to go rogue now.

“Oh, of course, why didn’t I get that?” I said, sneering at the pale-haired girl on the other side of the bars. “Because that makes perfect sense—the loyal Talon employee helping their most infamous criminal escape the organization, betraying everything in the process.” I shook my head. “You, going rogue? Why in the world would you think I’d believe that?”

Mist’s placid expression didn’t change. “You did.”

“I had my reasons.”