No, that’s not true, I told myself. You still have your memories...most of them, anyway. All your skills, everything you’ve learned, the friendships and connections you’ve made in the past sixteen years. Talon tried to take those, as well, remember? They truly tried to take everything. If Garret and Riley hadn’t gotten there in time, there’d be nothing left but a body. An empty vessel, just like the clones.

“Perspective check, Ember,” I told myself softly. I was still alive, with most of my memories intact. Riley and Garret were all right, and somehow, impossibly, we had all escaped from Talon. We were safe.

For the moment.

I shivered again. Riley’s warning came back to me, dark whispers of the storm on the horizon. Talon was coming. The Night of Fang and Fire, the final purge to completely destroy the Order of St. George, Riley’s underground and all of Talon’s enemies, was drawing close. Garret was right; we couldn’t sit here, doing nothing, waiting for Talon to appear on our doorstep. We had to do something.

Abandoning my plans for a shower, I opened the door, stepped into the hall...

...and walked right into Garret.

He grunted as I gave a small yelp of surprise and staggered back, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “Garret. Sorry, I didn’t see you.” He stared at me solemnly over the threshold, and I cocked my head with a frown. “Why are you lurking outside my door?”

“I was waiting for you.” He gave me a concerned look, as if that should be obvious. “Are you all right?”

I swallowed, feeling abruptly self-conscious under that metallic gaze. “Yeah,” I answered, turning away to walk back into the room. “I’m fine.” Fine as anyone can be when they discover that they’re really a clone created in a lab to house the memories of the Elder Wyrm. “Where’s Riley?” I asked, hearing Garret enter the room and close the door behind him. “Did Wes ever get here? What are we planning to do now—”

Garret’s arms closed around me from behind, pulling me against him. My heart jumped, and my stomach flip-flopped, as the soldier leaned in, pressing his forehead to my neck.

“Garret?”

“Sorry,” he muttered, and his voice was choked. “Just give me a second.” He shuddered, and his arms tightened around me. “I almost lost you yesterday,” he whispered. “It didn’t really hit me until later, but we almost didn’t make it. If Mist hadn’t gotten us out when she did, if she had waited any longer...”

I reached up and squeezed his arm, trying not to imagine what would’ve happened if the procedure had gone as planned. “I’m okay,” I whispered. “It’s over now.”