I chuckled, but it turned into a painful, raspy cough. “Uh, pot meet kettle,” I said, not bothering to move from the dirt just yet. “If it was so crazy, why did you come and help us?”

She sniffed. “I was told by my employer to aid you in battle tonight. He made it very clear that he did not want you or Ms. Hill to die.” Her chin rose defiantly. “My orders were to prevent that from happening, in whatever way possible.”

“Ah. So it was just orders, then.”

“Of course.” Mist rolled her eyes, but she wasn’t looking at me anymore. “I take my job very seriously, Cobalt. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Sure.”

Clenching my jaw, I pushed myself to my feet, grimly observing the battlefield and taking stock of our losses. The dead vessel, outlined in moonlight, sprawled like a black mountain in the center of a war zone. Bodies, both soldier and dragon alike, lay everywhere. Most of the dragon bodies were clones, but here and there, brighter scales glinted among the dull metallics, and a cold, sickening lump settled in my stomach.

Stupid, brave hatchlings, I thought, just as my gaze settled on a small brown dragon, crumpled between two larger clones. My heart sank. Remy. And now he would never tell stories again.

The sick feeling turned to anger, making me want to sink my claws into something’s face and char the skin beneath my talons until it melted and fell off. I suddenly wished the clone was alive again, just so I could kill it myself. You wanted to fight, I raged silently. You didn’t want to hide any longer. Was it worth it? Was any of this worth it?

“You couldn’t have protected them, Cobalt.” At my back, Mist’s voice was surprisingly gentle. “Talon would still have come for them in the end. Sooner or later, they were going to have to fight.”

“I know.” Suddenly tired, I sat down, feeling like I was perched on the edge of the abyss, seconds from watching the whole world crumble into darkness. Or maybe explode in an eruption of dragonfire and burn to ash. “And it’s not over yet, is it?”

“No.” Mist came forward and sat beside me, and together, we stared over the battlefield, at the carnage Talon had left behind. The bodies they had wasted, and the dragons they had killed. “I’m afraid this is only the beginning.”

Chapter 52: GARRET

GARRET

The infirmary smelled like blood, disinfectant and smoke.